Paso Robles California Ride Routes
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- Written by John Button
- Category: Motorcycle
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For more than 25 years, together with a few friends and family members, I hosted a motorcycle weekend in the Paso Robles California area. These started as a weekend event under the auspices of the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association (MSTA)
in California but in the later years became a personal event not associated with the MSTA. Finally in 2016 I hosted my last event. One result of hosting all these events is a collection of attractive ride routes around the Paso area.
I have collected GPS tracks from many of these weekend ride events and created map pages. Each link below is one of these routes. I've attempted to summarize each with the motorcycle related highlights. GPX files for each view is available to download on the map page menu located in the upper right corner. That same menu can display a track elevation profile.
Hopefully you find these routes useful to plan your own ride in the area. Come enjoy Paso and do some riding on the best collection of roads in California.
Motorcycle Travel Learning
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- Written by John Button
- Category: Travel
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Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model (ELM) is composed of four stages which he says are the essence of learning. They can begin with any of the following elements, but usually starts with the first and proceed in order. These elements are:
1. concrete experience - learners must involve themselves fully, openly and without bias in new experiences.
2. reflective observation of the experience from many perspectives.
3. create abstract concepts based upon the reflection into logical sound theories.
4. active testing and experimentation of the new concepts in making decisions and solving problems.
Since my retirement from regular employment began at the start of 2021, I have been traveling (mostly via motorcycle) almost continuously. Specific trips include:
Setting up "home" in La Paz 2022
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- Written by John Button
- Category: Motorcycle
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Once again off to Mexico on our Triumph Tiger 800 XC. This time we combined attending the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, a ride through northern mainland Mexico, a train through the Copper Canyon (or Barrancas del Cobre) with a lengthy two month stay in La Paz Baja California Sur. La Paz felt like home after such a long stay!
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
First up was Albuquerque and the Balloon Fiesta. We've been here before in late 1980's and again in 2014. But, this trip was different in that we went on a motorcycle and stayed in "Glamping Tents" within the park where all the action takes place. It was a great way to participate. Walking over to the launch field was rather easy so we could head over early in the morning for launch and back late at night for the balloon glow. We saved on high parking fees and avoided long waits getting the car into the area each day.
California, other states should want this "disaster"
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- Written by John Button
- Category: Life
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California has been cited recently as a disaster and a total "basket case" that everyone is deserting. This narrative is particularly common in right wing political media. It is referred to as a state full of rampant socialism and communism. California is a state that is dying due to it's liberal policies, crazy people, and huge immigration. Right?
Well, at least economically, the facts don't support such statements and conclusions. Other states should be so lucky as to be the economy that is California. Let's review.
Read more: California, other states should want this "disaster"
Riding the USA and Canadian Perimeter
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- Written by John Button
- Category: Motorcycle
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Peggy's Cove NS
In August 2022, we completed a motorcycle ride around the perimeter of the USA and Canada. The trip included many roads, museums and destinations that have been on my “motorcycle must do” list for many years. In particular,
- I’ve always wanted to ride to Key West (so we did),
- Three states had been missing from my "ridden there" list—Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana (not any more),
- Debbie has never been to the Americade motorcycle rally (been there, done that),
- and I wanted to return to the Canadian Maritime since visiting on my Suzuki 750 in the mid-1980s (did, better than ever).
The trip statistics:
- 17,656 miles / 28,414 kilometers (16,982 route miles excluding local travel)
- 130 nights on the road, mostly in hotels
- 23 US States and 9 Canadian Provinces visited