Driven to Ride

Ken Condon describes himself as a commuter, tourer, an off-road rider, a track-day instructor, road racer, an ice rider, a drag racer, and “plain old street rider.” Truth is, as wide-ranging as that description may sound, it barely scratches the surface of the many things Condon has done not just on a motorcycle but, more importantly, for his fellow motorcyclists.

Ken is the author of two books, “Riding in the Zone” and “Motorcycling the Right Way.” The latter is a compilation of the “Proficient Motorcycling” columns published in Motorcycle Consumer News. “I wrote that column for 14 years—2,800 words, plus photos, every month,” he tells “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long. Condon also penned “Street Strategies” for the same title.

That’s to say Condon has devoted most of his life to not only becoming a better rider himself but to helping others become better riders. “‘The well is very deep’ is what I tell my students,” he says. “You can choose to swim on the surface and tread water, or you can dive deep and get down there and see what it’s all about. And there’s an awful lot there. It just goes, and goes, and goes.”

Riding In The Zone Website

Ken Condon on Facebook

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Sam Manicom spent eight years roaming the world by motorcycle, which is an accomplishment by itself. He later put those experiences into words, authoring four books: “Into Africa,” “Under Asian Skies,” “Distant Suns,” and “Tortillas to Totems.” Each volume takes readers through a different portion of his journey, Manicom tells Mark Long on this episode of the “Driven to Ride” podcast.
Manicom has traveled most of his life, using all manner of transportation. He explored Europe on a bicycle, hitchhiked by semi-truck, and crossed an ocean via cargo ship. All were tremendous experiences, he says, but motorcycles—a BMW R 80 GS, in particular—tick all the right boxes. For a chunk of that nearly decade-long journey, he even had a companion, aboard her own motorcycle.
During his time abroad, Manicom made an important discovery. “I found that a handshake and a smile and a ‘hello’ in somebody’s language gets you through an awful lot of very difficult situations,” he says. “You show respect to people and they’ll be gobsmacked, to begin with. Then, they tentatively smile back. All of a sudden, so many issues just melt away. It was such a good lesson to learn.”

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iRideArusha is the entry point for exploring Tanzania by motorcycle. On this episode of the “Driven to Ride” podcast, Kevin Bulger describes to host Mark Long how he and wife Sylvia, a native of the East African country, founded the company. Bulger’s big idea was to share his passion for adventure, motorcycles, and travel with like-minded enthusiasts from around the world.
“I’m not one of those guys that’s been riding since I was five years old,” admits the Chicagoan. In fact, he didn’t even throw a leg over a motorcycle of his own until he was an adult. “I bought that bike and literally rode it to every corner of every neighborhood in the city. It opened my eyes. ‘Wow, how diverse and broad and wonderful Chicago is.’ That got me interested to explore the wider world."
An investigative trip led to an opportunity better even than the Bulgers imagined. Rather than start an entirely new company, they partnered with the owner of iRideNairobi, a tour company in Kenya. “I thought, ‘We can open locations across East Africa,” says Kevin. “That’s sort of our grand vision—multiple outposts where riders can start in one location and end in another.” Grand, indeed.

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Cory Texter was practically born with a throttle in his hand. His grandfather Ray owned a Harley-Davidson dealership in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Father Randy was a successful national-number flat-tracker and an AMA U.S. Twin Sports champion. Sister Shayna has won 19 American Flat Track Singles races. Cory himself notched two AFT Production Twins titles.
Texter is the very definition of a self-starter. Before retiring from professional competition, he earned a college degree and tried his hand at journalism, podcasting and, most recently, race promoting—all successfully. In fact, he just wrapped the eighth edition of the “Winter Throwdown,” a Florida tradition geared toward amateur flat-trackers that draws 800-plus entries.
Racing is a metaphor for other aspects of his life, says Texer, 38, a husband and father of two young boys. “It’s such a simple thing when you break it down. There’s a green light to start the race, and there’s a checkered flag. You have to figure out a way to get to the checkered flag before everybody else, and you don’t always have to be the fastest guy to do that.”

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If you like watching riding vlogs, motorcycle reviews, or hey, even listening to a moto podcast, you have Genevieve Schmitt to thank for it.
Genevieve has blazed her own trail for basically her entire career. From reporting on the seat of a motorcycle on the Speed Channel (and earning the title of first woman to do so) to founding Women Riders Now dot com back in the early 2000s - before most people even thought about launching a motorcycle website - and growing it to an audience reaching the hundreds of thousands, she’s led the charge in the industry for not just women in motorcycling, but for any moto-content creator.
Genevieve wrote and covered stories from the female perspective, and surprise - it turns out that a whole lot of riders, male and female, appreicated Genevieve’s work - sharing her opinions on industry trends, motorcycle legislation, and reviewing bikes from not just stats from a spec sheet, but how a motorcycle actually makes you feel when you ride it.
There’s a reason she’s has earned the the title of “top 100 leaders in powersports”, too - Genevieve has toured the country giving seminars on introducing women to motorcycling, she’s been featured on the History Channel, ABC News, USA Today, The New York Times, and more, and she’s scooped up industry awards left and right, including the AMA’s Bessie Stringfield award.

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