Yep, I did it…1,000,000 miles, yes really, one million lifetime miles and that doesn’t include racing miles. It only took me 50 years but hey…I made it.
It all (long distance traveling) started in 1971, my friends Beny (on a somewhat chopperized Honda 350), Mike on a stock Yamaha 650 and me on a Honda SL350 (which shortly after this trip got converted into a Desert Racer) headed up into the Sierra’s. A week of riding like that got me hooked.
After that it was back and forth to New Mexico…the long way, and all around the Southwest. Next was my first ride up to Canada with my ski racing and riding friend Bud. It was one of those rides where we would camp 3 nights and then hotel it a night so we could shower and sleep comfortably.
But this last trip was special. I spent two weeks with my friend Les and…I crossed the 1,000,000 mile mark somewhere in Montana . We traveled the Western U.S for nearly 6000 miles, rode in 100+ degree weather, got rained on, hailed on, met great people and had one hell of a good time. 
Hundreds of miles at triple digit speeds, and lot’s of gas station stops…my Roadliner drinks lots of 91 octane and Les has to pee a lot (he drinks a LOT of water).
Big bikes drink a lot of dead dinosaurs on this stretch of road, and don’t ask me where this is, I can’t even remember why I walked into the kitchen 15 minutes ago much less where I was five months ago?!?!
Here is yet another part of the ride where we got a chance to let the bikes stretch their legs. I was riding comfortably at about 100 miles per hour and Les was a ways back, but then I saw headlights coming closer..closer and then in the blink of an eye this big blue Harley passes by at 120!!! When did Harley’s get that fast??!!??
Now, those speeds only put us into that storm ahead sooner. Well, it was fun getting there.
The trip was a great experience and I’m happy that Les wanted to do this with me. I love traveling on a motorcycle. You see more, feel more and you are more alive. You, your motorcycle and a good friend seeing the world. What could be better? Not much.
In the Gallery section of this website is the full photo album. It’s kind of random because I’ve pulled photo’s out here and there for other posts but you’ll get an idea of how wonderful this trip really was.
One Million miles…I’m the luckiest guy in the world.
After 5000 plus miles, crazy ass weather, interesting people, good hotels and some maybe not so good, it was time to part ways. Les, a short ( a 150 miles or so..) me…600+ miles to home with Heather and Boscoe.
“Ugghhh, Les…are you sure we’re going the right way???” Turns out, yes we were and what a fun ride.
It was a great day at the North Rim, this was another of Les’ desires for this trip. It was a perfect day in all ways.
It wasn’t a long day ride but it was a long day just the same.
After hiking around different view points of the North Rim of The Grand Canyon…and yes..no matter how many times I have been there it is a whole more than just a big hole in the ground.
Next stop, Flagstaff…
The ride from here was pretty easy but again…great scenery all the way. Never a dull moment…until we got to Kanab. It looked liked we were yet again running into rain however the motorcycle Gods shined on us and we arrived nice and dry. 
Riding through this area was just plain wonderful…we didn’t get rained on! I know this is getting boring to read but those of us who ride long distances each day, triple digit speeds are normal…as are multiple gas stops.
So we ride into Escalante and Les pulls into this Palace of a hotel???? $200 a night? Yes. $200… and I think we were the only ones there besides the ones that work there. Now, we had dinner there in the hotel and it was pretty good and we had a really fun and good conversation with the Chef….he had nothing else to do.
Leaving Pinedale Wyoming it was on to Green River Utah. However, we had to make a stop in Green River Wyoming. Les was noticing oil coming out that shouldn’t be so we made a stop Flaming Gorge Harley Davidson. They were great!!! Les used his handy dandy factory HD GPS that took us right there. I wasn’t allowed to park in front of the store because I was on a “not a Harley”…Ok, just kidding, they were great people. The service manager came out to the parking lot, checked over Les’ bike and told him not to worry, it’s just blow by. I convinced Les that he had to buy a T-Shirt from them and he did. Back on the road.
From here it was onto the Motel 6 in Green river Utah. A pretty easy 400 mile day When we got to town it was smaller than small, but…the motel was just fine, met a really nice couple and their dog out in this area for some dirt bike riding…yes, the Dog did ride.
The restaurant next door was really good, almost as good as the view. Next morning The Grand Escalante Staircase and end the day in Kanab, Utah.
Ok; here was the BIG thing for Les on this trip…Yellowstone National Park. And why shouldn’t it be?!? It truly is a wonder of the world. The only and biggest downside to a National Park like Yellowstone during the summer is………Tourists!! but wait…I’m a tourist too. There are too many of us? Nah, we love these places.
Sturgis, before the mayhem. 
Must be a good place for business? Actually from what I have heard the crowd is actually quite well behaved. We did buy a couple of T-Shirts, you have to right? So, after an hour or so, just so we could say we were there, it was back on the road and into another rain storm…what did we do in a past life to deserve all this rain?? We decided to go into it full throttle…as in somewhere a bit north of 100mph. Good fun. Except my Roadliner drinks a lot of gas at those speeds and gas stations are few and far between in that part of the country.
The ride over Wolf Creek Pass was great. From there to Hill City was a ride that was “how fast can I get there?” It was pretty damn fast.
Next stop, Mount Rushmore. This is incredible. Pictures do not do this monument justice. You have to see it for yourself. The story of how and why it was built is wonderful. I believe that every politician should visit this monument, watch the movie and learn from it.
Traveling through the Badlands of South Dakota, it is really an area that you as a motorcycle rider should see and feel. We did make the obligatory stop at Wall Drug. So next it was over to DeadWood and then to Sturgis. Am I being punished? The good thing is we were there before the chaos of the rally. Oh, and we just missed another rain storm. well, not quite.
I really enjoyed riding through South Dakota. I have a question here though…South Dakota is not a rich state yet the roads are in great shape. They have snow and freezing weather but the roads are well maintained and a pleasure to ride on. California on the other hand, is one of, if not the richest, state in the country and we pay the highest road taxes and our roads are the worst. Whats wrong with this picture??? Not the picture above.
And then we rode straight into another rain storm.
To be continued…
Riding with The Motoworld 