May/Jun '16 - RoadRUNNER

RoadRUNNER

May/Jun '16

May/June 2016

San Francisco, CA to Denver, CO: Over the Barriers

May/Jun '16 Premium Content

San Francisco, CA to Denver, CO: Over the Barriers

To travel from San Francisco to Denver you have to cross several major ranges, endure blistering heat and frosty cold, and carve a path for yourselfup some steep and twisty inclines. There’s plenty of excitement to be had. The great traveler Marco Polo would be jealous. It took him

St. Robert, Missouri Shamrock Tour®: Ozark Odyssey

May/Jun '16 Premium Content

St. Robert, Missouri Shamrock Tour®: Ozark Odyssey

A ruggedly elegant karst landscape, replete with caves, crystal clear springs, sheer-walled high bluffs, and verdant valleys greets us in central Missouri’s Ozarks. Inviting two-lane tarmac winds through much of the picturesque topography. Bob Brown, my wingman, is astride a 2016 Indian Chief Vintage and I’m piloting the

North Carolina: A Triple Dose of the Coast

May/Jun '16 Premium Content

North Carolina: A Triple Dose of the Coast

When most motorcyclists think about North Carolina, their minds instantly turn to the misty peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains, the undulating twists of the Tail of the Dragon, or the sweeping beauty of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Understandably so. But while the roads in the western part of the

City Escape: Washington, D.C.

City Escape: Washington, D.C.

Beginning halfway between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, MD, this City Escape traverses verdant, back-in-time Maryland countryside. Enticing byways wind through pastoral settings, along streams, and into the heart of historic villages. A stop for lunch just north of the Pennsylvania border gives riders an even closer glimpse of a

City Escape: Boise, Idaho

City Escape: Boise, Idaho

This loop northeast of Boise is a microcosm of the rest of the Pacific Northwest. It is varied and spectacular. Throughout the ride, the ecosystems change from high desert foothills, to chaparral, to alpine. Then there’s the water! Lakes, lazy rivers, white water rapids, and hot springs are the

Ecuador: Journey to Middle Earth

May/Jun '16 Premium Content

Ecuador: Journey to Middle Earth

Ecuador is a small country on the northwestern side of South America, sandwiched between Colombia to the north and Peru to the south. Earth’s dividing line runs through the northern part of Ecuador, which is Spanish for “equator.” The Galapagos Islands lay about 560 miles to the west. But

Prince Edward Island: Carving Coastal Canada

May/Jun '16 Premium Content

Prince Edward Island: Carving Coastal Canada

Thomas Wolfe said you can’t go home again, but every summer I try to prove him wrong by taking a motorcycle trip to Prince Edward Island, where I grew up and learned to ride. In 2015, I tried something new; I took my brother-in-law Ty on his first two-wheeled

Review: 2016 Indian Springfield

Review: 2016 Indian Springfield

> Named after the birthplace of Indian Motorcycle—Springfield, MA, back in 1901—the new 2016 Springfield combines nostalgic styling cues with modern touring amenities like a tall windscreen, cruise control, and remote-locking hard saddlebags. Merging Old-School Looks with New Technology At a casual glance, the Springfield may appear to

2014 EBR 1190SX: The Superfighter

2014 EBR 1190SX: The Superfighter

> Mention Erik Buell’s name and it’s instant street cred. When Harley-Davidson shut down Buell’s line during the financial crisis, the entrepreneur found a backer in India’s Hero Motorcycles, and Erik Buell Racing (EBR) was born. But after declaring bankruptcy and restructuring, the company, now owned

Review: 2015 Triumph Trophy

Review: 2015 Triumph Trophy

> All it takes is a quick glance at the Triumph Trophy to know who and what its designers were targeting when they built it. If you squint a little, the bike is hard to distinguish from its rival, the BMW R 1200 RT. Yet, the Trophy is its own