Different strokes for different folks. Apparently, not everyone thinks the same way I do. What the heck is wrong with them, anyway? As touring motorcyclists, my wife and I seek out places of natural beauty while also exploring new areas. Typically, we enjoy the most out of the way, unexpected places the most. We are lucky to live in a big, diverse country where it truly takes a lifetime to "see it all". For us, that long list of places we want to revisit rarely gets touched.

I run into quite a few people, figuratively, of course, who are curious about our motorcycle touring adventures. Mostly, they don't "get it" as to why we do these things on a motorcycle but the fact is that few of them even attempt such trips in a car or by any other means. For the life of me I cannot understand why so many people think a "vacation" involves flying from one boring city to another. Yawn!

I was recently visiting with a person who was looking for places to take a road trip. He asked me because he knows I've been "everywhere". I did not hesitate to say, "Go to Alaska. It is the best road trip in North America." He wondered how far it was and how long it would take? What is there to see? All the usual questions.... He rejected the Alaska idea as being too far, too expensive, too everything so I suggested the Icefields Parkway as a much shorter alternative. "I know what mountains look like", was his rebuke of that idea. I asked if he liked lakes as I tried to narrow down the choices. Sadly, he even found reasons to reject Lake Superior so I gave up trying to force my favorite road trip ideas on him.

Discussions like this only point out that motorcyclists see roads, traffic, people and scenery different than the car driving public. We are less distracted, less isolated and less insulated from the surrounding world so we appreciate every minute and every mile more. We experience more in 100 miles of riding than the car driver does in 1000 but, of course, they don't know what they are missing.

The sad day will eventually come when I am no longer able to ride a motorcycle. Then, I will only have hundreds of thousands of miles of memories to recall. I will re-live the first time I saw majestic Mount Robson and feeling the burning heat of Death Valley. Remember that hail in Saskatchewan and hydroplaning down Vail Pass in a frog strangler? I will bore people with all of the stories and probably stretch the truth a bit but at least I did it instead of looking for every reason to stay home.