My Bucket-list rides are from Rider magazine and from some of my long distance rides.
Alright are there any riders like myself that still have a few Bucket-list places that you haven’t rode to yet and that you are still thinking about. Well maybe I can help motivate you a little. For me my ultimate bucket-list ride is to ride to Alaska to the Arctic Circle.
Route 66
Ride all of it.
Arizona
The longest stretch of genuine old U.S. 66 is in western Arizona, running 90 lonely miles from Seligman to Kingman alongside the tracks of the Burlington-Northern-Santa Fe. Railroads.
California
The Big Sur Highway, carved out of the coast along the Santa Lucia Range for a hundred miles between Cambria and Carmel. Or the pacific coast highway.
Nova Scotia
Go way, way east to Nova Scotia, and there at the tip of Cape Breton Island is Cape North, the farthest you can ride on the North American continent.
Colorado
Anywhere in this state.
Idaho
The 160-mile Salmon River Scenic Byway runs along State Route 75 and U.S. Route 93 from the southern terminus of Stanley, in the Sawtooth Mountains, up the Continental Divide crossing at 7,014-foot Lost Trail Pass on the Idaho/Montana state line.
Kansas
U.S. Route 36 across Kansas, about 400 miles from the Missouri River to St. Francis as the eagle flies. Back 150 years ago, much of this road was a major route for wagon trains and even the Pony Express. Now a days it offers the best of small-town America.
Maine
Anywhere in this state.
Mississippi,Alabama, Tennessee
The Natchez Trace Parkway runs 450 miles from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee, and the most fun is down where it starts alongside the Mississippi River.
New Hampshire
Every motorcycle rider should run up the Mount Washington Auto Road at least once.
New York
The run up Whiteface Mountain is an absolute must.
Florida
Riding to Key West
North Carolina
Taking State Route 12 the 90 miles from Kitty Hawk to Ocracoke includes a couple of ferries, which is all to the good. Most of the real estate falls in the purview of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Pennsylvania
Anywhere in this state.
South Dakota
The Black Hills are definitely worth riding to and Mount Rushmore.
Texas Hill country, Big Bend
Utah
Anywhere in this state.
Vermont
State Route 100 runs the length of the state, but the best stretch is the 130 miles between Waterbury (home to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream) and Wilmington, a mostly two-lane road that runs along the east side of the Green Mountain National Forest, and half of the fun is taking the little side roads that run over places like Appalachian Gap and Lincoln Gap.
Virginia The Blue Ridge Parkway
Wyoming,Montana
Beartooth Highway is an appealing stretch of road for motorcyclists who are ready to tackle hairpin turns. It starts in Red Lodge, Montana, and cuts through Beartooth Pass – more than 10,000 feet high!
Beartooth Pass peak is10,947 feet provides some very stimulating riding. The town of Cody, Buffalo Bill’s old stomping grounds, and head out over Dead Indian Pass (8,071 feet) on the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway (State Routes 120/296). Then hang a right onto U.S. Route 212 and climb up over the Beartooth Mountains.
Tennessee and North Carolina Tail of The Dragon AKA 129
Montana Going to The Sun Road
This remote road is considered one of the great motorcycle rides in the American West. It is only accessible during the summer months and stretches over 50 miles of thrilling, hilly roads.
Going to the Sun Road runs through Glacier National Park and climbs more than half a mile up to Lake McDonald, ending at the 6,600-foot tall peak of Logan Pass. Travelers are advised to check the weather before making this ride.
Now I can keep on listing way more places to ride to. But hopefully you will now go dust off that road map and start planning that awesome bucket-list road trip.
Michael Theodore
National Road Captain
