Like many of you, I’ve spent much of my free time either traveling on my motorcycle, or thinking about traveling. Over the years, getting out on the road or trail has become the center of my obsession. Traveling on a motorcycle and the enjoyment of it is a 360-degree type of enjoyment. It is not just the journey that gives me reward. It is also the planning and coordination of that journey. Researching locations. Planning what gear I will take. Buying new “toys”. Developing a route. These are all things that go into Adventure motorcycling. And they provide as much satisfaction as the journey, itself. It provides a way of living “forward”, a look to the future. It gives a purpose to everything else that I do, like the light at the end of the tunnel.

And then there are the actual journeys. Some are short. Some are longer (by my standards, anyway). But all deliver a story. The motorcycle is unique in the natural drama it creates for us. The exposure to the elements, the connection with the machine, and the minimalist way in which it must be used are all ingredients for a wonderful recipe for adventure, no matter how you define it.

A day’s ride on a motorcycle is packed with a more dynamic range of emotions than most other methods of transportation can provide. And when you convert those days into weeks, or months, you have a story that transcends words. This is good for us, as riders. But how do we convey that?

Any trip I take creates a subtle dilemma for me. When returning from any journey, I find myself perplexed as to how I am going to explain this trip to someone else. Inevitably, someone is going to approach me when I get home and ask, “So how was it?” How do I answer that? What words will I choose? Are there any words I could assemble that will sufficiently describe my experiences while “out there”? I always find myself struggling to find the words to give them. Usually, something like “Oh, you have to do it! You have to go there,” comes out of my mouth. Is that enough to explain it? No. But at least I mean it.

And therein lies the unique part of the motorcycling experience. The statements, “Oh, you have to do it. You have to go there.” Sure, those statements are used to explain many types of experiences. I know I’ve used them when talking about vacations, trips to museums, cities, and countries. But in talking about a motorcycle trip, they are not just fillers to compensate for some laziness in not wanting to go through everything. It is more authentic than that. I really mean those words. And I am emotionally involved in wanting that person in front of me to experience what I experienced.

And that is one of the many reasons why Outland Moto was started, to let motorcyclists everywhere tell their stories. And in telling those stories, get others to create their own stories. It is a platform to find the right words and media, giving a story that will truly convey the phrase, “Oh, you have to do it!” I suppose that would be a good tagline for this magazine.