| Published June 29, 2000 10 great places to hit the open road By Laura Bly, USA TODAY 
Big sky country: Guidebook author Gary McKechnie takes a lonesome road in Montana. (By Nancy Howell, Prominent Features) | Three decades after Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper thundered across the Southwest in that celluloid tribute to incoherent rebellion called Easy Rider, millions of law-abiding baby boomers (and others) are donning black leather, saddling up and hitting the open road. Gary McKechnie, who rode 20,000 miles across 31 states for his new book, Great American Motorcycle Tours (Avalon Travel Publishing, $17.95, www.gamtours.com), steers USA TODAY's Laura Bly to some favorites.
Berkshires-Central Vermont
Lenox, Mass., to Stowe, Vt.
Catch a concert at Tanglewood in Lenox before rolling north for a five-day excursion into Vermont on highways 7A, 11, 4 and 100, "some of the friendliest winding roads in America." What's on tap: "flower gardens, pumpkin patches and Woodstock," followed by "the mountain-rich roads of Stowe and the ice-cream-rich factory of Ben and Jerry's."
Wild West
Livingston, Mont., to Jackson, Wyo.
What may be "the best run in the West" starts in a "Steinbeck-style town filled with characters from a Western novel." For the next 210 miles, the ride continues south into Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Tetons and an alpine run through pine-bordered roads. End of the line: Jackson Hole, a "cowboy Carmel" that's home to McKechnie's favorite saloon, the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. 
San Juan Skyway: Curves demand the best of a motorcycle rider on the Wild Colorado Run. | California Coast
Calistoga to Carmel, Calif.
Allow 10 days to get off the bike and sample the "holy trinity of California's walking towns ": Calistoga, Sausalito and Carmel. Napa Valley roads near Calistoga are "an idyllic mix of the Alps, Dolomites and Greek Peloponnesus," while the Pacific Coast Highway run to the Mediterranean-style village of Sausalito is a "paved fun house." The seaside ride south to Carmel is "dangerous within limits, vast beyond measure and beautiful beyond description."
Red Rocks
Sedona, Ariz., to Zion National Park, Utah
This five-day ride, best in early fall, starts in Sedona with its Martian backdrop of red rocks, then changes to a lush and challenging run up Oak Creek Canyon before delivering the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Vermillion Cliffs and Zion National Park "perhaps the most soul-satisfying place you'll find."
San Juan Skyway
Durango to Mesa Verde, Colo.
"Every image you've gleaned from beer commercials is right here," in a towering, 200-mile ride that propels travelers above 11,000 feet. From Durango up to Ouray and over to Telluride, look for a proliferation of waterfalls, switchbacks, sheer drops and frontier towns before an "adrenaline-pumping ascent" to the mysterious ruins of Mesa Verde. 
Hudson River Valley: The Bear Mountain bridge en route to Saratoga Springs. | Blue Ridge Parkway
Mount Airy to Hendersonville, N.C.
Andy Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy is a great introduction to the parkway, a two-lane ribbon of asphalt that ranks as one of the most visited sites in the national park system. The 200-mile trip through the Appalachians "will have you riding at angles Pythagoras couldn't calculate," and take you south of Asheville to Hendersonville, the geographical "epicenter of Carolina culture."
Black Hills
Deadwood to Custer State Park, S.D.
Most riders know South Dakota for the legendary bike rally in Sturgis, but "there's more to the state than a single week in August." A four-day meander through the Black Hills "will teach you that west isn't a direction but a lifestyle." Cruise the Wilderness Loop at Custer State Park and "you're on a motorcycle safari in the most perfect state park I've seen."
Blues Cruise
Memphis, Tenn. to New Orleans
Allow a week for this enriching musical journey just east of the Mississippi River. Head down Highway 61 from the birthplace of rock 'n' roll into the Mississippi Delta, "where raw music grew from the cotton fields." But don't come for the scenery: "You'll understand why Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker started singing the blues there was nothing else here to do."
Hudson River Valley
Tarrytown to Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Best in summer and early fall, this four-day trip starts just 25 miles north of the Big Apple in the European-style village of Tarrytown. Cruise along the Hudson from Hyde Park to Saratoga Springs for a "muscle-melting bath in the hot springs" before tackling a side trip through the Adirondack Mountains via Route 9 to Lake George.
Western Desert
Las Vegas to Yosemite National Park, Calif.
From Las Vegas, this mettle-testing, six-day run drags riders across "treacherous" passes in the Amargosa Range before descending into the stark landscape of Death Valley and ending with a sweep into Yosemite Valley. |
