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What comes to mind when someone says, âSturgisâ? As in, the annual motorcycle rally set in the South Dakota city of the same name. If youâre Mark Long, host of âDriven to Ride,â you know only what youâve read or been told. See, before this year, Mark had never been to Sturgis, never mind the rally. So this past August, he packed his bags and pointed the headlight of his Yamaha XSR900 toward Mount Rushmore.
Among the half-a-million rally attendees, some, like Mark, are wide-eyed newbies. Take it from Richard Worsham, co-founder of Janus Motorcycles: âDriving through Sturgis at night, itâs wildâbikes back to back.â Others, like Zach Parham, president and CEO of Comoto Holdings, have been coming to the Black Hills for decades. âI rode my first time on my own bike when I was 16,â he says. âThis is my 29th year.â
Long relates his own adventure, with insights from Worsham, Parham, photographer Michael Lichter, YouTube star âDoodle on a Motorcycle,â and others, including Cody Ertman, media and PR manager at the Legendary Sturgis Buffalo Chip, known as âThe Best Party Anywhere.â He says, âIf I wasnât working at âThe Chip,â I would definitely be one of those people who came every year. Itâs such a cool experience.âThe Buffalo Chip
Janus Motorcycles
Official Sturgis Website
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Keith Keller ventured from the U.S. to the Cayman Islands to experience first-hand the spectacular diving and snorkeling for which the British overseas territory located in the western Caribbean Sea is known, and he stayed for the motorcycling. That description may seem odd to dyed-in-the-wool riders, since Grand Cayman, the largest of the three islands, only encompasses 75 square milesânot exactly tailor-made for touring.
On this episode of the âDriven to Rideâ podcast, show host Mark Long interviews Keller, a California native whom he met while vacationing on Grand Cayman. A lifelong motorcyclist, Keller owns Cayman Custom Cycles, a âone-stop shop for all things motorcycle in Grand Cayman.â He also operates âCayman Islands Motorcycle Tours,â which offers a lap of the island from the seat of a late-model Harley-Davidson Big Twin.
Keller is a staunch advocate for the local motorcycling community and the founder of the Cayman Islands Motorcycle Riders Associationâdonât call it a âclub.â The tours themselves are relaxed affairs, as Long can vouch, with Keller leading from the front, albeit on the left side of the road, which is the rule of law in the Caymans. Figure 90 miles round trip. âBut,â Keller says proudly, âyou see the whole island.â
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Puuttuva jakso?
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True story: âDriven to Rideâ host Mark Long booked a Kawasaki Vulcan S through Riders Share for the MotoGP race weekend at Circuit of The Americas. Upon arrival in Austin, Texas, he went to the designated location to pick up the bike from owner Guillermo Cornejo. Turns out, Cornejo is the founder of Riders Share, said to be the largest motorcycle-sharing community in the world. What are the chances of that happening?
Wait, thereâs more. The Kawasaki was only available for Long to use that weekend because Cornejo forgot to pause his motorcycle listing on the Riders Share website. Stranded without his usual two-wheel transportation, he was forced to Uber to COTA. âIt was a terrible mistake,â admitted Cornejo, adding, âbut I still made more money on Riders Share than I spent on Uber.â Allâs well that ends well, right?
On this episode of âDriven to Ride,â Cornejo explains why booking a motorcycle through Riders Share can be easier and more cost-effective than renting one from a national agency or even a local brick-and-mortar dealer. Is Riders Share the right choice for your motorcycle-rental needs? Listen to this episode and decide for yourself. Perhaps, like Mark, you might even meet the owner of the company.Connect with Us:
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For generations of teenagers, a driverâs license represented independence, a milestone moment that transported fresh-faced wheelmen (and women) one step closer to adulthood. That is less so now, with fewer young drivers showing interest in taking to the road. Andrew Pieper, however, is all about bucking trends. In fact, he couldnât wait to pass his driving exam so he could buy, you guessed it, a motorcycle.
