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Message started by Mr 650 on 08/19/04 at 19:09:38

Title: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Mr 650 on 08/19/04 at 19:09:38

Yo, I searched here for best/favorite rides and got no results. "Dog2" just reminded me of a ride I have been putting off; it occurred that this is a good place for us to compare notes on 'best rides'. I guess one of my all time favorites was a nice July Sat. (day off) morning ('88?), I was working up in New Glasgow N.S. w/ my GS750, and while sitting on the ramp for the ferry to Prince Edward Island, looking at this big black cloud where P.E.I. was supposed to be.
I waited about 5 minutes, looking at the storm, looked east & west, up & down the St. Lawrence and picked east.
The N. Nova Scotia coastline was rocky and the smooth road has nice curves and elevation changes, overlooking the St. Lawrence Seaway. I was having a blast cruising along for 25 min. before the 1st car past me going the opposite direction. It was about the same amount of time before I saw #2, like I had the place all to myself. Great view all the way! I don't know how long or how far I rode that day, it was alot of fun though.
I want to see the Grand Canyon from the North side someday. We cruised the South rim the year before it closed to motor vehicles. As the sun was setting in the west end, the place was crawling w/ photographers shooting this big full moon rising on the east end.
Could you/Can you even ride the North rim now?

Anyone else have any favorite routes?

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Greg_650 on 08/20/04 at 11:20:37

Here is another ride. The spouse and I did this one on Memorial Day 2003.

http://www.tailofthedragon.com/

Great ride and great riding in the surrounding areas. Just avoid it on holidays because it becomes a Superbike road race, and all the squids are there to play :o

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Jon on 08/20/04 at 11:57:54

If you ever ride Washington state, this 'must have' book outlines the best motorcycling roads. Available for British Columbia and Northern California, too.

http://tinyurl.com/43gwy

http://tinyurl.com/3rd2b

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by sunny on 08/20/04 at 11:59:10

i haven't ridden much (just since mid april in fact) but a fav place to ride is on a little country road called old mansfield highway. nice and winding with trees over hanging the roadway making for nice cool breezes on a hot summers evening.

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Greg_650 on 08/20/04 at 13:22:26

I suppose that for a normal day ride on the weekend, that best one around here is the Blue Ridge Parkway. We live 5 miles from an entrance. We do it so often that it is common place and I forgot...but it is always great on a bike.

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by jbird on 08/20/04 at 17:01:21

well have only had my bike about month has not turned 1000 miles yet so every time i ride is a fine ride.

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by gitarzan on 08/20/04 at 20:42:34

I haven't had my favorite ride yet.
:P
The best is yet to come.
<=====================>
Tomorrow, I'm going a Poker Run with a passel of Harleys. Should be a hoot.
8)
http://www.centennial-park.com/4carnival-poker-run2004.gif

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Greg_650 on 08/21/04 at 04:12:50

gitarzan wrote:

Have fun and give 'em hell 8)

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Susan on 08/21/04 at 05:57:31

gitarzan wrote:

...Tomorrow, I'm going a Poker Run with a passel of Harleys...

Someone has invited me and my husband to go on a poker run. It sounds like fun but as a relatively new rider I am wondering if it is a good idea. Have you done them before gitarzan? Anything I should watch out for as a new rider?

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Ace on 08/21/04 at 10:53:01

>....invited me and my husband to go on a poker run.
> ..I am wondering if it is a good idea.

Poker Runs are simply casual rides to various check points where you're given a card. At the end, the best hand gets an award of some sort. Good fun, go for it.

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by gitarzan on 08/22/04 at 17:09:02

Susan, it's a real good time. They give you a printed set of directions and little groups of riders ride the course, usu. about 100 miles. You ride around miss turns, get lost and have a good time riding.

Different ones handle scoring and card playing a little differently but basically you're shooting for the best hand. Sometimes they give you a card, most around here give you score card and an official writes down your card.

At the end, they typically have some chow waiting and tickets for drawings and sometimes door prizes, again they all differ.

It raises money for a charity. And that's a good thing. :)

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Susan on 08/22/04 at 19:59:22

Sounds like fun. Thanks for the feedback guys.

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Mr 650 on 09/09/04 at 09:41:19

I watched Jesse James and Kid Rock tour Mexico the other day.
Looked like fun to me.
Reckon I need one of them Seeger front end kits tho.

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Susan on 09/09/04 at 10:35:01

Pennsylvania is full of beautiful rides -- twisties, hills, nice country roads... We went out on Saturday for the afternoon. We just pick a direction and go. We always hit some beautiful twisties. Saturday we were in the vicinity of Hawk Mountain, near Hamburg and found some really great roads.

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by SweetSavage on 09/19/04 at 21:01:24

The Four Passes.
Out west there are four mountain roads that wind over the Sierra Nevadas. Tioga Pass, which goes through Yosemite National Park - Sonoma Pass, 80 miles of twists and turns - Ebbetts Pass, lined with tall pines, creeks and meadows - and Carson Pass, miles of sweet sweepers!

