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Your favorite ride ever and the bike and who you were with

My favorite ride would be the 9 day trip I did to Colorado in June of 2008 with 4 of my riding buddies on our Burgman 650s. We did the long hot ride across West Texas to get there in one day then had 7 wonderful cool days to make a big loop around the state before the long ride back across West Texas to get home. In that one week we road in everything from 104 degrees with 50 mph wind and blowing dust in the Texas Panhandle to snow and 31 degrees up in the mountains.
 
Unlike Scott, this is an easy one for me. Did a 10 day 4500 mile trip in the middle of winter with 3 buddies out to CA then on the way back through the Big Bend area and into Mexico. I was on the Busa and they were on liter bikes. The funniest part is 2 of them split off and went through the Grand Canyon, while I and the other rider did the Guggenheim motorcycle exhibit in Las Vegas On Christmas Day. Two days later we came up on them as we were coming into Las Cruces NM. :lol2: They were completely beat up after dealing with way too much ice and snow, so they bailed on the BB/Mexico part. I remember pulling into the garage and just sitting there on the bike for like 5 minutes not wanting to get off because I didn't want the trip to be over.
 
Never done anything but day trips on a bike. However - 1976 while stationed in Pirmasens, Germany - exploring from Kaiserslautern to Speyer, and along the Rhine River, to the edges of the Black Forest, on a Yamaha 360 Enduro. I wish now I'd ridden the Really Scary road through the forest from Baden Baden to Freudenstadt. I also wished I'd brought the bike home instead of selling it.
 
Arkansas trip with my son about two years ago. My brother and a few friends were along, but my son made it for me. Our first trip together and I hope to have many more. Planning one for this fall - hopefully!!! The trip was full of mechanical failures with one of the guys, but it was still enjoyable.
 
How about it? Got an all time favorite ride or experience on a bike that really just stands out from all the rest?
 
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My first time two-up and my first time just touring/cruising. The lady is a friend from work, she was/is wanting to get her motorcycle license and wanted to see if she liked riding a bike or just the idea of it. We were about 2 hours or so in, and had just loaded up from stopping for lunch. I think her face says it all.
 
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My first time two-up and my first time just touring/cruising. The lady is a friend from work, she was/is wanting to get her motorcycle license and wanted to see if she liked riding a bike or just the idea of it. We were about 2 hours or so in, and had just loaded up from stopping for lunch. I think her face says it all.

That pretty cool. It is fun seeing someone REALLY get it! I took a foreign exchange student for a ride on my GS. I ran a brisk but relaxed pace and also ran down some of my favorite local dirt roads. I pulled over when he started screaming like a little girl. I thought something was wrong! Turns out he was just having so much fun he couldn't contain himself :lol2: He'd never been on a bike before.
 
Over 20 years ago. When Aprilia was setting up a dealer network in the U.S. The guy who was setting up the network in the US (southern US maybe) and the folks who started "Ride Texas" magazine were going on a "test" ride of the new Aprilia and doing the Twisted Sisters. I was invited along with two or three others. (I was on a new, at the time, Speed Triple)

This was my introduction to the Twisted Sisters. I grew up in Central Texas but I never knew....

It was a glorious day. A glorious day. I was pretty young. 19 or 20 and not the best rider. Everyone else was on the good side but they were very kind and I learned much in that one day. The idea that something like that was "so close" was like finding religion. :)
 
I'm new and have only ridden about 14,000 miles so far in the last 9 months.

So far the highlights for me have been:

- Kerrville to Lost Maples to Vanderpool to Leakey with my daughter
- Arkansas dirt ride with @Simmons1, @misterk, @BADTEX and @Birdman44 (minus the K-Trail :))
- TWT Arkansas pavement trip with @MacDaddy (before the rain)
- Dirt North of Fredericksburg with @Messenjah
 
The last time I was on a bike is my favorite ride. Which will sound funny to many, but that would be my ride to work today. Tonight it will be my ride home work. I enjoy riding so much that I can't pick a an all time favorite ride. I love them all and any time I am riding versus doing anything else. Each ride and each trip is different in its own right, they can't really be compared for me.
 
Every ride with my son. Unfortunately, it has only been three trips over the years, but all were SUPER trips for me. One in the hill country, one in Arkansas, and one in Colorado. All great fun. Colorado was fraught with problems, but after conquering the issues and getting back home - we agreed it was special.

Others close behind? Those with my dad and brother. See a pattern here?
 
Favorite so far is our two week trip riding thru out New Mexico, Arizona, Utah & Colorado on the Goldwing with my wife, did some camping, some B&B's and vists with friends & relatives.
 
What is it that makes a ride REALLY memorable or at the top of your list?

Good roads?
Good scenery?
Who you ride with (or don't ride with)?
What you are riding?
Particular challenges of the ride?
 
What is it that makes a ride REALLY memorable or at the top of your list?

