Tours

Nov/Dec '05 Premium Content

Canada: Quebec, Gaspé Peninsula

Setting out from Lake George, New York, we arrive a few hours later at the US/Canadian border in North Troy, Vermont. A Canadian officer checks our passports and waves us on with a cheerful "Bon voyage!" Christa and I are on our way to Montmagny, Québec, to

Nov/Dec '05 Premium Content

Shamrock Tour® - Spokane, Washington

With the licence perhaps only a realtor (as was his profession) would dare employ, Seattle pioneer C. T. Conover is responsible for Washington state's nickname, The Evergreen State. It might look that way from the Emerald City, but as Christian and I raced along the Snake River Canyon

Nov/Dec '05 Premium Content

Southern Minnesota

Even though Minnesota lies halfway between the east and west coasts, it's not one of the dry prairie states. Millions of years ago, retreating glaciers took care of that, leaving more than 15,000 lakes behind. So, there's always water around the corner. Apart from that

Nov/Dec '05 Premium Content

A Gem in Eastern North Carolina

We had planned to tour this historic area of the North Carolina coast for quite a while but the weather was always too uncooperative, making us reschedule the trip week after week. Finally, when The Weather Channel virtually guaranteed a stretch of sunny days with no rain, we quickly packed

Nov/Dec '05 Premium Content

Australia: From The Snowy Mountains to Chilli Beach

The clear icy waters of the Snowy River are framed in yellow leaves and the nearby ski slopes of the Snowy Mountains wind through the wooded hills. It's the end of May and winter knocks on the door in the southern hemisphere. To escape the cold, we'

Nov/Dec '05 Premium Content

Lithuania: A Two-Up Tour

Slightly larger than West Virginia, Lithuania seems to have it all: huge dunes and forests, seashore, lakes, impressive architecture, and above all, a people with a strong desire for freedom. No longer hidden from the world in the gloom of the Iron Curtain, Lithuanians led the fight for independence in

Sep/Oct '05 Premium Content

Central Alabama

Where is it? I know it's around here somewhere. After all the pictures and movies, it shouldn't be that hard to spot, yet for some reason it seems to be eluding me in the early stages of the tour. Oh well, they say patience is a

Sep/Oct '05 Premium Content

Carving Canyons in Utah

Torrey would be an unremarkable small town in Utah but for two things: the soaring crimson cliffs of the Capitol Reef National Monument that overlook it, and Highway 12, which ends there. Arguably the most exciting motorcycling road in the state, it's a 100-mile continuum of fast,

Sep/Oct '05 Premium Content

Shamrock Tour® - Eugene, Oregon

"Skinner's Mud Hole" is hardly a name civic boosters would use to attract settlers to a new city. But in 1852 that's what everyone called the township Eugene Franklin Skinner established on the banks of the Willamette. Following his first spring there, when the

Sep/Oct '05 Premium Content

Northwest Washington

Shelly Harper, owner of the "destination shop" Scooter Stuff, tells me "Business is great." I've stopped by her solitary store on a quiet country road close to Whatcom Lake in Northwest Washington to see what it's all about. Oddly, though, there are

Sep/Oct '05 Premium Content

Australia: An Outback Excursion

I don't know what came over me. What on earth was I thinking? After one year spent traveling across Africa and its numerous border crossings, I had become an utterly cynical creature of habit, all too used to victimization at the hands of frontier officials. Those hands, I

Sep/Oct '05 Premium Content

Portugal: Curves, Culture, Cuisine

Either the flight to Portugal took more out of me than I thought or my normally nutty dream pattern has been kicked up a notch. Somewhere within the jet-lagged haze of a nap, a distant cuckoo clock chimed fifteen, paused, and began another rhythmic announcement of an hour well

Sep/Oct '05 Premium Content

Scranton, Pennsylvania

What is it about riding the back roads that creates such an intimacy with the surroundings? Maybe it's the heightened sense of awareness that's required for this type of riding. The mind is wide open, processing not only the sights, but the rhythms and even the