âI always wanted a bike,â admits Pieper. âWhen I turned 16 and got my license, I immediately got my motorcycle endorsement. I didnât even have a car until college. I rode everywhere.â Everywhere, indeed. In June, 2022, Piper set the record for the fastest time on a motorcycle across Americaâfrom Jacksonville, Florida, to San Diego, Californiaâ28 hours and 42 minutes.
On this episode of the âDriven to Rideâ podcast, host Mark Long interviews the South Carolina native, who describes himself as, âJust a guy trying to live life fully alive.â Racing the clock on a Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird isnât for the faint of heart, and Pieper spent a lot of time planning his cross-country record attempt, not to mention enlisting a slew of supporters to help him achieve his unique goal.
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If spectating at a MotoGP race in Europe is on your bucket list, then the Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello wonât disappoint, as âDriven to Rideâ host Mark Long discovered firsthand this past June. Long spent the week traveling with his buddy Mike, who lives in Switzerland. Together, they enjoyed the full, immersive race-weekend experience camping on the scenic (and noisy!) Tuscan hillsides.
To better understand the nuts and bolts of a MotoGP race, especially one held on the Continent, Long spoke with Friné Velilla, who has worked for series commercial rights-holder Dorna for 20 years, the past 15 as media manager. FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel Chairman Freddie Spencer knows his way around Mugello, too, the three-time world champ having won both the 250cc and the 500cc races on the same day in 1985.
One of the fastest circuits on the calendar, Mugello is also one of the most difficult to nail as a rider. âItâs technical, itâs high-speed,â Spencer explained, âbut it challenges you mentally.â Long met two more Americans, J.J. and his son Connor. âThis is number one on my list of the tracks I wanted to go watch,â J.J. said about Mugello. And Longâs post-event advice? Go. Just go. But remember to bring earplugs. Youâll need âem.
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âYouâve come a long way, baby,â was an advertising slogan created in the 1960s by Philip Morris for cigarette brand Virginia Slims. Aimed exclusively at women, the long-running campaign promoted equality among genders, particularly in the workplace. Crystal Fong has come a long way, tooâboth literally and figurativelyâas she explains to host Mark Long on this episode of the âDriven to Rideâ podcast.
California-born Fong, who has ridden her 250cc Honda Dominator through 40 European countries, was first exposed to motorcycling while attending college. âA friend of mine took me on the back of his bike,â she recalls. âI wore a cotton hoodie, with Nike Dunks, and a helmet that was way too big. We went 160 mph and did wheelies and endos. That was really fun, but very nerve-wracking, because I had no control.â
Turns out, Fong prefers to be in control, as in the rider, not the passenger. She eventually earned her motorcycle license, bought a bike, and began commuting. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she rode with a friend to Yellowstone National Park. The psyche-calming joy of being on a motorcycle ultimately led Fong to set her sights overseas. All taken one stepâor more appropriately, one kilometerâat a time.
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âFarm to forkâ is a popular movement in which restaurants source fresh, locally grown ingredients from nearby farms for the meals they serve, as opposed to purchasing those items from wholesale distributors that cater to nationwide chains. Janus Motorcycles is the farm-to-fork of motorcycle makers, a regionally focused alternative to the global parts vendors used by many long-established manufacturers.
In this episode of the âDriven to Rideâ podcast, host Mark Long interviews classically trained architect Richard Worsham, who founded Janus Motorcycles in Goshen, Indiana. The northeastern part of the Hoosier state is well-known for its large Amish community, which provides the highly skilled and practiced labor to fabricate everything from steel framesâmodeled after the classic Norton featherbedâto leather seats and saddlebags.
Janus Motorcycles has purposely kept its offerings smaller in displacement and largely free from current technology trends. âWeâre more about the activity our customers are doing on the bike than we are about the technology it takes to get there,â says Worsham. âIn our experience, we found the less technology you use, the more direct that feeling actually isâthat sensation, that experience you have on the bike.â
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Have you ever met someone who describes their life on this planet in such an entertaining way you lose track of time? Well, that is the dilemma âDriven to Rideâ podcast host Mark Long faced with Mike van der Sleesen. Mike, the CEO of Vanson Leathers, was one of Markâs first guests, and that interview barely scratched the surface of a life of adventure spent on and around two wheels.
