Tours

Jan/Feb '15

City Escape: Charlotte, North Carolina

> Leaving the hustle and bustle of the Queen City, it doesn’t take long to find curvy, scenic mountain roads that will delight any motorcyclist. There are several interesting stops along the way, but this loop is all about the ride. The area’s moderate climate makes this route

Jan/Feb '15

City Escape: Little Rock, Arkansas

> This route takes you from Little Rock into the Ouachita Mountains and provides riders with some of the best roads and scenic overlooks in Arkansas, plus the opportunity for a relaxing mineral bath in historic Hot Springs. Length Approximately 200 miles Meet-up Spot Starbucks at 12901 Cantrell Rd,

Jan/Feb '15 Premium Content

Reader Ride – Cape Breton, Nova Scotia: Island Hopping

Sometimes you have an idea you know isn’t smart, but you go ahead regardless. Sometimes it turns out you were worried about nothing. Sometimes it turns out you were dead right, but things work out anyway. That’s what happened when I went off-roading in the Cape Breton

Jan/Feb '15 Premium Content

Washington—Olympic Peninsula: Water Rules

The Olympic Peninsula is not only surrounded by water on three sides—it is ruled by the wet elements, which forms a unique place in the Pacific Northwest. Whack! This could go so wrong, I think to myself. Just before the salmon hits the faces of the surprised customers, the

Jan/Feb '15 Premium Content

Brainerd, Minnesota Shamrock Tour®: Classic American Getaway

We are riding north to Brainerd from Minneapolis through the northwestern part of the Midwest, where people are genuinely friendly, always have time for chitchat, and cherish beer and cheese as it was intended. My wife, Sarah, and I already feel right at home, at least in July (cold winter

Nov/Dec '14

City Escape: Albuquerque, New Mexico

> This loop ride north of Albuquerque, with its rugged natural beauty, pre-historic Native American ruins, and the “Atomic City,” will not disappoint. It features curvy ribbons of asphalt, expansive vistas, and numerous reasons to drop the kickstand. The moderate southwestern climate makes this route ride-able virtually year-

Nov/Dec '14 Premium Content

Central Europe: European Romance Tour

Some of the most beautiful places in central Europe are connected by outstanding motorcycle roads that are just perfect for our KTM 1190 Adventure R. On this tour, every overnight location is protected by UNESCO World Heritage status, and each September day leads my wife and me through a completely

Nov/Dec '14 Premium Content

Maui, Hawaii: Jungle vs. Paradise

When I finally booked my ticket to Hawaii for the first time, I had no idea what was in store for me or how it was going to change my life. Honestly, I would have never bought the ticket if it weren’t for a friend that I met four

Nov/Dec '14 Premium Content

Colorado Rockies: Mountains, Mesas, and Monsoon Season?

What a difference a day makes. Riding the ski lift at Crested Butte, my wife, Sharon, and I attempt to watch both the alpine panorama unfolding ahead and the shrinking festival grounds below where Lukas Nelson’s band POTR is performing to a growing crowd under a sapphire blue sky.

Nov/Dec '14 Premium Content

Oneonta, New York Shamrock Tour®: City of the Hills

“The Neuhauser gang is on the road again.” I’m almost certain that’s how my dad would have started this tour article. The last time we were on a family tour it was 2003, and it was four of us. Now more than ten years later and only three

Nov/Dec '14 Premium Content

Reader Ride: Scotland – Single Malt Moto Tour

It’s a balmy August morning, and I am crammed into a train car with hundreds of gray-suited commuters. Destination: London. I feel smug pleasure knowing that I am about to embark on an adventure, while they are headed to another day of office drudgery. And what an adventure!

