A motorcycle is the only way to see America. If you ride, you already understand how the feelings of freedom and nature are enhanced. When traveling by car or plane these feelings are missing. Gone.
Which is why I ride.

When I travel by motorcycle, I feel the wind and see the endless skies and stop when I want and where I want, fetching my rod from the saddlebag and fly-fishing for an hour or two. Hours don’t matter, really, because on the road I develop a more natural use of time and never feel as if I have to be anywhere.
Which is why I ride.

I have a friend who joins me each year on a long run from Los Angeles to Montana. On this ride we have only two rules: We will ride only back roads (a lengthy process when exiting LA), and we have no fixed destination on Day One—only the desire to return to the open road. Within a few hours we’ve extricated ourselves from the city and its traffic and are cruising north on 395, threading the needle between the Inyo Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. A motorcycle may be just a vehicle, but it is also the instrument we use to experience life, to explore, to discover new people and places, and to affirm our friendship.
Which is why I ride.

Gary McKechnie has written the first national motorcycle touring guide, and I trust it will lead you to moments like these. It’s fun to read and filled with pertinent information for riders, and the 20 tours he describes can rescue you from the interstate highways and deliver you into the heart of America. He’s traveled the country and found back roads and general stores, national parks and small town diners, Western saloons and British pubs. He leads you to roads laced with the smell of pine trees and bordered by rushing streams, where you can park your bike, fetch your rod out of your saddlebag, and spend a few hours fly-fishing.
Which is why I ride.

About the Author...

Gary McKechnie has more than 20 years of motorcycle riding under his belt. His travel features have appeared in publications such as the Miami Herald, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and United Airlines' Hemispheres. A former advertising copywriter, stand-up comedian, and Walt Disney World Jungle Cruise skipper, Gary is a professional speaker and founder of the Charles Kuralt Travel Society. He lives in Mount Dora, Florida.