Adventure Rider Radio – Motorcycle Podcast

What Inspires a Motorcycle Adventure Traveler and Author? Graham Field is a household name if you're in to adventure motorcycling, the author of three books, a world traveler and a co-host on ARR RAW. He's been the inspiration for many riders, who have read his books, and have been motivated to set out on their own adventures, wherever and for however long they may be. So, when Graham Field messag...

Brent Carroll: Read a Facebook Post, Bought a Motorcycle, Attended a HUBB Meet & Went on an Adventure Inspired by a Facebook post, Brent Carroll decided to get a motorcycle to do some adventure riding. After going to a Horizons Unlimited meet he was hooked on the idea of a long distance motorcycle trip, having met other riders who were travelling and exploring the world. In April, 2016 he set...

Riding in the Heat and Cold Weather Motorcycle Riding Tips Grant Johnson: Tips For Riding When the Heat is On Grant's vast background includes being a motorcycle mechanic and dealer, as well as co-owner of Horizons Unlimited with his wife, Susan Johnson. Grant has given many talks around the world as part of the HUBB presentations. He's also a co-host on ARR RAW: www.adventureriderradio.com/raw Ho...

In this first part of a two part series, we talk to David Hough about riding in high winds and Grant Johnson about rainy weather riding. Also, Chantal Simons has done long distance trips on both a Ducati Monster and a Chook Chaser? And what she's learned is that asking yourself the right questions when faced with a hurdle is what can make the difference in how your trip turns out. David Hough: Rid...

The Simpson Desert is Australia's fourth largest desert and the largest sand dune desert in the world, containing the world's longest parallel sand dunes. On the western side of the desert, these dunes are as high as 3 metres, and on the eastern side as much as about 30 metres. The desert has no maintained roads, but there are tracks which were made in the 60's and 70's when surveys were done in t...

Fear of travelling to some countries is instilled in us by the media, or people who haven't been but have heard about these places. Are we missing out on discovering different cultures and people because of these fears? Perhaps riding out of our comfort zone and in to these places will make us see things differently and change the way we think.  Lois Pryce: Revolutionary Road: On the Road in Searc...

Camp meals should be more than just hot dogs and granola. This episode we talk to long time motorcycle travellers, Lisa & Simon Thomas, about their new book Dirty Dining and Ara Gureghian, a five star chef who's been living off his motorcycle for over a decade. They give some valuable tips on camp cooking especially when space and supplies are limited. Lisa & Simon Thomas: Dirty Dining Sim...

  Driving A Sidecar Outfit: David L. Hough David Hough is the author of Driving A Sidecar Outfit, a text book published by the Sidecar Safety Program in 1997. He's also the director of the Sidecar Safety Program, which offers a Sidecar driving training program. David talks with Jim about learning how to ride a motorcycle with a sidecar and what's involved. DMC Sidecars: Jay DMC Sidecars is located...

According to a travel survey, couples who travel together have better relationships than those who don't. In this episode, three couples share their thoughts on what makes their relationship work while on the road. And we also talk to a couple who rode from Alaska to Ushuaia on a quest to find out what was the secret behind couples who remained married or partnered for a long time. They talk about...

Luke Gelmi gave up his job in Australia, and sold most of his possessions, in a spontaneous decision to go on a motorcycle adventure. Leaving behind his F800 GS, a bike suitable for the kind of trip he was setting out on, he bought “a wildly inappropriate Royal Enfield” in England. With no set plans, and unprepared, he travelled throughout the UK, some of Europe and Africa. He’s had, well what som...

If you ride motorcycles off the pavement , there’s always the possibility that one wrong move and your bike is off the side of a trail or stuck in a mudhole. The question is, do you have what you need to extract your bike? People, winch, or block and tackle? We did some testing of three different motorcycle recovery systems, two of which you can take with you on any ride, and one of which is a goo...

Ted Simon has moved to France and started his next motorcycle adventure, but in a different way. What he's doing offers a unique opportunity to learn something from a motorcycle legend and writer. Also in this episode, Aaron Steinmann chose to ride his KTM 500 EXC in New Zealand and then in South America to Oregon, not your usual adventure motorcycle, but then again, isn't every bike an adventure...

Trui Hanoulle is a motorcycle traveler, that looks for adventure out of her comfort zone, and recently that included doing a solo trip on an electric Zero motorcycle from her home in Belgium to Istanbul. And Pat Jacques, retired MX racer and founder of ADVWoman, teaches women off-road riding skills and hosts the annual ADVWoman Rally in Colorado. Elektrogirl: Trui Hanoulle Trui Hanoulle’s home is...

