Tours

Mar/Apr '09 Premium Content

Southern California Sojourn

Thanks to its mild climate, Los Angeles, California offers great riding almost every day of the year. And with its endless suburban sprawl and a plethora of interesting things to do and places to see, LA is a haven for motorcycle and scooter riders. We decided to take a day

Mar/Apr '09 Premium Content

California's Highway 1

It's July and I'm in Redding, California. I have to return my borrowed SV650S to American Suzuki in Los Angeles. I could strafe Interstate 5 through the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys under the blistering summer sun and get there in a day. Or I could

Mar/Apr '09 Premium Content

Eastern Tennessee

Sometimes a tour takes on a life of its own before the wheels even roll from the driveway. Unexpected, odd themes will bubble to the surface, acting as catalysts of sorts for the entire journey. Looking at the map, it dawns on me that I'm leaving the Triad

Mar/Apr '09 Premium Content

Western Iowa

Iowa, as everyone in Wisconsin knows, is that big flat place to the west where they grow corn and where all the crummy weather comes from that hits us about three days later. That's why our "gang" had to be nuts to even start a tour,

Mar/Apr '09 Premium Content

Reader Ride: Klamath Falls Trip

I could hear the alarm growing louder the more I gained consciousness. I could see the sunlight peeking through the blinds letting me know that it was time to get up and get this ride started. A stiff cup of coffee and a shower finished, I was loading my gear

Mar/Apr '09 Premium Content

Europe: Royal Riding from Vienna to Nice

Teaming up with Moto Adventures to scout out roads for upcoming tours from Vienna to Nice, I arrive in Klosterneuburg, north of the Austrian capital. Company headquarters are located there between a church and residences dating from the horse and oxcart eras of the 12th century, but the carriages chosen

Mar/Apr '09 Premium Content

The Philippines

Not every day do you get the chance to ride a motorcycle on the other side of the world. So when that opportunity arises, you best take full advantage by riding fast, riding hard, and savoring every mile. Dumaguete to Bacolod Day 1: Bacolod City. It's close to

Mar/Apr '09 Premium Content

Off-Roadin' in Eastern Ohio

Not long ago the idea of a dual-sport Shamrock Tour took root when Steve Mauk, a long-time off-road rider, ignited my imagination with tales of scenic gravel roads and trails winding through the overarching canopies of hardwood forests in his native Eastern Ohio. We collaborated on choosing a home base

Jan/Feb '09 Premium Content

Shamrock Tour® - Bryson City, North Carolina

Remember recess? It was every kid's refuge from the old three Rs. Fresh air and freedom reigned and rules were the exception. Unwinding was your sole responsibility and frolicsome fun ensued for no apparent reason. Most motorcyclists know how to get that feeling back and many of them

Jan/Feb '09 Premium Content

At Play in Paradise

Hawai'i. The name sounds like a sweet song and my inner eye sees gorgeous girls in hula-skirts moving slowly to tinkling ukuleles. I think about pristine beaches lined with endless rows of palm trees, daredevil surfers waiting for the perfect wave and the heroes of the Ironman Triathlons.

Jan/Feb '09 Premium Content

Nebraska

The only hotel in Gordon, Nebraska has no record of my reservation, and they're fully booked. It's 30 miles to the next town, and a prairie storm is unleashing its full force outside. "I could put you in one of our B rooms," says

Jan/Feb '09 Premium Content

Reader Ride: Out West with Dad

Each year I look to plan a ride that will take my dad, who lives in Connecticut, to new and exciting places. It started innocently enough with simple ATV rides in Colorado, which over time grew into more epic rides through the southern Colorado areas of Silverton, Telluride and Ouray.

Jan/Feb '09 Premium Content

Japan

I've been on the trail for so long the prospect of crossing a river that might swallow the front wheel doesn't bother me much. You could say I've grown accustomed to the wilds—even the fresh tracks of those big furred salmon-eaters I recently

Jan/Feb '09 Premium Content

Southern Spain, Andalusia

Depending on the reason and the place, it's often nice to arrive a little early. My Edelweiss Bike tour of Spain's Andalusia region is slated to begin tomorrow morning, and I have several hours to while away before this evening's initial briefing. What to

Jan/Feb '09 Premium Content

Northwestern Montana

Western Montana has some of the finest scenery and least-traveled roads in the lower 48 states, or anywhere else for that matter. Formed by the jagged Rocky Mountains and separated north to south by the massive Continental Divide, Montana is ruggedly beautiful. For eons, the relentless forces of nature have

Nov/Dec '08 Premium Content

Shamrock Tour® - Northeast Washington

However you ponder it, Grand Coulee Dam is big. It generates more electricity than any other facility in the United Sates, and it's the largest concrete structure in North America. Its hydraulic height of 380 feet is more than twice that of Niagara Falls, and the concrete used

Nov/Dec '08 Premium Content

Round Trip Tour - Columbus, OH

Despite the good cheer and warm camaraderie swirling about the "MotoStars: Celebrities and Motorcycles" exhibit opening at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, the billowing ebb and flow of showery gloom is the real reason I haven't yet departed. Then briefly, glaring like the Bat Signal,

Nov/Dec '08 Premium Content

New England Tour - Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire

From the weathered mountaintops of the Appalachians to the bountiful sea, stories of a native people and a young democracy are tucked away in the quiet villages, small towns and country roads of New England. Day 1  -  Shelburne Falls to White River Junction The start of this living history

Nov/Dec '08 Premium Content

Reader Ride: Westward Bound

For years, I had wanted a motorcycle and for one reason or another had never attained one. But after I returned from an all expenses paid trip to the other side of the world, courtesy of Uncle Sam, the motorcycle fund was sizable enough and my wanderlust was brewing. When

Nov/Dec '08 Premium Content

Italy's Wild Heart

"Why wander around in the distance, when good things lie nearby?" Long after his passing, these sage words of German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe were the inspiration for our motorcycle journey. Goethe was so enthusiastic about the prospect of seeing Italy that in 1786 he boarded a

Nov/Dec '08 Premium Content

Ontario, Manitoulin Island Tour

It fills the bill of particulars any rider desires, a destination of friendly people and scenic vistas, of well-paved roads bearing little traffic, and if you were going to design an island for motorcyclists, this might be the place. Located in Ontario, Canada, on the northern edge of Lake Huron

Nov/Dec '08 Premium Content

Easy Ridin' in East Texas

Despite its legends, colorful history and, most importantly, its scenic byways, this area remains largely unknown to riders outside of the Lone Star State. But the green hills of East Texas have piqued my touring interest for years. And now, with a stretch of four days carved out, my chance

Sep/Oct '08 Premium Content

Shamrock Tour® - Southern Illinois

Some nicknames make perfect sense. I often answer to Red, nothing out of the ordinary for a carrottop, and my college roommate, Fats, was usually one of the last to leave the pizza buffet. But every now and again, you run across a moniker that leaves you downright mystified, like

Sep/Oct '08 Premium Content

Key Largo to Key West

It's surprising how much island hopping one can do without booking a cabin on a cruise ship - and in southern Florida that's exactly what I might have had to do if it hadn't been for one wily oil tycoon. Instead, comfortably settled into

Sep/Oct '08 Premium Content

California: Along Hwy 49

"In a cavern, in a canyon, excavating for a mineDwelt a miner forty-niner, and his daughter Clementine.Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling, Clementine, You are lost and gone forever, dreadful sorry, Clementine." Rambling around the western shoreline of Lake Tahoe, I'm reminded