We pull up the driveway past the old mailbox, past the pond, past the grandchildren scurrying happily, not grasping the gravity of the day. First gear chugga, chugga, chugga and lean left, kickstand down, motors sputter to a halt under the car port, then quiet. The quiet strikes me. Apropos. We are at our friend…

Have you ever noticed that despite generally being a law abiding citizen, whenever you see a police cruiser while riding, you instinctively roll back off the throttle a bit? Or, perhaps pull your foot off the gas when in your car? Thereafter, you check your speedometer in hopes of being within acceptable limits. We’ve all…

Here I am, sitting on my garage floor, gearing up for Friday’s big trip. I am in a place as I sit here, that all bikers figuratively and literally love to be. It’s a great place not just in my garage but in my mind. I’m going through my luggage in anticipation of the next…

God protects drunks and children. Have you ever heard this saying? I have. Though I am not sure where. It’s lodged in the recesses of my childhood memory. Stated perhaps by an adult standing at a bar with me and adolescent peers scampering about in the bar room sawdust. I was for all intents and…

There is something about a pair of motorcycling gloves. Ones that grip the throttle and conform to you hands and give you that ready for action feeling, and look. Old enough to be worn and scuffed and hold the shape of your hands when pulled off and laid on the seat of your bike. I…

Ever since I’ve been collecting bikes I’ve always wanted the not so ubiquitous ‘36 knucklehead. It has been the year and model that has eluded me. I am not sure why this year and model is so esteemed by collectors but it may have to do with aesthetics. It may have to do with form. …

As I threw a leg over my bike outside Bodock’s Pub in Canton, Georgia, I felt an early summer warmth that made me smile after a long winter of bundled and zippered riding. It was one of those nights that made you realize that southern living is sometimes a blessing that Alaskans or Canadians or…

Who amongst us does not hold their first bike in reverence? The Honda 305 Scrambler, the Triumph Trophy, that Harley Sportster, maybe even a dirt bike like a CR 125 or a YZ 80. Whatever your initiation into “the life,” that particular bike is parked in the shadows of your imagination forever. Occasionally, when you…

Got a call from some of my old college riding buddies wanting to come down and ride the ‘Tail of the Dragon’ next week. I thought it was a great idea as the weather has cooled and I had not ridden with these guys in a while. The Dragons Tail, as if you didn’t already…

I love a good challenge. Especially if it involves a motorbike. Who amongst us does not? An iron butt ride 1,000 miles through a foggy night, an old tank shifted Panhead, up a mid western canyon, an ominous mountain pass serpentine on my ‘76 Bonneville, good times. All challenges made easier through the assurance that…