The Motorcycling Blog

Museums aren’t the only history-themed stops I like to make on a tour. While many landmarks lack some of the amenities that museums offer—like shelter from the elements—their existence marks a place or event that has been memorialized in the minds of other people. That, by itself, should give us reason to pause and take…… Continue reading My Favorite Touring Destinations, Part 4 (Landmarks)

The tone of media coverage of motorcycling is, all too often, not reflective of the vast majority of the riding community. Shows like Sons of Anarchy bring the one-percent lifestyle to living rooms across the nation and plenty of local media outlets produce daily stories about riders who are hurt in crashes or groups of…… Continue reading How You Can Help Improve Motorcycling’s Image

One article about the best museums I’ve visited just wasn’t enough. Without further ado, here’s eight more museums that I’d recommend making stops on your next two-wheeled tour. Louisville Slugger Museum Location: Louisville, Tenn. Website: https://www.sluggermuseum.com/ As far as traditional museums go, this one hits it out of the park. The museum portion teaches you…… Continue reading My Favorite Touring Destinations, Part 3 Con’t (Museums)

Some of my favorite touring destinations are museums. For those who are lifelong learners, there’s nothing quite like stopping into an institution that is dedicated to preserving a particular set of knowledge and gleaning everything you can from it. I’ve probably learned almost as much about the history of the United States from stopping at…… Continue reading My Favorite Touring Destinations, Part 3 (Museums)

I’m 36, have about 120,000 miles of on-road motorcycle riding experience and have come to the realization that I have a problem.   Not with riding: that’s never a problem. What’s wrong with a long day in the saddle while seeing new places and learning more about American history?  My problem is with how I…… Continue reading The Key to Getting the Most Out of Motorcycle Touring: Slowing Down

While rallies have a lot of offer sport-touring riders, there are some great motorcycle competition events throughout the nation that are worth making a stop on a tour. Like my previous article on rallies, the list below is made up of events I have personally attended and recommend. MotoAmerica (Road Atlanta, VIRginia International Raceway, Road America, Pittsburgh…… Continue reading My Favorite Touring Destinations, Part 2 (Races)

Any new sport touring rider should know that there are plenty of top-notch motorcycle-related gatherings each year to fill up one’s calendar. There is hardly a weekend that goes by during the spring, summer and fall that there isn’t at least one rally or race to attend or landmark or museum to visit that is within…… Continue reading My Favorite Touring Destinations, Part 1 (Rallies)

Ride Date: Sunday, April 28, 2019 The first ride of my 2019 riding season should have happened about a month ago, but it was nevertheless good to get back in the saddle. While the salt has been off central Ohio roadways for weeks now, my delinquency in attending to my 2008 Yamaha FJR1300’s winter maintenance kept me from logging any…… Continue reading First Ride of 2019 (U.S. 23/U.S. 30 to Beaverdam, Ohio)

Introduction  On June 30 I took a ride with a co-worker and his buddy to Portsmouth, Ohio, to attend the Portsmouth Motorcycle Club’s 125th Anniversary Celebration. My co-worker Rob suggested taking Ohio State Route 104 to Portsmouth instead of U.S. Route 23. I had ridden/driven U.S. 23 several times for a previous job and was happy to give…… Continue reading Ride Report: Columbus to Portsmouth via SR 104