As was announced on January 1st this year, this new motorcycle rental fleet based in our hometown of Bend, Oregon has been launched at least partially because of the "incredible bounty of great riding to enjoy just here at home" that I referred to in that article. 

After taking our new bikes down to Baja in April, my focus turned to finally creating a shorter-length riding package. Years of offering these 2-3 week trips has unfortunately kept some folks from being able to partake, and it has been a goal to create a raw, rugged adventure ride that hits all the highlights in a timeframe more riders can take advantage of. The result of hours of research and some long riding days is a route we're calling The Best Week in Oregon, and if Damon's Trip Advisor review below is any indication, I'd say we're off to a good start:

This past month of riding and exploring Thailand and Laos has felt like a gigantic riding experience, and none of us seem to believe that it only lasted month. Felt like a lifetime, with all the amazing discoveries we've made together. 

As eluded to in the past couple of blog posts, I was somewhat skeptical about how good the riding could be in southeast Asia could be. Having been riding the Andes, Alps, Dolomites, and other pristine riding destinations for the last decade, and hearing the feedback of our Customers who have gone on to enjoy such jaw-dropping experiences made me wonder a bit just how much “incredible” was left out there. While I'm not going to tell you the scenery in Thailand or Laos is as dramatic as those other regions, the quality of riding ... the fun variety of mixed terrain we found here, is going to be tough to beat. With perhaps the fewest kilometers I've ever spent going straight on a bike, the Thai-Laos riding demanded an intense focus by each Rider, as it will yours if you come over for one of the riding packages we're going to be announcing soon. (That’s right, we’re going to do this!)

With sore cheeks sometimes from smiling so much within my helmet here in Thailand and Laos, oh what a trip this has been.

The last 10 years of covering the best routes in southern Africa, South America, and Europe admittedly had me a bit doubtful about what Asia might possibly have to offer. Yet here I am once again blown away by the fun that can be had on a motorcycle, in foreign lands where so many friendly people are part of making our Guided Group adventure ride feel so welcome. (Dermot and I with some Asian Water Buffalos in the background.)

“Twisties Galore” would be one way to describe what we did the first 5-6 riding days in Thailand, but as previously mentioned in my last post, there were some fun dashes through extremely remote dirt tracks as well. Through jungle-like foliage and the tiniest roadside villages, and back on to the pavement before climbing more challenging dirt backroads, the extreme variety factor in these routes cannot be understated.

Folks, it's with great pleasure that we have added another new motorcycle trip package to our growing business, and that this route falls very much in line with the rough, dirty, nitty, gritty, and very adventurous style of riding that RIDE Adventures was founded on. In other words: It's the type of riding that I would be doing if I had more time to RIDE these days! Things are very busy with our growing business, so I'm in the office quite a bit, but not getting much time to even blog. Thank you all for being Customers of RIDE Adventures though.

Another long delay in between blog post updates, largely because so many riders are starting and finishing their motorcycle trips right now, which keep us very busy! 

To our friends from the November 2015 Patagonia motorcycle trip through Tierra del Fuego en route to Ushuaia at the "End of the World!"......we finally got the group video done! Yes, yes ... it was a long time waiting, but the word about Patagonia is getting out there about this unique territory in Andes Mountains of South America. We're seeing yet another year of growth with new riders joining, and some customers returning with riding friends, and as such, we've been a busy bunch. Videos sometimes take a while : )

(Click here for the post and photos about Day 3 and 4)

ITS GREAT TO SLEEP BACK AT SEA LEVEL! We've been riding these adventure bikes at some of the highest elevations in the Andes Mountains, which of course makes for thin air and occasional difficulty sleeping. Much better now though, having descended from 3700 meters to get to the Pacific Ocean. (And there are higher passes, like the one at San Antonio de Los Cobres measuring 4,850 meters!)

Riding along the shoreline as we headed north from Iquique, it's also clear that this once-small town in northern Chile is growing by the amount of construction and tall buildings being built. We can see behind us the paragliders leaping off the peaks that surround this city to the east, very close to the ocean. Iquique is a special city also, because it's so close to both Bolivia and Peru, so people from those countries have migrated here and make up part of the regular population with my fellow Chilenos.

(See blog post from Day 2 of this research trip on this link.)

Day 3 

Of course one of the great things about riding in the Atacama Desert, the "driest desert in the world," the weather is absolutely beautiful once again! Even the brief rainy season here is 'barely' rainy, so we mostly have bright blue sunny skies to enjoy.

Waking up to a view overlooking the harbor in Antofagasta, we headed north along the coast for some great sweeping curves and twisties similar to those found on California's Hwy 1, or as the PanAmerican Highway feels along the shorts of Peru just to the north. Waves crashing, birds hunting, and that wonderful scent of ocean air makes us just love this trip.

(Continued from the Day 1 blog post on this link.)

Day 2

We had a little change of plans today: Instead of going east and over the Andes Mountains into Argentina, our "scouting" group rode to the west. Across the Atacama Desert and over the "Cordillera de la Sal," the Pacific Ocean and coastal city of Antofagasta, Chile became our target. This gives us the chance to ride past small lagoons that are often populated with pink Andean Flamingos and other local birds. That's right: The World's Driest Desert also has pink flamingos in it!