Peter Egan is one of the most beloved voices in automotive and motorcycle journalism. In a warm, wide-ranging conversation that takes place inside his Wisconsin workshop, Egan reconnects with “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long to discuss his new book, “Landings in America,” a memoir meets travelogue that chronicles a six-week journey across the U.S. in a Piper Cub. Egan shares stories of how he and his wife, Barb, navigated the skies in 1987 with paper maps, a handheld radio, and no GPS, landing in small towns, sleeping in motels, and soaking in the vastness of the country from 1,500 feet above. They avoided big cities in favor of grass airstrips, friendly strangers, and fly-ins, where fellow aviation enthusiasts gathered around their bright yellow aircraft. Known for his decades-long career writing for Cycle World and Road & Track, Egan brings the same introspective charm and observational wit to this interview that made his magazine columns and features enduring favorites for readers and riders alike. While motorcycles only appear briefly in “Landings in America,” the spirit of adventure is deeply familiar.

For the past 20 years, fast friends Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor have been wandering the globe on an eclectic mix of motorcycles. “Long Way Home,” the intrepid pair’s fourth and most recent television series, captures their journey through 17 European countries aboard a resurrected 1973 BMW R75/5 and a well-traveled 1974 Moto Guzzi Eldorado. “There’s something wonderful about a big trip,” Londoner Boorman relates to host Mark Long on this episode of the “Driven to Ride” podcast. “Sometimes, it almost feels like you’re sort of on holiday and you don’t want the holiday to end. You’ve got that freedom of the open road, you’re carrying everything on the motorcycle that you need, and there you are, just going off.” While some aspects of their adventures haven’t changed much since Boorman and McGregor set off on their inaugural 2004 trip—“two friends riding round the world together and, against the odds, realizing their dream”—the cameras used to record the experience, plus the advent of in-helmet communication, have revolutionized the process. But, as Boorman attests, it’s still escaping.

Andrew Richardson has been the face of REALRIDER for more than a decade, but when he created the government-certified automatic crash-detection app, he didn’t even own a motorcycle. Richardson has since obtained his license and become an avid commuter and a weekend rider. He has even tested the app for exactly what it was designed to do: keep motorcyclists protected on the road. “Thinking that everyone’s trying to kill you is always a good mindset when you’re on a motorcycle,” admits Richardson. Riding one chilly afternoon with his son and son-in-law in his native England, he was run off the road and found himself sprawled in a ditch. The tip over triggered the app on his phone. Being uninjured, he was able to deactivate the alert before an ambulance was summoned. “Our technology is really designed for, you’re by yourself, you leave the road, nobody knows that you’ve had a crash,” he says. “We have this period of time where we wait for the crash to stop happening. Then, the system starts analyzing what’s going on.” Clearly, this potentially life-saving tech works. Take it from Richardson, who, as the expression goes, has been there and done that.

Dave Roper has been racing motorcycles for more than half a century. The New England native is probably best known for campaigning exotic vintage machinery under the Robert Iannucci-led Team Obsolete banner. He’s fast, too. In fact, Roper won more than half of the races he entered on Iannucci’s 1959 Matchless G50, including, famously, the 1984 Senior Historic TT at the Isle of Man. “We lived relatively close to Lime Rock Park in northwest Connecticut,” Roper tells “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long. “We used to go up there and watch the sports cars. That’s what I thought I wanted to do.” Once he found motorcycling, however, Roper was immediately hooked. “Motorcycles are more accessible,” he explains. “They’re cheaper, they’re smaller, they’re easier to work on.” Now in his 70s, Roper has been the subject of many editorial projects, including a documentary film, “Motorcycle Man.” “I don’t feel like I’m all that special as a racer,” he says. “I’ve had some success. I’ve arranged my life so I can continue doing it; I’m not married, I don’t have any children. I love the social aspect of it, traveling and seeing people who you share a very special thing with.”