See, Mike was born in the U.S. but he grew up in The Netherlands and France, where he was first exposed to the joys of motorcycling at 9 years old on a Solex, its front wheel driven by a small engine. Van der Sleesen progressed to two- and four-speed Puchs, followed by another two-stroke, a Garelli. Slot in behind a passing truck at just the right moment, Mike recalled with a chuckle, and you might catch its draft.
In the 1960s, Van der Sleesen found himself in the thick of the vibrant British motorcycle scene, and he has never lost interest. Today, Mike owns five Nortons in various trims, one of which he bought in 1972âtwo years before he co-founded Vanson Leathers, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Van der Sleesen reminds us that motorcycling, much like life, is all about the journey.
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Jeff Allen has been taking beautiful photographs of motorcycles for Cycle World magazine and its digital sister, cycleworld.com, for more than 30 years. Jeff got his start in the early 1990s as a studio assistant. His current position as staff photographer has taken Jeff all over the world in a unique role that enables him to capture the essence of the sport while also experiencing two wheels firsthand.
Jeff has often documented his experiences for publication in both print and on the web. âRoyal Nepal Adventure: Entering the Forbidden Kingdom of Lo Manthangâ left him gasping for oxygen at 15,000 feet on a Tibetan plateau. With son Evan, he set out on adventure bikes to experience the âwinter wonders of the Baja California Peninsulaâ and to answer one of lifeâs great questions: âCorn or flour tortillas?â
Jeff Allen is not only an expert lensman; he is an expert rider. More often than not, on any job he is assigned, Jeff will be the rider with a large pack crammed with camera bodies, lenses, and related gear strapped to his back. But donât for one moment think the size or the weight of that pack slows him down, forcing others to wait for him to catch up. Jeff is always close behind, looking for the perfect photo opportunity.
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We're taking you to the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas for the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas. We're not just going to the race - we're talking with Clerk of the Course Beth Miller; Sean Bice, the prolific MotoAmerica content creator who co-hosts the seriesâ weekly âOff Trackâ podcast; Brian Case, Executive Director of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum; and 1993 500cc Grand Prix World Champion Kevin Schwantz, who played a crucial role in the design of the 20-turn, 3.41-mile racetrack. You've never heard a MotoGP race like this.
Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas MotoGP Race Highlights
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If there was a dictionary entry for âMoto California,â the definition might be âa nightclub on two wheels.â Or at least that is the concept West Coast transplant George Beavers had in his mind when he cooked up the idea of creating an exclusive and unique intercontinental vacation experience centered around riding fun motorcycles on spectacular roads in fairy-tale locations.
Beaverâs two-wheel-oriented business aspirations stem from a lifelong enthusiasm for all things motorcycle, which he relates to host Mark Long in this episode of the âDriven to Rideâ podcast. âI looked at what everybody was doing,â said Beavers, âand I wanted to be different.â Hey, what else would you expect from someone who earned his motorcycle endorsement on a turbocharged Honda CBX?
If Beavers, a schoolboy motocrosser and one-time champion club road racer, is enamored with the serpentine roads that populate Californiaâs Central Coast, the Tuscan countryside blows his mind. âItalians must spend all their money on pavement,â he says, âbecause the roads there are like glass.â Better yet, he adds, when it comes to the one-stop luxury accommodations, âYou only unpack once.â
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Are you afraid to ride a motorcycle at night? Does your heart skip a beat when drops of rain appear on your faceshield? Youâre not alone. Carolyn Figueriaâbetter known as âDoodle on a Motorcycleâ to the legion of fans who subscribe to her YouTube channelâuses her ever-expanding platform to address these and other challenges that could have prevented her from enjoying motorcycling to its fullest.
Known for her personal approach to creating unique content, Figueria has taken on many two-wheel topics relevant to both newer and more experienced riders, including picking up a fallen motorcycle. Showcasing her never-give-up approach to life, Carolyn went to the extreme, laying her 500-plus-pound, three-cylinder Triumph Tiger 900 on its side and then picking it up 100 times every day for a month.
