Guy Boutin's Motorcycle Touring and Travel Pages

Adventures in Sport Touring with the Honda ST 1100, 1300 and the BMW 1200RT

Exploring North America...One Road at a Time

This photo is from my 2002 West Coast trip.  Brother Dennis Ryan and I posed for this picture on the Continental Divide in Yellowstone National Park.  We spent the day touring the park.  Little did I know in a little less than 18 months, my good friend would be gone.  We returned to the tents that evening and spent a quiet night at the campsite.  We ate supper at the Canyon Lodge cafeteria.  I feel special I was able to spend so much quality time with him in the final months of his life.  Memories I will always have.

The Highlands of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia from the Cabot Trail. The East Coast version of the Pacific Coast Highway.  The hills roll gently to the waterway, and out to the North Atlantic.  The Maritime Ride of 2002.

Back to the West Coast at Big Sur, California.  This is just a small sample of the scenery you will find on the Pacific Coast Highway.  Arguably, the most famous highway in America.  You will find colors in Big Sur you can't find anywhere else.  The scenery and the challenge of the road itself are unmatched.  Can't wait to get back out there.

Southern boys loose on the land.  Key Largo, Florida is the setting.  That's Sal Landa of Miami on my right, with Ron Epperly and "Uncle Phil," on my left.  It was late January and we were returning from Key West, when we stopped for breakfast, where this shot was taken.  The temps were well above 80.  Living in the south does have its advantages.   My travels have allowed me to meet many folks, all have brightened my life.  All this great life experience, and riding 2 wheels.  Doesn't get any better.  

The Maine Coast, is not unlike that of Central and Northern California-rocks and cold water.  Uncle Phil took this picture on our way from Canada.  We were heading south to the Blue Ridge after a memorable night in Camden, Maine.    Photo Phil Derryberry

California 58.  What a ride I had on this  highway.  A great way to start a trip back east.  Excellent road surface and no traffic.  I carved the ST smoothly and with purpose on this morning.  Picture yourself coming through this sweeping right hander, then picking your line for the hard left coming at you.  I worked it for 50 miles.  Left, back up, right, brake, gear down, accelerate, and on to the next.  Why they call it "sport touring."

On this day, I  had crossed the Colorado Rockies and Front Range, on my way to Amarillo, Texas.  The ride took me through the town of Pritchett, Colorado.  A dried up and lonesome looking place.  I did not see one person on the city streets the 15 minutes I loitered around. 

This landscape, found on the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec, has a name, but I can't remember it.  Jerry and I visited the scene when we were touring the coastline in 2002.  I recall folks wading around the edges walking out to the big rock. 

Sometimes you just "do what ya gotta do."  Here, the ST is waiting patiently for my return of viewing the 4 Corners Landmark.  Tourists hangouts such as this are downright funny.  Only thing missing was a goofy golf course.  I was there in 2001.

"Ridin My Thumb to Mexico," music by Johnny Rodriquez , 1975