Tours

Jul/Aug '17 Premium Content

Reader Ride: Pony Express Trail

“WANTED: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily.” I meet none of the prerequisites to qualify for this trip as the 1860 handbill advertised. Yet I’m intrigued by the history of the Pony Express Trail and reckon it’s as

Jul/Aug '17 Premium Content

Costa Rica: Call of the Wild

Arriving in Costa Rica a day early, Kris and I decide to take a walking tour of San José, the small country’s bustling capital. A first, chance encounter with the legendary Pan-American Highway stops us in our tracks. Standing curbside at the busy roadway with no crosswalks or signals,

Jul/Aug '17

City Escape: Salt Lake City, Utah

This route leads through central Wasatch Mountain State Park and offers stunning views of the surrounding valleys and peaks. The best time to travel is in the summer, but even then unpredictable weather can bring snow. Autumn is especially beautiful. The loop is intentionally short to allow riders time to

Jul/Aug '17

City Escape: Ann Arbor, Michigan

Enjoy a relaxing ride through small towns and farmland to the northwest before dipping south into the Irish Hills, which got its name from the Irish immigrants who settled there in the 1800s. Some of the best scenery and roads in southeastern and central Michigan are incorporated in the route.

May/Jun '17

City Escape: Milwaukee

When selecting a route near Milwaukee, it often pays to follow the hometown iron. Highway 67 is very popular with Milwaukee Harley riders, as they take this twisting route through Kettle Moraine State Forest. A bonus is the small town of Eagle, which offers various pub and grill establishments and

May/Jun '17

City Escape: Charleston, SC

South Carolina’s Lowcountry is rich in history, art, cuisine, and natural wonder, and the perfect setting for a late spring or summer ride. Take in Charleston’s brilliant colors and blooming azaleas and magnolias, then saddle up for a charming ride north through surrounding small towns and forests, with

May/Jun '17 Premium Content

Reader Ride: Namibia, Africa

There comes a time in every man’s life when you realize you are never going to meet certain goals you set for yourself. Call it the proverbial “midlife crisis” or just a healthy dose of reality brought on by too many years treading water in the flotsam and jetsam

May/Jun '17 Premium Content

Washington: Volcanic Venture

I won the lottery—and I didn’t even know I was playing. Growing up in Europe where there is usually another town every couple of miles, I wasn’t aware that I could ride for 75 miles without seeing a single gas station. In Washington, I don’t need

May/Jun '17 Premium Content

Augusta, GA Shamrock Tour:

It’s June—high season for a motorcycle magazine. Just a short five months ago, my wife, Sarah, and I welcomed Oliver, our first child, into this world. Like most new parents, I think, we questioned the hospital for letting us take this fragile little human home just a few

May/Jun '17 Premium Content

Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma: Riding the Cherokee Trail of Tears Part III

We pick up the Cherokee removal journey in central Missouri: “We travelled about 12 miles to a settlement called Port Royal (believed to be Waynesville by researchers), on the banks of a beautiful stream, named Rubedoo. Here we had a delightful place, on the bank of the river, convenient to

May/Jun '17 Premium Content

Southeast Australia

To experience as many different environments as possible, in only three weeks: this is our mission. What better place to attempt such a journey than Australia, a beautiful and largely unknown country with a population of only 24 million people. Aboard an R 1200 GS, I’m joined by a

May/Jun '17 Premium Content

Ecuador and Colombia: The End of the Road

We’re riding north on the Pan-American Highway, passing lush, green meadows and houses with gable roofs and stucco façades. For a moment, the landscape feels strangely European. But we’re quickly reminded we aren’t at home: After four months of motorcycling in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru on

Mar/Apr '17 Premium Content

New Mexico Backcountry Discovery Route: The Desert Crucible

The purest art of creating Damascus steel, that extraordinary blade with the wavy design seen in antique knives and swords from the Middle East, is lost to mankind. Speculation suggests multiple layers of metals were forged, folded, and welded together to form a single blade of exceptional quality. Certain aspects

Mar/Apr '17 Premium Content

Athens, Ohio Shamrock Tour®:Oh Me Oh My Ohio!

