Welcome to our Summer Riding Issue! You might have noticed our middle-aged cover boy, Dave Carkhuff, enjoying some saddle time on his 2006 Westbury Custom on some California back roads. But this scene isn't unique to the Golden State. It is happening all across North America: From the two-lane highways that overlook the Gulf of Mexico to the roads that wind through the mountains of Canada, right now there is someone riding a bike. And as you flip through this issue, you will find lots more photos of people riding.
And while that is a novel idea to some magazines out there-actually riding a bike farther than from the trailer to the garage and back-we actually encourage this kind of activity. We like getting out on the road on a motorcycle and soaking up some sun, filling our lungs with fresh air, and getting some bugs in our teeth. And in the spirit of inspiring our beloved readers (um, that would be you, last time I checked) to get their bikes out of the garage and into the wind, we decided to dedicate this entire issue to riding.
We included the staff's trip into Mexico with Bill, McGoo, and the nut-jobs from the El Diablo Run. We included coverage from the best non-motorcycle show that has been taken over by motorcycles on the planet, Cruisin' Paso Robles. Then we headed out into Central California's vineyard country with eight of the guys who rode their bikes to Paso Robles for one of the coolest photoshoots we have done in a long time. And guess what, more riding! We are proud to say that every bike featured in this issue gets ridden. In fact, we just saw some really cool riding photos of the Jailhouse Choppers "Hinge" that is in this issue, but they showed up too late to make it into print. Guess you can't win them all...
And as much as we like wrenching on our bikes, at some point you have to put it all back together and ride it. So we went really light on the tech this month, but that was a price we were willing to pay to include all of the action shots you'll find. For you hardcore gearheads, don't worry, we have already unlocked the toolbox and will have plenty of tech in store for everybody in the next issue. But for now, we just want you all to sit back and enjoy our first ever issue dedicated to getting out and riding your bike. And then as soon as you're finished with this issue, put it down, go outside, get on your bike, and ride.Courtney