The Eastern Continental Divide in the Blue Ridge Mountains features some of the best motorcycling areas in the country. It reaches its highest point in North Carolina, home to one of the newest federally recognized wine-growing regions — and an excellent destination...
Learning how to ride did not come easy for me. There were times I thought I would never get the hang of it and get out on the road. But, through the support of other riders, it gave me the encouragement and motivation to keep pushing and learning. Through that support...
It all started with an old leather suitcase. Charlie Stroebel’s late brother, Frankie Striffler, loved a good hunt for antiques and curiosities. On one of his outings, he stumbled upon what looked like a salesman’s sample case, probably from the 1920s or ‘30s. Frankie...
He arrives in the sparkling motorcycle showroom like a beloved elder statesman, greeted warmly by employees who emerge from all corners of the Harley-Davidson dealership to welcome their founder, Dile Brown Sr. The 81-year-old returns their admiration, knowing success...
Vintage motorcycle enthusiasts will gather up their goggles and waxed-cotton jackets this October to attend the annual Barber Vintage Festival at the Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Alabama. “It’s probably one of the most unique vintage motorcycle events in...
Of all the sensations felt while riding a motorcycle, perhaps the oddest was the flapping of my sport coat and necktie as I rumbled my way to the start of the annual Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride. The gleaming white-pearl and chrome Victory Kingpin, borrowed from a...
Casta Rica boy,” my gray-haired grandfather said to me. “That’s where you need to go.” Our group of riders from the Blowing Rock/Boone area flew into San Jose, Costa Rica, in mid-January with plans for some winter riding in the mountains of Central America. From San...
A bolt of lightning strikes the ridgetop as a thunderstorm stalls atop Sam’s Top, which is part of the towering border between North Carolina and Tennessee. The churning clouds and hazy mountains blur together with a faint glimpse of sunshine in the gap between sky...
Nearly 30 years ago, an old friend introduced me to motorcycle camping. During those early years, the two of us came together a couple times a year for epic camping and rides, which usually led to some irresponsible, reckless behavior that young men with a false sense...
Something about the secluded valley draws them here, as it has for millennia, to the confluence of Spring Creek and the French Broad River, to where a rare hot spring emerges from the earth and ancient man painted symbols on rocky cliffs, to where paws, hoofs and feet...
