We were fortunate enough to have the article published in the June 2008 edition of Thunder Roads, ‘The Oldest Motorcycle Magazine in Texas’.

In addition to ‘Riding the Hill Country’, we also contributed to Hill Country Faves. And Thunder Roads even used a few photos we took as well.

Riding the Hill Country [PDF, 240KB]

Motorcycle Enthusiasts Get a Chance to Ride a Harley Through the Most Scenic Spots on the West Coast

Motorcycle enthusiasts who have dreamed of riding through American’s most breath-taking scenery can now live out their own “Hog” fantasies and see the “left coast” up close and personal — from the behind the polished chrome of a custom-made Harley Davidson. Starting September 29th, JC BIKE TOURS US will offer experienced riders exclusive tours through historic Route 66, the Pacific Coast Highway and beyond.

Los Angeles (PRWEB) August 29, 2007 — Motorcycle enthusiasts who have dreamed of riding through American’s most breath-taking scenery can now live out their own “Hog” fantasies and see the “left coast” up close and personal — from the behind the polished chrome of a custom-made Harley Davidson.

Starting September 29th, JC BIKE TOURS US will offer experienced riders exclusive tours through historic Route 66, the Pacific Coast Highway and beyond.

Owned and operated by Joerg Cremer, JC Bike Tours US will offer two tours: one a week-long excursion that takes the rider through several points along Route 66, Nevada and California, and a 4-day mini-tour beginning November 1 that moves along the coast from Los Angeles to San Francisco via the breath-taking Pacific Coast Highway. (An additional mini-tour was recently added that runs from San Francisco back to Los Angeles.)

For the past five years, Mr. Cremer has provided European motorcycle enthusiasts with similar tours, but now has turned his focus towards East Coasters (and other U.S. residents) who want to see California from a decidedly first-person perspective.
“There’s nothing like Route 66 and Coast California” says Mr. Cremer. “I have the greatest job in the world, because I lead every tour and get to see all these magnificent sites again and again.”
And Mr. Cremer has hand-picked some of the most interesting and beautiful spots on the West Coast for points of destination, including: Palm Springs, Lake Havasu, Pahrump (Nevada), Mammoth Lakes, San Francisco, Los Olivos, Carmel and more.

Riders stay at top hotels along the way and have a great chance to get to know one another via evening cookouts and other get-togethers organized by Mr. Cremer himself (who acts as tour leader on every excursion the company offers).

“My goal is to make everyone’s week completely unforgettable – from the moment they step off the plane in Los Angeles and get on the back of their custom Harley – right on through to the final miles on the road before heading home.”

Tour prices start as low as $1995 per person (airfare and some meals are not included in this price). And because Mr. Cremer believes that the tours are even more special with friends, special discounts are available for groups of three or more.

ADDITIONAL TOUR AND PRESS INFORMATION

CONTACT: Terri Chiodo – 310.432.6307 or terri@jcbiketravelus.com
More information can also be found at the company’s website:
www.jcbiketravelus.com

###

Looks like a fun way to travel some very scenic routes.

Enjoy!

Motorcycle Enthusiasts Get a Chance to Ride a Harley Through the Most Scenic Spots on the West Coast [via PR Web]

JC Bike Travel US

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Perfect if you want to share that awesome ride you just had or want to provide directions to the next bike rally.

Enjoy!

Add customized maps to your blog or website in 3 easy steps [via Google Maps]

Google Maps Now With More Embedding [via Lifehacker]

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Recounting the 2,000 mile trip to and from Sturgis, Dynamike provides an excellent commentary on the trip with some humorous episodes as well.

One can only believe that this is the PG-13 rated version of the trip!

Good reading that you won’t want to miss.

Enjoy!

Sturgis 2007 The Epic Journey Day 1 [Dynamike via Brain Bucket]

Technorati Tags: motorcycle

Via a promotional email, here is what Harley says about Rumblings:

STURGIS RUMBLINGS

No matter where they hail from, there’s no doubt that the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has a special significance for every rider. Harley-Davidson would like to know what the Rally means for you.

Come to harley-davidson.com and check ou the Sturgis Rumblings interactive gallery, featuring photos and stories from riders at Sturgis. Then share your own story – whether you’ve already been to Sturgis, or hope to go in the future. Feeling camera shy? Then just tell us where you’re from.

Now’s the time to be counted among the faithful.

Venture over to the HD site, take a look around, and enjoy!

Sturgis Rumblings [via Harley-Davidson]

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Over at Piglet Paper, Lisa continues her posting about her annual trip across Texas. This post deals specifically with her trying to get through Houston and somehow retain her senses. You can find the post here.

Lisa had to deal with an approximate 15 miles of shear aggravation as road construction in Houston caused four lanes to merge into one in the largest city in Texas causing a severe bottleneck.

One good result from the mess was her discovering a pretty useful resource for riders in Texas. See the excerpt below.

On a more serious note, though, and not wanting to just whine, here’s a resource that might actually help in the ride planning stages anywhere in Texas. I would presume other states have something similar. Check out www.dot.state.tx.us. Under the “Travel” section, click on “Road Conditions”. You can check any road in Texas for construction, closures, damage, flood, etc. Really, it is well done, because they offer you several different search criteria to narrow your results to exactly what you need. You can look up a road condition in a specific area or you can look up a specific road. Like any good search criteria, the less you tell it the broader your search results and vice versa. They also offer a toll-free number you can call if you don’t have a PDA phone on the road with you.

If you haven’t visited Piglet Paper, give it a look and be sure to read the rest of Lisa’s post.

