[detdrbuzzard]

for me it was a trip to mackinaw, mi. with the family when i was 10yrs old, seeing all the motorcycles heading north. they all seemed to be in mackinaw when we got there, i just wanted to be out on the open road like they were

 

[Two Wheel Wing]

Fossil did it.. It's all his fault. (And I enjoyed every one of them..)

 

[Luv2fish]

It all started with a solo trip from Seoul Korea to Pusan Korea to ship a motorcycle for a friend in 1980. Back then (I'm not sure about now) motorcycles were not allowed to use the main highway so it was all back roads and even some trails. I was on a Yamaha Maxim 650-4 with a 5 gallon can of gas strapped to the back of the motorcycle. It was a great adventure and I swore to do more. Unfortunately due to military and family commitments it took me 35 years to get my Goldwing to continue the adventure. I don't get as many long distance rides as I would like but when I do it is just as exciting as that trip in 1980.

Steve

 

[fossil92]

Just always wanted to see the beauty of the world from the seat of a motorcycle.

 

[texasdw]

1. I love riding a motorcycle.
2. I love being in the middle of nowhere all by myself.
3. I love being somewhere I've never been before.
4. I love a stamina/ endurance challenge (physically and mentally).

Incidentally, as I approach retirement from my first career, I am eyeing a new career in trucking...ticks all those boxes except #1.

 

[crownfire]

It's an awesome excuse to go see some stuff.

 

[superdave1120]

Getting to see places and meet people I would not have had the chance to otherwise.

 

[Boodad]

For me, I first saw bikers in 1988 eating breakfast at a rest stop on I-40 in AZ while I was on a family trip. The riders were all happy and their bikes looked awesome (one was a trike). I envied them (shortly before I had purchased a small cruiser). I knew then that one day I would ride long trips on a large bike. And I now have those same grins on my face that I first saw 31 years ago on those bikers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[NREMTP]

Initially, I just rode for fun and to commute to work. My CB750 was my sole transportation for a couple of years until it was stolen. Decades later while camping with the family I saw and older guy back his Goldwing and trailer into a nearby campsite. I just had to talk to him and was fascinated at the idea of travelling across country. That reminded me of some of the fantasies I had enjoyed while stuck in school listening to a boring teacher. Fast forward a couple of decades and I was again commuting to work and going solo motorcycle camping a couple times a year. My bike then was a Kawasaki 750 and being an older bike that had not been well cared for, I was constantly wrenching on it (including welding pieces back on it that fell off) and it left me stranded a couple of times. My lovely wife had pity on me and kept telling me to go buy a new bike but the Kaw was a challenge and I can be stupi, um, stubborn. I knew that she had no idea that I wanted a Goldwing. I eventually came around, did a lot of research and lurking on this site. We purchased a leftover 2012 just after I retired in 2013 and learned to ride it. Finally, I could live another one of my dreams.

 

[Oldhand]

My parents had Harley Davidson motorcycles before I was born and until I was in third grade. I have had a moped in Italy, followed by a Honda 750. On Crete, Greece I had a Suzuki 650. Got back to the states and finally got a Harley Davidson FLH Shovelhead. Then several bikes later roada70 series Goldwing pulling a trailer from Tucson, Az to Janesville, Wisconsin and back. Stopped riding to help raise my kids until my 69th Birthday when I got back into riding. With a son in Kellogg, Idaho and sister and brother-in-laws in Oklahoma and La. I plan to put some miles on my 2018 GW.

 

[Cantankerous]

It all started back in about 1983 when I rode my Honda CM400 from here to Sheridan Wyoming. Beat the heck out of me and we went though some rough weather, but it was fun.

 

[Limpy45]

My first long distance trip (over a couple 100 miles) was in 1970 on a 69 CL450 Honda from Fargo ND to Lewiston, Idaho by way of Hwy 2 through Glacier National Park and US 12 from Missoula, Mt to Lewiston. Came home via I90 from Missoula. Have been on Gold Wings since 1979 with a short break until 1st wife and I split up. Then back on the road!!

 

[Midnight Express]

My Dad bought me a new Honda 350 Scrambler in high school.

But the first long trip was on a 1973 Honda 250XL after discharge from the Air Force. 1000 miles in 2 days with an open face helmet and no riding gear. I was hooked.

 

[dsurley]

For me it was getting invited to go on what was supposed to be a 5 day 2500 mile trip from Central Texas to all over west Texas....
it got cut to 3 days and 1200 miles because one of the guys that was riding like an idiot had a bad wreck
I want to do more
I keep trying to talk the wife into flying to her brothers (before the pandemic, well see when this can happen again) in Eastern Canada and I ride to meet her
the she can fly to the oldest place in Montreal.... and I ride to meet her. It is not like the inlaws want to see me as much as they do her

 

[Nelsress]

One of my friends growing up, whose father rode motorcycle when he was younger, got a street bike and started talking about taking trips. I wasn't allowed to have a street bike while living at home but I had a dirt bike. When I was in the Air Force stationed in TX, I bought my first street bike. From there the idea just morphed into one trip which led to another, etc. Obviously I loved hitting the road from the start and still do.

