Motorcycle Nation Podcast

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Ever had the urge to take a motorcycle tour? I have been wanting to for quite some time and the first one that I will take is one offered by MotoCaribe Motorcycle Tours. Read the blog, sign up for email, updates, watch tour video and more at the MotoCaribe Motorcycle Tour blog. This tour is in the Dominican Republic and is one of the most affordable tours that I have found. The DR offers it all from mountains, to tropical rain forest, to arid desert regions, to the finest aqua blue water beach views around. Take a two wheel tour and explore a land widely untouched by the urbanization of the Western world. You can follow the link above or reach Ed to book a tour at 877-MOTOFUN ext. 100. This episode we talk with Ed Denzler, owner and lead rider of MotorCaribe.

We move into a mention of the FX show Sons of Anarchy. This is by far my fave show and one of the very few that I watch. It draws you in to the created world and makes you feel a part. There are two SOA podcasts that I have recently stumbled upon that I enjoy listening to. Check out Watchers of Anarchy and SAMCRO: A Podcast for the Fans of Sons of Anarchy. Give them a listen. After all, it is a long time until Season 3 starts. If you have been watching the show, listen in on the past episodes and you will discover show info that you missed.

Condolences to the Hurt family on the passing of Harry Hurt, the author of the famous Hurt Report that shaped motorcycle safety programs all over the nation and world. Harry passed away November 29th of a heart attack.

In the opening show dialogue I mentioned that we would cover recalls tonight. The MotoCaribe interview was going too well to shut it down and we went long. We will cover recalls in episode 16 coming out soon.

I have email addresses available for anyone interested. If you would like to have a You@mcnationpodcast.com email shoot me an email at steve@mcnationpodcast.com Include the name you want and I will set it up and contact you when complete.

Visit my friend Cliff Ravenscraft, The Podcast Answer Man for all your podcast equipment needs or for podcast consulting. Check out the bigger community Cliff has at GSPN.tv

Check out SideStand Up and find the links to the TalkShoe show that they do. If you are there on Tuesday nights from 7-9 pm you can participate in chat while the show is being recorded. It is available via iTunes and rss as well.

Music used on this episode are from musicalley.com Our opener was Ride by Adrenaline Factor and our closer was by Little Fish Big Pond called Velvet Sky.

Happy Holidays from The Motorcycle Nation Podcast!

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This episode starts off with a quick summary of my road trip to Cedar Springs, MI and then moves along to the loss of two very committed motorcyclists. One local, Mark Garback, a motorcycle safety instructor with ABATE of Indiana and the other Mike “Boz” Kerr, Vice President of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation.

Next up is an interview with Paul Holdsworth that you have to listen to. You will be floored by Paul’s experiences over his many years of motorcycling and he speaks of his role with IronWorks Magazine. Many thanks to Paul as he was patient with my screwed up schedule and waited many weeks to record this podcast. Thanks again Paul. You can find subscription info to IronWorks Magazine by following the link and you can enjoy the musings of Snakebit Sam at IWBlogger.

We close out the show with another Eclipse song, Green Fishing Line. Follow the link to their website and get your own CD if you have been enjoying the music we have been playing on the podcast.

Special thanks to my friend Dennis Tyger for taking the road trip with me. Better friends are hard to find. As always, we appreciate you, the listeners of the Motorcycle Nation Podcast, for taking the time out of your life to support and listen. Safe travels.

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I have always had the desire to travel on two wheels. My dreams have taken me to the Cherohala Skyway along with Deal’s Gap and all up and down the Blue Ridge Parkway. In further REM states I have hammered across the Seven Mile Bridge and enjoyed the sunset, beaches, and nightlife of Key West. Many daydreams have found me out West running through Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. And I have heard that Oregon is perhaps one of the most beautiful states to ride in. Sign me up for all of them.

