Leaving my new friends in Columbus I headed to Snowshoe, West Virginia, home of the popular Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort and summer mountain biking, motocross and a plethora of other outdoor activities—and this year site of the 9th annual RoadRUNNER Motorcycle Touring & Travel Magazine’s Touring Weekend.
I was honored to be asked to come present, speak and share FORKS with the more than 300 motorcycle riders who made the pilgrimage to Snowshoe from as far away as Ottawa, Canada. Sadly, I was unable to participate in any of the five or six carefully mapped out rides—one for every riding level and for different type of riding style or bike.
Though my first time joining RoadRUNNER Touring Weekend, I met many riders who’ve been coming for many years. The event is professional, well organized and the team at RoadRUNNER keeps things running smooth and attending to riders’ needs. It includes evening presentations, dinner and plenty of motorcycles riders and talk of the amazing rides and roads near Snowshoe.
I did an hour presentation and included many photos, video and then capped the evening off with a dynamic question and answer session and autographing copies of books. Over the past few years I’ve delivered many presentations and answered hundreds of different questions, but at RoadRUNNER Touring Weekend I had a first:
“How many pairs of underwear did you pack?”
The curious rider who asked this wondered just how I packed for a three-year journey. The answer: packing for a multi-year journey is, more or less, the same as packing for a two-week vacation. As for underwear? I carried five pair.
Next year is the 10th Anniversary of RoadRUNNER Magazine Touring Weekend and it will be held in the home town of the magazine’s corporate headquarters: Winston-Salem, North Carolina. If you haven’t checked out the magazine or participated in any RoadRUNNER events or tours, I suggest you check them out and begin planning your next adventure or tour.