Enjoy!

Paying Dues [Lisa via PigletPaper.com]

Road Conditions [via Texas Department of Public Safety]

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Well… I it seems that I failed to ever make my follow up post on those rides. However, Lisa has posted a wonderful recap of the adventure over on our sister blog, PigletPaper.com (link to that post is here). Not to worry though, because I have included it in it’s entirety below. And I have added some of the many pics we took along the way.

Hope you enjoy the recap!

Journeying to the Big Bend [Lisa via PigletPaper.com]

Journeying to the Big Bend
By Lisa J

A few weeks ago, we had occasion to ride thru Big Bend National Park. WOW! This is one ride you have to do on 2-wheels before you really get it. You think it’s beautiful riding thru in a car, but coasting thru on 2-wheels just takes the experience to a whole new level that cannot be done justice in words.

As we approached the Panther Junction Visitor Center at the base of the Chisos Mountains, we were eye-gazed at the rain-storm passing over the mountaintops. Our timing couldn’t have been better if we had been deliberate. We arrived at the base of the Mountains right after the storm passed over—literally within minutes! We just could not resist the temptation to escapade into the freshly wet mountains where they revealed secrets that can only be appreciated in the aftermath of Nature’s glory. We were greeted by breathtaking waterfalls that only happen when it rains and the most peculiar trees and plant life we have see nowhere else.

The ascent into the Mountains felt like a slow subside into a cave of peaceful monstrosity, where switchbacks on narrow roads left our only option to be intensely present in the moment and savor all She had to offer. The return to civilization felt like being awakened from a coma, seeing familiar things for the first time and in the creep of the moment remembering how precious they are to you.

Now the truth—we had never intended to ride up into the Chisos Mountains, only to take the long way around to the River Road via Big Bend. That’s an easy temptation on a motorcycle—to take the long way around. Well, we certainly got more than we bargained for, like one of those gifts that unexpectantly rewards you for practicing peace of mind.

As we turned back onto the highway and headed west, the attitude adjusting feelings we experienced remained on high for the River Road. This is the road that follows the Rio Grande between Lajitas and Presidio and it is famed for its hairpin turns, stomach dropping elevation changes and its breathtaking backdrop of a river dividing two countries. We were not disappointed, so don’t let my lack of commentary trip you up. It’s just that everybody writes about this road and everything they say is true. You just have to ride it for yourself.

We could sum this up as a day of adventure, but the word ‘Adventure’ really does this day a disservice. Perhaps, ‘spiritual experience’ might be a little more fitting.

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Sturgis 2007 – a short list of sites to visit for those of you who haven’t been there before.

Sturgis 2007 – Part 2 – part two for those who haven’t attended before.

Top five biker bars in Sturgis – just as the title suggests.

Costs associated with Sturgis – a listing of the various state and local fines that your could face if you get too out of hand.

Enter to win an American IronHorse BANDERA in Sturgis – where to go to register and details for getting a free t-shirt.

And for the truly ‘newbies’ out there… If you don’t already have lodging accommodations, you’d better pack your tent and sleeping bag or make friends with other bikers really fast!

Enjoy!

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We actually got caught in the rain about 5 miles out side of Goldsmith. We tried to wait it out a bit, but finally figured it wasn’t going to stop. So we donned the rainsuits and traveled the last bit into town in a pretty heavy rain storm. The rain ended up last for a couple of hours, quit for about 30 minutes or so (just long enough to give us hope that we would finally make it to the rally) then started up again for another hour or so before finally stopping long enough for us to feel like we could make a run through the rally.

We knew it was about time to head to the rally when we heard the vehicle above slowly rumbling down the street. Seems some guys from the local motorcycle club in Goldsmith decided to take a lawnmower engine (6 horsepower I think they said) and rake out the front end. They also built the trailer to hold a couple of ice chests with sprayers attached to hose down people for the wet t-shirt contest, but one of the member ‘accidently’ ran over the hoses and they didn’t have time to repair it for the rally.

Best I could tell, the chop-mower has a maximum speed of about 3 mph. But the gentleman you see above is already planning a new and ‘improved’ model with a 22 horse engine as well as cup (read beer) holders on the ape hangers.

After seeing him out and about, we headed down to the rally expecting to see the worse. That is because of all the rain, we expected to see a lot of mud and water puddles and such. However, the ground is pretty parched so it seemed to have soaked up most of the rain and actually helped with control the dust.

However, we did see the ‘worse’ with respect to the supposed ‘jello’ that was available for the jello wrestling as you can see below.

I really don’t think it was actually jello. It looked more like the material that is in the cool band type bandanas that you soak in water then tie around you neck to keep you cool in warm/hot weather riding. Sorry the name of the stuff escapes me.

And what rally would be complete without an appearance from a couple of the local Hooter’s gals?

They actually stepped into the jello mixture and posed for pictures. But they were going to have none of the fighting that several of the other women decided to participate in.

All in all, the rally participants seemed to be making the most of their time there, regardless of the havoc that the rain played on the festivities.

And the rain actually did provide a welcome benefit. It produced temps in the lower 70s for much of the afternoon. A big change from last year’s temps in the 100s.

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How about some more links for those of you planning on attending the greatest motorcycle rally of them all this year.

This is to follow up on yesterday’s post which you can find here.

Sturgis Bike Week

Buffalo Chip

SturgisRally.org

Sturgis Rally Daily

Still waiting on some of you veterans out there to chime in. That is, if you are able to remember being there!

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: motorcycle