#EscapeTheApple

The Northwestern United States has made it abundantly clear that its motorcycling culture is dominated by the adventure segment. Every BMW F800 and KTM 690 Enduro rider has bestowed upon us their wisdom of riding without a chase vehicle and letting the excitement of the ride dictate the adventure.

While the triumph of Idaho may have been unexpected, Oregon is truly the best kept secret in sport riding. If it wasn’t the riders in surrounding states warning us of jail time for speeding, it was the lack of route information that almost had us slabbing straight to Northern California. It wasn’t until we started talking to some local sport riders at the gas stations, situated few and far between, that we realized the benefit of having some insider knowledge.

If someone told me that the best sport riding in the West was going to be in Idaho, I would have laughed, called them crazy, and booked my ticket to Colorado. Yes, the scenery in some of the other states will attract attention with Facebook posts showing pictures of incredible twisting roads scaling epic mountains, but this trip is for true riders, not just bragging rights between friends. This is for the kind of riders who would rather get after it on a racetrack with a blurred desert than look over a cliff on a weather-beaten switchback while the bike strains for air at 12,000 feet.

If you are looking to experience all types of America’s riding in one state, Utah is your destination. We started at Utah Lake State Park, which is centrally located three hours from the barren red desert of Moab and an hour from the green forest-covered mountains of the Nebo and Alpine Loops. In between the two extreme environments lie classic desert plains, which lead to the fascinating flats of Bonneville. Just north is the city of Salt Lake. If you are traveling from outside of the States and want to see the entire American backdrop in one week, nothing compares to the diversity of Utah.

One week in Colorado just wasn’t enough, and if I have to blame it on the average 19 mph uphill speed of our truck and a long detour through Wyoming’s Route 80 to avoid the mountain passes of I-70, then so be it. But ask anyone riding a motorcycle here, and they’ll agree we made the right decision. With the idea that some of us might decide to call this place our post-adventure home, a second week gave us a chance to experience everything that Colorado has to offer. No flukes or honeymoon effects here, just real, raw Colorado.

If you know how to ride a motorcycle, book your next vacation to Colorado. Immediately. It’s the mecca for riders of all kinds, attracting adventurous riders from around the world to ride above mile-high elevations in epic scenery, and endless twisties. It’s undoubtedly lived up to its hype.

After the ride of my life in the Ozarks, New Mexico was expected to be a pass-through state as we made our way to Pikes Peak and the hype that is Colorado. With rumors of strict traffic law enforcement, a reputation for hot, flat desert, and a drastic change of scenery from the green mountains back east, expectations were set fairly low. But never have I been so wrong.

One month, $2800, 6000 miles and 13 states later, we concluded the first half of our cross-country voyage in Missouri, on arguably the best all-around road in the region: Route 125.  Now some may argue that the long hillside sweepers of West Virginia hold the blue ribbon, or that the tight mountain switchbacks on Route 16 in Virginia take the cake.

On the way back from the Grand Canyon of Arkansas and a 300-mile tour of some of the best roads in the Ozarks, we ended our day’s route careening down a mountain, crouched tightly behind windscreens in one of the most nail-biting rides in motorcycling. Miles of switchbacks and sweepers painted the Mona Lisa of Motorcycle roads on Route 123.

Ah, Tennessee, my favorite state. There was something about crossing the border into The Volunteer State that melted the stress of Virginia away and put me into the motorcycle zen I knew this trip was about. With the second episode out and the team in a good routine of riding and shooting, the relatively minuscule problems related to a trip like this became faint memories.

Our second segment in the trip is the Virginias. We were met with an idyllic American farmer landscape of rolling hills tattooed with freshly paved curves that lasted for miles. Although we had little traffic to interfere with the ride, the twists and turns proved to be both a mental and physical exercise for the motorcycle muscles, not to mention the first crash of the trip.

This is the first installment of “Escape the Apple,” an idea hatched by Eric Guidice who, at 28, decided he needed to take an epic motorcycle road trip to disengage from the drudgery of normal life. Click this link to read the setup to this nine-part series that will be seen on Motorcycle.com.