Southeast Region

May/Jun '22

City Escape: New Orleans, Louisiana

The Big Easy is known for its nightlife, distinct music, and rich Creole culture. Visiting New Orleans is always exciting, and arriving via motorcycle takes things up a notch. This route is your chance to explore the Mississippi Gulf Coast, see scenic swamplands, and even go looking for gators.Riding

Reader Ride Premium Content

Crossing the Precipice on a Super Duke GT

Traveling New RoadsSomeone I trust advised me to start this story with a bang. My bang was the sound of the Achilles tendon on the dominant right side of my body rupturing on a basketball court at Disney World. My magic encounter with the land of Mickey Mouse landed me

Events

Adventure Cross Rally

It doesn’t get much better than spending a few days in the woods with new and old friends, riding dual sports on asphalt, gravel, dirt, and everything in between. A new event popped up last year, and it’s on our radar to attend. The ADVxRally, or Adventure Cross

May/Jun '22 Premium Content

Leesburg, Virginia Shamrock Tour®

Mid-Atlantic Civil War Trails“The Civil War defined us as what we are and it opened us to being what we became, good and bad things. It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads.” —Shelby Foote, The Civil War: A Narrative Between 1861

Classic Roads

Classic Roads: Cherohala Skyway and Tail of the Dragon

These two classic roads, taken together, offer motorcyclists one of the most challenging days of mountain riding available anywhere. The full 138-mile route starts and ends in Tellico Plains, TN, at the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center. From there the road rapidly gains altitude on SR 165. At around the halfway

Mar/Apr '22

City Escape: Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Get an early start and ride this ultra long City Escape in the heart of the Ozarks. This almost 350-mile loop will treat you to curves and vistas. Leading east and staying south of the lakes, you’ll make your way to Mountain View, AR, before returning. The area is

Racing

2021 Tennessee Knockout Hard Enduro

We humans have always enjoyed watching people perform tasks with extreme proficiency. This seemingly unique quality has been studied by psychologists and helps explain the advent of spectator events in virtually every society that we know of. Whether it’s the Tokyo Olympics, the gladiators of ancient Rome, or an

Destinations

Top 5 Things to Do in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Bailey Power Plant—Innovation Quarter Once R.J. Reynold’s coal-fired power plant shut down, it stood empty for more than 20 years. With the help from the community and Wake Forest University, the building and its surrounding area has gotten a second lease on life. Numerous startups, businesses, a

Nov/Dec '21 Premium Content

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Shamrock Tour®

Moravians settled land in North Carolina in 1766 and called it Salem. Just one mile north, Winston was founded as the county seat in 1849. In 1913, they merged to create Winston-Salem. R. J. Reynolds built his tobacco empire here, and many recall the cigarette brands Winston and Salem. The

Sep/Oct '21

City Escape: Atlanta, Georgia

Escape the sprawling urban landscape of Atlanta by taking a series of secondary roads to Alabama’s iconic Little River Canyon, and then return via rural roads in the foothills of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Charming historic settlements along the way include the Georgia towns of Dallas, Cave Spring, and

Jul/Aug '21 Premium Content

West Virginia

If mountains are magnets then I am steel. Be it the Alps or Appalachians, I have always been drawn to the folds of stone and soil, wondering what secrets lay hidden in the distant peaks and valleys. They are tranquil and foreboding at the same time, and largely inaccessible. But

Jul/Aug '21 Premium Content

Florida

While much can be said about the year-round sun, boating, and beach lifestyle of southern Florida, motorcycling in the lower half of the Sunshine State can leave a bit to be desired. Although rides along beach roads are always good for pleasant scenery and beautiful sunsets, the topography is sea-level

May/Jun '21

City Escape: Ridgeland, Mississippi

This escape takes riders from a modern-day suburban environment back to the 19th century when bloody Civil War battles determined the future of our nation. You’ll also visit a historic location where columns of stone are the only ghostly remnants of a once expansive plantation. After a lunch of

