Before long Mother Nature will blow her frosty kisses on the landscape and in October the leaves will explode in a multitude of reds, oranges and golden yellows. That’s when the mountain roads get thick with tourists paying more attention to the ash, sweetgum and maple trees than the black top.
September in our opinion is one of the best riding months in the year. School is back in session, fewer families are on the highway, the fall color tourists haven’t started their pilgrimage and the temperatures are, compared to July & August, downright cool. The only real hazard are the hard core tailgating football fans who may have had a few too many celebrating the home teams upset win.
Three Rides You Will Love
1. Beginning in Nashville, the Natchez Trace runs southwesterly for 444 miles, through Alabama and Mississippi and ends in Natchez, one of most charming cities of the old South. For Civil War buffs, few places can rival Natchez for it’s rich history and authentic antebellum homes. Even its ruins are spectacular, as the photo above shows the Ruins of Windsor, near the town of Port Gibson a few miles north of Natchez. Situated on the banks of the Mississippi (which means legal gambling for those who fancy themselves a riverboat dandy
2. There is no more enduring icon of the birth of our nation than Plymouth Rock and it is one of the few significant historical attractions that is free to the public. Admittedly this suburb of Boston is pretty congested on the weekends, but mid to late September is less crowded than summer. Besides the actual rock, (or what’s left of it after souvenir hunters have chipped away at it over the centuries) an authentic recreation of the Mayflower sits in the nearby harbor staffed with period actors who stay in character and do a good job of relating what it was like for the pilgrims who landed in 1620. If you need to twist the throttle after soaking up history, take a quick 30 mile loop through nearby Miles Standish State Forest
3. Few people consider Oklahoma when thinking of Route 66, but it’s one of the best kept secrets along the Mother Road. With 400 miles (the longest driveable stretch) there’s enough
sightseeing for a three or four day cruise. Start in Miami OK at the Vintage Iron Motorcycle Museum where you’ll find Evel Knievel’s helmet from his 1973 world record jump in the LA Coliseum. Continue heading southwest through Tulsa, a few miles off Rt. 66 is the town of Foyil OK where you’ll find Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park home to the largest concrete totem pole in the US. Heading west, US Route 66 generally follows the same route as State Rt. 66 and about 300 miles later you’ll arrive in presidential favorite Elk City, where the Route 66 Museum is located. President Jimmy Carter once said of this town “I visited at least 50 places for town hall meetings when I was president, and the best one I ever had in my life was in Elk City,” Think of how much more he would’ve enjoyed it on a motorcycle.
For more must see motorcycle destinations, pickup a copy of Motorcycle Journey’s Through The American South
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