Ep. 52: Perry Steed, Operation: Purpose

Our guest on Episode 52 of the Rider Magazine Insider Podcast is former Army paratrooper Perry Steed. He was interviewed by Rider’s associate editor, Paul Dail, who wrote a feature about Steed titled “Ride for Light” for the October 2022 issue of Rider. On April 24, 2012, Steed’s good friend, Sgt. Kristopher Cool, took his own life. In May of last year, Steed departed North Carolina on his BMW R 1200 GS on a 48-state trip covering more than 15,000 miles to pick up Cool’s ashes and take them to Fort Bragg to spread on Sicily Drop Zone as a “rally cry for support” for the epidemic of veteran suicide. In this episode, Steed talks about how he got into motorcycles, his “Ride for Light” mission, and the nonprofit he created to support fellow veterans, Operation: Purpose. We owe a debt of gratitude to all veterans for their service, and we owe it to them to support veteran causes.

If you or someone you know is in danger because of suicidal thoughts or actions, seek help immediately, either through 911 or nationwide suicide hotlines, 1-800-SUICIDE and 1-800-273-TALK, which have counselors available 24/7.

LINKS: OperationPurpose.net, “Riding for Light” feature about Perry Steed

Our guest on Episode 51 of the Rider Magazine Insider Podcast is Forrest Hobbs, who took a “purist” approach to completing the TransAmerica Trail. Hobbs lives in Denver, Colorado, and he bought a 1,200cc Yamaha Super Ténéré adventure bike, rode it 2,000 miles to Nags Head, North Carolina, rode the entire 6,200 miles of Sam Correro’s TransAmerica Trail, added a couple thousand miles along the way to visit friends and family, and then rode from Port Ord, Oregon back home. Over 73 days, he logged over 12,000 miles. Hobbs used only roll charts for navigation and didn’t even have a GPS as a backup, and he camped on the trail nearly every night. Hobbs is a passionate off-road rider. He didn’t start riding motorcycles until he was 30, and he has competed in the Baja 1000, the Red Bull Romaniacs hard enduro, and the Idaho City 100 ISDE qualifier – and he’s done each race twice. Hobbs’ plan was to make the TransAmerica Trail as challenging as possible to test himself, to break himself down mentally and physically, and he prevailed.

LINKS: Forrest Hobbs on Instagram, TransAmerica Trail

Our guest on Episode 50 of the Rider Magazine Insider Podcast is Dave Scott, who made a solo journey on the TransAmerica Trail. This is Part 3 of a three-part interview. We spoke to Scott in Episodes 46 and 48, where he told us about the challenges of riding the TAT during the Covid-19 pandemic, dealing with hurricanes and Mississippi mud, and then crashing on Imogene Pass in Colorado, where he broke his leg. Scott spent the winter and spring healing up, and in the summer of 2021, he returned to the TransAmerica Trail. After conquering Imogene Pass, he rode through Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon, where he finally made it to the end of the trail and dipped his tires in the Pacific Ocean. This is another unfiltered, uncensored conversation about the trials and tribulations of riding solo across America on a dirtbike. Look for Part 1 of Scott’s story in the adventure-themed November 2022 issue of Rider, with Part 2 coming soon in 2023.

LINKS: TransAmTrail.com

Our guest on Episode 49 of the Rider Magazine Insider Podcast is Gina “Brooklyn” Neumann, a member of the Leather and Lace MC, an international women’s motorcycle club founded in 1983. Although Leather and Lace MC is a patch club, it is by no means an outlaw club. It’s a family-oriented MC whose mission is to promote sisterhood among its members, to ride together, and to work as a club to raise funds for charitable organizations that support children and families. Brooklyn is a member of Leather and Lace MC’s Midway Crue, which includes members in Virginia and Maryland. In October, the Midway Crue hosted a poker run and the proceeds went to Bethany House of Northern Virginia, which provides a safe haven for victims of domestic violence. In this episode, we discuss the history of Leather and Lace MC, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2023, and we talk about the stigma that faces patch clubs, the profiling of motorcyclists, and the importance of sharing knowledge about protective gear, riding etiquette, and safety to new riders.

LINKS: LeatherAndLaceMC.com, LeatherAndLaceMC on Instagram, LeatherAndLaceMC on Facebook

Our guest on Episode 48 of the Rider Magazine Insider Podcast is Dave Scott, who made a solo journey on the TransAmerica Trail. This is Part 2 of a three-part interview. We spoke to Scott in Episode 46, where he told us about the logistical challenges of just starting the TAT – dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, having his KTM shipped from Louisiana to North Carolina, and riding his luggage-laden KTM through a hurricane and on wet, mud-slick trails. In Episode 46, Scott had gotten as far as the Mississippi River. In this episode, we pick up where we left off, and Scott shares his adventures in the Ozarks, the Great Plains, and the Rocky Mountains, where he faced his biggest challenge of the trip. This is another freewheeling, uncensored conversation full of humor, tangents, side stories, and insightful observations about what it’s like to ride solo across America on a dirtbike. Stay tuned for Part 3, where we hope Scott will finish telling us his epic tale of adventure! And look for Scott’s story in the adventure-themed November 2022 issue of Rider.

LINKS: TransAmTrail.com

Our guest on Episode 47 of the Rider Magazine Insider Podcast is Neale Bayly, a motorcycle journalist and TV host who has documented his adventures and travels around the world. We recorded this interview while Bayly was at the Barber Advanced Design Center at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, where he serves as a media liaison and content producer. During this episode, we took a trip down memory lane: Bayly was at Greg Drevenstedt’s first motorcycle press launch in 2008, an event that will forever live infamy. We talk to Bayly about his work as a journalist and Wellspring International Outreach, a nonprofit he founded to bring aid and attention to the abandoned and at-risk children throughout the world. Earlier this year, Bayly and photographer Kiran Ridley rode motorcycles through Ukraine to document the human toll of the war, particularly the effects on women and children. Their photos and story are available on RiderMagazine.com and they’ll be featured in the January 2023 issue of Rider. We encourage listeners to donate to Wellspring, which is providing support to a children’s hospital in Ukraine.

LINKS: Neale Bayly Rides on Instagram, Neale Bayly Rides on Facebook, Wellspring International Outreach, “Nowhere Is Safe” by Neale Bayly on RiderMagazine.com

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

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.

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