Ride Life
Stories From The Open Road
The Old Bike and the Sea
Give me the Pacific Ocean. You can have the rest of the country, just hand me her blue waters. Take Beartooth Pass, Tail Of The Dragon, Going To The Sun Road and Million Dollar Highway. I’ve done them all, just leave me the Pacific, a road that runs alongside her and an old motorcycle beneath me. Sailors know the Pacific’s pull, her captivating blue rollers have a way of getting under your skin like a seaman recruit’s poorly chosen tattoo. Ride her shore once and you understand.
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2nd Annual Sturgis Rally Wrap Party
Once again benefitting the Treasured Lives Foundation, established to help end sex trafficking in South Dakota, Why We Ride and MOTOvational Inc. are partnering with them to open a crisis house for those rescued, and provide the means to a fresh start in life. The Sturgis Wrap Party will donate all proceeds to this cause, something many motorcyclists are very passionate about.
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Fighting the Giant
Don’t be surprised if you have never heard of Max Flinders. Some have, most have not. However that is part of the underdog script, unknown, under the radar and under-supported. Such is Max Flinders. Max has never won a MotoAmerica Superbike race and never finished on the podium. If you want to find his name on the race results you have to scan down toward the middle. He has few sponsors, no entourage, and his truck driver is also named Max Flinders because, well, it’s him.
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The Budget Biker: Eat Right, Ride Cheap
Does it sometimes feel like a foreclosure sign has been hung on your head? Everyone seems in a funk, and just too poor to spare any fun. Or maybe just the fiscal fear of fun is enough to keep you home, where there’s free TV and a nice, cushy couch to nap away your troubles.
Like everybody else, motorcyclists have been suffering through this plague and sputtering economy. But this does not mean we have to cry like a bunch of babies, stay home, and mumble about the days we could afford food and gas. We just need to be a little more creative, tighten our chains and use our brains. There are ways, my broke friend, to stretch nothing into something.
Wily veterans have long used sneaky, well-kept secrets and crafty tricks to get the most out of what’s left of their last oily, tattered dollar. Riding relieves stress and puts miles between you and the revenuers and bill collectors. The plan is so simple you’ll wonder why you’ve been moping around like a sissy who lost his lollipop.
Dunlop-Pirelli Tires Wet Handling Shootout
Speeding up might have ended the misery sooner but that had its own perils. Adding high speeds to wet and cold conditions is a pure confidence move- confidence in your bike, your riding skills, but most of all, your tires. This fiasco was part of Road Dirt’s summer tire shootout.
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Riding The Storm Out
If you ride motorcycles long enough, you’ll either find yourself caught in a storm, or you’ll find yourself with no choice but to ride through one. Either way, “riding the storm out” (props to REO Speedwagon’s classic tune) is a common experience we eventually all share. And as with many experiences out on the road, we often recall it with a smile we didn’t wear in the middle of it. Ted calls that, “Type II Fun.”
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Colorado 500: A Race To Give
In the 1970s, Indy car racer Wally Dallenbach took his winnings from the California 500 and bought a ranch near the Fryingpan River in Colorado. In 1975 he explored the mountains and mining ghost towns around his ranch on his motorcycle with his son Wally Jr. and friend Sherm Cooper. They loved the trails so much that the next year they invited friends Dick Singer, Art Lamey, Lon Bromley, Del Garnder, Ed Kretz, Al Unser and Bobby Unser. That first ride in 1976 needed a name and being Indy 500 veterans, the group named it the Colorado 500.
Read MoreWayne Rainey Rides Again
Our respect and admiration for Wayne Rainey went through the roof over this past weekend when we learned of his amazing feat at the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed, held yearly in Sussex, England. The three time 500cc Grand Prix world champion (1990-92) was reunited with his 1992 championship-winning YZR500, and in fact rode the historic machine multiple times around the famed Goodwood course over the festival weekend.
Read MoreDual Sport and Adventure Motorcycles
A reader emailed us recently with the question, “What do you see as the major differences between dual sport bikes and adventure bikes?” We thought that to be a worthy inquiry, so we will share our observations here. The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC.org) lumps both together in a category they call “dual-purpose” in regards to overall motorcycle sales, but are they really quite different motorbike types? Both are road-ready and dirt-worthy, so why not classify them together?
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