2019 Across Canada & Back
I embarked on this 8,984 mile solo motorcycle adventure on September 11th, 2019. I returned 29 days later.
The first phase lasted 14 days. This part of the ride took me across Canada from British Columbia to Nova Scotia, culminating in a ride around the Cabot Trail.
In phase II, I took seven days to ride some scenic back roads through the White, the Adirondack, and the Blue Mountains of the northeastern United States, arriving at Columbus during record high temperatures for a scheduled service stop.
Phase III saw me take the interstate highway system from Columbus, Ohio to Seattle, Washington, getting home from Columbus in just six days, experiencing the end of a midwest heat wave followed by a northwest cold front.
An epic motorcycle adventure, to be sure. My fastest trip to the east coast yet, I cross off some of Canada’s most scenic roads from my bucket list.
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2019 Eastern Oregon Loop
Departing Seattle on July 10th, I embarked on a three-day solo motorcycle adventure from Seattle to Baker City, then west through favorite roads in Eastern Oregon before returning past Mount St Helens and Mt Rainier.
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2019 Ride to Desolation Sound
On June 6, I started a seven-day motorcycle adventure with three new friends. The first-half of my 1,074 mile (odometer) ride included 103 miles of ferry travel. Views of the Pacific through southern Vancouver Island and down the Sunshine Coast from Desolation Sound.
The second half of the ride included Duffy Lake Road to Lillooet, BC and new to me, the Princeton-Kamloops Highway (Hwy 5A) and EC Manning Provincial Park to Hope along Hwy 3.
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2018 Ride to Beartooth Pass
This 5-day, 1,737 mile solo trip took me over Beartooth Pass. Departing on Sept. 5th, I traveled through Missoula and Helena to Laurel, Montana where I would turn south for my first ride on the Beartooth Pass Scenic Byway.
The Beartooth is one of the top 5 favorite motorcycle rides in the US. It was easy to understand why. While snow fell on the pass the previous week, this week was warm and clear. Perfect conditions for this Steel Horse Journey.
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2018 Ride to the Dalton
This 6,000 mile, 23-day solo adventure began on Jun 6th, 2018. I reached the start of the Dalton Highway on the morning of my 60th birthday. This adventure goes beyond the borders of the continental US to explore more remote and desolate parts of North America. I visit British Columbia on my way to Alberta and the Canadian Rockies, ride the entire Alaskan Highway, visit to Fairbanks, Anchorage, and the Gulf of Alaska at Seward before returning along the northern portion of the remote but beautiful Cassiar-Stewart Highway.
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2018 Western Vistas Tour
This solo 5,116 mile tour of ten western states began on April 23, 2018 and lasted 23 days.
Originally named 2018 Western States Tour, grandeur and scale highlighted this trip. Vistas became the dominate theme.
I ride through California’s Lost Coast, Death Valley, the Devil’s Highway in Arizona, the Million Dollar Highway in Colorado, and scenic byways of Utah and Idaho.
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2017 Trip to Lake Sonoma
This motorcycle trip was to Lake Sonoma to celebrate a friend’s 50th birthday. I traveled solo on this late-August, 1,665 mile, six-day trip, spending one 24-hour cycle on a houseboat with about twenty folks, in all.
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2017 Eastern Oregon Loop
This solo 3-day ride began on May 22 and covered 996 miles. The first and last days were spent traveling fast along some major highways and interstates. The middle day was spent exploring lesser traveled roads through the small towns and scenic places between Baker City to the east and the greater Portland area to the west. Two roads, the Dooley Mountain Highway and County Road 20, were incredibly scenic, lightly traveled and with good road surfaces.
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2016 Northern States Tour
This solo tour began August 28th. It covered 8,910 miles through 28 states over 37 days. Taking a route along the northern border of the US, I traveled between each of the Great Lakes and continued on to the Atlantic Coast. My return route followed a more southernly latitude from Virginia Beach west.
The goal of this trip was to ride in every state not covered by the Western States Tour in 2014 or the Southern States Tour in 2015 while visiting some of the most scenic motorcycle roads available in this section of the country. While not my longest trip, it was my fastest pace, covering 275 miles per day on average, not counting days off. With this ride completed, I have now ridden in every state reachable by road.
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2015 Trip to Fossil
This three-day solo exploration of the Lower Columbia River Basin began on October 4th.
I would first travel along the east and south base of Mt. Rainier, then head southwest to ride along the northern shore of the Columbia River before crossing into Oregon.
From Heppner, OR back to the coast, I would visit small towns along the ‘Blue Highway’ and ‘Lost in Time’ Scenic Byways of that region. I end up at the base of Mount Hood, before heading further to the Oregon Coast.
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2015 Trip to Glacier
This four-day, 1,539 mile trip to Glacier National Park started on September 12, 2015. It was my second trip to Glacier in two years. This year I traveled solo. On my return, I had a chance to ride across Lolo Pass for the third time and Rattlesnake Highway for the first time.
