Angeles National Forest/San Bernardino National Forest

What a trip!  Angeles National Forest, Angeles Crest Highway, San Bernardino National Forest, Big Bear Lake, Rim of the World Highway and more is some fantastic riding with awesome views. These places are pretty popular and well-known, for good reason. At least on the San Bernardino side, it’s pretty well known for both summer and winter outdoor recreation, and stays pretty busy all year long because of that. Great hiking, water sports, biking, skiing/snowboarding, it’s got it all outdoors. The Angeles National Forest side isn’t quite the same, being more relaxed with less attractions, and the vehicle traffic reflects that. It’s generally nice and cool when surrounding temps aren’t, and the roads are pretty well maintained. I made this a 2-day trip, but you can definitely spend more time around the area. It’s worth it if you do!

Pioneer Saloon

If you’re looking for a place to ride in the area to a spot that is both a decent ride and has great food, Pioneer Saloon is probably the top recommendation.

My First Track Day: LVMS, 21Sep2019

I just did my first full motorcycle track day at Las Vegas Motor Speedway outside course, the first time I was actually out riding on track anyway. It was awesome, and was everything I expected. Everyone says the track is super addictive, and they aren’t joking, because I’m hooked!

Basic Gear to Buy and Wear

Have you ever seen road rash, or what the doctors at the hospital have to do to clean it? If not, you should look it up so you know exactly what that looks like. It’s not pretty. Your gear is the only thing keeping you from nasty scars, serious injury or death, and that’s what you need to think about when buying.

Zion National Park and Dixie National Forest

Continuing on from my last two posts about National Parks, here is Zion National Park, with an added bonus of Dixie National Forest. Zion is famous for a reason, it is beautiful! There are numerous tall rock formations, and you can spend a ton of time just staring up at the canyon walls. Zion is actually a part of the Grand Staircase, and a good chunk of history is visible on the geologic formations’ walls.

Where to Buy Gear

I’m in the Las Vegas area, so this post is based on that, but you can substitute the local spots for whatever you have around you. Local places are usually better, as you’re able to try things on and get help without having to ship things and wait. Wherever you get it, make sure you get what you want, and most importantly, make sure it fits.

Death Valley National Park

Ah, Death Valley! It’s a famous park, and for good reason. It has amazing views, some great landmarks, and holds a couple records. It’s 282 feet below sea level at Badwater Basin, which is the lowest point in North America. What makes that even more incredible is that it’s less than 100 miles from the highest point in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney! It also certainly lives up to it’s name; Death Valley holds the record for the highest ambient air temperature ever recorded on Earth at 134*F back in 1913, it holds the record for the highest surface temperature ever recorded on Earth at 201*F in 1972, and it also averages only 2.36 inches of rain per year. On top of that, the night skies are incredible, as this is one of the darkest places you can visit. The Milky Way Galaxy is visible to the naked eye, and if you’ve never seen space at a place as dark as this park is, the first time you see it will be unbelievable. There is some good camping here, just don’t go camping during the summer. As I said in my SeKi post, I really believe that the US National Park system is a great achievement, and this is just another example of just how good it is.

Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Parks

Before I get into this, there are three different parks I’ll be talking about: Sequoia National Forest, King’s Canyon National Park, and Sequoia National Park. You should know the locations, differences, and general info about the three. Also, I realize it’s not super local to Las Vegas. It’s a good 7 hours or more just to get to the start of the two parks, and then possibly a whole other day to ride through it and enjoy it. I suggest this be a 3-day trip, though I didn’t ride part of the route through Sequoia National Forest that I’ll describe later, I only went through Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Parks (referred to as SeKi together). I’ll describe both farther down. Regardless, I highly recommend making the trip, it’s super worth it. The United States’ National Park system is one of the US’s greatest achievements, and this park is a fantastic example of that.

Valley of Fire State Park

Valley of Fire State Park has some of the most amazing rock formations you’ll see around Vegas. The name of this place certainly holds up, as much of the rock in the park is the reddest red I’ve seen on a rock.

Choosing a Motorcycle

Exciting! You’ve decided to get a bike and change your life. Bike shopping can be really fun. This is also sort of a complicated process. If you’re brand new to riding, chances are pretty good you know what you want in your head. You have a certain type of bike that you think looks good. Please, if you’re thinking about buying a bike based on looks alone, take an extra week or two, do some test rides and other stuff I listed below, and make a better-informed decision.