Tours

Jul/Aug '14 Premium Content

Kentucky: Doughnut Hunting Going Around in Circles

We came here seeking doughnuts. No, not the dunkin’ kind; calling those toroids doughnuts is like calling Chef Boyardee Italian food. No, we’re here for the real deal. And we’re willing to ride to find them. Thoroughbred From the rolling waves of Kentucky Blue Grass come some of

Jul/Aug '14 Premium Content

Midway, Utah Shamrock Tour®: Where the Swiss Settled

It’s the fourth day of our adventure in Utah. We skip breakfast to get an early start as meteorologists are calling for thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highway 40 takes us out of Midway past Heber City and Daniels Summit Lodge toward Strawberry Reservoir. The low sun provides warm light.

Jul/Aug '14 Premium Content

Weekend for Two: Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Known as “The Little Switzerland of America,” Eureka Springs, AR, offers the perfect escape for couples looking for a romantic getaway to another time. The town gets its name, and much of its history, from a nearby spring that was reputed to hold special healing powers. When word spread about

Jul/Aug '14 Premium Content

Weekend for Two: Staunton, Virginia

Nestled in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, Staunton, VA, is a cultural crossroads offering a weekend of art, history, and motorcycling. The city is home to the American Shakespeare Center, the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, and the Museum of American Frontier Culture. Staunton’s quaint downtown features many buildings

Jul/Aug '14 Premium Content

Reader Ride-North Carolina and Tennessee: Riding the Dragon’s Tail

May/Jun '14

City Escape: San Diego, California

> This ride travels to Julian, an old mining town, in the Laguna Mountains. Roads wind through a picturesque country setting, into the mountains, and down through the desert. The Julian area is most beautiful during the springtime, and the Anza Borrego Desert is cool enough to ride at that

May/Jun '14

City Escape: Orlando, Florida

> Seeking to escape the wonderful world of Disney? Take this clockwise loop around Central Florida’s third largest lake (Apopka) and Lake Dora to the city of Tavares, which is known as America’s Seaplane City. This lakeside community of luncheon and landing spots melds perfectly with pilots of

May/Jun '14 Premium Content

Arizona Backcountry Discovery Route: American Walkabout

What am I doing with my life? Where am I headed? We all reach a point when we question ourselves and the meaning of life. Maybe you’re stuck in a dead-end job, maybe you’re not getting along with your spouse, or maybe the ever-increasing demand for

May/Jun '14 Premium Content

Deadwood, South Dakota Shamrock Tour®: The Black Hills and Beyond

“My hat is off to South Dakota Treasures … Go to South Dakota, but drive there. It is so near to us all and yet I never knew, nor had ever heard much about its southwestern treasure house ….” — Frank Lloyd Wright Motoring west across the Great Plains, we see the dark

May/Jun '14 Premium Content

Southern Ohio: Lighten Up

Judging a tour by miles ridden is like rating a meal according to calories consumed. Camping tours, in particular, pilfer at least a couple of hours each day for set up and tear down and often leave one wondering where the time went. With the goal of lowering daily mileage

May/Jun '14 Premium Content

Ontario, Canada: O Canada? Fugghedaboutit!

“What?!” It’s Canada Day weekend, and it seems like everyone and their grandmother is getting out of Toronto and hauling all sorts of pop-up campers, canoes, motorboats, and bored teenagers with them. Back home in Jersey, there would be tailgating, passing in the right lane, and cussing as

May/Jun '14 Premium Content

Reader Ride-Nordkapp, Norway: An Irishman at the Top of Europe

Nordkapp (North Cape) has been a mystical place for me since I was a boy. I remember 
reading a book about a car journey from North Cape to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. It was probably written in the early ‘50s. I never dreamed then that I

Mar/Apr '14

City Escape: Victoria, British Columbia

> Ride west from historic Victoria via Vancouver Island’s rugged coastline to Port Renfrew, then cross the island through remote villages and ancient forests as well as along rushing rivers back to the Trans Canada Highway by Lake Cowichan. Admire the totem poles in Duncan, and ride the spectacular

