Your Best Ride
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Road Warrior
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,857
Likes: 21
From: Fort Collins, CO
Your Best Ride
I am always hearing some pretty good stories riding with friends and friends of friends on what their best ride was, whether it has to do with the people, the trip, or something that happened. So I thought I would ask you all if you would share your most memorable ride was. I am sure everyone on here has some crazy stories, and I would love to hear them.
I'll start - after I got done with flight school, I took some leave and went home for a week or two. I grew up in a small town in Colorado, right next to the rockies. Every time I go home I get that nostalgic feeling of things I did growing up, people I knew in high school, etc. So dad and I were outside talking while he washed his car. He asked if I wanted to take the bike out for awhile, and I said sure. And I rode everywhere in my old hometown, up the foothills, through my old stomping grounds, and into the farm country. It was amazing and it felt good to experience that on my dads bike, which I have loved since I was 14. Not too exciting, but it meant a lot to me.
I'll start - after I got done with flight school, I took some leave and went home for a week or two. I grew up in a small town in Colorado, right next to the rockies. Every time I go home I get that nostalgic feeling of things I did growing up, people I knew in high school, etc. So dad and I were outside talking while he washed his car. He asked if I wanted to take the bike out for awhile, and I said sure. And I rode everywhere in my old hometown, up the foothills, through my old stomping grounds, and into the farm country. It was amazing and it felt good to experience that on my dads bike, which I have loved since I was 14. Not too exciting, but it meant a lot to me.
Road Warrior
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,427
Likes: 0
From:
RE: Your Best Ride
Last summer my wife and I celebrated our 20th. We'd done our honeymoon on my V45 Magna. (two up...we were both a lot lighter back then!! lol) We'd done a trip down through Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, California, and up the coast through Oregon & Washington, back in to B.C., and then back home to Calgary. We now live in Edmonton (3 hrs north of Calgary). We'd always regretted not going to the Grand Canyon on our honeymoon. We decided to go for it to celebrate the 20th.
We did a 5000+ mile loop through Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, back in to Montana, and then back across the border in to Alberta. We never hit the same stretch of pavement twice the whole time. Three solid weeks on the road together.
While the weather was great on the whole, we had the occasional rainy day, and the wind sheer in some spots in New Mexico gave a whole new meaning to the term "pucker factor", which tested our riding skills, and our marital bond. We made it through the whole trip with only a couple of minor disagreements, mainly to do with the fact that I tend to push it a bit, and we had a tight schedule, to fit in all the sites we wanted to see.
It was a glorious trip, we met some fantastic folks, saw some amazing sites (including the G.C.), and at the end of three weeks only headed home because we had to. We could have kept on going, but my parent's sanity has its limits, and the authorities frown on the whole "Home Alone" concept. The signature pic below was taken during that trip, in Arches Nat'l Park. For those of you who have never been there, I strongly recommend you put it on your "to do" list.
We did a 5000+ mile loop through Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, back in to Montana, and then back across the border in to Alberta. We never hit the same stretch of pavement twice the whole time. Three solid weeks on the road together.
While the weather was great on the whole, we had the occasional rainy day, and the wind sheer in some spots in New Mexico gave a whole new meaning to the term "pucker factor", which tested our riding skills, and our marital bond. We made it through the whole trip with only a couple of minor disagreements, mainly to do with the fact that I tend to push it a bit, and we had a tight schedule, to fit in all the sites we wanted to see.
It was a glorious trip, we met some fantastic folks, saw some amazing sites (including the G.C.), and at the end of three weeks only headed home because we had to. We could have kept on going, but my parent's sanity has its limits, and the authorities frown on the whole "Home Alone" concept. The signature pic below was taken during that trip, in Arches Nat'l Park. For those of you who have never been there, I strongly recommend you put it on your "to do" list.
Road Warrior
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,573
Likes: 138
From: StL, MO. USA
RE: Your Best Ride
ORIGINAL: dog155
All our rides are fun and always anticipate the next one.
All our rides are fun and always anticipate the next one.
Yep, you are correct Dog. The best ride will be the next one.
