Motorcycles and Small Towns: It's Not All Orgies and Riots

Motorcycles and small towns have long been portrayed as adversaries, from Brando in The Wild One, to that overrated pile of crap Easy Rider, to my personal favorite of the genre—The Wild Angels—in which Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra and a bunch of other spoiled Hollywood types play "biker." At one point the "gang" rides to NorCal to bury a friend: Feeling the need to properly say goodbye to the departed, they wind up taking over a small town church for the ceremony, which somehow transitions from funeral into psychedelic-drug-induced orgy. I must ride with the wrong crowd; all we ever seem to do in small towns is fuel up, grab some grub and occasionally bunk (separately) in a local hotel. Over 25 years of riding and not one spontaneous orgy. What am I doing wrong?

Probably best. My wife has yet to squawk about my riding adventures and I assume one reason is that she knows I'm way more into riding my motorcycle than anything else. Though it probably wouldn't hurt to just ask about the orgies...

Anyway, my point is it seems that all sorts of great rides center around small towns and businesses that welcome motorcycles, even cater to them—a thing I was reminded of on a recent off-road ride near Randsburg, California (www.randsburg.com). Headquartered at the Cottage Hotel (cottagehotel@randsburg.com), proprietor Goat Breker (1980s Kawasaki factory MX rider and runner up in the 1980 500cc AMA motocross championship) and his crew showed amazing hospitality, from great food to great advice on trails and rides.

But it goes beyond Goat: Randsburg, "a living ghost town" is how they describe themselves, petitioned the county and won the right to allow off-road motorcycles on Main Street, making it easy for those camping in the high desert to ride right into town for refreshments and supplies. Good for the riders, good for the town. More than just off-road riding conveniently located right off California Highway 395; Randsburg is an ideal stop for riders headed to or from the backroads of the Sierras or Death Valley. Stop in, grab a bite, spend the night and have a drink at The Joint—all are welcome.

Know any towns or businesses that welcome motorcycles? Go to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/cycleworld) and share. You never know, we might just ride over and experience them for ourselves.

—Corey Eastman