Back in March, I wrote a post called Tips & Tricks Part 1. Here is another installment with a few observations that occurred to me today while commuting 40 miles in the rain. Wait for it: When pulling out from red lights, I try to wait a heartbeat after the light turns green. Frequently, and [...]

When I first started writing motorcycle stories 10 years ago, one of the first things I did was seek out examples of the genre so I could inspect and dissect how the best of the best told their tales. I sought the opinions of fellow riders for recommended books and then trawled local bookstores and [...]

Nowadays almost every cell phone comes with a digital camera, which makes it easy to snap a picture and quickly share it with friends and family. Currently, one of the most popular phones is undoubtedly the Apple iPhone, which in its latest incarnation comes with a whopping 8-megapixel camera, an LED flash, and an HD [...]

When I was in kindergarten, dad borrowed a little Honda 90 from a friend and took me for a ride through the hills around our home in Elkins, West Virginia. From that day on, two-wheel doodles augmented my schoolwork, Evel Knievel toys abounded, and the Schwinn Stingray became an impromptu motocrosser. I caught my first [...]

Today is Mother’s Day. I’ll take my annual ride to Wind Gap, PA, to see my mom, Mary Claire Einfalt. I’ll pick up a plant and gently pack it in my top box. Mom loves flowers and has a bit of a green thumb. Every year she points out the flowers my siblings and I [...]

I’m really happy it’s spring. Granted, today isn’t the finest day we’ve had in the last couple of weeks. It’s a little chilly, a lot rainy, and generally not conducive to inspiring an after-work spin through the country. Still, that doesn’t mean all motorcycling activity must grind to a halt. Days like today are good [...]

Spring has arrived and the “Regular Season” for touring motorcyclists is just around the corner. Similar to spring training for professional baseball players, riders need to make sure we and our mounts are ready for another exciting riding season. Here are a few reminders: Be All You Can Be, Physically: Practically everyone knows that riding [...]

Last weekend Christa, Zane, and I met in Maggie Valley, the meeting point of the 2012 Touring Weekend, to test the layout of the routes, set lunch places, and make sure the roads are where they are supposed to be. Who knows, maybe they moved. Of course it’s a great excuse to ride in the [...]

Yesterday my wife and I were meeting with our lawyer to make out our will, what people of a “certain age” do for bonding. In the midst of this catalog of paperwork is the health part, and those questions about extending your life by being put on “machines,” of which my answer was no. It [...]

Personally, one of the best things about motorcycling is that it necessitates living in the moment. No past or present; only now matters. It’s a Zen concept but one that certainly applies to riding. It’s a time to recharge your batteries and go places deep within yourself that are better reached without words, places we [...]

We are currently testing out a pair of POV cameras – the Contour ROAM and DriftHD. Both are small, able to mount on a helmet or on the bike, are waterproof, and shoot HD 1080p video. We’ll be putting them through their paces this summer, taking them on stories and other adventures. In the meantime, we’d like [...]

Many motorcycles, particularly dual sport and other off-road-oriented bikes, still use manual clutch cables. For fear of being stranded in the middle of nowhere by a broken clutch cable, I always carried an extra cable, along with an additional front inner tube and several other tools and repair items for my 2006 Kawasaki 650 KLR. [...]

It has only been one week since the race in Jerez, Spain and the excitement continues on the Iberian peninsula. The Estoril Circuit in Portugal presented the third round of the 2012 MotoGP series. Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) qualified for pole position in Sunday’s race, followed by Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) and Cal Crutchlow (Monster [...]

One of my all-time favorite movies is Creator (1985), starring Peter O’Toole. It’s a quirky film that appeals to my nostalgic and sympathetic nature. The main character (Dr. Harry Wolper) is talking longingly of his late wife when he says: “When Lucy and I first met, Paul, the world was a pet. It came along [...]

No, I’m not talking about those interstate joints with the instantly recognizable logos and monikers of soothing, focus-group-driven words with the obligatory “Inn” tacked on. The motels I’m looking for are the old-school motor courts. They used to be everywhere, their colorful, flashing neon signs beckoning weary travelers with promises of “Color TV” and “Air-Conditioning.” [...]