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Author Topic: Motorcyclists Mecca....  (Read 1035 times)

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Offline strummer

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Motorcyclists Mecca....
« on: May 09, 2020, 09:05:22 am »
Hi all
Being here unable to go for a ride I was thinking where I would go if I could and started to wonder how it is for the other riders around the world...
For us Italian one of most desirable place to go is the furthest up in Europe which is Nordkapp, in Norway.
Probably the Scandinavian don't give a monkey to go there, maybe their mecca is in Spain or here in Italy...
My question is: what is yours out there?


Peace & Anarchy


Offline ShakerNorm

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Re: Motorcyclists Mecca....
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2020, 04:16:06 am »
Here in Western Canada, I think our Mecca is the Rocky Mountains.  From Calgary, we head West along the OLD Trans-Canada Highway (Highway #1A) to Banff, and then along the Bow Valley Parkway (again the #1A) to Lake Louise, where it merges with the newer Trans Canada.  The 1A is an old 2-lane highway with BEAUTIFUL scenery, and immensely fun twisties. But it also has NO shoulders, DEEP ditches, and barbed wire fences alongside, so if you don't pay your respects to the Road Gods, it WILL kill you - it usually kills 3 or 4 riders every year.

From Lake Louise, there's several ways to go - North along Highway #93 (the Icefields Parkway) takes you to see the Columbia Icefields, the Columbia Icefields Skywalk, and north to Jasper, and you're then on the Yellowhead Highway (#16), where you can go either West through the Mountains, or East back towards Edmonton.

Or you can go West from Lake Louise along the Trans-Canada (#1), where there are still MORE options! 

The last time I went through, I went West along the #1, through Yoho and Glacier National Parks to Revelstoke, then South along Highway 23, rode the ferry across Arrow Lake, then South to Nakusp. Then Southeast along Highway #6, and East on #31A to Kaslo.  Highway 31A is probably one of the prettiest stretches of road ANYWHERE in the world!  HUGE Majestic Mountains all around you, Lush forest, and a beautifully fun twisty 2-lane road with streams and waterfalls along for the view. I could ride that road every day for the rest of my life and NEVER get tired or bored of it! ;D  From Kaslo, we went South (highway #31) to Balfour, Rode the Ferry across the lake, and continued South to reach the Crowsnest Highway (#3) where we headed East again. Passing through Cranbrook, the Three Sisters (mountains), and the Crowsnest Pass.  The highway goes through the rubble from the collapse of Turtle Mountain in 1903 where the landslide wiped out the town of Frank (the Frank Slide), and for the first time in almost 1000 km, you're NOT surrounded by mountains. :o  Heading North to Calgary, take Highway #22 (the Cowboy Trail) and enjoy the ride through the Foothills, but don't forget to stop at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump - a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  You can ride the Cowboy Trail all the way back to the Trans Canada (#1) again, and back to Calgary.

If you like twisties and mountains, a trip like this (or you could go even further west for more mountain roads) is HEAVEN!  Try to stay OFF the Major Highways (like the Trans-Canada, Yellowhead, or Crowsnest Highways) and ride the older and smaller roads. Those are the MOST fun, but also the most challenging, too.  There isn't twisties like the Tail of the Dragon, but the Dragon doesn't have 3000 foot cliffs on one side and solid granite walls on the other side of a twisty 2-lane with logging trucks coming at you, either! :o  Drop your bike on the Dragon, and you skid along, but usually get up - skidding off a 1000 meter drop into a canyon of rock is a once in a lifetime mistake that you won't get a chance to repeat.  But the scenery is WORTH IT! And on the whole, the roads are usually pretty good and relatively safe if you pay attention.
NOBODY hates winter more than a Canadian Biker!

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Offline strummer

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Re: Motorcyclists Mecca....
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2020, 08:26:58 am »
Tail of the dragon...
I love the sound of it!
Who knows...
Twisty roads are very common here in the north-east of Italy but I would love to come over and ride in the USA and Canada too.
Of course it would be very expensive for me but before I would be too old I may pay a visit..
There're so many place over there too
Like the ones Joko posted....
So many places
So little time...
Peace & Anarchy

Offline asarms87

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Re: Motorcyclists Mecca....
« Reply #4 on: May 11, 2020, 01:16:31 am »
Highway 20 in Washington State is one of the best rides in the country!


Offline srinath

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Re: Motorcyclists Mecca....
« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2020, 01:30:23 pm »
I-77 between Charlotte and Columbia is awesome.
There are spots between these 2 that are dead straight and flat.
You can see a cop lurking 3 days in advance.

Cool.
Srinath.

Offline strummer

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Re: Motorcyclists Mecca....
« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2020, 02:13:02 pm »

You can see a cop lurking 3 days in advance.

Cool.
Srinath.
[/quote]

You killed me man ;D ;D
Peace & Anarchy

Offline srinath

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Re: Motorcyclists Mecca....
« Reply #7 on: May 11, 2020, 03:49:10 pm »

You can see a cop lurking 3 days in advance.

Cool.
Srinath.

You killed me man ;D ;D
[/quote]

I know right, and its only a 90 minute ride.
Smooth as a table top, clear, sunny and straight as an arrow. I swear, easy 120 mph road. Ofcourse there's the occasional Semi running 69 being passed by a semi doing 70.

Cool.
Srinath.

Offline josh

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Re: Motorcyclists Mecca....
« Reply #8 on: May 11, 2020, 04:06:31 pm »
Highway 20 in Washington State is one of the best rides in the country!





I just did HWY 20. I’m out of snohomish. Rode up hwy 9 and jumped on HwY 20 west over deception pass then we jumped on the ferry cruised back to Everett. I’ll head east on 20 sometime soon.

Offline E

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Re: Motorcyclists Mecca....
« Reply #9 on: May 12, 2020, 05:55:17 pm »
2 houses down from my home - START - North / West Run
10 mile Ride there / then back 10 miles
3 or 4 45* turns at 30 mph
3 or 4 90* turns at 20 mph -
plus 3 or 4 good gradual lean turns at 50 mph
farming land - pass some cattle - this is my popular SHORT Ride after golf
North Run
.....i have a 30 mile there / 30 mile back that has 4 or 5 up/down and curves at 50 mph or slower
E - 1st John 4:10