NAVIGATING THE DOLDRUMS: Just like sailors of yore, motorcyclists can get stranded in the doldrums, especially during the winter. Mark gives you some ways to navigate the tough times when you can’t ride.

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The Ride Inside with Mark Barnes is brought to you by the BMW MOA Foundation and is on the web at BMWOwnersNews.com.

NO SUCH THING: Obscuring responsibility doesn’t do us much good, but we do it anyway. The throttle cable or brake pads on our motorcycles don’t go bad by magic, bu we don’t always notice they need attention until it’s too late.

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The Ride Inside with Mark Barnes is brought to you by the BMW MOA Foundation and is on the web at BMWOwnersNews.com.

MOTO MUSIC: whether it’s a piano etude or a perfectly banked decreasing radius curve, we can make art in the ways presented to us on an everyday basis. Playing a classic Fender Stratocaster or riding a BMW M 1000 RR, your tools create your music.

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The Ride Inside with Mark Barnes is brought to you by the BMW MOA Foundation and is on the web at BMWOwnersNews.com.

ANOTHER KIND OF FEAR: Tying in with the Jan/Feb '25 issue of BMW Owners News and its focus on the MOA Foundation's mission of training and safety, Mark addresses learning, crashing, humility, ignorance, embarrassment and more.

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The Ride Inside with Mark Barnes is brought to you by the BMW MOA Foundation and is on the web at BMWOwnersNews.com.

B.J. Hessler is the founder and lead instructor at DC Dirt Camp, an off-road riding school in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.  Here she tells us how motorcycling in general, and setting up this operation in particular, have been central to her personal journey, and how her school has much to offer motorcyclists at all levels – including those who ride exclusively on pavement.

Send your questions to us via email: [email protected].

The Ride Inside with Mark Barnes is brought to you by the BMW MOA Foundation and is on the web at BMWOwnersNews.com.

FRISKY BUSINESS: Mark takes on the classic nature vs. nurture conundrum, explaining it by developing an understanding of your cat getting the zoomies and connecting it to what we all experience as motorcycle riders.

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The Ride Inside with Mark Barnes is brought to you by the BMW MOA Foundation and is on the web at BMWOwnersNews.com.

THE SOUND OF THUNDER: Losing a motorcycle buddy is difficult, but it’s something many of us will face sooner or later. Mark explores what he’s gone through since his friend Jeff died in a single-rider crash not long ago, and how his experience can help all of us manage risk, expectations and emotions.

Send your questions to us via email: [email protected].

The Ride Inside with Mark Barnes is brought to you by the BMW MOA Foundation and is on the web at BMWOwnersNews.com.

RIDING WITH ADHD: This commonly misunderstood (or misapplied) condition has a variety of effects, but can it actually make you a better rider? Mark dispels some myths and discusses (briefly) what ADHD is and isn’t as it’s applied to motorcyclists.

Send your questions to us via email: [email protected].

The Ride Inside with Mark Barnes is brought to you by the BMW MOA Foundation and is on the web at BMWOwnersNews.com.

PEARLS: Maybe yours are cleverly brief instructions passed along to you in formal coaching, or maybe they represent insights you arrived at on your own. No matter how you get them, they’re critical to building your skills as a motorcyclist.

Send your questions to us via email: [email protected].

The Ride Inside with Mark Barnes is brought to you by the BMW MOA Foundation and is on the web at BMWOwnersNews.com.

DAVE SEARLE: Retired Editor-in-Chief of Motorcycle Consumer News Dave Searle reminisces about the odyssey that eventually led to his role as a highly regarded journalist for the motorcycle enthusiast press back in the glory days of print publications. His history as a self-taught mechanic, educator, writer, photographer, relentless researcher—and, of course, passionate motorcyclist—made him uniquely qualified to be MCN’s longest-running leader.

Send your questions to us via email: [email protected].

The Ride Inside with Mark Barnes is brought to you by the BMW MOA Foundation and is on the web at BMWOwnersNews.com.