RoadRUNNER January/February 2004
Shamrock Tour
Shamrock Tour®: Marietta, Ohio
Of all the towns named in honor of Marie Antoinette after the American Revolution, the one in Georgia probably springs to mind first to most of us. But on this tour, we've traveled north and west not south to visit another royal namesake on the banks of the Ohio River. This Marietta, once a crucial cog in the anti-slavery movement and the Underground...
National Tours
Central California
Back in the States after escaping the heat wave in Europe, the Neuhauser family – Christa, Manuel, Florian, and I – are still on the run. This time it isn't the heat; it's some unbearable NC humidity. Thankfully, our next big adventure calls us to Central California, and the butterflies begin when we finally take our seats in the cool dry...
Northern Colorado
Riding northern Colorado means climbing through the Rockies and cruising past wide-open cattle country. The roaming up and down near the Wyoming border encompasses some of the most thrilling areas for motorcycling we've experienced....
Western Louisiana/East Texas
Late in March RoadRUNNER sent me south to the Sabine River Delta around Lake Charles, Louisiana, and on into East Texas to explore four National Forests and the Gulf Coast. That sounded like a top-notch trip. But from studying the map, it appeared the trip might include too many entrance-ramp cloverleaves and horizons stretched with oil derricks. Happily,...
International Destinations
Italy: Sella Ronda - Demonic Curves in the Dolomites
After two years absence from good old Europe, Christa and I are back to refresh our memories of the twisties in Austria and Italy. Great weather and an unusual heat wave welcome us when we arrive at the Munich Airport. Daniel, my brother, picks us up, and immediately he starts babbling about the tour that we've planned in the Dolomites....
Riding Impressions
Ducati Multistrada 1000 DS & Ducati Monster S4R
The motorcycle manufacturers are always very imaginative when coming up with new names to create a new market. But though this name game usually succeeds in the marketing world, it's also a source of mystification for many motorcycle enthusiasts. Why am I talking about this? Because a couple of days ago some biker called my Triumph Tiger a crotch rocket...
BMW K1200LT-E and Honda Gold Wing ABS
There are only a few bikes that can claim to belong in the category defining the best long-distance bikes in the world. We tested two of them, the Honda Gold Wing and the BMW K1200LT-E – both outstanding touring bikes but very different....
Moto Guzzi Breva V750i.e.
Fresh air has been blowing through the Moto Guzzi factory in Mandello del Lario ever since Aprilia took over, and owner Ivano Beggio has made sure the entry class wasn't left behind. The company's 750cc Breva is a lot of fun for beginners and old hands alike....
Chronicles
City Portrait: Vancouver
When I moved to Vancouver in March 1987, it rained every day for the next three months and I wondered what the hell I'd gotten myself into. But on a blue-sky day in April when scanning the city from Cypress Mountain, it's oh-so obvious why. God isn't making real estate like this anymore – at least any that I can get to. Big beautiful trees, sandy...
The Rise and Fall of the Camp Zama Motorcycle Club
In the beginning was the bike, the bike was with the rider, and the rider formed the club. Not long ago on the Kanto Plain in the Land of the Rising Sun an entity was born. It was in the form of a motorcycle club that does honor to all aficionados of this two-wheeled conveyance. This rendition of the birth, life and death of an organization unique in...
Ride to Read
Last June a new fundraising event was inaugurated in the Gem State – Idaho's Ride to Read Rally, a 300-mile roundtrip ride between Boise and Stanley. Initiated by Jerome Eberharter, founder/CEO of White Cloud Coffee and an avid motorcyclist, the ride incorporated his love of motorcycling and his passion for reading. "Literacy," he states, "is...