I camped the last night out and stayed in motels the other two nights. It was a great trip, one without incident or rain.
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2015 Trip to Hyder, Alaska
Leaving August 18th, this 1,766 mile eight-day trip took me and good friend Will to Hyder, Alaska. It took three days to get to Stewart, British Columbia, our staging point for the day we would spend exploring Hyder and the local attractions, including Fish Creek and Salmon Glacier.
Our return trip involved a ferry ride through the scenic Inside Passage from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy, on Vancouver Island. A secondary goal reached on this trip was to traverse Vancouver Island from north to south.
A second ferry trip from Victoria to Port Angeles brought us back into the US and a third ferry took us from Bainbridge Island back to Seattle. An awesome loop through some super scenic country.
2015 Trip to Wallowa Lake
I began this four-day, 1,160 mile trip on August 4th traveling alone to Wallowa Lake, a beautiful ribbon lake in Eastern Oregon. From there, and with an old friend I had not expected to meet, I visited Hells Canyon National Rec Area on Day 2.
Continuing together, we traveled west through scenic byways and to the Maryhill Stonehenge along the Columbia River before turning south to reach Mt Hood on Day 3, returning to Seattle on Day 4 after riding Historic Route 30, crossing the Columbia River on the Bridge of the Gods, riding close to Mount St. Helens and within camera distance of Mt. Rainier.
2015 Southern States Tour
The longest and farthest trip I’ve taken, this 65 day tour started April 13th, 2015.
I rode solo south into Oregon and California, along the coast with some inland detours. From San Diego, I headed east staying close to the border of Mexico then spending time in Texas Hill Country before heading to the Gulf.
From Texas I followed the Gulf to Key West where I spent a week off the bike visiting with old friends and meeting new ones.
Key West was my turnaround point and I headed up the Atlantic Coast states as the beginning of an exploration of the southern states and the great motorcycle roads found there.
Some of the well known motorycle roads ridden included Tail of the Dragon, Cherohala Skyway, and the Blue Ridge and Nachez Trace Parkways.
During the tour, I traveled 12,566 miles, visiting places I have never seen, visiting friends I knew from Seattle and making some new friends along the way. It was an amazing experience, to say the least.
2014 Loop through Cache Creek
I traveled north on Saturday, September 27th, with Will to visit a part of British Columbia I’ve never seen. The loop was 635 miles and we took two days, staying overnight in Cache Creek. The weather was beautiful, with temperatures in the 60’s during the peak of the day with the skies mostly clear.
We departed Saturday at 7:30am and crossed into Canada at the border in Blaine by 9:30am after topping off our bikes with fuel. Traffic was heavy in and around Vancouver and it took an extra 30 minutes or so to get through town. We did see a number of other motorcyclists out enjoying a beautiful Autumn day.
2014 Trip to Crater Lake
I left for Crater Lake on Sunday, September 7th, traveling alone along the 1,098 mile, four day loop. This was my first visit to Crater Lake.
For this trip, I planned to camp the first and third nights and stay in a motel in between. I would circle back from Eastern Oregon to the coast, revisiting some of the places on Hwy 101 that I had seen on my first trip of the summer, the Western States Tour.
The weather was good, but wildfires in Oregon diminished the air quality and taking photos at Crater Lake was challenging.
The route I decided on included three roads that were especially fun for motorcyclists, and the Gods of Garmin managed to route me onto a fourth. It was a great trip.
2014 Trip to Glacier
This trip started on Monday, July 21st. Unlike my Western States Tour, I had company on this entire ride. My friend and regular riding partner Will came along.
The route was 1,520 miles long and took five days. The original plan was to stay within the US borders, but wildfires blocked both Hwy 2 and Hwy 20, so we detoured into Canada for a few hours on our way east. The two of us were on the road for five days: two days to Kalispell, Montana, our staging point; one day in Glacier, and two days to return, via a southern route. By traveling during the week, we encountered less traffic and congestion at Glacier.
For this trip, we reserved camp sites for the first and last evening, and a two-day motel stay in Kalispell, our staging area for day three’s trip into Glacier.
2014 Western States Tour
My first multi-week motorcycle tour ever.
This amazing trip started on May 5, 2014 and took me from Seattle down the coast through Oregon and California following Hwy 101 and Hwy 1, taking side trips on occasion. I spent time visiting friends in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and San Diego.
Then I traveled east through California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. While on this adventure, I visited many national parks and rode along many scenic roads on my way to Oklahoma City, where I stayed with friends.
Coming home involved visiting Kansas, Colorado (again), Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana, and Idaho before returning to Washington.
In all, 8,555 miles, sixteen states, many national parks and scenic byways, old friends, and lots and lots of new things !!