May/Jun '21 Premium Content

Johnson City, Tennessee Shamrock Tour®

Johnson City lies just on the edge of the Cherokee National Forest in the northeastern corner of Tennessee. The city is claimed to be one of the first settled areas in the state, originating in the late 1700s, but it didn’t get its name until 1856 when Henry Johnson

Mar/Apr '21

Destination: Hot Springs, Arkansas

Hot Springs, AR, sits atop more than 40 springs with water heated by magma thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface. Native Americans enjoyed these mineral springs long before European Americans arrived. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, “taking the waters” in the “Valley of Vapors” was

Mar/Apr '21

City Escape: Richmond, Virginia

Journey back in history along some of Virginia’s most enchanting byways, where American history is combined with lost-in-time backroads through a hilly agricultural landscape, mountaintop vistas, a classy lunch stop, and a slice of the Blue Ridge Pkwy as a delicious dessert.Traffic on the backroads is usually moderate,

Jan/Feb '21

Classic Roads: US 1 in Florida

The US 1 stretches across 545 miles throughout the entire length of Florida along its eastern shore, from the northern border with Georgia to the southernmost tip of the continental U.S. in Key West. It was designated the first U.S. highway when the Numbered Highways System was rolled

Jan/Feb '21

City Escapes: Maryville, Tennessee

This trip is for those who like long riding days. Start early to complete the entire loop before dark and ride during summer to get the most sunlight. This is a three-season route, as higher elevations tend to get snowed up in the winter. The mountains are stunning in this

Nov/Dec '20 Premium Content

Chattanooga, Tennessee Shamrock Tour® : In Our Own Backyard

Luke was stripping down to his underwear in the middle of a park somewhere outside of Cleveland, TN, not too far from our hometown of Chattanooga. Just behind him flowed the Hiwassee River, over which stretches a bridge from where he claimed he’s seen people jump. It was 50

Nov/Dec '20

City Escape: Jacksonville, Florida

While Florida roads are mostly straight, a ride around the St. Johns River offers a curvier experience. After starting south on San Jose Blvd, making a detour out to Mandarin Rd helps with traffic. The last 60 miles to Palatka go along a winding, scenic river road. The way back

Sep/Oct '20 Premium Content

Alabama: Rockets and Music and Bikes, Oh My!

Up until last year, I had never explored Alabama, despite the fact that my home in Chattanooga, TN, is almost a stone’s throw away from the state line—so close that on any given Saturday you can hear University of Alabama football fans yelling “Roll Tide” at the TVs

Sep/Oct '20 Premium Content

Seven Springs, Pennsylvania Shamrock Tour: Allegheny Autumn

The old and weathered Allegheny Mountains run through north-central Pennsylvania and portions of neighboring Maryland and West Virginia. The range was once the furthest reaches of a young nation, and within the mountains' wrinkles lie stories and tales that, like tree rings, reveal the past. HistoryIt's early October and there's

May/Jun '20

City Escape: Atlanta, Georgia

Escape Atlanta’s sprawling urban landscape by taking a series of secondary roads to the unique, picturesque Little River Canyon National Preserve in Alabama, and then return via rural roads in the foothills of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Charming, historic settlements along the way include the Georgia towns of Dallas,

Mar/Apr '20 Premium Content

Kentucky Adventure Trail: Backroads of Appalachia

Our starting point is Pine Mountain State Resort Park in Pineville, KY. It’s mid-March, and the mornings are expectedly chilly. Marisa and I quickly find ourselves shedding additional layers of clothing as the sun warms the Kentucky hills, but as we descend into deep, wooded valleys, where the morning

Mar/Apr '20 Premium Content

Clemson, South Carolina Shamrock Tour®: Reunion Ride

This story started in 1999, and it’s quite special to me. It’s a story of four friends who are more like brothers, who have somehow managed to keep riding together even when life tries to get in the way.It all began in rural northern Michigan at a