Top 5 Motorcycle Rides in America / With Adam Sandoval

After touring the country coast to coast multiple times, I give you my top five roads I've ever ridden in the United States. Like I said, I'm going to give you my top five rated roads, strictly my opinion, that I've ridden in America. It's a question I get asked all the time. And if you want more details on these roads, I've got complete videos on them and many other great roads on my YouTube channel, Adam Sandoval. Just go to my playlist, Dream Rides, and there'll be all kinds of cool roads there for you to check out. While you're there, please don't forget to hit that subscribe button if you have not yet. And if you are subscribed, smash that bell notification so that every time I put up a new video, you get notified. Before we go any further, I'd like to say this video is sponsored by the Law Tigers. They are motorcycle injury attorneys. And should you ever find yourself in a bad situation, they're good people to have on your side. You've got absolutely no risk by calling them because they only get paid if you get paid. They've ridden with me all across this country and they keep me safe. It's a little peace of mind knowing that I've got some good people in my back pocket that really understand what it's like to be a motorcyclist. Now, without any further ado, let's get directly in to my top five roads to ride in America. My number one road is the PCH, also known as Highway 1 in California. State Route 1 is a major north to south state highway that runs along most of the Pacific coastline of California at a total of just over 656 miles. It is the longest state route in California and the second longest in the US after the Montana Highway 200. Now, there's lots of wonderful reasons to love this road. One, the beautiful coastline views. I mean, you're riding on top of cliffs right along the ocean. It just drops straight down and it's just beautiful ocean as far as you can see. You're winding through the great redwoods. These are trees that I dreamt about seeing as a little kid and now I find myself riding right through them on this route. You got the Golden Gate Bridge. You've got big cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, some cool coastal towns like Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo. You run through winery territory. I mean, really everything you can think of from big mountain climbs inland to coast riding right on the edge of America, it really has everything you can think of to offer in a road. It really is maybe kind of cliche because it's a very famous road, but certainly the best road I've ever ridden. 655 miles is a long road and this trip can give you two, three, even four days on the road, finding cool spots to camp or beautiful, unique hotels. It's really the kind of road trip and the kind of ride I like. I don't like real short rides. I like rides where I can get out and adventure. I can stop and see things. It takes me multiple days. Highway 1 or the PCH certainly fits that bill. Number two on my list is the Million Dollar Highway. Technically, it's US Route 550. This route starts in New Mexico and ends in Colorado. Of course, if you're going that direction, if you reverse that, it's obviously different. My absolute favorite section of this route runs right between Ouray and Silverton, Colorado. Right there, you've got probably the most spectacular views, the most impressive and intimidating mountain riding that you can do anywhere in America. It is technically part of the San Juan Scenic Byway and it earned its spot there. I mean, this route is so cool. This caliber of mountains, the San Juan Mountains, is probably some of the most impressive mountain ranges in America. And when you're sitting on top of it in a little motorcycle cruising along and you're just taking it all in from all directions, you're making these huge climbs and these huge descents and the edge of the road is right next to you and it seems to go down forever. Then as you get to the bottom, you notice little creeks running along the road. I mean, it's just one of the most majestic and beautiful rides I've ever done. If it wasn't for the short length of this trip, it would probably make number one on my list. I love the little towns it touches. Silverton is such a cool little town. If you get a chance to spend a night there, I definitely recommend you do. The road conditions are great. You get to go through some tunnels. The bad part is the elevation is so high, the window for good riding on this road is very small. Be sure to go check out the website to see what sections of this road are open at any given moment. There's just something about these little west mountain towns that steals my heart. I feel so good there and I just love riding there. I'm constantly drawn to it. In fact, I rode this ride for my 40th birthday and I had already ridden it I don't know how many times. It's just one of those roads that never gets old and that's why it makes number two on my list of the best five roads in America. Moving on to number three on my list, the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a national parkway in all American road. Noted for its scenic beauty, the parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs 469 miles through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties. This road actually links Shenandoah National Park to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, two of the most iconic national parks in this country. It runs mostly along the spine of the Blue Ridge. It's a major mountain chain that's part of the Appalachian Mountains. My favorite time to ride this road is in the fall. I've done it multiple falls year after year. I go and do this trip because, well, it's just so beautiful. Like I said earlier in the video, if you wanna see more on this trip, you can click this link right here and it'll bring you to a full video on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's certainly one of my favorites and with the long distance, it's another one of those great road trips where you can spend several days and make a real vacation out of a single ride. The fall's my favorite time, like I said, because the changing colors. As these leaves are changing on the east like this and you're up in these mountains and you're coming down and you're seeing these valleys and it's like you're riding through a bowl of tricks. I can't explain how vibrant the different colors are. This is another one of those roads that runs through a lot of really cool small towns and even bigger, equally cool towns like Asheville. Many sections of this road are not maintained in the winter so the winter months with the elevations can be a real problem. You really wanna hit it summer, spring, or fall. One downside to this route is the speed limit is never above 45. Now, you can say that's a downside because I enjoy cruising and rolling but it's kinda nice sometimes to be forced to slow down and take in the beauty that's around you and this road will force you to do that. A good note to it, commercial vehicles are not allowed on this road. They can get special exceptions if it's for a certain project but as a whole, no commercial vehicles on this road so you're not battling any of those big, huge trucks when you're making these different climbs and these different grades. It has frequent pull-offs, roadside areas to stop and take pictures, rest areas. It runs along creeks and ravines. It has over 168 bridges along this route and another great thing is it's not really