Jul/Aug '05 Premium Content

Shamrock Tour® - Ashland, Wisconsin

Nightfall, and after a long tiring ride we turn into the drive of The Inn at Timber Cove, our tour base camp. Hidden behind old, massive trees, this romantic Bed and Breakfast lies in a lush green meadow. The owners Tina and Brian Miller escort us to our cottage and

Jul/Aug '05 Premium Content

Rhode Island

An hour out of the Big Apple on my 2004 BMW Rl150R, I spy surly, fat, gray clouds rushing belly-up behind me in the mirrors. I, in turn, rush east on the super-slab of I-95 through Connecticut. I'm on my way to begin my tour

Jul/Aug '05 Premium Content

South Africa: Between Cape and Kingdom

Braai (equivalent to an American barbecue) is the first word in Afrikaans that many travelers learn simply because they're invited to them so often. Having a braai involves grilling something over a fire, from huge succulent steaks to whole fresh fish. And it always tastes very lekker. In

Jul/Aug '05 Premium Content

Medford, Oregon

Commitment isn't what it used to be. Each New Year's Day millions commit to lifestyle changes that last, on average, two weeks. Couples vow " 'til death do us part," yet divorce is commonplace. True commitment  -  a parachute jump, for example  -  offers no escape.

Jul/Aug '05 Premium Content

Arkansas

Farm tractors churning earth on either side of I-40 west of Memphis have created finely powdered clouds the prairie gusts tumble over the featureless landscape. Target: Gold Wing. Thanks to the conspiratorial workings of Mother Nature and John Deere, the grit slowly building on my sunscreen-slathered face has

May/Jun '05 Premium Content

Florida Panhandle Tour

The R rule is one of the seafood basics I remember from my younger days on the Chesapeake Bay. If a month contains the letter R, it's OK to eat oysters. My destination is the Florida Panhandle, the month is February, and the Apalachicola area of the Panhandle

May/Jun '05 Premium Content

Shamrock Tour® - Around Gillette, Wyoming

Mention Gillette, Wyoming, to most people and you'll get a blank stare. Motorcyclists may show a glimmer of recognition and a puzzled frown. When you add "90 miles west of Sturgis," the lights come on. Western-based bikers frequently stop for gas here, northeast Wyoming'

May/Jun '05 Premium Content

Southwestern New York

I've been hammering the Interstate for the last nine or so hours and I'm ready to quit for the day. Despite the surprising comfort of the Aprilia Falco and the diversion of my trusty iPod, I'm beginning to wilt. Thankfully, the mileage numbers to

May/Jun '05 Premium Content

Colorado Pass Roads

Parked at Extended Stay America in the Denver suburb of Aurora, I make sure the reinforced steel cable lock wraps around the front wheel and frame of my '04 Electra Glide. This baby's goin' nowhere. The next morning I'm packed, ready to roll, and

May/Jun '05 Premium Content

Piaggio X-9: Eastern Shore Maryland

It's amazing how a few years of separation can inspire a whole new outlook on things previously unnoticed. Having grown up in Annapolis, Maryland, I was aware of the region's deep historic roots. But, like most teenagers, my coming of age concerns centered on girls, parties,

May/Jun '05 Premium Content

Sweepers, Samba, and Sugarloaf

The flight was long  -  8 hours from Miami  -  and although it was a night flight, I was too excited about the upcoming tour to sleep well. Drowsy, I staggered from the plane. A morning brew of warm, humid air swamped my face. A curtain of gray clouds concealed the mountains

May/Jun '05 Premium Content

East Africa: Among Gorillas, Lions and Elephants

A washed-out track that winds through green banana plantations to the Ugandan border has led us here. And once inside the post on the Kenyan side, it's obvious we've committed the serious offense of disturbing a well-fed immigration officer during his power nap. Call