Musings from one who writes, and rides…
Originally published in “On the Level,” the official magazine of the BMW Riders Association. This afternoon, I went to the gym, just six miles away. Naturally, this was via Alice’s Restaurant, a two-hour ride each direction on relentlessly twisty roads with broken pavement. And yesterday, I had a special mission: the post office. This took the…
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 RoadRUNNER Magazine. Riders who have not experienced an electric motorcycle often think the power output will be quaint, like a supercharged electric toothbrush, or perhaps one of those ubiquitous city scooters. And, despite warnings to the contrary, these same riders have a come-to-Jesus moment when they whack open the throttle. This is…
Originally published in RoadRUNNER Magazine. Is there much traffic in Vermont’s famed, remote Northeast Kingdom? Depends on whom you ask. We’re passing through Bloomfield when we stop at the country store for a cold drink. A clearly exasperated farmer named Bob is at the counter, prattling on about the “Moose Fest”: a fair and classic car…
Originally published in RoadRUNNER Magazine. To anyone within a 100-mile radius, it’s known simply as “The Cube”: a giant cement block atop 3,486-foot Mt. Umunhum that appears ready to disgorge space aliens at any moment. This 1962 Air Force radar tower from the Cold War is sealed up tight (due to lead waste), but the…
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…