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"Stop riding like a tourist and start riding like a local!" |
Just the usual corporate bumpf, right?? Actually it's much more than that,
it really does describe our entire philosophy and explains why we came up
with the Destination Highways concept.
Does the following sound familiar? You're out on the road for 10 days, in an
area you don't know. When
you get back, half of that time was great because you stumbled on some good
roads but half was just okay (other than being on your bike of course) because you spent time on so-so roads or major highways and interstates
since you had no idea where the good roads nearby, if there were any, might
be.
Oh sure, you'd LOOK at all those side roads as you passed them but
you had no idea which, if any, were worth spending time on and which would
be a waste of time. In the past, you've wasted enough precious time and gas
wandering around on those often dead-end, gravelling out or just plain
boring and confusing side roads. (GPS can help here, but good as it is for
telling you where you are, it's not so good at telling you where you
should be.) So now, by and large, you just look at those tempting side
roads as you pass and wonder what you might be missing. You always had a
sneaking suspicion that there were maybe great roads around but you just
never found them. And then when you tell some buddy where you were riding,
he tells you about the great one you missed. Or worse, he told you about it before
you left, but you never found it.
So why do you have that half-and-half experience?? Because, like everybody
else, once you get outside your own stomping grounds, and in areas you're
not familiar with, you "ride like a tourist". That’s because you're relying on
maps designed to get you from one major city to another in a
car as fast as possible on major roads, rather than showing you good
motorcycle roads. You can struggle against that as much as you like but in
the end, they tend to do that to you on a bike as well. Even if you spend a
fortune in county maps you still won't know which roads are the ones to take
and which are not. We've all been there, right?
We think life's too short and they're too many good roads you shouldn't
miss to spend the limited riding
time (and $$$) you have on ones not so good.
That's why we came up with the Destination Highways concept, to give you
knowledge about the same things that we wanted to know about in an area we
didn't know. Our books are designed to let enthusiasts "ride like a local"
in the areas covered by our books, even if they've NEVER ridden there
before. They can do this because they'll know the two things a local knows;
where the great (and good) local roads are, if there are any, and where the services (gas, bike
shops, food, accommodation etc) are. 34,000 miles (54,000 kms) of research
riding for Northern California, 28,000 miles (46,000 kms) for Washington and
25,000 miles (40,000 kms) for Southern British Columbia guarantee it.
We ride the good and the not so good, so you get to ride just the good. All
clearly identified on our custom designed maps as well as rated and/or
described in a way that lets you know whether it's going to be your kind of
road. And it's not about what we like in a road, we just give you the tools to find what
you like, which varies according to what you ride and how you ride. (That's
why everyone from Ferrari drivers to Harley riders buys our books.)
Of course, there’s more to motorcycling than smooth, twisty, traffic-free
roads. Your baby needs fuel and maintenance. And these can be a hassle to
find, especially in more remote areas. Where’s the nearest gas (fill up, $25) when you’re
hitting reserve? Where’s the most convenient bike shop to arrange for that
back tire (new rear tire installed, $229) you’re going to need in two days? Or that just went flat.
That “local” knowledge is all at your fingertips in our books and means
your valuable time can be better used for riding.
And what about you? Maybe you’re wondering if there’s a nice pub (lunch for two without beer,
$24) on some water nearby. Or perhaps it’s just getting late on a beautiful afternoon,
you’re having a great day and want to keep going for an hour or two but
you’ve just hit a town and the “where am I going to eat/sleep” thoughts
start to nag. You don’t want to be riding tired (motel for the night,
$125) and hungry (dinner for two with beer, $54) four hours from
now, so you stop. Or get into an argument about whether or not to stop. With
the detailed LO-LITE maps, you can easily confirm what service options are
down the road, call ahead if you want to and get back on the road, worry
free. Maximize the time riding on good roads that you'll like, and minimize
the hassle of finding the things you need when you need 'em.
Make sense? That's why "Don't ride like a tourist, ride like a local!" is more than our
slogan. It's what our books do for enthusiasts and why they love them (see Testimonials). And why many of them say, "Destination Highways books? Priceless."
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