Exits and Returns: Three Weeks from Appalachia to the Rockies
The mountains hang like a dream — one that is unseen but sensed, like Kafka’s castle, haunted by places unknown and untouched, yet somehow familiar. This collection of memories, like the Midwest roads that bridge them, begins last July. On that humid afternoon, I packed and strapped the back of the Bonneville with a three-week…
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Vintage Adventures in the Athens 100
Why do you ride motorcycles? There’s no wrong answer, in fact most are probably right. My answer for why I ride? It’s fun. There’s also something inherently innocent…
Exploring Elkin: From Mill Town to Motorcycling Mecca
Nestled on the banks of the serene Yadkin River, the town of Elkin resembles many small North Carolina towns: a main street lined with older buildings, a movie…
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Star City of the South: Roanoke, Virginia
Surrounded by the ancient peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains and buffering the hustle of Interstate 81, Roanoke, Virginia (pop: 100,011) is a cultural and outdoor gem in…
The Blue Ridge Mountains: Of what was and shall ever be
North Carolina is a collection of wonderful regions and places, from the mountains to the sea. Each is different of course, with its own geography to be savored…
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Flying on the ground: A tour to the Helen Balloon Festival
I have motorcycles. A bunch. New ones, old ones. And I ride a lot, nearly every day. Short, far, sometimes for months at a time. Riding is its…
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Touring the two Virginias: Seeing new life in the Bluefields
A few days earlier, a buxom, wet and nasty bitch named Helene came our way up from Florida, uninvited and unwelcomed, and for many people in many places…
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Helene’s Wrath: Fleeing the Aftermath With a Weeklong Odyssey
On the third day with no power, no water and no more ready-to-eat food, I looked at my Yamaha Tracer 9 GT…
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Alabama adventure: Letting the music fuel the ride
I’m piloting my Yamaha Tenere 700 briskly in a westerly direction on Alabama 281, also known as Cheaha Road. I can’t shake…
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Smoky Mountain 500: Carrying my icon on iconic roads
Wanting to ride the Smoky Mountain 500 across Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina for about four years now, I finally made plans…
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Going MADBR: Wildlife, water crossings and adventure
“Seven, not three.” I was saying in my helmet as we paddled knee deep across what turned out to be the last…
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The Smokies: Over, under and around
A morning breeze off the Oconaluftee River in Cherokee, North Carolina, eases the rising summer heat as I head north on U.S.…
