As I built up my DR 650 for touring over the winter, I imagined this trip would be a voyage of discovery. I would be taking a break from 27-plus years of software engineering, riding the open road with nothing but trees and sky in front of me. No emails, no bug reports, no design diagrams, no meetings, no technical papers, just me and the bike.

Ever since I was in my twenties, I’ve wanted to ride cross country on a motorcycle. From age twenty-one to twenty-three, I owned a 1978 Honda CB 750F, which was a hell of a fun bike. It was in great condition when, parked quietly in front of my house on a quiet summer afternoon, a fully-loaded cement truck backed over it.

I spent the next few decades working and raising kids. Now that they’re in or through college, I decided to carve out some time for a long road trip. I’ll be heading west toward New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, three states I have never visited. I’m more interested in seeing the countryside than the cities, and most of the ride will take place on smaller country highways, away from the traffic of the interstates.