Sjaak Lucassen, from The Netherlands, is a long distance motorcycle rider. He’s put a lot of miles on his bikes, notably between 2001 and 2006 he put 250,000 km (160,000 m) on a Yamaha YZF-R1. Not a bike you would expect someone to ride around the world. When it comes to choosing a bike to ride on an adventure, Sjaak says just to ride the bike you love.

Dr. Gregory Frazier has been described as "America's #1 extreme motorcycle adventurer." He's an author, moto journalist, photographer and a documentary film maker. And he's a motorcycle adventure junkie.

Sam Chisholm is a helicopter pilot from Australia that was feeling the itch to have an adventure. He came up with a plan to ride a motorcycle from Argentina to Alaska, and so he quit his job and flew to South America. His two friends joined him and he's now half way through their adventure. They're proving that what seems impossible can be possible, by learning as they go. And on this episode of Rider Skills we talk about doing your due diligence and being prepared when heading out on a motorcycle trip.

July Behl, was one of the six finalists for the United People of Adventure project organized by Touratech, with their initiative being to unite riders from different continents, cultures and speaking different languages, through their love of adventure motorcycling and travel. 

Not for all people, but quite often for many of us, when we leave on a trip, be it a few weeks, months or a year or more, we face emotional and financial hurdles. First we spend time planning, and we reach a point where we have crossed all our t’s and dotted all our i’s. We know exactly how things are going to go, where we will be and how much money we need, or so we think.

A new film has been released worldwide on National Geographic featuring Christophe Barriere-Varju from Multi-Award Winning film Dream Racer, and former Miss Australia and Miss Universe Australia, Laura Csortan.

With their three sons grown and moved out, Petra and Anders felt what they called boredom, that loss we all feel when we’ve worked and lived to raise our families, and then being needed comes to an end. So they came up with a plan to ride their motorcycles around the world. A lot of riders struggle moving their bikes around, loading them on to trailers or vehicles, into hotel lobbies around their garages or even just parking them. On this episode of Rider Skills, wediscuss the mechanics behind handling your bike in these situations. 

Mary McGee is truly an inspirational rider, who has paved the way for many women competitors and riders alike. She started out racing cars in the 1950’s and then got in to motorcycle road racing, enduro, motocross and finally vintage racing in the 2000’s. She started racing long before it was acceptable for women, racing against men simply because there weren’t any women’s classes in racing. 

Grant Johnson from Horizons Unlimited talks about motorcycle sub-frames. Why they break. How much weight you can put on your bike. How to calculate pay load. Staying within weight capacity.

We can find all kinds of reasons and excuses to keep putting off a short road trip, let alone a trip to other countries. As we all know, work can be the stopper in trip planning. We have to make money to support our riding addictions after all! And what if you’re just not comfortable enough to ride on your own, would a group tour be just the thing for you? Or if you know nothing about bike repairs? 

No matter how much riding you've done or how experienced you are, there's always the possibility that your bike may go down. Be it from losing your footing while off-road riding or just from it toppling over for some random reason, you will want the best protection for your motorcycle. 

79 year old David L. Hough has been riding motorcycles for more than 50 years. He and his wife, Diana, have travelled extensively by motorcycles in North & South America, central Europe, the UK, South Africa and New Zealand. While employed at The Boeing Company in Seattle for more than 36 years, he mostly commuted to work by motorcycle. 

In October 2014, Liz and her partner Con Feyen set out to travel from Australia to London with a 12 month window planned for their trip. They had sold, stored or donated all their belongings, except for what they needed for the trip, and while it may seem scary to some people, they were excited about the freedom of being homeless and jobless and without “stuff”. Liz felt no trepidations about not being a very experienced motorcycle rider, and happily set out for London.

After living in Australia for 12 years, Will & Kate were feeling homesick for the UK and decided it was time to go home. They could have just booked a flight and within the day been back home. But when opportunity knocks, why not open the door?
 

From the Ace Cafe in London, to where we caught up with her in Kelowna, British Columbia, and beyond, Steph Jeavons is travelling the world solo on a Honda CRF 250L. She had a dream to do an extended trip around the world, and realized that aspiration on March 23, 2014. She's been on the road for 2 years and ridden over 50,000 miles in 40 countries and has plans to travel for another year, across Canada and Africa before returning home to the UK. 