There's not much that I look forward to more than a cross country ride. There's just so much to see and do and I just love the adventure and freedom aspects of getting on the Wing for weeks, ending up thousands of miles away from home and meeting people. A motorcycle trip is one giant adventure. When I was young, we always camped. Nowadays, this 66 year old body wants air conditioning, a hot shower and a good bed after a long day in the saddle.

Fast forward 51 years and I've ridden to and from all of the lower 48 and was planning a ride to Alaska this summer but the virus mania necessitated that I postpone that ride. I just learned about a month ago that Canada was allowing US citizens on their way to Alaska, across the border in WA but it was too late to make reservations by then. Besides, not having ridden ANY motorcycle miles in Canada, a large part of the trip was to ride across Canada from the West side of the Rainbow Bridge outside of Buffalo, to the Alaska-Canada border.

So, being pumped up for a good ride and Alaska scrapped for this year, we're going West to Montana to visit a friend, explore and take some amazing rides down through the Rockies, zig zagging all the way down to Santa Fe. Man, there's just nothing like the scenic route through the Rockies. Scenic roads include Going To The Sun Road (Glacier NP), MT 56 to Ross Creek Cedars, US 12 through Lolo Pass, I 90 from Missoula to Columbus, MT, Beartooth Highway, Chief Joseph Highway, Wind River Canyon, Through Rocky Mtn. NP, Mt. Evans road, Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, Million Dollar Highway, Turquoise Trail, Portions of old Route 66 in NM & TX, etc. How could I NOT have gotten into this full bore!! What's NOT to love!!!

 

[Dugmancorvette1975]

for me it was a trip to mackinaw, mi. with the family when i was 10yrs old, seeing all the motorcycles heading north. they all seemed to be in mackinaw when we got there, i just wanted to be out on the open road like they were

For me a was a trip to the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon,and Yellowstone. It was a great family trip but was jealous of everyone I saw on a motorcycle, especially in the mountains. I have back 12 times on the motorcycle. Best way to travel the states and Canada!

 

[1800BlueRidgeRider]

Traveled all over by a bunch of different means. At one time I had more frequent flyer miles than St. Nick. But almost none of it was on a motorcycle.
When I was 16 my dad gave me my first road bike (after years of dirtbikes), a Honda CB 350. Shortly after I got it some dumbass ran a stoplight and nearly sideswiped me; scared me to death. I parked it and never got back on it.

A few years later I got married and my now ex-wife wouldn't let me have a bike. My now wife grew up with a father who was a charter Goldwing club member and she always rode with him. My first "big bike" was a GL500 Silverwing and I rode it to death. I went through a few other "toys" and finally got my first Goldwing, a '95 1500 SE. I bought it online from a guy in Portland Maine, flew up there, and rode it back home to North Carolina. I was hooked.

Since then I have ridden most all of NC, SC, VA, and TN. My annual vacation trip is in the NC mountains (Blue Ridge Pkwy area.). This year I plan to ride The Dragon, Cherohala Skyway, and other mountain areas. I normally ride alone, as my wife does her vacation trip to the beach with her 90 year old mom and 2 sisters, while they can! I will try to attach a pic of my custom assembled overland camper that pulls nicely with the 1800 Goldwing.

 

[Burnerboy]

My first ride on my cousin's moped around the block when I was 15 yrs old, since then I always wanted to ride..............

Ronnie

 

[Silver-Surfer]

My first long ride was, as a love-struck 20-year old kid. I met my first love up at MTU in Michigan's upper peninsula, but my home town was in Central MI. So what does a guy like that do on Friday, after the summer job week has ended, but jump on his 450 Honda with the megaphone exhaust and proceed to ruin his ears riding the 430 miles up to Painesdale / Houghton / Hancock for a quickie weekend. Then he rides it back on Sunday. Never knew a tire and chain could wear that quickly.


Sing to Him who rides across the heavens, his mighty voice thundering from the sky. Ps 68:33

 

[Bri720a]

I have always loved road trips as a kid. When I was 14 I "borrowed" the family car and took a 9+ hour trip to figure life out.... Of course once I turned 18 I got my first road bike a 1976 Honda 550four. Road it to college and back as often as possible 4+ hours each way and dreamed of taking it across the country etc. Took a break in my 20's because of kids etc. and at 40 I purchased a VTX1800 and immediately made it into a comfortable long distance bike. Recently I purchased my 98 GL1500 and LOVE it!!!!
Watching the miles fly by is really what does it for me. Sure I love beautiful scenery, mountains and cool sights, but I love the empty desert, corn fields for miles just as much. It really is about the distance being covered, clears my mind, gives me time to contemplate and overall resets my soul.