Rides & Roads
Scenic Roads & Routes, Great Destinations & Events
Better Than The Tail
Legends grow as they roll along. Like snowballs they gather hyperbole packed deep in layers until the truth is buried somewhere way beneath. Telling and retelling of ancient stories swell the past until they take on a life of their own, only resembling the original in hazy memory. Good days far removed become epic, the older I get the faster I was and ancient asphalt snakes become the Nurburgring.
Highway 129, i.e. The Tail Of The Dragon, is such legend. Its 318 curves in 11 miles are fact, but there is also some legend around this stretch of twisty tarmac. The Tree of Shame, that tree at the beginning whose bark is a mangled plastic fairing testament to poor decisions adds to the lore, attracting swarming moths of sporty pretenders on everything from Honda Groms to McLaren hypercars. They make the pilgrimage to ride The Dragon, to get the sticker, buy the refrigerator magnet and say they were there.
Neale Bayly Rides: Addiction
My name is Neale Bayly. I’ve been an addict for more than 40 years now and don’t see any signs that I’ll ever recover. My addiction has driven me to the depths of despair and to levels of euphoria that only other addicts will understand. I’ve missed out on steady employment, making large interest payments, storage sheds full of shit and closets full of expensive clothes. When I go to sleep at night, I’m haunted by the memories that drive me further into my addiction.
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Helen Upson- A Kiwi Roams America
Helen is a tough, crusty old Kiwi, hardened by miles and years, but with an infectious smile and warm personality. Over coffee and hot chocolate, we discussed her adventures. And what adventures she’s had.
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Riding Into The New Year
Sometimes, a motorcycle ride is not only enjoyable but therapeutic, even deeply soul satisfying. Such was the ride I took by myself on January 1, 2023, New Years Day. The perfect way to bid farewell to 2022, and welcome 2023. I needed it.
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An Englishman In Ukraine, Part 3
Trapped in the city of Mykolaiv, Ukraine as the air-strike warnings howled across the city, we made the decision to move to a nearby park. Out in the open we hoped that we would be as far from any buildings as we could if they got hit. And, if they hit the park we’d be gone quickly.
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To Give Is To Gain
Motorcyclists are a generous lot, giving of our time, talents and resources to worthy causes, year-round. During the Christmas season, however, “Biker Goodwill” ramps up even more, with charity rides and events dotting the landscape and nearly every day until the new year. We especially love children’s causes, whether it be for underprivileged boys and girls, kids with severe illnesses, or recent loss and orphaned children. Those definitely tug at our heartstrings. Beneath the leather and loud pipes, we are softies for serving those in need around us.
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Haunted Highways, Part 3
Valerie and I had ridden through Old West towns infested with spirits fun and foul. We galloped east near the New Mexico border and the stunning Chiricahua wilderness, a great place to hike or camp or eat a Bologna sandwich. It was a beautiful, sightseeing day, until deep and dark clouds, pregnant with rain, dumped their water on us. We got monsooned. If this has never happened to you, it’s a lot like somebody dumping a swimming pool on your head. Visibility zero, soaked to the bone in milliseconds, eyes filling with stinging sunblock runoff. Yes, it rains in Arizona, sometimes supernaturally so.
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Haunted Highways, Part 2
Tombstone remains a living monument to a romantic if murderous era. Its clapboard buildings and wooden sidewalks stir up images of cowboy heroes and villains, the likes of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo, as well as the Clanton and McLaury clans, now taking up permanent residence on Boot Hill, where moldering graves are marked by rotting wooden tombstones. Their historic shootout near the OK Corral is known around the world. The Wild West is preserved in the town’s original 1880s’ buildings. The celluloid stuff you saw on TV is here to experience, live and undead.
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Haunted Highways
Tales of the haunted abound. They’re everywhere; they surround us; they know us. Restless spirits seem to have infested our world no matter where we try to run or hide. What are they trying to tell us? What do they want? Are they simply echoes, a kind of resonance from the afterlife, the last sound of a soul as it departs this earth? Or is it something else, something more menacing? Could these be lost souls searching for a warm body? Your body?
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