Motorcycle Misadventures

And Then Came Bronsen 1969: The Quintessential RoadTrip on DVD

How's this for the quintessential roadtrip? It begins in 1969 San Francisco, when you apparently could motorcycle on Ocean Beach. Don't we wish! But that diner on the cliff? It's still there. And the epic road trip? Yep. We do it all the time. San Francisco to Highway 1 south through San Mateo, Santa Cruz, to Monterey County with its famous towns of Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur. And in this story, far beyond. And his gear? Well, though it's not AGATT, maybe it can remind us that we really don't need all that stuff we think we need to get away.

Melissa Holbrook Piersen talks about The Man Who Would Stop At Nothing

 

Check out this article accompanied by an excellent audio interview with Melissa Holbrook Piersen about her book The Man Who Would Stop At Nothing: Long-Distance Motorcycling’s Endless Road. 

 

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Fall Issue of the International Journal of Motorcycle Studies is Here!

The Fall 2011 issue of IJMS is now available: http://ijms.nova.edu.

This issue finds contributors in engaged in contemplation, reflection and speculation. Psychologist Lisa Garber meditates on the inner journey of the motorcyclist, the narrative unfolding in her helmet as she rides.  While Garber encourages us to ponder how past and present are fused, as the embodied rider undertakes a timeless, archetypal journey, the contributors to our Roundtable challenge us to consider the future of motorcycling.  Diego Varela, Geoff Crowther, Randy McBee and Christian Pierce take on questions of sustainability, economic adaptability, alternative fuels and environmentally responsible choices that will lead us to think hard about our future purchases and riding choices.

Plus, in the Reviews section, Fabio Magnani brings us up-to-date on the lives of a daring group of young Brazilian riders, Charles Johnson surveys Ted Simon’s contributions to motorcycle travel literature, and Steve Koerner weighs in on a recent addition to the growing body of historical accounts of the British motorcycle industry.  

Click here for the latest issue’s articles and reviews.

Join us tonight to talk BMWs, fastest woman in the world, Melissa Holbrook-Pierson, and more fun motorcycle people

Join me tonight on SideStandUp.com 5-8 Pacific Time (8-10 Eastern) for a great show. Be sure to sign in to the chat room if you can, I know there will be questions! Here's the lineup:

Tonight September the 20th 2011 on SideStand Up Miss Adventuring Carla King (that's me!) talks the finer points of the BMW GS adventure series - F650GS, F800GS, 1200GS and buying used - with Larry Saenz, General Manager of BMW Motorcycles San Francisco, Northern California's top-selling and the only exclusively BMW motorcycle dealership in the Bay Area.

Also tonight:

JJUSTJ ( J Sheets) will be interviewing Belen Wagner -- Belen has set close to 50 records and is a FIM environmental steward for world trials championships.

When Roger Wiles informed Tom he would need to take a sabbatical from his monthly moto safety segment, tom immediately released it would tough to replace Roger. Roger wasn't about to leave the SSU nation short in the rider safety area, he suggested his friend and associate Tom Komjathy of Diversified Safety Konsulting to take over the segment.

Celebrated author and motorcyclist Melissa Holbrook-Pierson returns. Melissa's newest book "The Man Who Would Stop At Nothing" delves into the world of endurance riding featuring one of the titans of the sport John Ryan.

Back in the day on Saturday afternoons Wide World of Sports featured the greatest of sporting accomplishments. Once a year they world air men riding streamliners and such at the Bonneville Salt Flats. It's not just a man's event any longer, Leslie Porterfield is the absolute proof of that. Fresh off a new record of 236 mph Leslie is now known as "The Fastest Woman In The World"

For more information and to learn about discount from SSU advertising partners log onto SideStandUp.com.

Which BMW GS Adventure Bike is Right for You?

Which BMW GS is Right for You? The F650GS, the F800GS, or the GS 1200 Adventure?

SideStandUp Motorcycle Radio
Tuesday, September 27
5:00 to 8:00 pm Pacific Time

Miss Adventuring Carla King talks the finer points of the BMW GS adventure series - F650GS, F800GS, 1200GS, and older models - with Larry Saenz, General Manager of BMW Motorcycles San Francisco, Northern California's top-selling and the only exclusively BMW motorcycle dealership in the Bay Area. Riding since 1968, Larry has been involved with the BMW brand of cars and bikes for over 35 years. His stable currently includes a 1981 R 80G/S and a 2009 HP-2 Mega-Moto.

Tune in, join the fun in the lively chat room to ask your questions, and find out which GS is right for you!

 

Tues Oct 25 7pm ET: Interview with Author Mark Meadows who motorcycled Sri Lanka to have Tea Time with Terrorists

Tomorrow evening on SideStand Up  I'll talk with Mark Stephen Meadows, author of Tea Time with Terrorists, a book about his journey on a Honda XLR 240R Baja trail bike through the minefields of Sri Lanka

Mark is a multi-vehicle adventurer, he is sailing in to port for this interview, and it should be a exciting one! Listen live on the internet and join the discussion in the lively chat room:

Tuesday, October 25 2010
7:00 pm Eastern Time
Sidestand Up Motorcycle Radio
Listen live or catch the archive
Join the chat room

Armed with a map, a motorcycle, an infectious sense of humor, and only a dim understanding of Sri Lanka’s war, author, artist, Meadows arrives  intending to have, as it were, afternoon tea with terrorists. Figuring that the first step to solving a problem is understanding it, he journeys north into the warzone, interviewing terrorists, generals, and heroin dealers along the way

Not for the faint of heart, especially since the Tamil Tigers invented suicide bombing and were the first to lace together terrorists and financiers into international networks of militant uprising. Along with having tea with terrorists, Meadows is privileged with a deep view into an ancient culture, learns to trap an elephant, weave rope from coconut husks, and cast out devils.

