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Right after I bought my new 81 GS550T (I lived in Chicago at the time), I read a book titled Blue Highways: A Journey into America by William Least Heat-Moon about a guy who drove his van all over the country traveling only on more rural and less traveled roads which were marked in blue on his map (ergo the title of the book). His logic was that seeing the world from a limited access expressway was not very interesting. Always being someone to seize on someone else’s ideas and put them to my own use, I started planning bike trips that would apply the same philosophy.
Since then, I rode with my daughter and my son (different trips) to Washington D.C. and the New Jersey shore, the Missouri Ozarks, New Orleans, and, alone to Orlando. Always staying on the minor roadways as much as possible, eating at local diners and greasy spoons. Traveling at slower speeds and making frequent stops allowed us to sample a lot more of the local flavor of places along the way. We got to experience the chaos of traffic on the D. C. beltway, as well as, witnessing the poverty and desperation of people along back roads in the Mississippi Delta area.
Traveling in this way allowed us to make contact with local people in areas that are off the main highways. Stopping for breakfast at a corner restaurant in a small southern town would result in some local noticing the Illinois plate on the bike and asking us about the trip. At times we would be directed to some point of interest in their town that was a source of pride to them, but unknown to anyone else. Somehow I don’t think eating at a McDonald’s or Burger King along some off-ramp would expose us to anyone except other tourists.
There are a number of advantages to taking trips on motorcycles. First of all, I seldom started out with a destination; just a direction. Weather can be very disruptive to travel schedules when dealing with limited vacation time. I also found that the size of the fuel tank made stops about every 100 miles necessary and welcome. We got to mingle with the locals and it kept our butts from becoming too leaden. And at 50 miles to the gallon, the trips were fairly economical.
I’ve taken many vacation trips, but none as memorable as the ones I made on my 550. I’m in my 60's now and afraid that bike trips are not in my future. But I still have the 81, it runs great and if I ever decide to give it a shot, I won’t hesitate to pack up, jump on and ride the vanishing blue highways.
Since then, I rode with my daughter and my son (different trips) to Washington D.C. and the New Jersey shore, the Missouri Ozarks, New Orleans, and, alone to Orlando. Always staying on the minor roadways as much as possible, eating at local diners and greasy spoons. Traveling at slower speeds and making frequent stops allowed us to sample a lot more of the local flavor of places along the way. We got to experience the chaos of traffic on the D. C. beltway, as well as, witnessing the poverty and desperation of people along back roads in the Mississippi Delta area.
Traveling in this way allowed us to make contact with local people in areas that are off the main highways. Stopping for breakfast at a corner restaurant in a small southern town would result in some local noticing the Illinois plate on the bike and asking us about the trip. At times we would be directed to some point of interest in their town that was a source of pride to them, but unknown to anyone else. Somehow I don’t think eating at a McDonald’s or Burger King along some off-ramp would expose us to anyone except other tourists.
There are a number of advantages to taking trips on motorcycles. First of all, I seldom started out with a destination; just a direction. Weather can be very disruptive to travel schedules when dealing with limited vacation time. I also found that the size of the fuel tank made stops about every 100 miles necessary and welcome. We got to mingle with the locals and it kept our butts from becoming too leaden. And at 50 miles to the gallon, the trips were fairly economical.
I’ve taken many vacation trips, but none as memorable as the ones I made on my 550. I’m in my 60's now and afraid that bike trips are not in my future. But I still have the 81, it runs great and if I ever decide to give it a shot, I won’t hesitate to pack up, jump on and ride the vanishing blue highways.
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