Mar/Apr '14

City Escape: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

> This route meanders along both sides of the Delaware River through New Hope and Easton to its northernmost point in Columbia, NJ. Spring to fall is the best time to take this shaded scenic ride. Length Approximately 165 miles Meet-up Spot The Eagle Diner, 739 W Street Rd,

Mar/Apr '14 Premium Content

Ethiopia: One More Cup of Coffee before the Desert

After an extreme experience in 2001, I was forever done with Ethiopia. Nonetheless, ten years later, I went back with my husband, Herbert, in search of the best coffee in the world. Much to my surprise, I saw the country from an exciting new angle. My old picture of Ethiopia

Mar/Apr '14 Premium Content

Little Switzerland, NC Shamrock Tour®: The Parkway's Hidden Gem

Western North Carolina is a mountainous area where the Blue Ridge Parkway slices through the state on a northeast to southwest diagonal. An ideal setting of endless curves and fun in these mountains creates a natural playground for motorcyclists. Fifty miles east of Asheville, NC, right on the route, is

Mar/Apr '14 Premium Content

Idaho, Washington, and Oregon: The Lewis & Clark Trail

By fall 1805, the Corps of Discovery was following Lolo Pass through the snow-covered Bitterroot Mountains. The men were near starvation when Sergeant John Ordway recorded in his journal: “We followed down the main creek about 4 miles had nothing to eat but Some portable Soup we being hungry

Mar/Apr '14 Premium Content

Big Bend, Texas: Into the Great Wide Open

We wake to sunny skies, a forecast in the mid-70s, and our bikes are ready to go. As I pull on my boots, my pulse quickens. I sense that this is going to be a great day for riding. Stepping outside, I find it hard to believe that it’

Mar/Apr '14 Premium Content

Reader Ride: San Pedro, California-The Long Way Home

San Pedro enjoys a mild year-round Mediterranean climate with cool ocean breezes and usual temps around 72 degrees. In addition to easy access to kayaking, skin diving, mountain biking, hiking, surfing, and sailing, it also happens to be a great place for motorcycling. I ride my 2003 Triumph Bonneville

Jan/Feb '14 Premium Content

World Travelers: Australia Coasting Down Under

The arid air of Western Australia tugs at the peaks of our enduro helmets, and we’re about to change worlds. Behind us is red Martian dust, ancient history, and beautiful isolation. Easing off the throttle, we bounce from our sandy track onto the asphalt and enter the modern world

Jan/Feb '14

City Escape: Toronto, Ontario

> Use Kingston Road and Highway 2 to escape Canada’s most populous city; then let the twisty backroads of the Kawarthas take you away from the crush of traffic. Keep watch for the Buckhorn, Dyno, and Northeys Bay Road. The best times to ride are late September, early October,

Jan/Feb '14

City Escape: St. Louis, Missouri

> Riders will follow the Missouri River along its serpentine course from the outskirts of St. Louis to the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. Pleasant views of farmland, charming villages, and numerous vineyards abound on this journey through the Missouri Rhineland. Length Approximately 230 miles Meet-up Spot Starbucks,

Jan/Feb '14 Premium Content

North Dakota and Montana: The Lewis & Clark Trail

When the Lewis & Clark Expedition departed Fort Mandan on April 7, 1805, Lewis noted in his journal, “we were now about to penetrate a country at least two thousand miles in width, on which the foot of civillized man had never trodden; the good or evil it had in

Jan/Feb '14 Premium Content

Salem, Oregon Shamrock Tour®: Over the River and Through the Woods

Dense stands of old-growth conifers line ribbons of smooth asphalt that climb from the crashing waves and rolling fog of the Pacific Ocean to the desolate lava fields and craggy peaks of the Cascade Range. Despite 30-degree temperature swings, the weather is perfect. Welcome to Oregon. Early on

Jan/Feb '14 Premium Content

Vermont: One if by Land. Two if by Sea. Three if by KLR.

Water is entering the top of my Alpinestars Alpha Touring boot as the entire left side of my body is being introduced to the cool refreshing waters of Pond Brook. The trusty Kawasaki KLR is getting a much needed (yet unexpected) rinse—the victim of an underwater obstacle and an