I get tired of hearing the 'crash' stories. You have all heard them. You are talking to someone at work, or where ever you may be, and you make a comment about the weather and how much you would like to take a ride... Then, as if scripted - "Oh, you ride a motorcycle?"..."My sister's boyfriend had a motorcycle and he crashed...". The conversation usually goes in the direction of them saying "They are just SO dangerous, I won't get on one..."
It's nice to know that there are HAPPY bike rides - we have them EVERYDAY!
So - I'll just keep assuming that my next ride will be the best.
Peace & Be safe.
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,737
Likes: 0
From:
RE: Your Best Ride
Mine was last memorial day weekend. We took 5 days left on Wed before mem day & came back on mem.day. We stayed in Gattlinburg TN & hot all the gorgeous spots around there, The Dragan, Carahola skyway, blue ride (To asheville NC) it was an incredible trip ill never forget, if there is a more beautiful place in the US than East TN & NC ive never seen it, we came home through Amish country in OH & back to MI Unforgettable
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 10,946
Likes: 822
From: Nevada
RE: Your Best Ride
My best ride was a two weektrip I took a few years ago. I rode solo from Chicago and toured the Rockies in Colorado. From there, I rode to Sturgis where I partied a couple daysand toured the Badlands. Next,I rodenorth to Canada.I completeda circle tour aroundLake Superior and then returned home.
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 2,115
Likes: 1
From: CA
RE: Your Best Ride
Our trip to Sturgis last summer was incredible. We made it from So Cal to South Dakota in two days. Only bike that broke down was the only non-Harley in the group of six, a Hayabusa, go figure!
All the riding we did in the Black Hills was awesome. Everytime I look at the pics of that trip, I can't wait to do it again.
I'll be riding from So Cal to Texas and back this summer. Really looking forward to that one.
All the riding we did in the Black Hills was awesome. Everytime I look at the pics of that trip, I can't wait to do it again.
I'll be riding from So Cal to Texas and back this summer. Really looking forward to that one.
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Joe Kucinski
Tourer
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 471
Likes: 0
From: Salt Lake City, UT
RE: Your Best Ride
July 2006. I took the entire month off (I'd been saving up time for a while). I rode from SLC to South Carolina. Up the east coast. Crossed into Canada. Went around the lake and crossed back on Michigan's upper peninsula. West on US-2 to Montana. North into Alberta. Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper Nat Park, Edmonton, Calgary. Back south through Glacier N.P. and on to SLC. All in all: 32 days, a little over 9300 miles and all alone. Best Trip Ever.
But I leave for a 3-week trip to Alaska on June 14. That might be even better...
But I leave for a 3-week trip to Alaska on June 14. That might be even better...
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,666
Likes: 1
From: East TN
RE: Your Best Ride
If we're talkin biggest, bestest, most scenic rides...then I'd have to say my three-week ride to Sturgis and Beyond back in '06. Badlands, Sturgis, Needles Hwy, Mt. Rushmore, Devils Tower, Shell Canyon, Red Lodge MT, Beartooth Pass, Yellowstone, Tetons, Jackson Hole, Arches NP Utah, Durango CO, Albequerque, blah blah blah.
If we're talkin the one that sticks in my mind the most...then I'd have to say a li'l dayride a couple years back, where I took my son (10 at the time) to my old stompin grounds. Showed him my childhood home, the neighborhood grump's house we tp'd on Halloween, a cave I explored as a kid, my old school, the lakeside gravel pit where we partied on the weekends, sat outside at a drive-in diner woofin down burgers and answerin his many, many questions 'bout my youth there...and then watched as he excitedly played it all back to Momma when we got home. Yeah, that was a good 'un.
'Coures, I'm sure our trek up to Bar Harbor, Maine and New Brunswick this summer will rank right up there too.
If we're talkin the one that sticks in my mind the most...then I'd have to say a li'l dayride a couple years back, where I took my son (10 at the time) to my old stompin grounds. Showed him my childhood home, the neighborhood grump's house we tp'd on Halloween, a cave I explored as a kid, my old school, the lakeside gravel pit where we partied on the weekends, sat outside at a drive-in diner woofin down burgers and answerin his many, many questions 'bout my youth there...and then watched as he excitedly played it all back to Momma when we got home. Yeah, that was a good 'un.
'Coures, I'm sure our trek up to Bar Harbor, Maine and New Brunswick this summer will rank right up there too.