Tours

Nov/Dec '17

City Escape: Spokane, Washington

Spanning two states and some of the most beautiful real estate in the nation, this Spokane, WA, City Escape is truly memorable. Best ridden in spring through fall, the route flanks the banks of miles of pristine lakes and rivers. Evergreens, water, curves, and views rule the day on this

Sep/Oct '17 Premium Content

California and Nevada: In the Tire Tracks of a Pioneer

In May 1903, George A. Wyman left San Francisco with the then-crazy idea of riding his motorcycle all the way to New York City. In the Beginning I stand at the intersection of Market and Kearny Streets in San Francisco. Tall buildings block the sun and reflect the noise

Sep/Oct '17 Premium Content

Kansas: Finding the Forgotten Prairieland

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Kansas was a major transportation crossroads: immigrant trails led pioneers west, cattle routes passed through from Texas, and a network of railroads bisected the state. This land was also home to many of America’s quintessential small towns. Most of Old Kansas has

Sep/Oct '17 Premium Content

Ligonier, Pennsylvania Shamrock Tour®: On the Road with Friends

It’s that time of the year again, our annual Touring Weekend. A memorial ride for my late father who, along with my mother, started this very magazine. He was riding a sidecar when a freak accident took his life—he was only 45. At the time, I was just

Sep/Oct '17 Premium Content

Germany: Down by the River

Germany is home to two famous rivers, the Rhine and the Danube. But it’s the underdog, the Main (pronounced “mine”) River, which connects some of the most beautiful motorcycling areas in the country. The Main meanders drunkenly between the most traditional and innovative beer brewing areas in Franconian Switzerland

Sep/Oct '17

City Escape: West Palm Beach, Florida

Sep/Oct '17

City Escape: Colorado Springs, CO

This scenic loop west of Colorado Springs includes some great small towns and miles of tree-lined splendor. Some iconic mountains and rock formations are mixed in for good measure. The ride is best made from late spring through early fall. Rocky Mountain weather is, to say the least, variable,

Jul/Aug '17 Premium Content

Western New York: Exploring History on a Scrambler

Peel back the thin veneer of modern life and you will find layers and layersof history, stories of struggle and conquest, innovation and revolution. Turn your motorcycle into a time machine and immerse yourself in the past. Fun fact: there are more museums, historic sites, and historical societies in the

Jul/Aug '17 Premium Content

Arkansas: The Untamed Side of the Natural State

A tawny, striped face stares at me, unblinking. The Bengal tiger must weigh almost 400 pounds, and she is only a few steps away. I didn’t know there were tigers in Arkansas. Her name is Crysta and she is a permanent resident at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, seven miles

Jul/Aug '17 Premium Content

England on Enfields: Stay Left, Look Right

“Look for Big Al. Tell him Tall Paul sent you …” With a wave, these words end our first black cab ride in London. Who’d have thought our cabbie would know someone at the one Royal Enfield dealer in East London, where we are staying, on a trip that will

Jul/Aug '17 Premium Content

The Dalles, Oregon Shamrock Tour®: Exploring the Columbia River Gorge Area

The Columbia River Gorge’s breathtaking vistas owe its heritage to a series of geological cataclysms during the last ice age. A huge 2,000-foot-deep glacial lake had formed over present day Missoula, MT. The ice dam, impounding the glacial melt, gave way, sending a massive torrent of

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

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.

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 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

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

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

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

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