Figueria has spent the past eight years on a mission to become a better motorcycle rider. Along the way, she has showcased those adventuresâboth the highs and the lowsâto educate, engage, and empower others. For all those reasons and more, Carolyn is an inspiration to motorcyclists everywhere, and we are pleased she is the guest on this episode of the âDriven to Rideâ podcast.
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Some people seem destined for a certain line of workâa family business, for exampleâwhile others set out on a unique and unexpected career path with a specific goal in mind. Sarah Schilke identifies with the latter, the Oregon native having established early on that a life spent on two wheels in the motorcycle industry was the one and only direction for her.
Schilke has been employed at nearly every level of the industry. She began her journey as a motorcycle-safety instructor, worked the parts counter at a dealership, conducted market research, managed advertising and marketing programs, negotiated strategic business alliances, and ultimately has become one of the most recognized and valued members of the powersports community.
Through her varied professional path, Sarah has never stopped riding motorcycles. She is an accomplished on- and off-road rider who never lets foul weather stand in her way of logging more miles. True to her family heritage, Sarah is fluent in German, which comes in handy with her current role as vice president for SW-Motech USA, the Beaverton-based distributor of SW-Motech products.
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When Hank Snow took âIâve Been Everywhereâ to number one on the country-music charts, Dennis Noyes was writing for a daily newspaper in Venezuela. South America is a long way from central Illinois, where Noyes was born and raised. His father wrote for the âStars And Stripesâ and his mother was a linguistics professor at Purdue University, so words have always been and remain integral to Dennisâ existence.
Noyes ultimately landed in Spain, where he became a motorcycle road tester for Solo Moto and Motociclismo magazines, as well as a national championship-winning racer. For years, Dennis traveled the world reporting on the biggest names in Grand Prix road racing. Noyesâ youngest son, Kenny, followed in his fatherâs wheel tracks, making his world championship debut in 2010 and winning the Spanish national title in 2014.
Today, Noyes is retired and living with his wife, Heidi, in Californiaâs Anza-Borrego Desert. He still kicks up dust on two wheels, namely a John Bloor-era Triumph Thruxton with a pair of Mikuni round-slide carburetors replacing the modern electronic fuel injection styled to look like traditional mixers. Noyes recently published his first novel, âYonders, Illinois.â
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When Bridget McCutchen set off from her rural midwestern home on a world tour, she had no idea what the next 16 months would bring. Some 451 days later, after covering nearly 50,000 miles and visiting 45 countries, the 22-year-old Wisconsin native had successfully checked off all the requirements to become the youngest person, man or woman, to travel around the world by motorcycle.
McCutchen was new to motorcycling, with relatively few miles under her belt, when she began to map out her journey. No surprise, her trip wasnât as simple as connecting the dots. In Chile, McCutchen and a friend were robbed. Later, she was hit by a car, resulting in a concussion and other injuries. And then there was the war in Ukraine, which scratched plans to travel through Russia.
âPart of the reason I'm traveling around the world is to show that the motorcycle demographic is changing,â McCutchen wrote partway through the trip on her website, two-wheels-round.com. âI represent the new generation of riders. Young women who enjoy motorcycling are a growing force; they are people who want to be more present, enveloped in the world, not encapsulated in the bubble of a car.â
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Would you let a complete stranger ride your prized motorcycle? Austin Rothbard is betting that you willâfor a fee, of course. In fact, Rothbard started a business in 2017 based on that very concept. Rothbard is a motorcyclist himself and the founder and CEO of âTwisted Road,â a peer-to-peer, community-based rental service that he fondly refers to as the âAirbnb of motorcycles.â
Twisted Road builds relationships with motorcycle owners who care about their machines. They keep their bikes clean and shiny. Proper maintenance is a priority. They can spout tire pressuresâcold or hot?âquicker than their spousesâ birthdates. And they expect the same from customers. One of the rental stipulations, for example, is that every motorcycle is returned with a full tank of gas.
