Travel

A low, silvery fog nestled in to the valley while we slept. It was hard to tell if it was raining or not when I looked out over the balcony of our room.  I crossed my fingers tightly that the ground was dry and trotted downstairs for breakfast saying good ...

On Sunday, we started our day with a bang, leaving our Bormio hotel and heading straight up and over the Stelvio pass. Winding our way along it's delicious serpentine hairpins, I wondered if my day was figuratively all down hill from there. As we motored on, I quickly found out ...

In realm of people who are passionate about pursuits that involve wheels; cars, motorcycles, bicycles - it seems that everyone knows the name Stelvio. We've seen it in photos around the internet, zig-zagging it's way up and down through the Italian Alps. It has become a legend, a holy grail ...

We awoke long before the revelers of the night before and departed Como heading towards the town of Bellagio. The picturesque town sits at the tip of Lake Como's peninsula. From there you can catch ferry boats to different points on the lake. Since we were heading northwest to Bormio, ...

We touched down in Milan at about 8:30am local time. Looking out the window of our taxi at the big blue sky was in direct conflict with what time my body said it was. Even when you're excited and running on adrenaline, you can really feel a 6 hour time ...

When Kenny and I rendezvoused with Pimmie in Bormio, Italy he came bearing gifts for us.  Apparently he and Novos had been scheming for weeks - making t-shirts for Kenny and I. Novos along with being a great rider and generally great guy is also a great illustrator. He whipped ...

Given the obvious hardship of riding our motorcycles from Long Island to Italy, doing a "Fly and Ride" was our only option. In order to take our Alpine trip Kenny and I needed to rent motorcycles. What Did We Look for in a Rental? Unlimited Mileage This was a big ...

After months of waiting, daydreams at my work desk and excited searches for routes to take - our alpine trip to Italy has come to a close. Kenny, Pimmie and I spent a week riding through the beautiful mountains of Italy, Switzerland and part of Austria. It was, in short, amazing ...

Now that I have my International Driving Permit, I thought I should probably get acquainted with the traffic signs that are used in Italy.  I have been searching the web for a comprehensive listing of basic traffic signs. Overall, they seem to be fairly intuitive. Thanks to the all-knowing Wikipedia, ...

Because I wasn't exactly clear on the function of the International Driving Permit, I was unsure of whether or not I needed to have one when we head to Italy. What is an International Driving Permit/License? It is a booklet that translates the type of American license you hold (ie ...

At first glance nothing really seems out of place here in this photo. It's nothing more than a road stretching out over a hill. Why would anyone take a photo of something so ordinary? Well, if you happen to zoom in,  my darlings - you'd see that strange things are ...

If you're looking for a 1-2 punch of good riding and interesting roadside attractions, Maine has a lot to offer. Just a hop skip and a jump from a 3 story outhouse, a giant butterfly sculpture and down the road a piece from Rumford's Paul Bunyan Muffler Man is the ...

Barber Motorsports Museum Board Track Racing Display: Imagine running full speed at 75mph and a 45° angle with nothing but your feet as brakes... Great board track racing video from Daytona, Florida in the 1920's. The intro title is a little long but stick with it. It just serves as ...

Oh Nooooooooo! I found Mr. Bill in a Cracker Barrel in Alabama. It was actually my first time eating there so I ordered what so many have recommended - Chicken Fried Steak. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the chicken fried steak at Denny's is ...

The Tesi with it's hub-steering has become one of those motorcycles that is the stuff of legend. Seeing the unusual Bimota in the wild is a bit like seeing a UFO. Sure some people say they've seen them but I'm usually a little skeptical and never imagined seeing one myself ...

What started from two cousins, Everett and Clinton Cushman building farming machinery and two-cycle boat engines in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1901 developed into one of the most well known commercial and industrial vehicle companies. Used in factories, the military, airports and even on the links, Cushman vehicles are everywhere. Golf cart, ...

No trip to another state is complete without checking to see if there is a Muffler Man in the vicinity. You can never be sure if you'll pass that way again, so stopping is a must! Our recent trip to Birmingham, Alabama was no different. We stopped in to see "Stan" ...

Has there ever been a finer looking sidecar than the one on this 1958 Ariel Square Four? No. No, I don't think so. It doesn't say so on the placard but I'm pretty sure that when you open the door on the sidecar, you are greeted by a snow white ...

In early May, my better half Kenny spent 2 days at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama doing the Kevin Schwantz 2-Day Track School.  Astride a school-provided Honda 600RR and Suzuki GSX-R 600, he had an absolutely great time riding and learning from the talented riders and instructors. The 2 day school ...

I used to have a big, gray G-shock wristwatch. The band on it was made of a stretchy, elasticized material. Every day after work I would ride my bicycle while wearing that watch. All summer long I would pedal, pedal, pedal - keeping time with my G-Shock watch. The more I ...

The first time that I saw the fabled Britten V1000 was in 1998 on the top floor of the Guggenheim Museum at the Art of the Motorcycle exhibit in New York City. As we wound our way up the museum's ramp to the top floor, it sat there like a ...

Last week my honey Kenny flew to Birmingham, Alabama to attend the Kevin Schwantz 2-Day Motorcycle School where he attended classes on Thursday and Friday. On Friday evening I hopped on a plane and flew down to meet up with him and tour the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. For a ...

I blew Kenny a kiss as the black limo drove away from our house last night. The windows were tinted so dark, I couldn't tell if he saw it or not. I went on blind faith that the love was received on the other side of the glass. He was ...

After a few years of saying "someday..." our little family packed our bags and visited Iceland in April of 2009. We left New York in the dark of night and landed at Keflavik airport nearly six hours later under a red sunrise. The landscape on the 40 minute drive from ...

Few things can excite a motorcycle rider like a sign that reads "Winding Road Next 77 Miles". Living here on the eastern end of Long Island I find it hard to believe that such signs exist out there in the world. Surely they are just the stuff of legend like ...