Ohio is an amazingly contradictory land. In places, it’s as flat as a Ping-Pong table with arrow-straight swaths of asphalt plowing through endless acres of agriculture. But in the southern part of the state, rugged hills magically rise from nowhere, grab the road, and rumple it into a glorious

Mar/Apr '17 Premium Content

TN, KY, IL, and MO: Trail of Tears Pt 2

“Left Brainerd for the Cherokee camps … Thus we leave this place, perhaps never to return.” —The Journal of Rev. Daniel S. Butrick, October 4, 1839 Reverend Butrick departed from Calhoun, TN, with the Richard Taylor Detachment on the overland Northern Route. My wingman, Bob Brown, and me, however, initially follow

Mar/Apr '17 Premium Content

Peru: Land of the Incas

Contrary to what many Peruvians believe, they’re not the best drivers in the world—at least, that was our experience. In oncoming traffic, they drive straight at you, crossing over lanes on hills and blind corners, and swinging way out on the wrong side of the road when taking

Mar/Apr '17 Premium Content

Portugal: The Prettiest End of Europe

The prettiest end of Europe—that could be the most accurate description of Portugal. Remnant’s of this once-enormous empire are scattered throughout, from its decadent dining establishments to haunting historical buildings. One can’t forget the country’s beautiful coastline though, or its peaceful countryside, which is exactly where

Mar/Apr '17

City Escape: Knoxville, Tennessee

This route, in and around the Smoky Mountains, has a little bit of everything: exceptionally curvy roads, stunning scenery, charming villages, and an iconic movie location. There are few one-day rides in America that can compare to this escape. The route is appropriate for experienced mountain riders who will treat

Mar/Apr '17

City Escape: Portland, Oregon

Fuel up at See See Motor Coffee in northeast Portland and head west through the Coast Range to explore Oregon’s logging heritage and see where Lewis and Clark spent a soggy winter in 1805-06. The city of Astoria thrives as a port and tourist destination, and winding roads along

Jan/Feb '17

City Escape: Honolulu, Hawaii

Aloha, island riders. This escape from the bustle of Honolulu is a figure eight that features most of what makes Oahu great. The ride includes the can’t-miss twists, turns, and views of Round Top/Tantalus Drive. It also boasts miles of coastal riding and two passes through the impressive

Jan/Feb '17

City Escape: Roanoke, Virginia

This Star City roundabout is a City Escape with an attitude. Seriously folks, only dual sports need apply. The first 40 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway are perfect to relax and shake off the morning kinks. Once you drop off the mountain on Route 812 at the Sunset Field

Jan/Feb '17 Premium Content

California and Nevada: Riding the Highs and Lows of the Old West

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” —F. Scott Fitzgerald Scott’s famous metaphor, the last line of The Great Gatsby, applies to motorcycle touring, for much of what we seek aside from the joyful highs of the road and the wind is

Jan/Feb '17 Premium Content

Kanab, Utah Shamrock Tour: The Greatest Earth on Show®

It’s a beautiful late spring morning as Kris and I prepare for the first of four days exploring southwestern Utah. It’s no secret the state has some of the most fantastic scenery and roads this side of anywhere, and we are more than eager to get underway. Jurassic

Jan/Feb '17 Premium Content

Washington, D.C. to Tennessee: Trail of Tears

Missionary Daniel Butrick kept a journal of his travels with the Cherokee People as they were force-marched to Indian Territory during the winter of 1838-39. It is one of the saddest episodes in American history, with the depths of despair grippingly described in this entry: “… the government might more mercifully

Jan/Feb '17 Premium Content

Bolivia: Salt, Sand, and Altitude Sickness

The border crossing to enter Bolivia is serious. The customs officer checks our passports, insurance, VIN numbers, registration papers, and license plates. Finally we are good to go, heading for La Paz, where we will meet a group of female Bolivian artisans crafting to gain independence. Crossing the river that