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'pit stop' for motorcycle touring & camping folks. Park your bike in the shade, let the engine cool down, there's cold water and Gatorade in the ice chest, and we'll find a place for you to set a spell.
Motorcycle touring, for you folks who wandered into here by mistake, is an interesting way to see what's over the next hill or across the river. A motorcycle touring rider takes his or her motorcycle and rides 100 or 1,000 miles (or more). Objective: see the sights, smell the smells, meet the people and explore the new places encountered during the trip. Some riders go out for several days (or weeks or months) at a time and camp out (unless you're a rich retired lawyer, then you park your BMW outside a motel every night).
Touring began roughly around the turn of the century, a few days after the owner of a new Henderson or Harley or Excelsior motorcycle decided to take the new bike beyond the city limits. Soon thereafter, these daredevil men and women were seen roaring around back roads and across fields at fantastic speeds (well above 30 mph!). Before too long, they encountered other motorcycle riders and began organizing "Gypsy Tours", sort of like motorcycle picnics that lasted several days. Riders would meet someplace, set up camp, and push their bikes to
their limits, in road races, races along trails and across fields, and races up hills. We still have such events (you may have heard of them, in Sturgis, S.D., Daytona Beach, FL, and others); but the bikes are bigger, the distances traveled are greater, and the roads are a WHOLE lot better (well, most of them are).
I've tried to make this page a resource for the new or veteran touring motorcycle rider. If you have an evaluation of a product which you think would benefit a touring motorcyclist, a favorite web site of use for motorcycle touring, a "war story" from your own touring experiences, or even an article which would help other motorcycle touring riders, well, send it to me and I'll find someplace to stash it, for others to use. The U.S. Army talks about "lessons learned" in which, after an action or exercise, the participants review the event, and note what they learned from the event. Maybe your "lessons learned" will help others get more enjoyment from motorcycle touring.
So, welcome to the pit stop. Look around, take whatever you need, maybe leave something for the next rider. I don't care WHAT you ride (or drive), where you're from, who you are, or what club you belong to, as long as you share the road with other motorcyclists. Your comments and recommendations are always welcome here.
Check out the announcement from the Women's Motorcyclist Foundation, the people who ran last year's Pony Express '98 to raise money for, and awareness of breast cancer research.
Last Updated on 5 February 2001 by Doc Smith You can help make this site useful for other touring riders. Share info in my guest book, or send me info about useful touring gear, books, roads, URLS, or your best 'war story' or 'lesson learned'.
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since 1 November 1997
since 1 November 1997
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