And just like that, our amazing trip is over. After all that preparation, we had completed the first RMT motorbike tour across the United States from coast to coast—what Americans call "Shore to Shore." It was how we celebrated the arrival of autumn in 2025.
It was 23 days and 8500 km across America on Harley-Davidson Street Glide, Road Glide, and a BMW R1250RT. We had a great group: 6 riders + 2 passengers + 2 guides (one on a bike, the other in a car). September is the high season, the best time for this trip.
Our guides came back with so many emotions and stories that we asked them to write a short report. We want to share it with you right away while it's all still fresh. Alexey Bulgach, our guide on this tour, happily agreed and sent this to our office for publication:
The tour starts from the City of Angels (Los Angeles) on the West Coast. And what a start it was! California, the Pacific Ocean, the Santa Monica Pier where the famous Route 66 ends, the Hollywood Hills, and of course, downtown LA. All our guests flew in a couple of days early and went to see these famous places. Downtown LA, to be honest, isn't that great, as we know, so we didn't recommend going there.
Meanwhile, Big (that's what we call Sasha Akifiev among ourselves – he was Guide #1 on this tour) and I had a lot of tasks to prepare for the start. We also flew in two days early.
America greeted us with friendly border officers. They already knew that happy motorcyclists planning a cross-country trip were arriving on different flights. They clicked their tongues and said, "Enjoy your ride!" Well, hello America..
This is actually the second year in a row for me and Big in the States (last year, in 2024, RMT ran a tour of the US West Coast). People always treat Big with great respect, thinking he's a war veteran. Well, I would think so too! At the rental company, where we booked a small Chevy for a couple of days of preparation, they said, "Sir, it will be too tight for you... we'll give you a free upgrade!" and gave us the keys to a huge Infiniti. Not a bad start!
The motorcycles for our guests were booked at EagleRider Los Angeles. That was our first stop to check all the details and reservations, and to personally inspect the bikes our guests would get in a couple of days.
At the EagleRider LA office, we were met by a man with a very serious face. Well, that's how it should be in a place full of Harley-Davidsons! A couple of seconds later, after a little ritual, he was happily greeting us. They even have the exact motorcycle from the movie "Easy Rider" with Jack Nicholson. So, we touched a legend.
Finally, the preparations were over and we started. The team picks up their motorcycles, and then, as always, we have a pre-ride briefing. On the first day, in front of a huge map at the EagleRider office, we talk about the tour plans, the route, and all the interesting things waiting for us. And the plans for the day.
Let's go!
We ride to the very heart of Death Valley – one of the hottest places on our planet. We take a photo by the famous thermometer; it showed 100 degrees Fahrenheit – that's about 40 degrees Celsius. The car's thermometer even reached 44 degrees. The landscapes are crazy! We speed through this oven. This is one of those moments when being in a car seems more comfortable... But no, everyone is full of energy and glowing with happiness. We just drank a lot of water. A whole lot.
The next morning, we go to watch the sunrise at Zabriskie Point – salt hills on the bottom of a lake that dried up 10,000 years ago. It's also in Death Valley. I must say, the biggest impression from the trip was from these unusual landscapes and incredible places we were lucky to visit.
Through the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, we return to California. Our goal is Sequoia National Park.
The next day is dedicated to the park that many have probably heard of – Sequoia National Park. The famous grove of giant sequoia trees, located about 3,000 meters above sea level. The world's largest tree by volume and mass grows there – the General Sherman Tree. They say it's the largest, heaviest, and oldest living organism on Earth! It's 2300-2800 years old. Incredible! Seeing it in person is mind-blowing. You have to see it. And you're not just walking next to it, you're riding through this park on a motorcycle. Fantastic. I apologize for all these descriptive words, but it's a truly impressive place.
On our trip, we also wanted to find the best steak, burger, and ribs in the US. We really liked a steak in Santa Cruz. We had a great burger in Yosemite National Park. We are still looking for the perfect ribs. We drank so much Coke. It tastes different there - really good! The kind from Mexico in tall glass bottles. It's like how tomato juice tastes good on a plane. There, it's great.
