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West Motorcycle Rides

Bagging Passes in the Colorado Rockies—Riding Denver to Durango

Colorado is a tale of two topographies. The eastern third of the state, roughly everything east of Interstate 25, is part of the Great...

Montana Backcountry Discovery Route to Premiere Feb. 7, 2026

The Montana Backcountry Discover Routes, which completes the Western BDR system of linked routes, is ready to be released with a film premiere on...

Route 66 Motorcycle Travel Guide

Main Street USA. The Mother Road. The Will Rogers Highway. Known by many names, Route 66 is an American icon that has inspired a...

Flagstaff to Barstow on Historic Route 66 | Favorite Ride

Testing the new Can-Am Canyon Redrock in Arizona presented me with an opportunity to ride part of Historic Route 66. I began in Flagstaff,...

Yore Mother Road: Recollections of a Route 66 Motorcycle Ride

Decades after its official demise in 1985, Route 66 remains in fragments, with the rest either paved over and renamed or reclaimed by nature....

America’s Mother Road: Chicago to L.A. on Route 66

Designated as a federal highway in 1926 and running from Chicago to Los Angeles, Route 66 connected – and often ran right through –...

From Ojai to the Carrizo Plain: California Adventure Motorcycle Ride | Favorite Ride

When I want a taste of adventure in my own backyard, one of my favorite rides is around the Carrizo Plain National Monument, a...

Ural-ing Around Colorado Motorcycle Ride

Backed by lush orchestration, the opening credits of the 1969 John Wayne film, True Grit, reveal a beautiful farmstead nestled in a green valley...

Utah Motorcycle Ride to Great Basin National Park | Favorite Ride

Ten years ago, doctors removed my left kidney – and the golfball-sized tumor attached to it. To mark a decade of being cancer-free, I...

Southern Utah Motorcycle Ride | Favorite Ride

Some roads are famous for the scenery through which they traverse, and some are famous for the unique nature of the roads themselves. There...

Traipsing Across Washington Motorcycle Ride | Favorite Ride

Matt Terry, a riding buddy from Florida, planned to travel out West with his family, and he always trailers his two Ducati Diavel Stradas...

The Lost Sierra: Northern California Motorcycle Ride

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in the October 2004 issue. The phone rings. It’s Werner Wachter calling from Austria. “You vill come to...

50 Best Motorcycle Roads in America

The December 2024 issue of Rider celebrated the magazine's 50th anniversary. Over the past half century, we have published thousands of travels stories, favorite...

Joshua Tree National Park Motorcycle Ride | Favorite Ride

“It’s the Joshua tree’s struggle that gives it its beauty,” writes Jeannette Walls in her 2005 memoir The Glass Castle. She further contends that...

Great American Scenic Byways Tour

In 2021, Steven Goode completed the Great American Deli Schlep, a 75‑day, 15,000‑mile motorcycle ride during which he visited the best Jewish deli in...

Arizona Route 66 Motorcycle Ride

Route 66, or the Mother Road, is indelibly stitched into the fabric of the American psyche. The iconic road once traced its way for...

A Scenic Casa Grande, Arizona Motorcycle Ride

Arizona is known for its five Cs – copper, cattle, cotton, citrus, and climate – all of which are represented on the state’s great...

A Scenic (and History-Laden) Southern Utah and Arizona Loop | Favorite Ride

Living at 6,000 feet in Cedar City, Utah, most of my winter riding involves heading south, which offers a quick drop in elevation and...
2027 Motorcycle Buyers Guide