Good roads? Good scenery? Who you ride with (or don't ride with)? What you are riding? Particular challenges of the ride?

For me its good roads & scenery first - since I tend to ride solo most of the time, followed by having good companions when riding with others.
 
I crashed soon after starting motorcycling. I bought a new bike and started again. It really clicked to me when a guy on some forums decided he wanted to ride around with me after I told my story.

It was the first time after the learners course someone provided detailed feedback of my riding on real, curvy roads. I learned a lot that day and it's stuff I still practice this very day. It made me a better and safer rider.

Close second: First time I rode on the dirt with the Austin TARA crew. Same day I crossed the James river.
 
For me its good roads & scenery first - since I tend to ride solo most of the time, followed by having good companions when riding with others.

This pretty much. Scenery is big for me. Trees, hills, rivers, etc. That's why I struggle with going to Big Bend. I don't really like moon scenery.

Coming from bicycle touring, I really like the "get from point A to B" aspect of rides too. Ride from this town to that town and spend the night, get up ride to next town and spend the night. I enjoy that more than starting from a central point and doing loops out and back every day.

My favorite day of the TWT Arkansas trip was not the one on the "good" roads, it was the day we rode from home to Clarksville for 450 miles. I'd like to do more of that type of stuff.
 
Jarrett, you should get in to the Iron Butt riding ;-)
 
At this point on extended trips, I prefer more street riding, but welcome an occasional dirt road. Like to stop and look at things, visit the occasional coffee shop, good conversation with friends, and more riding and looking around. Not too interested in riding for the sake of riding any more. Been there, done that since 1969. Riding in and of itself is not my bag anymore. Now it is the small town, scenery, site seeing, coffee shops, throw in a little camping, and FRIENDS/friendships/comradery
 
First reading this old thread I realized Bean Counter and I were at the 2010 RAT Raid in Arkansas on Srint ST 1050's. Mine was a silver 06 still with my HK plate from Germany.

My favorite road trip was solo to the Brno Moto GP, Venice, Pisa, and then to Garmisch for a Poker Run in the Alps. All two lane back roads.

Sorry no pics on iPad, but they are on my open Facebook. Bradley Charles Nelson.
 
Sorry no pics on iPad, but they are on my open Facebook.

Do this,

[img]link to facebook image[/img]

After you save the post, the linked images will be converted to attachments and permanently stored here on the TWT server. That way when the FB links expire, the images will still display here.
 
I guess my favorite ride changes with my mood, but this one comes to mind frequently. I had just bought an older R1100RT and we were on our first trip along with 4JRanch and his wife, Mrs. 4J. We left the Brenham / La Grange area and headed toward Kerrville taking the Devil's Backbone and 473 along the way. We stopped in Sisterdale to visit the winery (photo.) The following day we rode the Sisters.

Anyone who knows the 4Js know they are fast and it was work riding two up on that old RT to keep up with their ST1300s, but keep up we did. It was supposed to rain that day and we had the Sisters to ourselves. The old RT must have bottomed out several times along 335. I rode too fast and fully expected my wife to get off the bike for ever. But no, this was her first trip and she had a blast.

We stayed in Kerrville, hiked a mile to Mamacitas for Texmex and Margaritas that night - drinking and riding don't mix. On the way home the promised rain hit, blinding rain, and I learned that the HES sensor was bad, leaving us stranded in New Braunfels. A 100 mile AAA tow got us back to the farm. Adventure isn't about what you get into, but about how well you deal with it. This trip, my Mrs handled it well.

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One thing this thread makes clear is: I need to get out and ride more! I'm inspired by many of the places and trips you folks have listed

Second, I don't really have a favorite, but the top rides are all very special for different reasons. I grew up riding from Texas to Colorado on the back of my dad's GS850 every other summer (my brother got the other years). The ride to Amarillo was always brutal, but after Raton pass it was great. Most memorable was the ride into Ouray, CO in a pouring rain. My dad told me not to move and I felt like I didn't flex a single muscle for 45 minutes. That trip had all the beauty of the Rocky Mountains through Ouray, Silverton, Durango, Craig, and Estes Park. That time with my dad was the best and can't be replicated.

My other favorites are all with my wife. We took the dirtbikes (CRF250x & CRF 150) to Ouray and rode Imogene & Engineer and a few others. She had never ridden before we got together and learned only 2 years before this trip. She rode well and saw things she'd never otherwise have seen. Sharing that with her and seeing her skills rise to the occasion was better than any other off-road experience I've had. On road with her was our honeymoon, an Edelweiss tour of New Zealand (R1150RT). The roads and scenery were amazing and the people were great. We celebrated our 10th Anniversary on an Edelweiss Tour of Tuscany (R1200RT). Great food, roads, and scenery. For the latter, we had the benefit of Bluetooth intercoms which was a game changer.

I'm shooting for a Celtic Rider Ireland tour this summer if a few things fall into place - maybe it will make the favorites list.
 
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