Vagabond Rider: Winter Blues

A Toronto rider heads south to cope with “seasonal riding disorder”

There are very few places across Canada where we can ride our motorbikes year round. We all have our coping mechanisms for dealing with “seasonal riding disorder.” I dig into maintenance projects. I get my endorphin boost from planning next season’s major ride(s). And I share road stories with my riding buddies over an adult beverage or two – ensuring that as the years pass, the tales get longer and more elaborate.

But there’s only one true cure for the winter blues – the road trip. The catastrophic fires in Los Angeles have me thinking about one such trip I took in 2019.

I flew to Las Vegas and rented a Road Glide^® from Las Vegas Harley-Davidson. I was headed to Borrego Springs, California, about an hour east of San Diego, to support my partner in a cycling event. The shortest distance between those points is about 500 km, but I built a roundabout route connecting Death Valley, Yosemite National Park, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Pacific Coast Highway. Instead of a day ride, I would have four days of memories.

From Las Vegas, I took off over the mountains and arrived in Furnace Creek around dinnertime. I scarfed down a superb meal at the iconic Last Kind Words Saloon surrounded by Old West paraphernalia. Then I hopped back on the bike to visit Badwater Basin – the lowest altitude location in North America – to view the Milky Way under a starless, lightless sky.

The following morning, I travelled up the high valley that parallels the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Lee Vining. After a quick photo stop at Mono Lake, I turned west over Tioga Pass into Yosemite Valley. This is one of the most photographed locations in the United States for good reason. And yet, photos do not do justice to the beauty of this location.

I only had enough time for a quick lap of the Yosemite Valley Loop before heading back down to sea level at San Francisco. I arrived into the city as the sun set. After a bowl of overpriced but delicious chowder (served in a sourdough bowl) at the famous Boudin Bakery at The Embarcadero, I crossed over the Golden Gate Bridge to the Marin Headlands. I settled into my tent site at the Bicentennial Campground, overlooking the bridge and the San Francisco skyline.

Day three began at sunrise. I hugged the coast, taking the Pacific Coast Highway through Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz and Monterey on my way down to Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. I paused numerous times for pictures and refreshments, including photos at Bixby Creek Bridge and at viewpoints overlooking Big Sur. I did not get into Borrego Springs until near midnight, when the desert had shed its daytime warmth. Shivering, I crawled into bed and warmed myself up against my partner, ignoring her shrieks as I woke her with my cold feet.

After a day off the bike for her cycling event, I was back at it for my final short ride from Borrego Springs to San Diego. I crawled out of bed before dawn to get a few sunrise photos of the famous local sculptures. Then I was climbing through the mountains that separate the high desert from the Pacific Coast at San Diego. The warmth re-entered my bones as I caught sight of the Pacific while descending into city to return the rental bike.

Wind therapy complete, I headed back to the winter blues.

Lifetime HOG^® member Mark Keating (IG: @markwkeating, IBA#63231) has explored (almost) every corner of North America on his Harley-Davidson^® motorcycles. As winner of two HOG^® Canada ABCs of Touring challenges and holder of 53 Iron Butt Association (IBA) certificates – including four “first-ever” – Mark has officially found his happy place with a proverbial full tank.