We riders enjoy not only the twisty roads and breathtaking vistas in settings such as California?s Sierra Nevada mountain range, but also the crystal-clear air and full range of scents nature pours out. The aromas from this particular combination of flowers, shrubs, grasses and conifers magically swept me back in time to relive some long-forgotten memories. Photos by the author and Katie Lee.

It was the scent in the air that did it, plucking me out of the Suzuki?s seat and transporting me back to the distant past. Not physically, of course. But my brain kept reporting I?d been swept away to relive a fond childhood moment buried deep in my subconscious. Riding along the Sierra Nevada foothills through California?s Gold Rush country, the particular combination of local trees, bushes, flowers and grasses surrounding us made my brain fold back on itself and suddenly I was 11 years old once again, trudging along a dusty wooded path at Boy Scout camp–a surreal moment to be sure. But also a pleasant reminder about the many small, unexpected joys we discover with motorcycle travel.
The author’s wife Katie poses with the 2018 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 XT they took on the ride.

My wife Katie and I are native Californians but strangely enough we?ve never visited the Gold Country together, nor have we toured Yosemite National Park as a couple. So we started by spending a few nights along State Route 49 in the vicinity of Jamestown, Sonora, Columbia and Twain Harte, an ar...