Do it! Then land in Reno for one of thier weekend motorcycle festivals! 8)

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by lagagnon on 09/20/04 at 17:01:23

Just been on my longest and favourite ride so far. Route 14 on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada - from Victoria to Port Renfrew (the trail head to the famous West Coast Hiking Trail). Beautiful, wild, twisty, challenging ride, about 220km return. Great views across the Juan de Fuca Strait to the Olympic Mountains in the state of Washington. Very little traffic, sunny, 10deg Celcius to start (bbrrrrr!) but warmed up to 16 degrees by lunchtime. Some cool little cafes along the route!

Big deal you say. Well it is for me - a newbie rider on my new 2004 Savage. What a terrific motorbike and what a lovely ride. I learned a lot today and hope to do that route many more times in the future. Vancouver Island is a terrific place to own a motorbike.

Larry Gagnon

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Daemon on 09/20/04 at 17:19:48

One of my favorite rides I haven't made this year is Highway 101 in Oregon state, riding along the coast. Its time to make that run again soon.

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Susan on 09/20/04 at 19:12:53

Daemon wrote:

One of my favorite rides I haven't made this year is Highway 101 in Oregon state, riding along the coast. Its time to make that run again soon.

My grandmother used to live in Medford Oregon (near Ashland in the southern part of the state). It is such beautiful country out there. The mountains, the coast...Oregon has it all. Have you ever been to Crater Lake? It's beautiful and I bet the riding around there would be good.

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Daemon on 09/20/04 at 20:19:59

Susan, I don't believe I have. I love spending as much time as possible along the Oregon coast though, I spent some time in Kauai and some parts of the Oregon coast look just like it.

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Daemon on 09/22/04 at 22:16:22

Ok, I just got back from a near 500 mile ride today from Yakima, WA to Asotin and back. Variable speeds, nice twists. I do see one thing I need to do to my 02.... install lighting so I can see my speedometer at night. The LED for the High beams doesn't glow enough to see any gauges. Fortunately there were enough semi's on the road that I could pass occassionally and see my speedo in their headlights going by them. A nice glow circle or lighted speedo faceplate is in my near future.

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by 2wheelingwoman on 09/26/04 at 19:43:55

If you go to www.byways.org, you can get a FREE map of National Scenic Byways.

I got one earlier this year, then we modified our route from Los Angeles to Spokane Washington to include several of the byways. WELL worth the changes!!! We travelled alongside the Payette River in Idaho (which was not on our original route) and it was beautiful.

One of our goals during this trip was to also do a side-trip to take in the Beartooth Scenic Byway in Montana/Wyoming, which was called "The most scenic drive in America" by Charles Kuralt. It was absolutely awesome. The top elevation is something like 10,947 ft., so you gotta do it in the summer months. In the winter it's snowmobile trails.

Anyway, thanks to this Freebie, I saw some spectacular scenery from the back of a Honda GoldWing this summer. (I also told my hubby that my goal now is to make sure we see every single one of the 95 Scenic Byways!)

It's definitely worth a trip to their site to get yourself a map if you like to travel. 8)

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by klx650sm2002 on 09/27/04 at 04:05:19

From Sockbridge to Pooley Bridge then along the right hand side of lake Ullswater, through Patterdale and Glenridding and up to the top of Kirkstone pass (nice little pub) down the other side through a lot of twisties to Bowness on (lake) Windermere in the middle of the Lake district and home again.

Clive W :D

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Susan on 09/27/04 at 07:17:58

2wheelingwoman wrote:

If you go to www.byways.org, you can get a FREE map of National Scenic Byways...

Thanks for the tip, I ordered one this morning. :D

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Ed L. on 09/27/04 at 16:21:24

A real nice ride in PA is from the Delaware Water Gap south on 611 through Easton to 32 which is River road down to New Hope. Cross over the bridge and head back up river on the New Jersey side. Can't do the ride right now, they are still cleaning up from all the flooding after Ivan.

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by bassman29 on 09/27/04 at 17:25:32

Quote:

Thanks for the tip, I ordered one this morning

Yes, thanks - I ordered one too.

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Savage_Rob on 09/28/04 at 06:26:53

Just ordered one myself. While browsing that site, I found a link to a good one for anyone traveling Texas at www.traveltex.com. Another great one is the National Park Service at www.nps.gov. Good stuff. Now if I can only get the wife over her fear of bikes (and the outdoors in general).

Title: Re: Best/Favorite Rides
Post by Greg_650 on 09/29/04 at 03:13:25

For those in the western NC, north Geogia, and Tennessee, I found the Tail of the Dragon, the Cherohala skyway, and the surrounding areas to be a great place to ride. There is a VERY biker friendly motel in Robbinsville, NC too, complete with a "bikes only" parking area.

If you go and plan to spend the night AND you like to have a beer or two, you better stay in an adjacent county though because Robbinsville is "dry". :P

http://www.tailofthedragon.com/