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

Like the song says,"a girl should never give her heart to a travelin' man, because he'll be long gone before ya know it"

This old truck can be found in the ghost town of Bodie, California.  A place frozen in time.  Everyone in the town just left, leaving behind  all kinds of artifacts.  The vehicle in this picture sits in front of the old gas station.  

Fall 1974.  I had just finished my summer job, and had a couple of weeks off waiting for school to start.  What to do? Take a trip of course.  I forgot exactly where this picture was taken, but it was somewhere in North Alabama.  My brother was accompanying me on his matching Z1, and snapped this early image of a wannabe Long Rider.  The 1974 Kawasaki 900 in the picture was king of its era.  It was fast, but like all Japanese bikes of the time, the suspension, and brakes were way behind the motor, it was downright dangerous trying to sport ride it.

This peaceful scene comes from the 2003 SSS tour in Wawa, Canada.  We were on our way to Wawa, from Sault Saint Marie, when we stopped to stretch our legs at this river.  I fail to recall the name or the place, but remember quite well how quiet the surroundings were. 

In this picture, taken in a small town somewhere in Illinois, the corn rows meet the neighborhoods.  The narrow street the only thing separating the town from acres and acres of corn.

I've ridden many twisty roads over the years.  Some famous, some not.  Here is one from the later category.  SR 73 near Gatlingburg, Tennessee.  Excellent road, with good scenery and challenge. I took this picture on the last day of the 2003 Great Lakes Tour.

The American Motorcycle Museum in Sturgis houses this replica of the Easy Rider bike used in the film.  The freedom the movie represented impressed this 14 year old Long Rider at the time.  I'm all grown up now, and could NOT imagine trying to ride this bike cross country, with its small gas tank, stiff rear end, not to mention the unstableness of the extended front forks.  The seat looks like something the Romans would use to extract information from folks to protect the empire.  I think the bike is currently doing what it does best- sitting in this museum.

I love the wide open spaces of American West.  This shot was taken on the quiet hillside I found in South Dakota in 2003.  The thought of riding to that faraway horizon fired my inner being up.  I had a great ride on this day.

Fall fruit stands are common in the Northeast.  I found this stand in Northern New Jersey.

A silo stands alone in the mist in Burke's Garden, Virginia.  A fantasy place sitting for real in the Virginia hills.  Great place to visit.

"Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight,"  music by the Oak Ridge Boys