the fastest route to travel anywhere across these states so very rarely are you dealing with commuting traffic. You're just dealing with other people who are out to see the beauty just like you. Mile posts along the parkway start at zero at the northeast end of Virginia and count down to 469 at the southeast end of North Carolina. All in all, if you're looking for a relaxing road trip and to get on a beautiful ride through great little towns, great scenery and a lot of nature, this might be the trip for you. It'll force you to slow down and enjoy yourself so if relaxation is something you enjoy or maybe need, check out the Blue Ridge Parkway. Number four on my list, Needles Highway. This is South Dakota Highway 87 and it travels through Wind Cave National Park and Custer State Park which is one of my favorite state parks in America. Now there's lots of good reasons to love this road. One is its location. It's right near Sturgis which is a wonderful motorcycle rally so you can kind of knock off two dream trips in one. You can go to Sturgis and ride Needles Highway but keep in mind if you do that, it's gonna be really crowded. Now you will be charged $20 to get onto this road but it is worth every single penny. It has a beautiful mix of sweeping turns and hairpin turns, elevation climbs that are pretty impressive but nothing on that road impresses me more than the rock formations. It really truly is a signature of the Black Hills area. These beautiful stone fingers just reaching up to the sky and you're just weaving in between, around and through them. And by through them, I mean literally through them. There's even one section called Needles Eye Tunnel and this tunnel is so narrow, only one vehicle can get through it at a time and when they bring tour buses through it, I mean they come centimeters from scratching their mirrors on either side. Sometimes it's impressive just to stop and take a look and watch some of these vehicles coming in and out of this very unique tunnel. Its length is only about 38 miles long so that kind of pushes it down on the list for me. This is more of just a day trip than a road trip but nonetheless, when it comes to roads, certainly one of the most iconic roads in all of America. Another one of the tunnels that you'll go through on this road is called Iron Creek Tunnel. Much like the Blue Ridge Parkway, almost all the travelers you'll find on this road are sightseers. You're not getting a lot of commuters or anything like that for multiple reasons that I think seem kind of obvious. All in all, Needles Highway has some scenery that's sure to take your breath away. So if you get the chance to put it on your list and go ride the ride, definitely, definitely, definitely take the time to do it. Now if you're watching this and you've already ridden Needles Highway, why don't you go ahead and leave your opinions down in the comments below so maybe a rider who hasn't ridden it before can get a few people's takes on this exquisite ride. Now lastly, my fifth recommendation on my favorite five roads. Of course, like I said earlier, if you want to see more, please go to my YouTube channel and find Dream Rides because I document these roads and so many others. But number five for me is going to the Sun Road. It's in Glacier National Park right there in Montana. The Sun Road is the only road that traverses the Glacier National Park, crossing the Continental Divide through Logan's Pass and reaches elevations of 6,646 feet. This road is definitely another one of those day trip roads. It's only about 50 miles long, but again, it's just a stunning 50 miles of riding. And you're going to enjoy the roads leading to it. This is another one of those areas that you could explore outside of it for days and have a lot of fun. Seasons are going to be another major thing with this road because it can have up to 80 feet of snow built up to it in one season on top of that Logan's Pass. Now much of this road is limited to no longer than 21 foot vehicles and no more than eight foot wide because it's very narrow and it winds all over the place. You can check out all different kinds of wildlife, like these really weird mountain goats that you find kind of only really in that area. I mean, I've traveled a lot of places and I think that's the only place I've personally ran into these goats. I've ridden this road several times and just like the other ones, the views are just breathtaking, y'all. You know, I even got to bring my girlfriend Ashley on this one time and she agreed 100%. This road definitely needs to make the top five. It's just, words cannot describe the magnitude of beauty and nature all around you. You go around a corner, you come up a hill, and I mean, it's just everywhere you look. The Sun Road is definitely another one worth checking out. It's ingrained forever in my brain. It will always be in my memory because frankly, it's one of the most beautiful places in all of America. And this is another one of those roads that'll slow you down. The speed limit's 45 in most areas and in some areas, even down to 25 miles an hour. But frankly, when you're riding this high, that close to cliffs with that much beauty in front of you, it's kind of nice. Like I said, it's not my normal thing. I travel across the country. I run coast to coast. But sometimes when it's that beautiful, you actually appreciate being slowed down. That's it for my top five in America. I will give you one tip about a little ride that starts in America and ends in Mexico. It's the ride from San Diego to Cabo. In fact, I've ridden it once on my Harleys and I'm doing another trip where people are invited to join me. It is one of the most impressive, cool rides where you can do whale watching, you do mountain passes. I'm actually gonna be doing it with Ride Adventure. You can find their Instagram right here. And they're gonna take me, put me on their bikes and we're gonna do some enduro riding down there. So if you ever wanna do that, go check them out. Or if you happen to catch it in time, you can ride with me and be in my video while I film it. If you're looking for more information on doing that trip, you can check it out. I'll link it at the end of this video. But all in all, riding that trip is pretty cool because although America has so much beautiful stuff to offer, it's kinda cool to experience the culture in other countries. And this Baja area seems to be the safest part of Mexico and the people seem to be super grateful for the tourism. And every time I've done this ride down through this area, I've absolutely enjoyed it. Do yourself a favor, look up that ride too if you ever get the itch for a little international ride. And if you do, be sure to check out my friends at Ride Adventure. All right, y'all, that is my list of the top five roads. I hope you enjoyed it. Hopefully I showed you some new roads maybe you haven't seen or maybe you've ridden every one of these roads. Y'all tell me your thoughts down in the comments below. And if I missed a road that you think should have made my top five, let me know what it is down below because who knows, maybe y'all can turn me onto a road I haven't seen. Listen, y'all, a lot of things can get in your way and stop you from taking these trips and taking these adventures. But man, life is short. You've got to live it to the fullest. So put your mind to one of these roads or another one I didn't mention. Don't let nothing get in your way. You stay stubborn and you enjoy the ride. And I'll see you in the next video. I'll see you in the next video.