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What sort of rides do you like?

2K views 18 replies 14 participants last post by  Randarosa 
#1 · (Edited)
Was thinking about this today as I was cruising through a local county road - that even though we are riding high performance bikes, some of my favorite rides aren't about "high performance." Today was beautiful, great weather, and the fluff from the cottonwoods accumulating on the ground like snow, and I was cruising maybe 10 mph over the limit- and loving it!
And then there are the nighttime rides- tonight a full moon, a curvy rural road, maybe 40-45 mph, crisp air, noone on the road. Just great.
Then there was the time I was on a tour of Southern Utah, near Escalante, and the road (hwys 12 &24 I think) were some of the best motorcycle roads I've ever been on. And the scenery about as beautiful as anything you can imagine. I was struggling, because I wanted to ride the hell out of the road, but wanted to look at the scenery as well. I actually road it twice- once for the curves and the speed, then 25-30 miles later, turned around and road it again to check out the scenery- and didn't at all feel like I was wasting time.
So what are some of your favorite ways to ride? A high performance road you know well? Exploring some new place? Riding in groups with friends? Solo adventures looking for an out of the way place for lunch? Packed down with camping gear and a week to spend? Or the 30 minute out of the way ride home? Or just enjoying being aboard an incredible motorcycle?
I imagine those fortunate enough to have multiple bikes have a different bike for different kinds of riding- but the Brute is pretty versatile, and can play different roles.
Looking foward to your stories...
 
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#2 ·
so far my best ride ever was in the mountains of luzon island philippines on a rented 400CC honda super 4. I started in san fernando in the morning and it took me about 4 hours to reach the bottom of the mountain where you pay a toll (20 pesos) and proceed up kennon road. the road is very narrow and pretty much hugs the mountain side with a good drop off on your left.
so many beautifull curves it seems like you never stop leaning. the scenery is amazing! lush jungle mountain sides with a river gorge in the bottom. small villages every so often carved into the openings.

someone built a house on the opposing side of the river on top of a large rock outcropping, the only access to the house is via rope bridge over the river! very cool stuff.
the road requires all your attention if you ride at a brisk pace, and the traffic in the philippines can be deadly so i`m sure i missed out on some great photo ops.
if memory serves, you start out around sea level and at baguio city you reach 7000 feet above. during the ascent you can visually see the change in vegetation and terrain, and feel the temperature drop.

i rode around baguio city for an hour and stopped for a beer and water. i was racing daylight so i decided to get back down the mountain. now the best part!
it is possible to descend a different road called the marcos highway and finish the mountain right where you started.
going down via marcos is much different, 2 lanes in each direction and a much faster road. i flogged the piss out of my honda,
the whole way down, it is possible to reach 100 mph in some of the straights and 50 mph banked sweepers are plentifull.
the locals were dropping all work to gawk at me as i strafed the villages coming down,
it is one of those roads that erases all extraneous thought and gets your brain working on the essentials, MAN, MACHINE, and ROAD!

at the bottom i was covered in sweat and full of adrenaline, it was hard to go back to straight line mode.
the traffic in the philippines is pretty much "size rules" and every form of conveyance shares the same narrow roads, which are complete anarchy all day long.
i broke every rule i ever learned regarding traffic safety and rode like a complete maniac for the entire trip, police worries and tickets are not a concern there, you simply have to survive.
i split lanes with oncoming traffic at 80 mph+ many times, and i felt very calm while doing this.

that was the best ride of my life and i intend to go back and do it again, but next time i will go further into the mountains and see what paved treasures i can find, probably a week or more of jungle mountain riding.

i have been on rides in several asian countries, but the lawless mountain rides in the philippines are my all time favorite.
 
#6 ·
I always ride on the secondary roads and on the narrow country lanes. You know, the ones the width of just one car. I live in the middle of the fields so there are plenty of those roads around. Most of them are old and very curvy, with little or no traffic, except for a tractor and a biker or 2. Cos the bike is so light and the steering really great you can really swing her around the bends. A lot of fun.
I love to take her out either at dawn or dusk. In the morning it's great to smell the fresh air, having the feeling that no one is awake yet, hearing only the sound of the bike. In the evening it's just a very rewarding end of the day. Bit of a present to myself. Always feel happy afterwards.
I only ride at night when I have no other choice (ie went out, lost track of time, it got dark and I have to get home). I like it as well, but only on a road with lights cos the headlight is rather weak. Or with a clear sky and a full moon, then it's also great.

Oh yeah, and under bridges and in tunnels if possible. For the obvious reason :)
 
#7 ·
I generally stick to the local residential canyons in the Glendale-Pasadena area because they don't have too much traffic, cops, or people blasting through the canyons. It's a low risk ride for me and where I don't really worry about not coming home. I'm only about 2 miles for Angles Crest but avoid for the reason I mentioned.

These local canyons are the reason I love living in Los Angeles. Canyons are just right up my street whereas when I lived in Phoenix, Arizona, they were about 30 minutes away.
 
#8 ·
in the cool mornings its sometimes nice to just cruise.....

but once it gets hot, I like to go fast, as it takes my mind off the heat.

Now i would like to get a standard bike sooner or later for something to just cruise around the back roads on with my son or daughter...maybe a triumph bonneville or something. Cruising on a F4 or Duc 998 is just torture.
 
#9 ·
I like all kinds of rides....some more then others, but I like them all.
 
#13 ·
Not sure if I understand the question....but I will try to respond.

Physically, I am in Jackson, TN at the moment.

Mentally, .....I am in several places all at the same time.....too much stuff to get done that I cant get anything done. Need to focus.

where I would like to be.....retired raising my babies.

working on that though.......I will be going on vacation in a couple weeks, so maybe I can re-group then.
 
#15 ·
My favorite street ride was the first time i met up with someone from this board. There were 4 MV's, we started out on the highway a little, then toward a well known mountain road, back on the highway, an even better mountain road (that i wish we had the video footage of) and then back the same way we came. A long ass day, around 8 hours or riding, my butt hurt for the next week, but totally worth it!

Outside of that, everytime i go to the track i realize what these machines are designed for. It is my new addiction, and makes street rides feel tame.

Great idea for a post! Good reads all around.
 
#16 ·
I like riding by myself on long trips. Especially poorly planned ones using google maps and a few scribbled notes like, "follow route ## for four miles. exit ##. Two lefts, GO! GO! GO!" or some sort of idiocy.

I tend to bring my GPS in case I end up completely lost and almost out of fuel.
 
#17 ·
Lewdie, where are you.......?

Thanks for the reply,
Sorry if my Kiwi humour dosen't translate. I was hoping you had a comment on bitchy fat women, as I am lead to believe you are quite popular with the ladies....
No offence intended brother and sorry for the thread hi-jack.
 
#18 ·
no offense taken at all.....

I thought you might have been aluding to Randys comment on the "bitchy fat women"......

My response to your question "where are you?..." was crafted in that manner for a couple reasons....

1. I have really been a bit busy and have not been on my game with witty responses.

2. I did not want to call out Randy as being two face and stereo typing fat women....but since I must explain myself I will. You see I have super secret photos of Randy nuzzling the hairy armpit of a very very large fat lady. I would post them, but this is a family friendly forum.

SO, no offense taken.
 
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