The hotels along our route were mostly small and very nice. In big cities like San Francisco, Chicago, Cleveland, or New York, they were, of course, large chain hotels. But in small towns like Santa Cruz, we tried to book cozy, club-like ones. Very nice.
The kaleidoscope of impressions keeps spinning wildly, and today we ride along the Pacific Ocean on Highway 1 towards Frisco (San Francisco). The Ocean Highway, what else can I say. It's awesome! We even went to a beach, but no one decided to swim.
And here it is – San Francisco and its main landmark – the Golden Gate Bridge. We spent 2 days here. I can't insert all the photos – there are too many... It's better to come and see for yourself! :)
After a short rest in San Francisco, we head east. Today, our crossing of America from west to east truly begins. We ride on beautiful roads to the town of Lee Vining through Yosemite National Park and the Tioga Pass. Again, I have to use words like "unbelievable views" and "unique emotions"... What can I do?! Can you imagine how hard it was for us...
Well, here are a few shots from Yosemite National Park.
And this is from the Tioga Pass.
Today we also get to speed along the extraterrestrial highway through Area #51 (Area 51). They say aliens have been seen there, and a couple of their saucers couldn't even fly away after the "hospitality" of the local farmers. We went to check it out.
The next day brought us to the famous Bonneville Salt Flats, where speed records have been set for over 100 years. A spaceship capsule even landed here. Famous movies were also filmed here, including "The World's Fastest Indian" with Anthony Hopkins. A super legendary place, in short. And the coolest thing – you can drive onto the salt flats without restrictions. Which we happily did. How could you not feel like a record-holder?! A place of incredible power and energy. We even left an RMT sticker there. The place is now officially boosted! :)
Next, our path leads to the town of Cody (Wyoming) through Yellowstone National Park. In Cody, we have a rest day and a country-style party. For now, we enjoy the views of the national park. There's a movie about Yellowstone, by the way. I think there are movies about everything here. We climb above 3000 meters, meet real cowboys herding cattle, and stop to see a famous local geyser that shoots 100 meters high. But only every couple of hours. So you have to wait on benches. Everyone waits as best they can... At some point, everyone started joking about the number of "unbelievable" places and events on the tour... Another one!
And so we arrived in what is perhaps the most cowboy-like state in the northern US. In the south, it's Texas, obviously. But here, it's Wyoming.
And in the evening, we went to a country party. Hearing that music live, which I'd only seen in old American movies – priceless!
The next day and more "unbelievable" places!
Today it's Devil's Tower and Mount Rushmore. Everyone knows about the mountain with the presidents, but few know about Devil's Tower. This place is sacred to more than 20 Native American tribes, and just like with Mount Rushmore, there is a dispute over this land. They say the authorities have offered the Native Americans over $1 billion for the land Mount Rushmore is on, but they are still firm in their claims to this day.
We ride from Wyoming to Montana via the Bear Tooth Pass – one of the coolest motorcycle roads in the USA, according to many motorcycle magazines and riders themselves. Yes, we agree, it's super. It's like an American Cappadocia, just high-mountain. And with bison.
And after going down, we found ourselves in the Wild West, entering a village with a fully recreated street from that time. It was like we instantly stepped into the movie "The Man from Boulevard des Capucines"!
There was also Sturgis – the city that hosts the largest motorcycle festival every year, the Harley Davidson Museum in its hometown of Milwaukee, the flagship store of the famous Red Wings footwear brand in the town of the same name on the Mississippi River, and many other wonderful places.
During our journey, we visited 16 states and stopped at the welcome sign in almost every one. It's a ritual, you know...
And then there were Cleveland, Chicago, Niagara Falls, and, of course, New York. We'll keep what we did there off-camera, as this text is already very long. I'll just say one thing – it was super! :)
8500 km and all of America from west to east. Done.
Now, next year, besides this tour, there will be a southern route. We can say, without being too modest, that we have built up excellent expertise in US tours!
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Link to the tour: