Jul/Aug '05 Premium Content Arkansas Farm tractors churning earth on either side of I-40 west of Memphis have created finely powdered clouds the prairie gusts tumble over the featureless landscape. Target: Gold Wing. Thanks to the conspiratorial workings of Mother Nature and John Deere, the grit slowly building on my sunscreen-slathered face has inspired images
Jul/Aug '05 Premium Content Medford, Oregon Commitment isn't what it used to be. Each New Year's Day millions commit to lifestyle changes that last, on average, two weeks. Couples vow " 'til death do us part," yet divorce is commonplace. True commitment - a parachute jump, for example - offers
Jul/Aug '05 Premium Content Rhode Island An hour out of the Big Apple on my 2004 BMW Rl150R, I spy surly, fat, gray clouds rushing belly-up behind me in the mirrors. I, in turn, rush east on the super-slab of I-95 through Connecticut. I'm on my way to begin my tour of the biggest
Jul/Aug '05 Premium Content South Africa: Between Cape and Kingdom Braai (equivalent to an American barbecue) is the first word in Afrikaans that many travelers learn simply because they're invited to them so often. Having a braai involves grilling something over a fire, from huge succulent steaks to whole fresh fish. And it always tastes very lekker. In
Jul/Aug '05 Premium Content Shamrock Tour® - Ashland, Wisconsin Nightfall, and after a long tiring ride we turn into the drive of The Inn at Timber Cove, our tour base camp. Hidden behind old, massive trees, this romantic Bed and Breakfast lies in a lush green meadow. The owners Tina and Brian Miller escort us to our cottage and
Jul/Aug '05 Suzuki SV650s / Triumph Speed Four / Yamaha FZ6 > Here in the good old US of A, it's no secret we like things big. Need an example? Just look at the recent spate of big honkin' pavement-churning machines on display at your local bike shop - 1600, 1800, 2000cc and more. Is this really necessary?
Jul/Aug '05 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Nomad As so often happens, I'm sitting in this huge plane getting ready to fly between Charlotte and L.A., and I'm wondering: When did they build the first of these Jumbos? More then 30 years ago. It's 2005 and this bird looks the same.
Jul/Aug '05 Just right: Suzuki's Practical Classic Once upon a time (and this is no fairytale), a motorcycle was just a motorcycle. It came from the factory in one flavor - plain vanilla. What you did with it after that was up to you. To go touring, you could add a rack and a pair of panniers;
Jul/Aug '05 998cc Black Shadow - A fine motorbike > In our motorcycle-besotted, pre-license teen years, my buddies and I traded hyperbole like marbles. A Gold Star would do 90 miles per hour in first gear; a 650 Panther revved so slowly, it only fired once every streetlight; a 500 Velocette would pitch you over the handlebars if it
