I wrote Hit The Road, A Woman’s Guide To Solo Motorcycle Touring to help readers experience the joy that a solo road trip gives me. It includes practical tips that anyone can use—whether traveling alone or with others, and regardless of sex. Solo-wanderlust or solo-curious? Group riding is great, and so …
Read More »How to Turn a Picture into a Book Cover (How I did)
Four Octobers ago, in the mountains of West Virginia, my friend Jill took this photo of me. It remains one of my favorite shots—as a photo, and as a memento of a gorgeous day with a dear friend. When I wrote my new book, Hit The Road: A Woman’s Guide …
Read More »My Grandmother could have used the Hashtag MeToo in 1934
Social media platforms are blowing up with the campaign #MeToo that protests the culture of silence around sexual assault. While the hashtag is used mostly by women, others are coming forward with their stories of abuse too. If my beloved mamaw were alive today, I’m not sure she would join the …
Read More »History, Music, Food, and Serenity at Kentucky’s Shaker Village
When you hear the word “Shaker” you likely think of 19th-century furniture. Fair enough. That said, Shaker innovations went far beyond furniture and crafts. They invented: The flat broom The circular saw blade The spring clothespin Chair tilter buttons The paper seed envelope. They also developed social reforms that provided …
Read More »I’m Headed to Tuscany, Corsica, and Sardinia by Motorcycle in 2018
In 365 days I’ll be on my second Italian motorcycle tour. From Rome, where we pick up our bikes, my group will head to the fabulous Podere la Strega in Siena. I catch myself thinking about Podere la Strega in unguarded moments and can’t wait to return. You know why …
Read More »Henry Ford’s Kentucky Coal Camps: My Great-Aunt’s Memories
I recently spent a week in Kentucky with my Great Aunt Buntin in the video above. She is the youngest and only surviving sibling of six, all of whom born in the 1920's and 30's in a Kentucky coal camp near the West Virginia state line.
Four Mobile Apps for Finding Great Roadside Stops
Planning a great road trip might start considerations like a final destination on a specific arrival date, but why not add some roadside kitsch and history along the way? My philosophy is that the journey is an equally-important part of the vacation. #TravelSlow #ConnectDeep.
Lazio Italy by Motorcycle: Civita di Bagnoregio “the town that is dying”
Orvieto's morning air delights my soul, encouraging me not to think about the tour’s end in the afternoon. Instead I remind myself to wring joy and memories out of its last day.
Appalachian Coal Heritage Tourism: Yes, This is Important
This week in my TV interview, I highlighted some "Coal Heritage Tourism Sites" in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky, where the mining industry provided not only income, also a way of life to its workers and extended communities.
Umbria by Motorcycle: Lake Corbara Towns
Everyone in Italy parks scooters and motorbikes chockablock. No matter how much chrome or how many farkles a bike is adorned with, I never saw an incident of I'm-too-special-and-my-bike's-too-precious-to-share-a-parking-space behavior. If there is enough space to mount and dismount, that's sufficient; share the space.