Jon DelVecchio came to motorcycling later in life than many riders—as an adult and after starting a family. Yet, he’s accomplished a lot on two wheels, from becoming a Motorcycle Safety Foundation coach and the founder of the Street Skills School to the author of a popular riding technique book, “Cornering Confidence: The Formula for 100% Control in Curves.” In his conversation with “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long, the career educator cites five previously published titles—“Total Control,” “Proficient Motorcycling,” “A Twist of the Wrist,” “Smooth Riding the Pridmore Way,” and “Sport Riding Techniques”—as the “sacred documents” he studied to develop and hone his own skills and, ultimately, introduce others to those methodologies. Early on, DelVecchio considered two areas: traffic and corners. He decided the MSF had urban situational awareness well-covered—”Don’t take my class if you haven’t taken theirs,” he says—so he turned his attention to the twisties, and that challenging aspect of motorcycling has become his focus. DelVecchio goes so far as on this episode to share some of the best roads that he’s ridden.

From a teenage pizza-slinging street racer to a professional National Hot Rod Association-winning Pro Stock Motorcycle drag racer, Steve Johnson understands the value of humble beginnings. He also knows exactly how it feels to reach 200 mph in less than 7 seconds. “I always tell everybody it’s like hanging on to a bullet after it's been shot out of a gun.” “First to 500” is Johnson’s career calling card. “If you go to all the races in the year that the sanctioning body puts on,” he explains to host Mark Long on this episode of the “Driven to Ride” podcast, “and if you do it for 38 years, you’ll have 500, too.” That is a competition milestone no other NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer has ever reached. In fact, no one has even come close. Rather than focus on his many racing successes, however, Johnson would rather talk about his off-track efforts. A California native who now calls Alabama home, Johnson is big on helping students achieve their goals. To that end, he founded the BAT-man Scholarship Program (“BAT” is an acronym for “Be A Technician”), awarded at high schools and technical colleges across the U.S.

Greek philosopher Plato is credited with the expression, “Our need will be the real creator,” which, loosely translated centuries later, became, “The true creator is necessity, who is the mother of our invention.” Peter Dering knows this feeling all too well, having come up with a device that, in the words of his company, Peak Design, “would make carrying and using a camera an absolute joy.” As he explains to host Mark Long in this episode of “Driven to Ride,” Dering moved to San Francisco for a construction engineering job. With his first bonus, he bought a Honda Nighthawk 750 and an SLR camera. “I used to ride with my camera slung across my chest every day,” says Dering. “Whoever designed the camera strap basically said, “Here’s a business idea for you.” Nowadays, Peak Design offers a medley of innovative products, from unique backpacks and duffels to vibration-damping mobile-phone mounts and sturdy camera accessories. “We try to solve problems that we ourselves, the users of the product, encounter,” says Dering. “That’s what we’re known for, giving a solid rethink to products that are out there in the world.”

If you’re a motorcyclist living and riding in the U.S., Nick Haris works for you. Even more so if you’re one of the more than 200,000 members of the American Motorcyclist Association, whose tagline is “Rights, Riding, and Racing.” Haris leads a team of six who comprise the AMA’s government-relations department. Their job is to protect your rights as a motorcyclist in the halls of government. In the second of two interviews with Haris, “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long digs into significant issues facing 21st-century motorcyclists, such as autonomous vehicles. “If this technology cannot recognize and respond correctly to other road users,” states Haris, “and I don’t care if it is a pedestrian, a bicyclist, a motorcycle, or another car, it shouldn’t be allowed on public roads.” Haris sheds light on other hot-button subjects, like alternative energy, helmet laws, land management, and lane filtering. “I often say, ‘Ten percent of the world has an opinion about motorcycling. They're in favor of it—you and I. Ten percent have some reason they don’t like it. And then, 80% don’t care.’ So, let’s not move them into the, ‘I don’t like motorcycling category,’ by doing something stupid.’”

