Tours

Jul/Aug '12 Premium Content

Montana: Going-to-the-Sun on the Cusp of Winter

The fuel tank of my Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Limited is topped off, my thermal liner is zipped in, I have on two pairs of socks, and the heated grips are cranked up all the way. I’m idling at the east entrance of the Going-to-the-Sun Road (GTTS) near St.

Jul/Aug '12 Premium Content

Pennsylvania: Camping in the Pennsylvania Wilds

When Christa asked me to do a motorcycle camping trip in Pennsylvania, I said “Sure!” with great enthusiasm. Just between you and me . . . I didn’t mean it. The last time I lashed a tent to the bike was in the dark days BFI (Before Fuel Injection). I’ve since

Jul/Aug '12 Premium Content

Reader Ride: Turkey Antalya to the Aegean

If you were to ask me to pinpoint when it all started, I would have to think back to one night a few years ago. I was flipping through channels looking for something to watch and that’s when I saw them, those two British actors riding their R 1200

Jul/Aug '12 Premium Content

Edgar Evins State Park, Tennessee Shamrock Tour®

Life’s a beach, but not after a hurricane. Our Atlantic beach trip quickly turned into a Tennessee camping tour after Irene scrubbed our plans along with most of the East Coast. It’s just as well, I suppose, since my memories of Tennessee involve blue highway “Trading Posts” stocked

May/Jun '12 Premium Content

Michigan: Riding 'round the Mitten

Once again, the “Lost Squadron” of Norb on his H-D Ultra, Jim on his Gold Wing, and I on a borrowed 2011 H-D Tri Glide (in the new “Cool Blue Pearl” color) are hitting the road. This time it’s a circle tour of Michigan’s shoreline, from Muskegon north

May/Jun '12 Premium Content

World Travelers - Mongolia: Among Genghis Khan’s Heirs

“Welcome to Mongolia!” the customs officer says to me in perfect English while tapping me fiercely on the shoulder. Greetings like this don’t happen often at border crossings. What he probably meant was more like: “Lad, since you managed to survive our chaotic border post, you shouldn’t have

May/Jun '12 Premium Content

Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Loop: Riding the Crown of the Continent

It is closer to bedtime than it is to dinnertime when I finally park the bike. But the kitchen is open until 10 p.m. here at Vimy’s Lounge & Grill at the Waterton Lakes Resort, so I order yak meatballs (since they are fresh out of elk chili)

May/Jun '12 Premium Content

Park City, Utah to Rapid City, South Dakota: Sturgis or Bust!

Shortly after the Civil War, my great-grandfather and his younger brother headed west across this great country, following the first transcontinental railroad during its construction. They built their first gun shop in Laramie, WY, which was a territory then, and eked out a modest living from this vast and beautiful

May/Jun '12 Premium Content

Hot Springs, Arkansas Shamrock Tour®: The Valley of Vapors

The Ouachita (wah-shi-tah) River runs through it: the largest mountain chain between the Rockies and the Appalachians. The gentle folds of the ancient Ouachita Mountains offer some of the best motorcycle roads in America. We’re based in a place that Native Americans called the Valley of the Vapors, so

May/Jun '12 Premium Content

California: Digging Up History in San Diego County

Eighty years ago, travelers to the gold rush town of Julian in remote eastern San Diego County had a different tale to tell about getting off the beaten path. Today, paved roads and the civilized world occupy nearly every mile of the backcountry. Escape isn’t so remote anymore, but

May/Jun '12 Premium Content

Reader Ride - Tennessee: Dual Sport Waltz

Mar/Apr '12 Premium Content

Taos, New Mexico Shamrock Tour®

The Sangre de Christo Mountains tower like a wall above the Taos Plateau. This will be my playground for the next few days. The sceneis particularly impressive when approaching the range in the late afternoon, when it is lit by the sun from the west—a beautiful sunset is almost

Mar/Apr '12 Premium Content

Virginia: Crooked Road Tour

I’m no music expert; riding motorcycles is my thing. Sure, I still dabble with playing bass in a local garage band and can claim a fat-fingered mastery of a chord or two on the six-string. But music, like riding, certainly doesn’t require a professional license to enjoy. A

