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West Motorcycle Rides

Peaks, Valleys, and Coastline: Southern California Motorcycle Ride | Favorite Ride

The August 2019 issue of Rider included my tour story, “Palms to Pines to the Pacific,” about a Southern California motorcycle ride west on...

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...

Historic Forts and Family Roots: Arizona Motorcycle Ride

Arizona was added as the last of the contiguous American states in 1912. While “State 48” is relatively young, its military history predates its...

Art of the Ancients: Colorado River Motorcycle Ride

There is something truly awe-inspiring about standing in the presence of art created by an ancient civilization, especially when that creation holds a particular...

Turning Copper into Gold: Asphalt Alchemy on Arizona’s Coronado Trail

From 1540 to 1542, decades before European colonies were established on the Atlantic side of the Americas, the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado...

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...

South Dakota Motorcycle Ride: Exploring the Badlands and Black Hills

In River-Horse, William Least Heat-Moon’s book about his journey across the United States by boat, he mentions carrying a small sign with the Quaker...

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...

Roamin’ in Wyoming Motorcycle Ride

Fort Laramie is the oldest town in Wyoming, having first been settled as Fort Williams in the 1830s and “bought” by the U.S. government...

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...

Arizona Motorcycle Adventure: From Prescott to the Grand Canyon

The American West has special allure. Rugged landscapes, hardscrabble history, and a sense of endless possibilities draw people to the West like a magnet...

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...

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