Annick Magac and “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long grew up in different parts of the country, but they share common ground. They both live to ride and ride to live, as the saying goes, and they both have a strong sense of community. What’s more, Magac founded her own motorcycle-oriented podcast, “Féroce,” which, as its title suggests, inspires listeners to “live fiercely.” No surprise, Magac has a competitive streak. In her 20s, she road-raced a Grand Prix-style Honda RS125 in American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association and Championship Cup Series events at various East Coast tracks, including historic New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “It was amazing,” she says, reminiscing about the diminutive two-stroke. “I think that may be the most exotic thing I’ve owned.” In this episode, Magac offers tips for riders who use motorcycles as their main form of transportation. Top of the list, she says, is warmth and safety. “I have heated grips. I have a connect for a heated vest. I don’t fool around anymore with being cold. And I always wear gear. That’s my commitment to my family and my commitment to myself in case things go sideways.” Check. Check.

Motorcycling and politics don’t mix, right? They do for Nick Haris. In college, the Washington state native was an economics major and worked at a motorcycle shop. Degree in hand, he applied for his dream job: a government-relations role at the American Motorcyclist Association. “It was just kind of a natural combination of that interest in politics and that love for motorcycling,” he says. In 2023, after more than 20 years on the job, Haris was made director of the AMA’s Government Relations department. In the first of two interviews with “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long, Haris reiterates something we all know, that motorcyclists are a relatively small portion of the U.S. population. “If we look for reasons to divide ourselves,” he says, “we’re not going to have a lot of success.” Spending long, memorable days in the saddle gives Haris time to think about the future of our country. “Reality is,” he says, “it’s the city council that makes the decision or the board of supervisors that sets the zoning rule that really probably affects you more on a daily basis than anything that Congress is going to do. Day to day, it’s the locals that you really need to get to know.” Good advice.

Larry Fletcher grew up in Wisconsin in the late 1960s and early ’70s, like a lot of people his age, doing “silly stuff” on minibikes with his buddies. He took a break from motorcycling until he moved to Chicago as a 20-something. “I figured out, what a great way to commute,” he says. “Bikes were an easier way to get around, and I loved getting back in the saddle again. It was great.” Fletcher worked the Chicagoland bar and club circuit. Motorcycles, especially the vintage British iron he favored, were part of the street scene. That eventually led in the mid-1990s to establishing an official chapter of the U.K.-based “59 Club,” which was famously founded by the late Rev. Bill Shergold, known in two-wheel circles as the “ton-up vicar.” Fast forward to the present day. Fletcher, Martin Cimek, and Sean McKeough have grown the annual MOTOBLOT hot-rod culture celebration into an event so big it needed its own dedicated venue. “Whatever you’re into,” he says about the biker blowout of the summer, “internal combustion or even now with electric, anything on two wheels, we embrace it.” Invitation accepted!

Thalassa Van Beek fell in love with motorcycling as a teenager working as a hostess and model in her native Netherlands. She was handing out brochures at a trade show when a blue Yamaha YZF-R6 caught her eye. “Right then and there,” she recounts to “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long, “I decided to get my license because I needed to ride that bike.” Van Beek earned her license at age 19, and she has been riding pretty much ever since. She bought a Honda VTR250, which was followed by a CBR600F and then her dream R6. Today, living in motorcycle-crazy Spain, she owns a handful of machines—all Yamahas. “Every time I’m on the bike, it just makes me happy and excited, like I can conquer the world.” Van Beek eventually formed her own agency, “Motorcycle Marketing.” She surrounded herself with experts specializing in copywriting, graphic design, SEO, and social media. She has one hard-and-fast rule: Everyone has to ride motorcycles. “It’s a specific language,” she says. “You can just tell when a campaign is written by someone who isn’t a biker. It shows.” Indeed, it does.