  Space means safety on the road, and in this episode we talk about 5 simple and effective keys that have been used in commercial trucking for decades. Shawn Kitchen, a Driver Trainer from Smith System explains how these keys can be used when riding your motorcycle. And Phil Freeman from Motoquest in Alaska shares tips on riding the Dalton Highway, one of the most remote roads in the world. How th...

Sharing stories about connections and kindness through their motorcycle travel experiences, Sam Manicom, Todd Blubaugh and Leon Logothetis tell some inspiring, feel good anecdotes that make us realize how important it is to reach out to people wherever you go. Both for what you receive and for what you give.  Travel Changes Us, and We Come Away Different People We've often heard from those who tra...

  Every now and again, we hear about motorcycle adventure stories, that have, well let's say a twist to them. So, how exactly do you tie in fruit or dice on a motorbike trip? This week Max MacGillivray and Isaac Simonelli share their unusual stories with us, and maybe you'll get some great ideas of how you can make your adventure a little different from the norm. Max MacGillivray: The Great Fruit...

Backcountry Discovery Routes and the Trans Canada Adventure Trail are planned and organized motorcycle adventure routes in the United States and Canada. Great scenery, culture and riding is what you get on one of these free off highway routes. Jim talks to Paul Guillien and Ted Johnson about the BDR and the TCAT. BDR: Back Country Discovery Routes | Paul Guillien Backcountry Discovery Routes is a...

Dave & Becky Prigel: KLR 650 Rider A motorcycle off or accident is something that no one really wants to talk about, but if you're a motorcycle rider, a pillion, or someone emotionally attached to a rider, we think about it now and again. And in this episode we address dealing with accidents, recovery and getting back on the bike. Last year, Dave Prigel, an ARR listener, contacted us when he d...

Annette Birkmann dreamt about riding a motorcycle since she was a little girl, but it wasn’t until she was 30 years old that she got her motorcycle license. In 2006, she realized that she had reached the goals she had set for herself, but still felt unfulfilled, so she quit her job as an associate in a law firm in Denmark to go an an adventure. As she rode through the Americas, she realized that w...

Voni & Paul Glaves - Million Miles on Her Motorcycle & the Mechanic Behind the Scenes Voni Glaves is one of two women who have ridden over a million miles on a BMW motorcycle. Back in the 1970's, Voni had no idea that women could ride motorcycles, but with encouragement from her husband Paul, she learned to ride just so they could take their kids on motorcycle camping trips. And since then...

Custom Fitting Your Bike to Your Body: Part 2 This week on ARR we're in to Part 2 on custom fitting your bike to your body size with Grant Johnson from Horizons Unlimited. Grant's draws on his experience from being a motorcycle mechanic and dealer, as well as co-owner of Horizons Unlimited. In this series, he teaches our listeners about the three areas of your bike that can and need to change to f...

Custom Fitting Your Bike to Your Body: Part 1 This week ARR starts a three part series on custom fitting your bike to your body with Grant Johnson from Horizons Unlimited. Grant's vast background includes being a motorcycle mechanic and dealer, as well as co-owner of Horizons Unlimited with his wife, Susan Johnson. Grant has given many talks around the world as part of the HUBB presentations. In t...

Veterans Back 40 Adventure Morgan Northrup & Chet Mainwaring Morgan Northrup was in the army and has served two tours, one as active duty and one as a civilian contractor in the Middle East. He’s also spent several years as a police officer in Tennessee. When he was suffering from depression and anxiety, as a result of his army and police careers, his dad stepped in and bought him a plane tick...

Anyone who rides a motorcycle probably knows what it’s like to find any excuse or reason to ride. Some commute to work, some run all their errands using their bike… out of milk? No problem. Even though it’s easier to jump in your car, you’ll put on all your gear just to ride your bike around the corner. Whether it’s a day trip, a weekend jaunt, or perhaps an even longer adventure, it’s always in t...

This is the time of year many of us are looking to make New Year’s resolutions. It’s a tradition in many countries, to set goals for self improvement or personal gain.  But, usually these resolutions come with a price - pain. Like having to cut out food you love to lose weight, or the effort of working out to become fitter or maybe cutting out your favourite coffee shop to save more money. All goo...