INSTANT GRATIFICATION: Download Tea Time with Terrorists now from eBooks.com.

Buy Tea Time with Terrorists on Amazon.com.

Join us live on the air and in the lively chat room.

Keep an eye on www.sidestandup.com for what's new and sponsor discounts.

My 1/2 hour segment on SidestandUp.com is every 4th Tuesday of the month. My beat is motorcycle travel writing, authors, and web tools for publishing your adventures. If you're interested in self-publishing visit my Self-Publishing Boot Camp website.

 

Tonight! A talk with Liz Jansen, International Women Riders Congress and Festival

Tonight on SideStand Up at 7:50 Eastern Time I'll be talking with Liz Jansen, owner of Trillium Motorcycle Tours and Chair of the Motorcyclists Confederation of Canada. We'll discuss the first International Women Riders Congress and Festival held last month in Huntsville, Ontario. Inspired by the 2009 American Women in Motorcycling conference held in Keystone Colorado, Liz teamed up with five other women to form the Canadian-based Women Riders Council and set about planning the conference. We'll get a recap of the event  --  the location, seminars, guided rides, demo rides, activities, attendees -- and plans for the future. Liz is on the road, so maybe we'll talk about her travels if we have time.

Also on the program tonight, the show starts at 7pm Eastern Time so tune in to catch it all:

• Do you have what it takes to be the new Va Va Vroom Girl? Denise Maple will be here tonight to let you know what it'll take.
• Ted Moyer with the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America is back with an update of MOA happenings and events.
• Tim Keel of Two Brothers Tires put a new set of skins on Tom's machine on his way to Colorado.  Tim and Tom willl be comparing notes on the new Pilot 2'z. 
• Tom is back on the east bank and he'll be talking about his latest ride west. The roads, the setbacks, and the weather Tom will being telling all.  

Join us live on the air and in the lively chat room.

Keep an eye on www.sidestandup.com for whats new and sponsor discounts.

Talk with travel writer Christopher Baker, Cuba expert and motorcyclist

  Tomorrow I'm interviewing travel writer Christopher Baker, Cuba expert, motorcyclist, about his travels in Cuba and his book Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Castro's Cuba. (It won travel book of the year!) Hey, you may be able to motorcycle Cuba yourself soon. Find out how. Listen to SideStand Up tomorrow, Tuesday April 26th 4-6 pm PT. We'll be on from about 4:25 for 1/2 hour. Listen online, log on early, and join the lively chat session.

SideStandUp.com

Tuesday, April 26, 4:00-6:00 PT

Post Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes, in your site or blog, via Scribd

As an author, web content developer, and social media consultant, I like to experiment with all the new tools for publishing. So I just uploaded my pdf ebook Motorcycling for Women: Beginner Bikes,  to Scribd. Now this is too cool. I made it a free download, and anyone can go to Scribd and grab the code to display the book on their sites and blogs. I want to share this ebook and so I invite you to do that. I've embedded the HTML here, in this blog, so you can see what it'll look like. Site visitors can page through the ebook right from your blog or web page. Yeah. It's too cool. Have fun!

All San Francisco Side Stand Up Podcast

Tonight, Side Stand Up gathered at BMW Motorcycle in San Francisco to do a live podcast with a great lineup. We missed Tom Lowdermilk, who was stuck south of Fresno on a wild ride I'm sure we'll hear about next week. So Joanne Donn (GearChic) and I did our best. Thanks to Joanne's husband Evan, the AV guy, for sound help despite the lack of the right equipment. We will put him on the advisory board further in advance for next time. Catch the archives at http://sidestandup.com/ - we know you'll love hearing from these great guests about their specialties, motorcycle culture in San Francisco, and the Bay Area's best roads. Tune in to Episode 120, November 17, 2009.

Jennifer Bromme, owner and head mechanic of Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair in San Francisco tells the story of starting Werkstatt, what's it like to be owner of the most popular motorcycle repair shop in SF, her antique bikes/pet projects, and her wild travels and racing activities. Jennifer  was trained in Munich, Germany on street and race bikes, and founded Werkstatt in 1994. She raced sidecars and motorcycles for 4 years, and supports AFM and AMA races as a technical and crew chief. She loves to take crazy trips to explore Mexico. Her shop works on Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, KTM, Triumph, and BMW motorcycles, and was Baylist's best motorcycle repair shop in the Bay Area. 

Gabe Ets-Hokin, Motorcycle reviewer, editor of CityBike Magazine in San Francisco, reveals the truth about the glamorous life of a professional motorcycle reviewer, plus talks about his new role editing CityBike magazine. Ets-Hokin [rhymes with "Get Smokin'] has written for most of the top motorcycle magazines and websites and has had a ride on almost every new bike introduced in the last five years. His stories appear in City Bike magazine (which he edits), MotorcycleDaily.com and many other outlets.

Crystal Gurr, Co-owner of Scuderia West Motorcycle Dealership and Repair in San Francisco talks about how to attract women to your motorcycle shop, staffing your shop with knowledgeable people who know how to fit gear. Crystal  is co-owner of Scuderia West, San Francisco's #1 motorcycle dealership. They sell and service KTM, Aprilia, Victory, and Kymco scooters. They are also arguably the best place to buy gear anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area.