Leaving Rider magazine a couple years ago was a difficult choice for a lot of reasons – the main one being all the good people working there. But it was also just a cool job in general; it’s not often you get paid to travel to amazing places and test the newest feats of two-wheel engineering.
However, I consider myself fortunate that I have maintained good relations with the EIC at Rider – and of course, I still have my motorcycle – so taking a trip on the bike often has the added perk of writing up a story and getting it published (I still have my fingers crossed for publication of the amazing trip Jennifer and I took last September on the renowned Utah Highway 12 and beyond).
However, “Short Rides for the Win,” as the title implies, is about the value of short trips with my kids. When you have teenagers, sometimes an hour together is the best you can hope for.
From the article: “I don’t try to force deep philosophical discussions, but I’m always open if they have something heavy they want to talk about. Mostly it’s just a chance to get them out of the house and catch up on a little bit of their lives – which are now largely separate from mine – before we go home and they return to those lives.”
Rider still has several pieces of content that only appear in the print magazine (one of many good reasons to subscribe if you’re a motorcycle fan). The “Exhaust Note” section at the end of the magazine where my story dropped its kickstand is one of those print-only features, so I have uploaded a scanned copy here. And I’ve included a few extra photos below that didn’t make it into print (click on photos to enlarge).
Enjoy!
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Paul D. Dail 