Moms are the best advice-givers. Wyoming native Brady McLean once dated a woman from a multi-generational motorcycle family. “Her mom is the first one that I can ever remember saying, ‘Go fast, don’t die,’” he recalls. McLean took that message to heart and ultimately founded a lifestyle apparel brand by the same name dedicated to “the culture and community that inspired our existence.” Emboldened by the roads he and his friends call home, McLean helps spearhead the “DevilStone Run,” an annual motorcycle ride through the Equality State. The four-day trip begins at Devil's Tower, in the northeast corner of Wyoming, passes through Yellowstone—the world’s first national park—and concludes in Jackson Hole at the base of the Grand Tetons. Asked to name the most rewarding aspect of building “Go Fast, Don’t Die,” or any of his other businesses, McLean doesn’t hesitate or mince words. “It’s a million percent—no question, no close second—the people,” he says. “Whatever industry you’re in, whatever business you run, you should be saying, ‘How can I make my community’s life better?’”

Vanessa Ruck is a self-proclaimed “go-getter, a chase-your-dreams kind of girl.” Her path to motorcycling came in a roundabout way: on the heels of a devastating bicycle accident that required seven surgeries and put the adventure-lover out of action for most of a decade. During her recovery, Ruck decided that life-changing event would not dictate her future. In the eight years since Ruck began riding motorcycles, she has completed some of the most challenging off-road races in the world. “A lot of people see the sort of riding and racing that I’ve been doing and think I’ve been riding since I was a teeny tot,” she says. That late start aside, motorcycling has unlocked an all-new and often-unexpected world for “the girl on a bike.” When she isn’t riding one of her several motorcycles, Ruck is a passionate and engaging motivational speaker, focusing on mental health and helping others make empowered decisions. “Life is really short,” she says, “and it’s absolutely incredible what we can achieve if we put our minds to it.” Want to know how to turn doom and gloom into drive and inspiration? Just ask Vanessa Ruck.

Daniel Ritz stumbled upon motorcycling a dozen years ago while working as a newspaper editor in Southern California. “There was a small shop up the street from where I was living,” he tells “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long. “I started looking at Triumphs, and I saw the Scrambler as a good mix: heavy enough for big trips but light enough to still move around a bit.” For three years, a Matte Khaki Green Scrambler (“To this day, it’s still the most beautiful bike I’ve ever seen”) was Ritz’s sole transportation. “I just really committed to being as light-footed as I could, to being mobile,” he says, noting that he interacted with more people commuting and running errands on his motorcycle than when driving his pickup truck. Now living in Idaho, the conservation editor for “Swing The Fly” and founder of “Jack’s Experience Trading Co.” has traded Pacific Coast Highway for Forest Service roads. “Wild people enjoy wild places and wildlife,” says Ritz. “I feel very lucky to have access to a pretty remarkable landscape that is well-built, and sort of curated, for motorcycling.”

Some might say Aussie Alana Baratto was destined to work in the motorcycle industry. Her father was a rider, both on- and off-road, and he shared that cherished pastime with his daughters. Alana was gifted a Yamaha PW50 at age four and attended her first Grand Prix a year later. “It was something that I grew to love,” she explains, “and then decided to make into a career.” After a stint as a service advisor in a Sydney dealership, Baratto took a role with Aprilia. She went back to school and earned a marketing degree, ultimately leaving powersports for five years. “That passion doesn’t go away, I discovered, so I came back,” she says. Four years with KTM led to her current position, head of marketing for Ducati Australia and New Zealand. “Having that understanding of the dealership floor is invaluable,” Baratto tells Mark Long on this episode of the “Driven to Ride” podcast, “so there’s nothing about my career that I would change.” While she admits it can take a concerted effort to keep that passion burning, it’s definitely easier to get out of bed every morning when you do what you love.

