Musings from one who writes, and rides…
Originally published in On the Level, the magazine of the BMW Riders Association. What has been learned in 50 years of motorcycling? Unless you have experienced it, there is no way to know that a sunset is infinitely better from the seat of a motorcycle; or that the fine edge of traction exists in the…
The other evening, I was surveying the wreckage that is otherwise known as my garage, and realized that those fun-loving folks in Munich have siphoned off a good portion of my lifetime earnings. Across the decades I have owned an airhead, an oilhead, a hexhead, and a waterhead. Plus an assortment of BMW automobiles. If…
I Used to be So Hip I Was Practically on Fire. Now I Look Like I’m Going to a Fire. I’ve seen you on the corners and cafes, it seems.Red hair and black leather, my favorite color scheme. -Richard Thompson, 1952 Vincent Black Lightning Originally published in “On the Level,” the official magazine of the…
This Could be the Most Fun-per-Dollar Motorcycle I’ve Ever Owned This article was originally published in the November/December issue of “On the Level,” the magazine of the BMW Riders Association. Not long ago, having decided that my motorcycling life is entirely too sanitary, I bought a Honda CRF250L dirt bike on Craigslist, for $2,000. A…
Originally published in “On the Level,” the magazine of the BMW Riders Association. Because I’m retired, you might say that my entire existence could be classified as non-essential. In fact, some of my colleagues probably would have told you I was non-essential when I was working; I’m even more so now, during the time of…
Tuscany is a favorite destination, and we’ve been several times to the usual tourist attractions of Florence, Sienna, and the towns along the famous Chianti Road, or Strada del Vino. But as with all such beautiful places, it has become the victim of its own unerring beauty. But this part of Tuscany—to the northwest, south of Modena—is somehow different. It’s every bit as beautiful, but less beleaguered by the tourist onslaught.
Originally published in the October 2018 issue of Rider Magazine. I’m accustomed to giving the classic “V” sign to other motorcyclists on the road, and getting similar props in return. In California at least, it’s a thing. But as we ride around Tasmania, I’m crushed to discover I’m getting no such love. Initially I attributed…
Originally published in RoadRUNNER magazine. Halfway between the Northern California coastal towns of Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay, at the nexus of some of the best motorcycle roads on the planet, lies the somnolent town of Pescadero. It just might be the coolest coastal burg that no one has heard of. So please, don’t go…
Originally published in Rider Magazine. Recently I visited one of my favorite cafes, a short ride up the Pacific Coast from my Santa Cruz, California, home. Called Downtown Local, the place is a syrupy mix of old motorcycles, vintage gas tanks stacked on shelves like cordwood, and decades worth of vinyl, which sound a little…
Originally published in RoadRUNNER Magazine. I’ve logged a lot of motorcycle miles with my wife, Meredith, riding pillion, but I’ve never seen this before: she’s back there snapping photos of a straight, four-lane interstate, as if we’re riding god’s own highway. “What’s up?” I ask her. “Well,” she says, “It’s the most amazing thing. I’m looking…