Best Motorcycle Podcasts 2021
This past year has been a little crazy by anyone’s standards but through it all we have kept up producing ARR and RAW on schedule and have had incredible positive feedback. Our best motorcycle podcasts for 2021 to keep you inspired and dreaming even if you can’t ride today, you can always plane to ride tomorrow. The best adventures are yet to come! So load up a few ARR podcasts and clean and polish your bike as we take on a virtual ride around the world.
Graeme Duncan is a self described workaholic. It’s a family thing, Graeme, his brothers, his dad and it runs deep. His wife, Sue Duncan, relishes the idea of a vacation, but trying to convince a workaholic to skip work and pour out some hard earned cash for a vacation requires the tactics of a top earning vacuum salesperson. But, Sue did find a way and as you can imagine, it had something to do with a motorcycle.
Five young artists decided to take their studios on the road for an expedition - on four Ural Sidecars - from Germany, through Russia and to New York. Their trip included “armies of mosquitos and mountains of bureaucracy”, riding on the Road of Bones and building amphibious motorcycles. They had an incredible 972 breakdowns, which culminated in meeting some strange characters who helped them continue their adventure, but only until the next breakdown.
Ruts can be one of the most difficult challenges for motorcyclists and although ruts are usually found when riding in dirt off-road, you may come across them in construction areas and even at the side of the road where the asphalt often has a lip and a dirt shoulder. Riding off to the side of the road over that lip is usually uneventful, but if not done correctly re-entering the roadway and crossing that rut can put a rider down. Riding ruts, tips, tricks and even a few stories from Clinton Smout of SMART Adventures.
If you enjoy listening to music, your playlist may have a big impact on how you feel as you ride. Fast paced music feels great for carving corners or riding rough trails at a moderate pace. Or your playlist may fit well with working on your bike or hanging out with like minded riders. And since music and motorcycles go together so well, we talked to motorcyclist and bassist Ryan Gullen from The Sheepdogs about music, building vintage bikes, and riding motorcycles. So, what’s on your playlist?
After spending years saving and preparing, Travis and Chantil Gill left on a year long motorcycle trip. They planned to explore Morocco and as much of Europe as they could. Then the pandemic struck and they made the tough decision to take a chance and go ahead with their plans. Just a couple of weeks in to their trip, they found themselves stuck in Spain but when things eased up they were able to start travelling again in South Eastern Europe. Because of the pandemic restrictions they’ve discovered slow travel which could ultimately change the way they travel in the future, but they’ve also been faced with some moral dilemmas at the same time.
The Best of RAW for 2021
RAW is our monthly roundtable style talks where we tackle everything motorcycle with some of the best motorcycle travel speakers in the world. Brian Rix, Shirley Hardy-Rix, Sam Manicom, Grant Johnson, Michelle Lamphere and host Jim Martin are the regulars on this podcast with the occasional guest. All motorcycle centric with a few side tracks and rabbit holes we do our best to entertain, provide valuable information and advice on the one and only RAW motorcycle podcast.
On this episode of RAW we talk about dealing with pre-trip jitters, missing family and friends, and remember holidays spent away from home. Join Jim and his co-hosts Shirley Hardy-Rix, Brian Rix, Sam Manicom, Michelle Lamphere and Grant Johnson for some great tips and laughs.
On this episode of RAW the round-table panel discusses how being an introvert or extroverts affects how you feel about a trip. Join Jim Martin and his co-hosts Shirley Hardy-Rix, Brian Rix, Sam Manicom, Michelle Lamphere and Grant Johnson for some insights in to the psychology of motorcycle travel.
On this episode of RAW we talk about when good things turn out to be for the best, what a small world it can be, inspirational places to visit while travelling, footwear and helmets. Join Jim and his co-hosts Shirley Hardy-Rix, Brian Rix, Sam Manicom, Michelle Lamphere and Grant Johnson for some lessons and laughs.
On this episode of RAW, tales of pushing the limits into the night and what happened, when a local helps you out of a situation or gives you a meal or place to stay, how do you thank them and compensate them without the risk of offending? And ways to gain space in an overpacked pannier. All this and more, on this month’s RAW featuring your co-hosts from around the world.
Is it possible, with all the technology and information available at your finger tips to have an adventure like those pre-internet? What about personal protection, should we and do we carry weapons? And how to avoid road hazards without learning the hard way. All this and more, on this month’s RAW featuring your co-hosts from around the world.
Travellers can be easy targets for bribes, thieves, muggings or assaults. What are some of the things you can do to avoid being a motorcycle travel target? And if anything happens to you when you’re travelling in a foreign country, you unknowingly commit a crime or find yourself in a bad situation, what rights do you have? Can your country step in to help and how do you handle local laws and rules?
Are you a travel addict? If you are, and even if you’re not, you might have some questions about motorcycle travel. Like, how long should you wait before you take a new bike on an extended trip? What’s the best way to carry water? If you’re not in to social media, what other ways can you connect with riders and travellers? And how do you deal with an overloaded motorbike?
Some of the best stories comes from the outrageous or difficult things we experience, and another is the people we meet along the way. It’s the outrageous, the outliers, that seem to be the most memorable, sometimes locals and other times travellers themselves. Who are these outrageous people? And what is it like to stay in a hostel? When, if ever, are you too old to say at a hostel? And which accommodations best connect a traveller with culture and their new surroundings?
We’re all itching to get out and ride again after what’s been a very long year or more of restrictions. Maybe you have a growing bucket list or you just want to plan an adventure that’s off the charts. We know motorcycling is good for our mental health, and we’re hoping that countries open up to travellers again soon, so is it time to start planning your next motorcycle vacation? And while we’re on the planning topic, what about those countries that have demeaning morals and values when it comes to race, gender or the like? Is it responsible to travel to those places?
When a freak skiing accident left Justin Kleiter laid up on his couch he needed something to do, and by chance he discovered a whole new world of motorcycle adventure that would lead him to South America, Mongolia and many more places.