There are few better examples of a relationship coming full circle than British expatriates Teejay Adams and Arthur Coldwells. The pair knew each other as teenagers, and even dated, but they didn’t marry until some 40 years later, well into adulthood, on the heels of other relationships, and, in Teejay’s case, raising three children. Another common theme between Teejay and Arthur? A deep and lasting passion for motorcycling. Teejay’s earliest memories of two wheels are of riding pillion in London with her boyfriend at the time. “I just loved it,” she says. “We were on 1970s Japanese motorcycles, and they were just chrome and colorful and gorgeous, and I was completely swept up by that whole rugged, manly thing. That was my introduction. From there, I moved on to riding myself.” Coldwells got his start in boarding school, secretly forming a motorcycle club with a fellow student. “I had been reading Motor Cycle News and was completely caught up in the whole racing and motorcycle thing,” he recalls. Arthur founded Ultimate Motorcycling magazine 20-plus years ago. More recently, he and Teejay started their own podcast, “Motos and Friends,” which focuses on bike reviews and culture.

Motorcycling and music seem to go hand in hand, or at least that’s the opinion shared by Wes Fleming, the host of “Chasing the Horizon,” and Mark Long, the host of “Driven to Ride.” Both enjoy playing stringed instruments, Wes favoring the guitar while Mark is a bass player. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” admits Fleming, adding, “It’s the two groups of people that I like.” Besides his podcasting duties, Fleming is the digital media editor for the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America, a 25,000-member organization with more than 40 years of history and a network of riders across the entire U.S., 10 Canadian provinces, and all seven continents. Despite its affiliation with the German marque, “Chasing the Horizon” covers other brands and aspects of the powersports industry. In addition to “Chasing the Horizon,” which Fleming describes as, “by, for, and about motorcyclists” he produces three other motorcycle-related podcasts, “200 Miles Before Breakfast,” “The Ride Inside with Mark Barnes,” and “Riding Into the Sunset.” Fleming also fronts an instrumental rock band called Hypersonic Secret and plays in a surf-music band Agent Octopus.

Bob Starr considers himself “lucky,” having spent his entire career in the motorcycle industry, including more than 32 years at Yamaha in marketing and, currently, corporate communications. “I turned a passion of mine at a very early age into a lifelong career,” he says with the enthusiasm of a teenager, “and I have really, really enjoyed it. I hope I’ve made a difference in the industry and, certainly, to Yamaha.” As the New Hampshire native relates, motorcycles made an early impression. Playing in the front yard of his childhood home, he vividly recalls hearing a bike pass by. “It was a Triumph, and it happened to belong to a local volunteer fire-department member. I would always wave, and he would always wave back. He had pipes on it, and it made a lot of noise. It was very influential to me.” Some of the behind-the-scenes highlights that Starr relates to Mark Long, host of the “Driven to Ride” podcast, are almost too good to be true. Like the time Wayne Rainey proposed that fellow three-time 500cc World Champion and mentor Kenny Roberts ride a two-stroke TZ750 flat-tracker at the 2009 Indianapolis Mile in exchange for Yamaha sponsorship at a celebrity pro-am golf tournament. Lucky, indeed.

The couple that rides together, stays together, right? Well, Cassey Stone, founder of the “Hell Yeah! Moto” women’s dirt bike riding school, and Jacob Michna, former head of the AMA Hare and Hound National Championship Series now running the AMA West Hare Scramble Championship Series, bring vastly different two-wheel experiences to their relationship, which probably explains why they get along so well. “Is it a Cassey ride?” That’s the most-asked question Stone hears when word spreads of a single-track off-road ride that she may in fact be leading through the wilds of Idaho. “I love showing people around and taking them on trails,” says Stone, adding that she enjoys turning up the heat. “When people start to ride in the desert, the next step has got to be the walk-out-at-midnight ride in the mountains with Cassey.” Both Michna and “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long have survived Stone’s outings. “She definitely taught me a lot of the ways of the woods—stuff like how to saw deadfall trees,” admits Michna, whose day job is events manager for FLY Racing. “Any woods knowledge I have, I’ve definitely learned through her.” Listen to this episode, and you will understand even better why Stone and Michna perfectly complement each other.