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On paper, Peter Egan is best known as a columnist and writer for Cycle World magazine, or Road & Track, if you prefer four wheels to two. He's ridden hundreds, if not thousands of motorcycles, restored everything from a 50 cc scooter he pulled out of a Dumpster to rare vintage treasures he lusted over for years, and has had more adventures on two wheels than most will ever have in a lifetime, with or without a motorcycle. Beyond the pages of Peter's work, he's been an influence, and inspiration, to many moto-curious bystanders and enthusiasts alike.
At one time, I was one of those bystanders who would be affected in a big way by Peter's writing. Therefore, having the opportunity to feature Mr. Egan in our most recent Highside/Lowside podcast was a bucket-list checkmark for me.
I was first introduced to his work in the spring of 2005 when my Dad passed me a year-old copy of Cycle World (my Dad doesn't throw away magazines) and suggested I read the Leanings column. The article, titled "Another Green Triumph," romanticized the quintessential motorcycle road trip and culminated with Peter's purchase of a 2004 Triumph Bonneville T-100. Three months later, a 2005 Triumph Bonneville T-100 became my main mode of college transportation.
While my Dad and Uncle Bob had already planted the fundamental seed of interest in the world of motorcycling at a very young age, it was Peter's writing that pushed me over the edge from a passive observer to a motorcycle owner. I was fortunate to have those familial influences, but for so many, Peter Egan is, through his writing, that surrogate father or crazy Uncle.
For those of us who know his work, our goal in the podcast was to provide a closer, more personal look at the man behind the articles we love. If you met him for the first time through this interview, I want to introduce you to his work, with the hope that it might inspire you to take a trip, buy a basket-case project, or simply push you over the edge to give motorcycling a try, same as it did for me nearly 20 years ago. Three volumes of his Leanings columns from Cycle World have been published, and while I feel the first one, at least, should be mandatory bookshelf material for any motorcyclist, here are some of my favorite individual Peter Egan articles to get you started.
Dateline Missoula — December 1977
Why take a Honda Gold Wing on a cross-country road trip when you could take a 1975 Norton Commando Interstate? One will get you to where you're going, but the other will leave you with a story to tell. A story that, in this case, kicked off a 33-year career.
This was Peter's first article ever published in Cycle World. It introduces the reader to his wife, Barb, as they head west, two-up, across the Great Plains on a Norton Commando. Peter lets you follow along as they make camp, meet fellow travelers, and ultimately reach their destination, although not how you might think.
This was one of the most influential articles in grooming my love of motorcycle road trips. While it doesn't exactly go right, it leaves the reader with a sense of freedom and adventure that only the open road can provide. And as long as you have a credit card and your AAA membership is up to date, you'll most likely be able to make it home again.
The Two-Wheeled Underground Canadian Railroad — February 1984
As a history major in college, I loved the way that Peter infuses historical storytelling into a motorcycle article. This could have just as easily have been cited as a primary source in an anthropological study of the emerging counterculture in America during the Vietnam War. The article tells the story of a couple of kids who are torn between their sense of patriotic duty post World War II and their moral compass surrounding the events transpiring in Vietnam. Events that would ultimately mark a shift in America's views on politics, music, business, and family.
Peter and his best friend, Pat Donnelly, dealt with their indecision by taking a motorcycle trip to clear their heads and to see if a life in Canada was worth living. Atop a Honda CB160 and a 305 Dream, respectively, they set off to discover that keys on a map are measured in inches, while the miles they represent, are a lot longer. And not to imply that life in Canada is all that bad, per se, but Peter did voluntarily join the Army upon his return to America.
The French Quarter Connection — April 1979
I learned two major lessons from this article. First, any motorcycle can be a touring motorcycle, so don't make excuses for having the wrong bike, just get out and have an adventure. Second, the excuse for your next adventure could be as simple as heading out to buy some coffee, from five states away.
I was recently reminded of this article during one of my regular phone calls with friend and Common Tread Managing Editor Lance "The Silver Fox" Oliver. He was telling me how he uses the Vermont cheese that his wife loves, only found in Vermont, as an excuse to get on the bike and cross a state line. In this article, Peter tells the story about how his love of a good chicory coffee blend was the impetus for a road trip to the source.
From Madison, Wisconsin to the French Quarter of New Orleans, Peter makes his journey on a 1975 Honda CB400F Super Sport, which was set up for road racing at the time. He returns having nearly used up an entire set of track tires just to acquire a cheaper bean. Makes me start to think I should consider burning off the knobby tires on my KTM 890 Adventure R Rally to head up to Vermont and check out this cheddar Lance's wife has been raving about.
Lost Highway: In Search of Old 66 — May 1981
You could travel every waking hour, of every day, of every year on this Earth and still not see every road in America. Let alone the world. And even if you were to somehow accomplish it, this story serves as a reminder that you'd no sooner be done than you'd have to start again, because roads are living things, ever changing.
Joined again by Barb, the two set out to try to find the remnants of the original Route 66, a two-lane stretch of blacktop connecting Chicago to Los Angeles. As they soon discover, despite the fact that it's only a few generations old, most of the original road was eaten up by President Eisenhower's federal funding of America's Interstate Highway System. A system that has made it faster to traverse the continent than I'm sure even the man himself ever imagined, but at a big cost to American culture.
This story serves as a reminder to slow down. Enjoy the ride. Enjoy the people. Enjoy the sights along the way. A road trip isn't about reaching your destination efficiently, but rather it's about having a cultural experience with the places you pass through and the folks you meet along the way.
In the Moon of the Falling Leaves — 2005 Cycle World Adventures edition
In this article, Peter combines a little of everything we've already discussed in the other articles. There is a road trip, a great history lesson about Native Americans and the Great Plains, and some friends along for the ride. This time, however, he introduces some dirt bikes to the mix. I needed at least one story here to have a KTM in it!
Joking aside, this was such a foundational article for me because it reminded me of the power of friends in the world of motorcycling. And also of how lucky I am for the friends motorcycling has brought into my life. Even as I type this, my wife Nicole and I have just returned from a eclipse viewing party in Rochester, New York, hosted by a friend I met through motorcycling and which included about a half dozen or so other friends I know through motorcycling.
Motorcycling is more fun when you have someone to share it with. It offers a common thread (or a Common Tread, if you will) to serve as a foundation for relationships with other human beings. At our core, we all want meaningful human interaction, to feel like we belong, like someone gets us. And through his writing, that's Peter’s biggest gift to us all. We all feel like we are one of his friends.
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