Tours

Mar/Apr '19

City Escape: Topeka, Kansas

For folks who have the misimpression that Kansas is just one huge flat wheat field, the Flint Hills region is in fact a landscape of subtle beauty and fascinating history. If you’re not from these parts, and even if you are, prepare to be surprised. Length Approximately 220 miles

Jan/Feb '19 Premium Content

Eastern Tennessee: Inspiration in the Hills

Silence consumes the surrounding Tennessee hills—insects around here sleep in. With my coffee cup balanced on the gas lid of the KTM, I assemble my bag. One of the greatest thrills of a motorcycle trip is the shedding of excess baggage, literally and figuratively. The saddle bags, extra pants,

Jan/Feb '19 Premium Content

Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ontario: The Superior Trip

This story is a gift to my father, Daniel Lynn Swab, the most important person to me on earth. In fact, he’s the reason that I got into photography when I was younger. Not because he enjoyed taking photos, but because there were no photos taken of him. Born

Jan/Feb '19 Premium Content

Suriname, French Guiana, and Brazil: Exotic Amazon

After a year of preparation, and waiting two long weeks in Paramaribo, Suriname, we get the green light from customs officials to uncrate and reassemble our KTM 690 Enduro R bikes. Finally, the second phase of “The Riding Reporters” South AmericaN adventure is set to begin! Three years ago, Daniëlle

Jan/Feb '19

City Escape: Fort Collins, Colorado

This 105-mile section of CO-14 has become an all-time favorite over the years. Leaving Ft. Collins, the road winds alongside the Cache la Poudre River and climbs steadily into Roosevelt National Forest until it reaches Cameron Pass (10,200 ft). From there it descends steeply before flattening

Jan/Feb '19

City Escape: San Jose, California

Jan/Feb '19 Premium Content

Athens, Ohio: Windy 9

As the official home base of Ohio’s Windy 9, Athens marks the beginning and end of every route on the list. It’s sizeable enough to offer plenty of lodgings, and urban enough to serve up the region’s largest collection of dining, shopping, and nightlife options. During our

Shamrock Tour® Premium Content

Billings, Montana Shamrock Tour®: Touch the Sky

I land in Billings and meet Cameron at the moto-inspired MoAV Coffee House. We’re both eager to spend time in Big Sky country, and brand-new 2018 Gold Wings await us at Montana Honda & Marine. The next morning we start with breakfast at Stella’s for strong

Nov/Dec '18 Premium Content

Michigan: Doing the Drift

The old lumbering town of Lewiston located in the north-central area of Michigan’s lower peninsula has a unique claim to fame. Lewiston is the only town in the U.S. to host two National Rally events a year. In January, the rally crowd descends on Lewiston to turn

Nov/Dec '18 Premium Content

North Carolina: The Great Triple-Digit Escape

It’s another 100-plus-degree day in “Middle-earth” of North Carolina. The office air conditioner is struggling to keep up as the warmth radiates from the large windows. We haven’t ridden in a few weeks due to the heat and humidity. Fortunately for us, the Great Smoky

Nov/Dec '18 Premium Content

Grants Pass, Oregon Shamrock Tour®: Land of the Rogue

He stands guard over the north entrance to the city nigh 20 feet tall, hardened arms and sinewy muscles, a mighty club gripped tightly in his left hand. He’s the Grants Pass Caveman statue, a novelty of both civic-minded businessmen and mascot of the local high school. The

Nov/Dec '18 Premium Content

Patagonia: Return of the Guanaco

We started at the southern tip of the continent and have seen many wondrous things. After a day off the bikes, the adventure of a lifetime continues … As much as I might have enjoyed a second day lounging on the shores of Lago Gral Carrera, it feels good being back

Nov/Dec '18

City Escape: Reno, Nevada

Nov/Dec '18

City Escape: Scranton, Pennsylvania

Get a taste of the Pocono Mountains and savor sweeping backroads to tight curves. This loop takes you along the Delaware and Lackawaxen Rivers and through the Delaware State Forest—a perfect mix of riding and country scenery sure to spark a smile or three. Length Approximately 220 miles Meet-

Sep/Oct '18 Premium Content

Kentucky to Idaho: Totally Eclipsed

I look for excuses to ride. Are we out of milk? I’ll be right back! Have you heard about the new breakfast joint that serves real maple syrup? Let’s check it out this weekend! Did you know a total solar eclipse is crossing the entire country? Let’s

Sep/Oct '18 Premium Content

Patagonia: Cry of the Guanaco

Write it down, write it all down before you forget! Write about the bikes, the people, the roads, the plains, the mountains, the lakes, the rivers, the glaciers, and the guanaco. Don’t forget the guanaco … Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina We gather in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in

Sep/Oct '18 Premium Content

California Amid Redwoods and Literary Giants

After years of traipsing the globe, putting various motorcycles on gloriously winding roads and mountain passes from South Africa to Tuscany and Morocco to Mississippi, I find myself returning again and again to the Central Coast of California, specifically Carmel and Big Sur. This part of the world is my

Sep/Oct '18 Premium Content

South Central Tennessee Shamrock Tour®: Nashville Countryside

Nashville is known the world over for its country music, and for many people that’s as far as it goes. I like the music too. But it’s the hills and smooth two-lane roads in the surrounding countryside that recently drew me there. The four loops of this

Sep/Oct '18

City Escape: Dallas/Fort Worth

This is an entertaining and varied loop located due west of the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area. Dotted with interesting towns and land features, it also offers a sampling of several different road types from straights to sweeping curves and even a few hairpins. The ride can be enjoyed year-

Sep/Oct '18

City Escape: Hamilton, Ohio

This serene ride through rural America shows off the region’s beauty, and it also offers plenty of things to see and do in Hamilton and nearby towns. Country byways, Acton Lake, Miami University, and a KitchenAid factory serve up even more ways to stimulate the senses. Length Approximately 115

Jul/Aug '18 Premium Content

Western Washington: Wilderness & Waves

Beauty is truth, truth beauty—John Keats A photo story of a 600-mile motorcycle tour of The Evergreen State. Motorcycle & Gear 2016 Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin 2008 BMW F 800 GS Helmets: Arai Quantum II, Shoei GT Air Jackets: BMW Commuter 3, BMW GS Dry Pants: Firstgear Jeans

Jul/Aug '18 Premium Content

Alaska: From Whitehorse to Deadhorse and Back

“Somebody will pick you up at the airport and drive you to where the bike is, about 30 kilometers outside of town. Bring cash.” Those were more or less my instructions for a loaner bike I somehow found by pure luck, combined with a healthy dose of trust. I’m

Jul/Aug '18 Premium Content

China: Keeping up with Indiana Jones

Riding across China is a motorcycle adventure like no other. Our China journey includes the Tibetan Plateau’s frigid mountains and grassy plains, the Gobi Desert’s towering pale beige sand dunes, and the Central Basin’s sweltering heat and humidity. We cover it all on small displacement Zongshen motorcycles,

May/Jun '18 Premium Content

Expedition Idaho: Where Memory Lane Isn’t Paved

Going the distance can mean so many different things. For wanderers, it typically refers to making a trip longer than expected, by choice, or sometimes, by forces beyond our control. For others, it just means that you’ve gone, or are going, as far as you can. Last year I

May/Jun '18 Premium Content

Rome, Georgia Shamrock Tour®: High Spirits in the Southern Appalachians

The Southern Appalachian Mountains dominate the landscape of North Georgia and Northeast Alabama. These ancient mountains have been the upland home of Native Americans and have borne witness to their life and death struggles from the earliest traces of human habitation (12,000 to 15,000 years ago) into the