Mar/Apr '12 Premium Content

Southeastern Ohio

Roller coaster roads hugging the curves of the landscape like someone rolled out a ribbon of asphalt, cresting hills with merging side streets, off-camber curves left and right—yes, these are the roads of southeastern Ohio. The adrenaline always rides high on these roads, because it’s always a thrill

Mar/Apr '12 Premium Content

World Travelers: Pamir Highway and Silk Road

The Pamir Highway: Since time immemorial, the Silk Route (M41) in Central Asia has existed as an artery of trade connecting west to east and north to south. Contrary to its name, the Silk Route is not a singular road but a web of ancient tracks and rock-strewn trails trodden

Mar/Apr '12 Premium Content

Reader Ride: Northern Vietnam

My husband, Josh, and I decided before starting a family that we really needed a BIG bike vacation. We wanted culture shock. Yet without a lot of money to spend and no previous adventure travel experience, we found it. Toronto to New York, west to Seoul, then arriving in Hanoi

Mar/Apr '12 Premium Content

Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma

Arkansas’s 19th-century western border bumped up against what was then Indian Territory. Although the Native American tribes enforced their own laws, the territory had become a haven for outlaws seeking refuge from American justice. The borderlands between Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma have a colorful history and some of the

Mar/Apr '12 Premium Content

Ottawa Valley: Oh, Canada!

June in Canada can make you forget that “Great White North” is the nickname for our neighbor above, for no signs of frosty, snowy whiteness appear anywhere. Rather, the tapestry of the Canadian countryside wraps the landscape in lush layers of summertime green spiked with colorful threads of blue, yellow,

Jan/Feb '12 Premium Content

World Travelers: Russia

As soon as I board the RUS ferry headed for Vladivostok, I can't help but notice that times are changing - and it's not just because the clocks are adjusted to Siberian Time. Once the hospitable, carefree environs of Japan are left behind, you immediately get

Jan/Feb '12 Premium Content

Adirondacks, New York

A mecca of sorts for motorcycle touring believers, the Americade in Lake George, NY, draws riders from throughout the U.S. and Canada to make this epic journey each June. For six days, heaven on two-wheels ensues, as countless tours, demo rides, vendors, and camaraderie fill the Adirondack Park. Ken

Jan/Feb '12 Premium Content

Reader Ride: Wyoming

The Big Horn Mountains in northern Wyoming include 200 miles of the most picturesque pavement in the Cowboy State. Situated midway between the Black Hills of South Dakota and Yellowstone National Park, the Big Horns are home to towering peaks, rocky canyons, and fast-flowing mountain streams. Every bend in the

Jan/Feb '12 Premium Content

Southeast Europe: Adriatic Rollercoaster Tour

Europe is a fantastic venue for motorcycle touring, thanks to its astounding variety of terrain and gorgeous scenery, ability to visit several countries and cultures within a short time and distance, and its long and fascinating history. The Edelweiss Adriatic Rollercoaster tour promises “motorcycling at its best combined with spectacular

Jan/Feb '12 Premium Content

California Coastline

Imagine the Pacific Ocean crashing against the rocky coast of California’s northern half, a ribbon of asphalt longer than a day’s ride drawing the line between the land and the sea, and you’re on your way there right now. Your flight is booked, your motorcycle rental is

Jan/Feb '12 Premium Content

Kansas

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue, and he taught the world a thing or two. Why then do I find myself in the middle of Kansas thinking that maybe ol' Chris got it wrong? I've ridden more than 30 miles since lunch and haven't

Jan/Feb '12 Premium Content

Tour of the Week: Rockville, Indiana, Shamrock Tour®

A horse-drawn buggy moves at a trot along a gravel road walled-in by regimented rows of verdant green cornstalks. The driver slows the horse to a walk before entering the dark confines of a red covered bridge, gracefully spanning a laconic stream’s slow-moving waters. The buggy emerges on the