Tag Archives: Motorcycle Touring

Florida Loop 2026 | T Minus One Day

Posted on by
Reply
Click On Picture Above For Video

April 3rd, 2026

Kickstand Up – April 4th, 2026

Tomorrow April 4th, 2026, I roll out on Day One on my Florida Loop 2026 Motorcycle Camping / Touring trip of Florida.  Checking another state off my bucket list to have ridden a motorcycle in all 50 states of the United States.

I will be riding Bruce with my full Alaska 2028 loadout from Douglasville, Georgia to Pensacola, Florida and Camping on Gulf for the night.  Planned Miles for Day 1 = 441 Miles.

Florida Loop 2026 Trip Plan

Day One – Pensacola, Florida = 441 Miles – Camp
Day Two – Lake City, Florida = 376 Miles – Camp
Day Three – Chokoloskee Island, Florida = 392 Miles – Motel
Day Four – Everglades National Park, Florida = 140 Miles – Camp
Day Five – Key West, Florida = 175 Miles – Hotel
Day 6 – Lake Okeechobee / Indiantown, Florida = 280 Miles – Camp
Day 7 – Lake City, Florida = 354 Miles – Camp
Day 8 – Douglasville, Georgia = 328 Miles – Home

Total Planned Miles = 2,486 Miles

Alaska 2028 – Bike Configuration & Loadout Test

The primary objective of Florida Loop 2026 other than exploring Florida and checking another state off my bucket list goal is to test Bruce’s configuration and loadout for my planned upcoming Alaska 2028 Motorcycle Tour.

Continue reading →

Alabama Ride with Tristan – March 22,2026

Posted on by
Reply
Click On Photo Above For Video

March 22, 2026

Planned Ride

The planned ride into Alabama with Tristan as Pillon was to ride into Alabama from Douglasville, Georga on Georgia Highway 5 / Alabama Highway 48, grab a quick lunch in Lineville, Alabama and then ride north on Alabama Highway 281 through the Talladega National Forest and then back to Douglasville, GA via non-interstate for a planned total of 178 miles roundtrip.

This section of Alabama Highway 281 has some nice twisties and some pretty hill country and rolls by Cheaha Mountain, at an elevation of 2,413 feet, is Alabama’s highest natural point.

Continue reading →

Florida Loop 2026 – T Minus Two Weeks

Posted on by
2

Kickstand Up in Two Weeks – April 4th, 2026

Florida Loop 2026 is the not so clever name for my upcoming motorcycle touring trip, riding a loop of the state of Florida…. hence the name of the trip .

The trip as planned will be 8 days starting from Douglasville, Georgia to Pensacola, Florida and follow along the gulf and Florida’s west coast to the Everglades and Key West, Florida.  Then turn around and roll north following Florida’s east coast (more or less) and some interior back to Douglasville, Georgia.

Planned Miles = 2,495

Camping Nights = 5

Hotel stays = 2

Kickstand up: April 04, 2026

This will be my first touring trip with Bruce, my 2025 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special.

For all of the planned details of this touring trip, Click Here for my original Florida Loop 2026 post.

Continue reading →

Death Valley Day 2

Posted on by
Reply
Click On Photo Above For Link To Video

Death Valley Day 2 – February 19, 2018

This was the first touring trip with Dexter, 2005 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic.

I rode from Beatty, Nevada back to Death Valley coming in from Amargosa Valley and was planning on riding up to Dantes View, however the road to Dantes View was closed. 

I then rode down to Furnace Creek and headed to Artists Circle and Badwater, also in Death Valley.  From there I rode to Baker, California and stopped at the fantastic The Mad Greek and rode back to Lake Elsinore, California.

Continue reading →

Death Valley Day 1

Posted on by
Reply
Click On Photo Above For Video

Death Valley Day 1 – February 18, 2018

This was the first touring trip with Dexter, 2005 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic.

I rode from Lake Elsinore, California, to Lone Pine, California, through Death Valley, visited the Ghost Town Rhyolite, Nevada and stayed in a hotel in Beatty, Nevada.

The ride North on US Highway 395 was quite windy.  The descent into Death Valley on CA Highway 190 was entertaining with a well-maintained twisty road and breathtaking views of the valley below from the mountains.

Continue reading →

Ride Up Palomar Mountain with DeAndra March 11, 2017

Posted on by
Reply
Click On Photo Above For Video

March 11, 2017

San Diego County Road S6 – South Grade Road

DeAndra and I ride Jolene, my former 2004 Honda VTX 1300C, up Palomar Mountain in San Diego County California.

Gemini Description of South Grade Road (S6)

Ascending the western slopes of Palomar Mountain, South Grade Road (S6) is a legendary stretch of asphalt renowned for its relentless complexity and breathtaking vistas. Often referred to as “the tight side,” this historic route gains approximately 3,000 feet in elevation over just seven miles, characterized by a dizzying sequence of 21 hairpin switchbacks. As drivers and cyclists navigate these technical curves, the landscape transitions rapidly from chaparral-covered foothills to dense forests of cedar and fir. The engineering of the road—originally improved in the 1930s to transport the massive 200-inch mirror for the Palomar Observatory—offers sweeping panoramic views of the Pauma Valley below, eventually terminating at the mountaintop plateau where the iconic silver dome sits against the sky.

FeatureDetail
Elevation Gain~3,000 feet
Length~7 miles
Number of Hairpins21
Peak DestinationPalomar Observatory (6,126 ft)
Continue reading →

Dexter’s Last Tour – Deals Gap to Robbinsville North Carolina

Posted on by
Reply
Click On Photo Above For Video

September 13 2025

Dexter’s Last Tour – Deals Gap to Robbinsville North Carolina on US Highway 129.

The weekend touring trip of the North Carolina / Tennessee mountains was the last touring trip with Dexter, my 2005 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic.  On October 4th, 2025, I put down the deposit to purchase Bruce, my 2025 Harley-Davison Pan America 1250 Special.

The final ride (excluding ride to Atlanta Harley-Davidson for trade in) was on October 10th, 2025 when DeAndra and I rode from Douglasville, GA to Newnan, GA to have lunch at Culver’s (about 67 miles round trip).

Continue reading →

Santeetlah Road & Joyce Kilmer Road – North Carolina

Posted on by
Reply
Click On Photo Above For Video

September 13, 2025

Not far from Robbinsville and Deals Gap North Carolina, I rode on Santeetlah Road and Joyce Kilmer Road on my way back to Deals Gap, North Carolina.

Joyce Kilmer road goes along a portion of Santeetlah Lake in the mountains of North Carolina just south of Tennessee.  This was a very scenic ride with some nice-looking camp sites along the way that I may try and take advantage of in the future.