Nov/Dec '14

City Escape: Baltimore, Maryland

> Rustic backroads meander through a pastoral, cultivated landscape dotted with picturesque villages. On every day of the week, except Sunday, riders can observe the unique, back-in-time Amish lifestyle on full display. And there are plenty of roadside collectibles for sale by local artisans. This route can be

Sep/Oct '14

City Escape: Kansas City, Missouri

> Easily negotiated, relaxing route that features interesting historical locations and rural byways across sprawling prairielands. The best time to go is late June through October to avoid potentially severe thunderstorms in spring and especially cold riding conditions in other months. Length Approximately 200 miles Meet-up Spot Starbucks at

Sep/Oct '14 Premium Content

Iceland: An Adventure-riding Paradise

“Ride a motorcycle through Iceland? You’ve got to be kidding me. Isn’t that a frozen, windblown island nation in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean?” Well, I’ve been awakened to the fact that this place of “fire and ice” is one of the most beautiful, diverse,

Sep/Oct '14

City Escape: Los Angeles, California Northbound

> A great northern escape from Los Angeles is through Ojai and the Los Padres National Forest, which is commonly considered the “better way” of getting to the Pacific Coast Highway from LA (between Cambria and Carmel). Best rides are in the fall when central valley temps drop below 100

Sep/Oct '14 Premium Content

South Africa: The Rainbow Nation

It’s a long flight, whichever way you spin it. Even though I remind myself of the old adage that it’s about the journey as much as the destination, I think that philosophy doesn’t apply here. Yet as I read my travel guide from the constricted comfort of

Sep/Oct '14 Premium Content

Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont: American Industrial Revolution

When British immigrant Samuel Slater introduced the first mechanized system of spinning cotton in the 1790s, America was still an agrarian society with a widely dispersed population, but that would soon start changing. Jeff Arpin (on the Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic), and I (on the Kawasaki Ninja 1000) have traveled

Sep/Oct '14 Premium Content

Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington: The Scenic Way

I’m standing in a fine Japanese garden, and I’m looking at a volcano—an exotic combination. I didn’t have to go too far. This is neither Tokyo nor Mount Fuji. I’m in Portland, OR. Toward the east, the snow capped peak of Mount Hood is clearly

Sep/Oct '14 Premium Content

Tallahassee, Florida Shamrock Tour®: Prospecting in the Panhandle

Reportedly searching for the Fountain of Youth, Juan Ponce de León landed on North America’s most prominent peninsula in 1513. He named it La Florida, or the flowery land, as he arrived around Easter. Roughly 500 years later, we’re not here to look for any magical waters; we’

Sep/Oct '14 Premium Content

Reader Ride–Colorado High Country: Back to My Childhood Home

Our 2012 Honda Gold Wing purrs as we head south on U.S. 6 through the beautiful Spanish Fork region. It’s Day 2 of our seven-day journey from Eagle, ID, to Golden, CO, where I grew up. I look forward to sharing my home turf with Howard, my

Jul/Aug '14 Premium Content

Weekend for Two: Paso Robles, California

When you head on tour with your special someone, you aren’t just looking for nice roads and pretty views; you’re on the hunt for a place where you can relax, unwind, and enjoy some quality time together. That’s just what you’ll find in Paso Robles, CA.

Jul/Aug '14

City Escape: Québec City to the Charlevoix Area

> Panoramas, mountains, history, geography, and gastronomy are along this route. Venture on Avenue Royale (Route de la Nouvelle-France), one of the oldest roads in Canada. Take the side roads to quaint villages on the shores of the St. Lawrence and enjoy bakeries and local cheeses. Length Approximately 200

Jul/Aug '14

City Escape: Denver, Colorado

> Dual sport Colorado in a day! The twisty paved roads of Jarre Canyon connect to the sandy forest of Rampart Range and return you to pavement among the stunning rock formations of the Garden of the Gods before soaring 14,115 paved feet of elevation on Pikes Peak. Ride

Jul/Aug '14 Premium Content

California: Extremes in America’s Far West

This is not the best way to start our trip—but what shall we do? Today is one of those many days when the fog from the cold Pacific rules San Francisco’s weather. We had planned to ride across the Golden Gate Bridge and then cut east. But in

Jul/Aug '14 Premium Content

Romania: Ceausescu’s Folly—Transylvania and the Transfagarasan Highway

Best road in the world or communist tyrant’s power trip? Only one way to find out! It was on a bus tour in the early 1970s that I discovered Romania. I remember little but the awful food and how our nervous guide evaded political questions, pointing instead to distant