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Ride Journals
On a motorcycle I know I'm alive. When I ride, even the familiar seems strange and glorious. The air has weight and substance as I push through it and its touch is as intimate as water to a swimmer. I feel the cool wells of air that pool under trees and the warm spokes of sunlight that fall through them. I can see everything in a sweeping 360 degrees. [...]
Cars lie to us and tell us we're safe, powerful, and in control. The air-conditioning fans murmur empty assurances and whisper, 'Sleep, sleep.' Motorcycles tell us a more useful truth: we are small and exposed, and probably moving too fast for our own good, but that's no reason not to enjoy every minute of the ride.
-The Season of the Bike, by Dave Karlotski
Ghost Towns of the Western U.S.
August 29, 2025
Two weeks of motorcycle adventuring to ghost towns in the Western U.S. with a few unexpected surprises.
Chigee's AIO5 Play for BMW Hits the Mark
August 16, 2024
BMW's motorcycle riders rejoice! CarPlay is here with the Chigee AIO5 Play for BMW.
Heavenly Ride Up Hells Canyon
June 18, 2024
Six days of incredible motorcycling across Oregon, Idaho, and Washington
Is BMW's Digital Dumpster Fire Almost Out?
May 30, 2024
The electronics industy might save us from BMW's failed attempts at digital experieces
September Loop, Oregon Coast Style
September 18, 2023
September continuest to be a favorite time of year to ride. This year, I hit the coast with a buddy and circled back through Eastern Oregon.
Solo ride through Glacier National Park
August 9, 2023
After riding Yellowstone a few years ago, Glacier National Park has been calling.
Unboxing a 2023 BMW R1250GS Adventure
February 14, 2023
Fresh from the factory in Berlin, my 2023 BMW GSA motorcycle arrived today. This is the unboxing.
Active Fires and Reactive Bear
October 18, 2022
Capitialized on the last few days of this amazing extended riding season with a North Cascades loop that brought some flaming, and some furry, surprises.
Safe riding during COVID and Wildfires
September 11, 2020
Being safe on a multi-day motorcycle ride with friends takes extra planning during a pandemic and wildfire season.
BMW Motorrad's Electronics Dumpster Fire
August 4, 2020
BMW makes incredibly good motorcycles, with incredibly bad electronics. Here's how they can win with a few simple moves.
Spain, Andorra, & Portugal
October 11, 2019
Four thousand kilometers across the Iberian Peninsula. Spain, Andorra, and Portugal by motorcycle.
The Triumph Factory Visitor Experience
August 24, 2019
A day at the home of Triumph Motorcycles in Hinckley, just north of London. We went on a thorougly impressive factory tour that shared the history and production of these iconic bikes.
Riding the Production Livewire
August 12, 2019
A long, five-year journey is quickly coming to an end for Harley-Davidson’s “Project Livewire.”
New, Female, and Younger Riders Deserve Better
August 11, 2019
...what a horrible experience entering the motorcycling community can be for a new rider, especially female riders.
Riding the Zero SR/F
June 22, 2019
Zero SR/F impressions - the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, Seattle
September 30, 2018
Riding with the 2018 The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in Seattle
Yosemite, Death Valley, Tahoe, and Lassen Volcanic
September 16, 2017
Three National Parks and several National Forests in one amazing ride through 115° heat in Death Valley, and penny-sized hail at Lake Tahoe. Wildfire smoke hazed the view, but the parks are still incredible places to ride.
September Loop in the Pacific Northwest
September 24, 2016
You know you're not in Seattle when the motel provides complementary gun-cleaning rags. This trip around the Northwest taught me that the fuel range goes below zero.
Europe Ride, 2016
August 1, 2016
No pre-set route, no agenda. Riding central Europe, each day we would decide where we wanted to ride over breakfast and where we wanted to sleep over afternoon coffee.
The One Motorcycle Show 2016
February 13, 2016
It’s a fitting show for Portlandia, being a collection of eclectic bikes from a variety of builders. Many are rat-bikes and vintage rides, all out on display in vacant industrial warehouses each year.
Riding the Icefields
July 26, 2015
Four friends ride one of North America’s most dramatic motorcycle routes... Alberta's Icefiels Parkway from Jasper to Baanf.
Supervolcano from the Saddle
September 14, 2014
A solo ride through Yellowstone National Park
Dear Harley Davidson
June 24, 2014
An open letter to America’s legendary motor company about Livewire, EVs, and the the future of the H-D brand.
Oregon Coast, Giant Redwoods, and Crater Lake
July 14, 2013
Crater Lake and California’s Redwoods. They’re two natural wonders that fascinated me all my life. In 2013, I rode to these natural treasures.
The Proper Way to Break In a New Motorcycle
October 15, 2012
My idea was to purhase the bike roughly the same distance away as the break-in interval, and choose a route home that was inherently diverse in its speed and riding style
Endorsed for Three Wheels
March 12, 2011
When I went into the dealership to look at trikes, I learned that I couldn’t even take one out on a test ride because they require a completely different driver’s license endorsement.