Riding is cool. We can all agree on that. Cruising your local territory, your known roads, and even commuting to work are all fun. For me, though, there's always been something special about exploring somewhere new. Whether it's a planned trip or completely by accident, there's a unique appeal to seeing places you've never seen before, and negotiating new and unfamiliar roads.

Yammie Noob and his friend Spike explain this perfectly. Without even leaving their home state of Texas (granted, it's still bigger than many countries), they enjoy a ride along the Rio Grande, looking across to Mexico, and discuss why going new places is awesome, as well as how to go about it.

Although Yammie and Spike trailered their bikes nine hours away from their home in Austin (as I said, Texas is huge), you don't need a trailer to go somewhere new. They agree that anywhere 100 miles from home is a good place to start planning a day trip. Although moto-camping is fun, you can simply take a full day on the bike to go somewhere new, go exploring, and go home, without carrying all that extra stuff with you.

Speaking of stuff, what should you bring with you if you're going that far from home? Water is a must. You don't want to get dehydrated in unfamiliar territory, especially if you're not sure where to find a drink. A small toolkit, either the one that came with your bike or a little tool roll, and a tire patch kit are good to have. You'll probably already have your phone with you, but at least bring something to take pictures. Such trips are well worth remembering, and pictures will help.

If you have a small gas tank, it wouldn't hurt to bring extra fuel. Spike can only get 120 miles on a tank. I don't even start looking for fuel until I hit 200 miles, and that's on my KLR's stock gas tank. Like water, it's better to be safe and carry your own rather than have to search for it in an unknown area.

KLR By Lake

In some cases, you don't even need to go that far from home to find new places to ride. Such is the case with my entire dirt riding adventure. I did change motorcycles to do that, which is something Yammie says you absolutely don't have to do. To a great extent, he's right. Most of the reason I changed bikes was so that I didn't drop my Honda PC800 in the dirt and destroy its unobtainium body panels. A change of tires can completely transform your bike's handling characteristics.

My most enjoyable journeys have been exploring new places. Whether riding all the way to Cape Breton, exploring the area around Sturgis, or simply taking the dirt path less traveled near home, the challenge of seeing and negotiating a new road or trail is one of the most satisfying parts of motorcycling for me. I highly recommend trying someplace new.

(In this day and age, I should probably remind you to check local travel and quarantine restrictions if you're crossing state lines. Yammie and Spike stayed inside their home state, so they didn't have this concern.)

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