Labor Day Rides

August 23 2010 by Jason Fogelson

iStock_000000787311XSmall.jpgWhere did the summer go? I know that the official end of summer isn't until the autumnal equinox, September 23 at 3:09 am here in the Northern Hemisphere this year. But Labor Day is the emotional end of summer, when we put away our white shoes and belts and get back to the grindstone. Labor Day Weekend is also a great time for a motorcycle ride, a final getaway before the days get shorter, temperatures drop and the rush toward the end of the year fills our face shields.

As motorcyclists, we have a great advantage over other travelers. We don't need airline schedules, or freeways, or tons of planning in order to have a successful trip. All we need are a few back roads, some good road food and a change of scenery to have a great trip. The journey is the point, not the destination. Still, may I suggest a way to find unexpected destinations for this Labor Day?

Go to the Best Western Hotels site. Put in the name of your hometown, and search for hotel rooms on your desired travel date. When you get your results, search by distance and expand the search radius to the maximum (100 miles). You'll get some unexpected results. I guarantee it. Explore the hotels that catch your interest, and you'll see that the hotel information will include area attractions, like zoos, parks, landmarks, museums and other points of interest. Now we're talking motorcycle trip, folks.

At this point, I'll drag out the maps, and start to look for interesting routes to the hotel of my choice. I'm the kind of guy who hates to backtrack, so I almost always design a loop. If I want to be away for more than one night, and I want more than one hotel destination, I repeat the process of hotel selection, but this time I use my first night's hotel as the base location, and expand out from there. Even though I ride and travel extensively around my home base in Southern California, I can still discover new, different, exciting rides every time I begin to plan. And that's what motorcycle travel is all about.

Give it a shot! And let us know what you discover along the way.

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