Why ride a motorcycle? Ask any motorcycle rider “why” and the answers vary from practicality to passionate stories of rides from yesteryear. Most riders do agree that nothing feels like a motorcycle ride. There’s no vehicle that can replicate the feel and sound of a motorcycle on the open road.

Robert Pirsig said it best in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: "You’re completely in contact with it all. You’re in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming.”

Billings is the perfect home base to start some of the best rides in this part of the country. If you haven’t tried these five – you need to. These are the roads, the mountain passes, the sloping, twisting winding roads that Montanans tell their rider friends about … and most of them don’t believe us until they experience it themselves.

You could head out on your own adventure if you place the winning bid on this 2014 Harley Davidson FLSTC Heritage Softail Classic. Visit SeizeTheDeal.com to bid on available auction items. There you’ll find this Harley with a retail value of $20,664, opening bid is just $12,000. It is one of 75 items in the auction.

Atop your new Harley Davidson FLSTC, you can check out five top rides in your own back yard.

-- Beartooth Pass: Billings to Cody. This ride is considered to be one of the best in the nation. There isn’t an adjective to describe the natural beauty of this part of the country. Newcomers and first-timers always seem surprised at the breathtaking views, the up and down route and the hairpin curves that make Beartooth Pass the pride of Montana and Wyoming. You will see as many bikes on the road as cars. You will generally see incredible mountains, dense forests, rivers, rocks, tundra and sometimes even snow in summer months. Very few guard rails and amazing scenery make Beartooth Pass the ultimate road to ride.

-- Going-To-The-Sun Road: Start your route in St. Mary and head west on Going-to-the-Sun Road all the way through Glacier National Park to the town of West Glacier. For motorcycle riders, this route, Going-To-The-Sun Road is the Mount Everest of continental US motorcycle-routes. It lies in a distant remote part of the United States near the Canadian border. The Going-To-The-Sun Road has some of the twistiest turns and steepest elevation changes of any paved road in the country. The route goes from one end of Glacier National Park to the other end crossing through a magnificent section of the Rocky Mountains. You will see jagged peaks, crystal mountain lakes, immense glaciers, unbelievable valley views, waterfalls, alpine wildflowers, meadows, streams and possibly alpine wildlife (mountain goats, elk, deer, squirrels, gopher, hawks). This is often ranked as one of the most incredible rides for scenery.

-- Lolo Pass: Missoula to Lewiston, Idaho. Curves next 67 miles -- that’s Lolo Pass.This ride covers one of the most beautiful sections of the Lewis & Clark Trail. Start in Missoula, through the Rocky Mountains into Lewiston.Ride through the Lolo National Forest and take in the abundant whitewater rafts on the Locsha and Selway rivers. You'll also see numerous steaming hot springs flowing down the hills along the way. Watch out for deer and mountain goats crossing the highway at random intervals. There are many sweeping curves and a couple of tight ones as well. The Lolo Pass should be on every rider's bucket list.

-- The Idaho/Montana Scenic Triangle Loop: This loop is a fantastic ride but it’s hard to keep your eyes on the road because it isn’t unusual to see all kinds of wildlife sharing the space with you. Expect to see deer, moose, and occasionally elk crossing this entire route (load pipes help). Be prepared for weather changes at this higher elevation. Western Montana and the panhandle of Idaho are notorious for 20-degree changes in a short amount of time. You’ll be in the midst of three national forests: Kootenai & Kaniksu National Forest on the Montana side and Coeur D’Alene National Forst in the Idaho panhandle. You’ll also get some time around Lake Pend Oreille – that’s worth the trip alone. There are many opportunities to shorten or extend this ride depending on your time.

-- The Wonderful 141: This ride starts about 30 minutes west of Helena in Avon. From Avon, head north on MT Route 141 all the way until it T's into and ends at MT Route 200. This route features Montana cattle-farmland across the Garnet Mountain range from US 12 to MT Route 200. The Wonderful 141 is comprised of unspoiled pasture lands with picturesque mountain backdrops. The Wonderful 141 route spills over and through a massive valley and finally runs straight into the side of a mountain where the road T's into MT Route 200.  The best thing about this route is that it's out of the way enough that you'll nearly have it all to yourself. Some out of state riders say that this is what they grew up thinking Montana must be like – The Wonderful 141.

 

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