Some people are fortunate enough to be able to spend a major portion of their year on the road. Their tales have given me inspiration to take that next step and look into many more road trips than I have had the opportunity to take to this point. So far, my longest road trip to date has been to Milwaukee to visit the Harley Davidson plant. I have been to Daytona Bike Week a few times but our bikes were trailered down and back for that one so that is not a road trip.

I have drawn the inspiration to make a long trip from family and internet friends. In the relative area, I have a cousin and his wife that make an annual trip with 2 to 3 other couples. Ask them where they are going and you will get only the direction. West. South. Who knows. Their ride consists of each couple having the directional choice of the day. They rise early and get on the road and stop around 5 or 6 PM each evening. After finding lodging and getting a meal, they bed down and start over the next morning.The couple who has rights for the day leads off in whatever direction they have chosen. No planned stops and no agenda. That sounds like a plan to me. A trip a couple of years ago led them through sixteen states in nineteen days.

Then, we have some friends of the podcast that also have the opportunity to travel. Carla King, a motojournalist based in California, has taken a trip that she circumnavigated the border of the United States on a Russian made Ural motorcycle. This trip is chronicled in her book “American Borders” which is available from her web site. I am currently reading this book and will be doing a podcast with Carla in the near future.

Perhaps the freest spirit that I have stumbled upon in my motorcycle travel research has got to be Ara Gureghian. Click on his name, after you finish reading this of course, to be whisked away into a dreamland of free. Ara, who travels with his trusted companion Spirit in his sidecar, lives a fantasy day in and day out. Ara has an amazing past but the last few years are what draws me to his site. You will be met with amazing photography and well written posts about their current location and pictures. You can even follow the travels with a device called SPOT which is a satellite locator that will show you the most recent visited location and current location on a Google Map. There are various items available in his store along with the opportunity to purchase copies of his pictures. Trust me, you will see the beauty of our great country in a new light by looking at his photography.

If you want to read and see what freedom is all about, go ahead, click the link. You won’t be sorry!

I want to tour. Some people want to cruise the town for a few hours. Some have the need for speed and play during track days. Some are perfectly happy riding a few miles to work once a month. I want to tour. I want to see North America from the seat of my bike and smell the smells and feel the weather changes. I want to spend hours a day on my motorcycle while racking up the miles stopping only for gas, food, and photo opportunities. I want to explain to those who ask what people from Indiana are doing in their state, town, or province on a motorcycle. It is just a dream of mine.

There are many places that I would like to visit via a bike. I have always said that my dream ride would be to fly to Australia and rent a motorcycle and ride as much as possible in two weeks and see as much as I could. From roughing it in the Outback to the beauty of Sydney harbor and the architectural appeal of the Sydney Opera house. Another dream ride that I have read about and I long to do is through Vancouver. Maybe my friend RonW could clue me in on that ride if he has ever made it that way. I have seen pictures and the views there are breathtaking. I have also always wanted to cross into Windsor Ontario and ride to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and cross back into the US and trek back home. Montana, Wyoming, and Utah are just a few of that states that I want to roll two wheels into. Motorcycling nirvana I am told.

My idea of the perfect ride is one with no schedule and no particular destination. I have a relative who takes two weeks off every year and he and his wife meet up with three other couples and do a ride. The agenda is that they have to be back to Indiana on whatever date. Other than that, no one knows where they are going. They take off on day one and one couple takes the lead. They stop at a decent hour and wash up and go to dinner. Then it is off to bed for a break of day breakfast and back on the road. The destination for day two is picked by couple number two by saying only that the group will be heading South or North or Northwest. That is my kind of ride. Three years ago the final trip tally was fifteen states in sixteen days and 6600 miles. Plus, there were a lot of great stories to tell.

What is your dream ride? Let us know by clicking on the comments link at the end of this post and telling us what and where your dream ride would take you. I look forward to hearing from you and you may just turn the rest of us on to a great riding destination.

Ride Safe

HarleyMac1 and the MC Nation