Category Archives: Motorcycle Touring Trips

California Loop 2018 Day 1 Part 2

Posted on by
Reply
Click Picture Above for Video

A portion of Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) California Highway 1 was closed. This is often the case as winter storms wreak havoc on roads on the coast, especially PCH CA 1 as this road hugs the California coast line (which is also why this road is so awesome). My original trip was to ride PCH from Morro Bay (I have ridden this section before) to Salinas, CA. Just north of Ragged Point the road was closed.

My detour route had me ride north on US 101 from Santa Margarita, CA (instead of heading south briefly to pick up California Highway 1 (PCH) in San Luis Obispo. I rode US Highway 101 north to Bradley, CA and then road west on Jolon Rd (Monterey County Road G18) through Fort Hunter Leggitt and onto Nacimiento-Fergusson Road. This road was very narrow but had some great curves and was engulfed in the Los Padres National Forest trees creating tunnels of trees, along with some brief epic views of the surrounding mountains.

The only downside was the considerable amount of oncoming traffic that was diverted from PCH. There were several curves where I came to a near stop hugging the right portion of the road as much as possible as some drivers were less than generous with road sharing. Regardless, this detour actually worked out great as this road is occasionally closed due to Army training.

According to the Wikipedia article linked below, In January 2021, the road was washed out due to the impacts of the Dolan Fire and closed. It is not expected to reopen until at least December 2023

Considering I had ridden the original planned route a few times, this was a great opportunity to ride a new and scenic road!

Wikipedia has more information on Nacimiento-Fergusson Road and the region.

California Loop 2018 – Day 1 Part 1

Posted on by
Reply

Click Picture Above for Video

Part 1 of Day 1

This video covers a portion of Day 1 from Buttonwillow, CA to Santa Margarita, CA riding on California Highway 58. The scenery was very nice including the California golden rolling hills and a very nice (very freshly paved) winding CA-58 Highway.

California Loop 2018 Motorcycle Trip – Overview

California Loop 2018 is a motorcycle trip I rode from May 26th 2018 to June 4th 2018 (9 months after my motorcycle accident where I broke my leg and six months after I purchased Dexter, my 2005 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic).

This trip was tour of some of the many iconic areas of California (there are so many). Trip started from Lake Elsinore, CA riding Interstate to Buttonwillow, CA where I catch CA Highway 58 to Santa Margarita, CA and jump on US Highway 101 and roll north to Humboldt Redwoods State Park near Weott, CA where I camped for a few days and explored the unpopulated areas of the Lost Coast.

Continue reading →

Utah Loop 2019 Motorcycle Trip – Last Day

Posted on by
Reply

This video wraps up the Utah Loop 2019 Motorcycle Trip. Today I rode from Zion National Park to Lake Elsinore, CA. Mostly on Interstate 15.

This trip had some major setbacks starting on day 2 with the trip not resuming until day 5 due to repeat mechanical breakdowns and the long distance tow from Ely, NV to Washington, UT. The 3 day trip stoppage forced a change in plan from traveling to eastern Wyoming to adding one vacation day and exploring Utah. While I greatly dislike being stranded roadside, the diversion proved to be worthwhile as Utah is an awesome state to ride motorcycle.

The scenery, nice roads, and curvy roads made Utah my favorite state to ride in, thus far.

Zion National Park Ride – Day 1

Posted on by
Reply

I ride through Zion National Park in the late evening on Day 9 of my Utah Loop 2019 Trip

I depart my campsite at Hi-Road Campground, which is just outside of Zion National Park. It was interesting riding through the park so late in the day as the setting sun makes interesting lighting contracts on the canyon walls and mountain tops.

Utah Loop 2019 Motorcycle Trip – Day 9

Posted on by
Reply

Today I roll out the campsite near Torrey, Utah and roll south on Utah Highway 12 – Journey Through Time Scenic Byway. This is one truly entertaining road with outstanding scenery. I captured what I thought was the best of this scenic route in this video.

Another video of jaw dropping Utah scenery. I love riding in Utah!

I end the day setting up camp at Hi-Road Campground on Utah Highway 9 just outside of Zion National Park. A dedicated video will cover riding through Zion National Park.

Utah Loop 2019 Motorcycle Trip – Day 8

Posted on by
Reply

Leaving Moab, Utah

I depart Moab, Utah heading south on US Highway 191 through Monticello, Utah. I then turn onto Utah Highway 95 just south of Blanding, Utah and ride that amazing rode through Hite Canyon and into Hanksville, Utah were I pick up Utah Highway 24 and roll east to near Torrery, Utah where I camp for the night.

Utah Highway 95 and Utah Highway 24 offer up some spectacular Utah scenery.

USA Midwest 2023 – T Minus 31 Days

Posted on by
Reply

One Month to Kickstand up

Today is 1 August 2023, one month until kickstand up on my next long distance motorcycle trip (long distance for my standard, some of you folks rack 6,000 miles in seemingly a weekend lol). USA Midwest 2023 Trip Overview Blog Post

I have been in the process of getting the final bits of preparation in order, having Dexter serviced (still a couple of odds and ends to tend to), going through and inspecting my gear, and acquiring new gear. I really should blog some of my preparation, especially concerning gear, yeah, I should really probably do that…..maybe I will, I am a bit lazy at this whole blogging thing :). My wife wants me to do a video or two discussing my gear….I guess I will have to try now if my wife commands it ….but not today. Today is just another blog post (sorry honey) :).

Continue reading →