Earlier this week I was out in the Ganaraska Forest, just south of Kirby, Ontario, shooting a pile of new Red Adventure riding features with two of my favorite off-road riding buddies, Lawrence Hacking and Toni Sharpless. When it comes to off-road racing and riding, nobody knows more Lawrence Hacking. This guy has raced in the International Six Days, the Baja 1000, the Mexican 1000 and the Paris to Dakar. Trust me, when we get together, I always learn something new. As for Toni, we go all the way back to 1990 when she made her first appearance on Motorcycle Experience testing a Yamaha FZR600. The first time I met Toni, I could tell that she had motor oil in her veins. Toni is such a spark and is always a pleasure to hang with. She’s raced professionally as a road racer at such prestigious events as the Daytona 200, the Suzuka 8 hour, the Bol d’Or and the 24 hours of LeMans. Now that’s an impressive resume! More recently she’s been hitting the enduro trail here in Ontario and again, this gal has compiled an amazing wealth of knowledge when it comes to adventure riding. Be sure to check out her feature this week on the show. Anyway, we all had a blast out in the Gani. And speaking of Motorcycle Experience..
On this week’s edition of Motorcycle Experience, we will kick off the show by asking long time viewer, Mark Russell to sample Triumph Motorcycle’s hugely popular tribute to the café racers of the late 1960’s, the Thruxton. Then Norm Wells and I will continue our Ultimate Ride down in Las Vegas, Nevada. This year we’ve rented a couple of BMW GSs and we’re taking in the amazing scenery out in the Nevada desert. This week on day 2 we tackle the all important question of where to grab lunch.
On Shifting Gears, SMART riding instructor Clinton Smout looks at extending the riding season and Senior Editor Colin Fraser stops by to discuss the art of shopping for a used set of wheels, while looking back at Harley-Davidson’s 2007 Night Rod. And during this week’s “Red Adventure” segment Toni Sharpless, will talk about what to wear under your adventure riding Jacket.
Also, don’t forget that I’ve been invited to head up to Whitehorse next month to help host their TELUS Ride For Dad event on June 11th. I plan to be there for the whole weekend as this is a super worthy cause and I’m sure that it’s going to be a blast. To date, some 250,000 people have helped to raise over 16 million dollars in the fight against prostate cancer and now you can add me to the growing number of folks who want to help out.There as some 40 communities across Canada hosting a Ride For Dad right now so please sign up and join a ride near you. You’ill be glad you did.
Keep your right hand cranked!
Dave
