Rider Magazine Insider

Ep. 46: Dave Scott, TransAmerica Trail finisher

Our guest on Episode 46 of the Rider Magazine Insider Podcast is Dave Scott, an old friend of host Greg Drevenstedt. This episode was recorded while Rider’s editorial team was in the final week of production for the November 2022 issue – our first-ever adventure-themed issue. Scott was the inspiration for the issue. In the summer of 2020, during a record-breaking hurricane season that drenched the Southeast in rain and when we were still in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, Scott took a solo journey on the TransAmerica Trail, a mostly off-road route that extends from coast to coast. He wrote a story about his adventure, and it goes well with other features in the November issue about the Trans Canada Adventure Trail, the Trans Euro Trail, and the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park. Scott has a way with words, which is why we wanted to interview him on the podcast as a companion to his story. We had a freewheeling conversation for nearly an hour, but we only made it as far as the Mississippi River on Scott’s east-to-west journey. Enjoy this episode, and stay tuned for a follow-up episode where we’ll hear more about riding across America on a dirtbike.
LINKS: TransAmTrail.com

Ep. 45: C. Jane Taylor, author of Spirit Traffic

Our guest on Episode 45 of the Rider Magazine Insider Podcast is C. Jane Taylor. We talked to Jane back in April, on Episode 32. Her book, Spirit Traffic: A Mother’s Journey of Self-Discovery and Letting Go, had just been released and we published an excerpt in the April 2022 issue of Rider. During our previous interview Jane was down in Costa Rica on a yoga retreat with her husband, John. In May, Jane and John embarked on a motorcycle tour to promote Spirit Traffic. They packed gear on their BMW F 650 GS’ and hit the road for 97 days. They rode 15,000 miles and Jane gave more than 50 readings in bookstores, bars, coffee shops, motorcycle events, and people’s homes. We talk with Jane about her and John’s cross-country tour to promote her book about a cross-country tour they did with their son, Emmett, in 2015. Spirit Traffic is a thoroughly enjoyable book that’s honest, funny, poignant, and original – we highly recommend it.

Ep. 44: Moshe K. Levy (Moto Mouth Moshe), motorcycle journalist

Our guest on Episode 44 of the Rider Magazine Insider Podcast is Moshe K. Levy, a motorcycle journalist also known as Moto Mouth Moshe. Moshe is a renaissance man in the motorcycle world. He’s written hundreds of articles and columns for motorcycle magazines, including Rider, American Rider, Motorcycle Consumer News, BMW Owner’s News, On the Level, American Iron, Backroads, and others. Moshe owns and rides all kinds of bikes, everything from mopeds to BMWs to Harley-Davidsons. He restores old mopeds and motorcycles, he tests products, he’s a marketing executive at a technology company, and he’s a family man. We talk to Moshe about his protracted struggle with symptoms of long Covid, which prevented him from riding motorcycles. He found his way back from the abyss on a Honda Trail 125, which he wrote about in the February 2022 issue of Rider. We also talk about how he got started writing for motorcycle magazines, the bikes he has in his garage, and what he loves most about motorcycles

Ep. 43: Can Akkaya, Superbike-Coach.com

Our guest on Episode 43 of the Rider Magazine Insider Podcast is Can Akkaya, the founder and lead instructor at Superbike-Coach, a motorcycle training company based near Sacramento, California. Can hails from Germany, and in the 1980s and ‘90s he raced in the German Track Trophy, German IDM, Dutch Open, and European Championship. After retiring from racing, he was a test rider for a Ducati team in Germany and worked as a track instructor. Can and his family moved to the United States in 2008, and he started the Superbike-Coach school in 2009. Superbike-Coach teaches a wide range of classes on cornering, body positioning, getting your knee down, riding with a passenger, supermoto, how to race, and even how to wheelie. We talk to Can about his racing background, his teaching philosophy, why his on-track training classes make students better street riders, and which of his classes are most popular.

Ep. 42: Andre LaPlante, MotoVentures Off-road Training

Our guest on Episode 42 of the Rider Magazine Insider Podcast is Andre LaPlante, who runs MotoVentures, an off-road training school started in 1998 by his father, Gary LaPlante. Andre has worked in the motorcycle industry for 20 years in various sales, marketing, and advertising roles, including 16 years at Cobra Engineering. He has raced motocross and competed in trials for 30 years, and he took 3rd place at the 2022 BMW GS Trophy Qualifier West. Andre is also a U.S. Motorcycle Coaching Association (USMCA) certified instructor. During this episode, we talk about MotoVenture’s “dirt first” philosophy and the value of off-road training for motorcyclists of all ages. Even if you are a street rider, you can learn valuable skills that will help you ride more confidently. We also talk about Andre’s father, Gary LaPlante, a long-time motorcycle industry veteran who started and ran MotoVentures for many years and wrote the book, “How to Ride Off-Road Motorcycles.” Gary is battling brain cancer, and we encourage listeners to show their support by signing up for training with MotoVentures, buying Gary’s book, or visiting his GoFundMe page and making a donation to help defray his significant medical expenses. Andre is a down-to-earth motorcycle enthusiast who is carrying on his father’s legacy of training people how to be better riders. That’s an effort we applaud and fully support.