Alex gives an account of what it's like to travel in South Africa, how easy it is to go on your own or take a guided tour. He talks about what the weather is like at different times of the year, the scenery, what to expect with viewing wildlife, and more. He took his first trip to South Africa in 1998 and is about to take his 50th trip there. 

You’ve probably heard of the Cannonball Baker or Cannonball Run. In 1933 Erwin George “Cannon Ball” Baker drove from New York City to Los Angeles in a Graham-Paige model 57 Blue Streak 8 in 53.5 hours. No one broke that record for 40 years.
 

Anyone who rides a motorcycle can probably tell you that riding a motorcycle isn’t just a form of transportation, it’s an experience. When you return from a motorcycle ride, you are energized and happy. Many motorcyclists refer to riding as their therapy. Feel bad? Need to sort out a problem? Ride. It works. Motorcycle riding releases endorphins which improve moods. Simple as that. 

Danell Lynn is a motorbike adventure rider that has travelled around the world doing humanitarian work. She, shares her creative side to help children with healing through art, donates her children’s books to schools, and quilts to those in need. Danell has recently been awarded the Guinness World Record for Longest Journey by Motorcycle in a Single Country. 

From Argentina to Alaska, a ride that Steve Mason and his two Scottish friends shared as part of a reunion after more than 20 years apart. An epic adventure, he shares some great tips discovered by doing the trip and talks about his experiences.

Anyone who is in to adventuring in the wilderness will at some time find themselves in remote locations with no communication to the rest of the world. When in the back of beyond, you still have loved ones to consider at home and a responsibility to them and yourself to seek help if something goes wrong. Depending on where you are, you may not readily have outside help available.
Fortunately, there is a solution to a dilemma or emergency, there is a way to call for help… from above. 

After putting almost a million miles on a motorbike as a courier in London, Geoff Thomas decided to pack it in, and in April, 2008, embarked on a motorcycle to travel the world. He took along with him the ashes of his parents to be delivered to his brother in California, while en route. On his return to England in November, 2008, he found that his rented apartment in Essex had burnt down, with all his belongings in it. Left only with his motorcycle and what was packed on it, he just decided to just keep on riding. 

Thom Rieck is an Exercise Specialist at the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program. He’s a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer and PEAK Pilates Instructor. He has been working as a personal trainer for over 10 years and he’s also an avid motorcyclist. 
Thom has been riding since the age of 2, believe it or not, when his father took him out on his ’74 Honda CB 250 in a car seat. He now rides a 1995 BMW K75S, all on his own.

If you’ve ever thought about publishing a motorcycle travel book, Mike Fitterling, publisher at Road Dog Publications tells us what he looks for in a book. And Zoe Cano, British motorcycle adventure travel author, who’s had books published by Road Dog, tells us about the trips she’s done that have inspired her to write about them.

As so often happens in life, we get caught up in what society expects us to do. Get a good education, get a good job, buy a house, have the right furniture, clothes, gadgets… and so on. We are expected to live our life in the “normal” way. In the western culture, if you don’t have the big house and fancy cars, and everything that goes along with it, including debt and stress, well… you just aren’t living.

Luis Castilla started riding a motorcycle as therapy to help him deal with the death of his parents. It was something he became passionate about and in 2014, Luis and a friend rode from Mexico City to the Arctic Circle and back on BMW motorcycles. 
Then in 2015, Luis Castilla entered the Discover More competition with Harley-Davidson.

Before Jeffrey started his around the world motorcycle trip back in 2006, he heard the word “impossible” over and over again. Jeffrey comes from a country where solo world travel isn’t readily embraced by their culture, and travel is more often done in groups. 

Most people ride motorcycles for pleasure, and many as a means or preferred means of transportation. We are quite used to our gas powered engines, with lots of torque, tanks that hold enough fuel to travel long distances and easy refuelling stations. Hey, it’s a tradition and who doesn’t love to hear the power in their engine?

Matt Danielson rode a motorcycle from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 43 hours and 36 minutes, he’s also ridden all over the states and takes regular trips with his co-workers. Matt, who rides a Harley-Davidson Road Glide, is a lawyer with The Motorcycle Law Group in Richmond, Virginia. He’s also a lobbyist for motorcycle riders rights.