06-03-2019, 04:53 AM
Just completed a week-long vacation with my wife through the national parks in California - Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Death Valley, along with checking out Lake Tahoe and Mammoth.
Along the way, we spotted groups of bikers on long-distance riding vacations. Most were either adventure tour bikes like R1200GS, Gold Wings and Harleys. I applauded them all, as the weather was not the greatest. I watched a pair of V-Stroms follow me into the worst sand storm I've ever driven through in Death Valley, a GS passed me in my Honda wagon in a cataclysmic hail storm, and every day included at least some rain.
Naturally, I chatted up these guys at gas stops when the opportunity arose. The most interesting to me was a guy on a Thruxton, laden with duffel bags, riding with a group of Harleys. Riding a similar vintage Bonneville, it wouldn't be my first choice for a days-long ride through mountain roads, but like they say, it's not what you ride, but that you ride, right?
And I felt like a hero when I spent a weekend on my old Beemer.
Along the way, we spotted groups of bikers on long-distance riding vacations. Most were either adventure tour bikes like R1200GS, Gold Wings and Harleys. I applauded them all, as the weather was not the greatest. I watched a pair of V-Stroms follow me into the worst sand storm I've ever driven through in Death Valley, a GS passed me in my Honda wagon in a cataclysmic hail storm, and every day included at least some rain.
Naturally, I chatted up these guys at gas stops when the opportunity arose. The most interesting to me was a guy on a Thruxton, laden with duffel bags, riding with a group of Harleys. Riding a similar vintage Bonneville, it wouldn't be my first choice for a days-long ride through mountain roads, but like they say, it's not what you ride, but that you ride, right?
And I felt like a hero when I spent a weekend on my old Beemer.