Find a motorcycle, book your days, and enjoy the ride of your life. According to Rothbard, the Twisted Road experience is that easy. Aiming to âunlock the motorcycles of the world so more people can experience life on two wheels,â the New Jersey native who now calls Chicago home truly embodies the entrepreneurial spirit. We are pleased to have Austin as a guest on this episode of the âDriven to Rideâ podcast.
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Howâs this for a company motto? âHand built. Made to last.â Those arenât just words, either: Top Fuel Motorcycle drag racer and former world record holder Kory Hogan survived a 246-mph crash in a leather suit designed and manufactured under the unyielding direction of the guest on this episode, the founder and CEO of Vanson Leathers, Mike van der Sleesen.
Founded in 1974 and operating since 1988 from a century-old textiles mill in Fall River, Massachusetts, Vanson has produced competition leather suits for many racing greats, including Giacomo Agostini, Freddie Spencer, and Jay Springsteen. Vanson products also have appeared in countless films and television productions and been worn by some of Hollywoodâs biggest stars.
Despite these successes, Van Der Sleesen is as grounded as they come. He has a deep understanding of international business and a wealth of manufacturing experience, yet he is one of the great characters in the motorcycle industry. On this episode, show host Mark Long discusses the Norton Commando 850 ownership experience with van der Sleesen.
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Michael Lichter rode a motorcycle to the Black Hills Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, for the first time in 1979â44 years ago. He documented that trip with a camera from the seat of his Harley-Davidson Shovelhead. Little did Lichter know that inaugural visit to the wildly popular biker party would lead to attending dozens more rallies and hundreds of other similar events and gatherings around the world.
Lichter fell in love with photography when he was a kid. By age 13, he had a working darkroom set up in the basement of his parentsâ home. Even on school nights, he would work until the early hours of the morning, when his parents came knocking. Later, he began to focus his lens on the biker culture and the quickly expanding custom side of motorcycling.
In 2000, Lichter produced his first âMotorcycles As Artâ exhibition, which morphed into a themed annual event staged initially at the Journey Museum in Rapid City. When the show outgrew that venue, Lichter moved it to Sturgis. From 2009 through 2022, the world-renowned artist curated the exhibit in a 7,000-square-foot gallery built specifically to house the show at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip.
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âAuthenticity is earned through epic workâ is one of Robert Pandyaâs favorite sayings, and indeed, Robert has done some epic work during his long and wild and varied career in the powersports industry. In fact, Pandya is a bit of a jack of all trades with experience in many aspects of marketing, from media relations to hosting and producing world-class events to creating content for digital and print publication.
For the past two years, Robert has helped shape the future of the Sturgis Buffalo Chip, known as âthe best party anywhere.â But Robertâs fascinating work experience is only one reason we asked him to be a guest on âDriven to Ride.â Robert is a motorcyclist to his core, and one of his passions is demonstrating ways for new riders to experience the joys of two wheels, whether it be on or off the road.
In 2017, Pandya founded the âGive A Shiftâ initiative, a volunteer group effort intended to bring together creative and experienced people to pen a report and transcript of their conversations with the focus on improving the powersports business and encouraging a positive long-term future for motorcycling. Spend any time with Robert and you will definitely agree that he âgives a shift.â
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Once in a great while, an individual connects with an audience. News anchor Walter Cronkite was often called âthe most trusted man in America.â Vin Scully was the âvoice of baseball.â For legions of motorsports fanatics, our next guestâs encyclopedic knowledge and booming baritone cemented their connection with all manner of two- and four-wheel competition.
In his youth, Dave Despain aspired to race motorcycles but admits he lacked the necessary courage and talent, never mind he stood head and shoulders above his two-wheel heroes. Despain called flat-track and road-racing events before accepting broader-reaching auto-racing assignments and later hosting his own TV shows, among them âWindTunnel with Dave Despain.â
Despain is a motorcyclist to his core. Studio work in the can, he would often ride one of his bikes countless miles to a distant destination to fulfill his public-address duties. Even off the clock, Despain found himself on the seat of a motorcycle, frequently his trusted Kawasaki KLR650, which he ultimately rode to Alaska, a trip that he discusses in detail on this episode of âDriven To Ride.â
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- Näytä enemmän
