Spring has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, and it is time for weather-restricted motorcyclists across much of the country to bring their wintertime dreams to life and ride the roads and trails again.

Assuming you stored your bike properly for the winter and completed the checks to ensure your bike is ready to roll, it’s time to throw your leg over the saddle and crank that baby up.

The AMA celebrates each April as AMA Go! Ride Month, encouraging everyone to take every opportunity to have fun on their motorcycles.

The AMA Recreational Riding program offers hundreds of local, regional and national rides and events for 2020.

“The AMA and AMA-chartered clubs and promoters offer ample opportunity for you to get out and ride this year,” said Heather Wilson, AMA Recreational Riding manager. “We want everyone to enjoy themselves, and we believe the 2020 lineup of AMA-sanctioned events will make that happen.

“We are also always open to new ideas. So if you have ideas for club activities or rides, let us know. The AMA is here to help you get organized.”

For 2020, the AMA offers AMA Grand Tours; the AMA National Gypsy Tour, presented by Yuasa Battery; the Beta AMA National Dual Sport Series, presented by Yuasa Battery; the AMA National Adventure Riding Series, presented by Yuasa Battery; and the AMA LongRider Program, presented by Yuasa Battery.

Dual Sport RIDEs

The Beta AMA National Dual Sport Series, presented by Yuasa Battery, covers some of the best single-track trails in the country, tying them together with rugged backroads.

Designed for off-road riders on street-legal dual sport motorcycles, these two-day events offer the opportunity to ride challenging terrain and make new friends along the way.

At the end of the 2020 series, one lucky participant will win a Beta motorcycle.

Adventure Riding

The Honda AMA National Adventure Riding Series, presented by Yuasa Battery, is meant for adventure bikes 600cc and larger, which are bigger than their dual sport cousins. The routes in this series are typically two-track and often include sections of paved roads, as well.

Organized by local clubs or promoters familiar with the region, these two-day events feature great riding, often followed by group activities, such as bonfires, cookouts, camping and prizes.

AMA Grand Tours

Whether you enjoy long-distance rides or a series of shorter jaunts, AMA Grand Tours offer something for just about every rider.

Grand Tours allow participants the freedom to ride to checkpoints on their own time, with most spanning several months or an entire year.

An AMA-chartered organizer establishes the tour checkpoints and rules.

Current AMA Grand Tours include the AMA District 2 Polar Bear Grand Tour, SCMA USA Four Corners Tour, SCMA USA 15 Best Roads Tour, SCMA California Adventure Series, the Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas and the Tour of Honor.

Gypsy Tour

Gypsy Tours began in the early 1900s, with riders gathering for a picnic and motorcycle competitions, such as hillclimbs, “Tourist Trophy” and dirt-track events, along with field meets involving slow races, stake races and plank riding.

In the same way, the 2020 AMA National Gypsy Tour, presented by Yuasa Battery, takes riders to some of the most well-known motorcycle rallies in the country, such as Laconia Motorcycle Week in New Hampshire, Thunder in the Valley in Johnstown, Pa., 2020 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days in Lexington, Ohio, and more.

AMA members attending Gypsy Tour events can pick up a collectible pin by showing their AMA membership cards at specific locations.

LongRiders

The AMA LongRider Program, presented by Yuasa Battery, recognizes AMA members who document the achievement of certain riding milestones.

Mileage awards are available at 10,000, 25,000 and 50,000 miles per year.

And riders can achieve recognition for a Lifetime Mileage award at 25,000, 50,000, 100,000, 250,000, 500,000, 750,000 and 1 million miles.

Riders who achieve 1 million miles earn a special AMA LongRider plaque.

Miles ridden before registering for the AMA LongRider program do not count as LongRider miles, unless you were an AMA member during that time and can document those miles.

“If your bike has been stored for the winter, snap a photo of the odometer before you start riding,” Wilson said. “Be sure your AMA membership card is in the photo.”

Odometer pics and other verification will be kept on record with the AMA.

Other types of verification are listed on the mileage award form, which can be found online

All AMA LongRiders receive a decal and patch with registration.

AMA member discounts

In addition to all of the AMA-sanctioned events each year, AMA members can take advantage of all of the AMA member benefits that can make your riding season more fun and relaxing.

AMA members receive discounts on lodging, gear, tools, motorcycle rentals, luggage, eyewear, maps and more.

Group Riding

Here are a few tips from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation to help ensure everyone has a great day.

Organize the ride. This can be as informal as gathering in a parking lot for a pre-ride briefing, or as formal as a special meeting to hand out maps and cellphone numbers.

Ride your own ride. Riding in a group does not mean you surrender any decision-making when it comes to your safety.

Consider fellow riders when picking a route. Think about the stamina and experience of the riders and the limits of their motorcycles.

Make sure everyone is tied into the communications system or knows the signals being used.

Put experienced riders in the lead and running sweep. Consider positioning the less-experienced riders immediately behind the leader.

Ideally, the sweep rider will have a cellphone to call for help if a motorcycle is disabled or if there has been a crash.

If the goal of the ride is to keep the group together, the leader should only go at the pace of the least-experienced rider.

While riding, don’t fixate on the motorcycle in front of you. Instead, remember your basic training. Look well through the turn to where you want to go.

If the group is riding faster than you are comfortable with, let the sweep rider know you’re dropping out and ride at your own pace.

Make sure your motorcycle is mechanically up to the task before you even meet with the group.

If it’s going to be a large group, consider establishing a buddy system among the riders, or divide the group into smaller packs. That way, if something goes wrong, you don’t have 25 motorcycles sitting on the side of a busy highway. Also, smaller groups can more easily navigate through city streets.

On the road, motorcyclists should have at least a 2-second cushion in front and behind them. If you want to keep the group tight, consider a staggered formation.

Trikes and sidecars should stay in the center of the lane and should be given the same amount of cushion as if they were a car.

As turns get sharper, or as visibility decreases, move back to a single file formation. You’ll also want to use single file when entering or exiting a highway, at toll booths or when roads have a rough or questionable surface.

At intersections where you’ve come to a stop, tighten the formation to side-by-side to take up less space. As the light turns green, or when traffic opens up, the bike on the left proceeds through the intersection first.

When parking, try to get the group off the roadway as quickly as possible. If you can, arrange in advance to have pull-through parking at your destination, or at the very least, make sure there is ample parking for your size group.

 

Helpful links

AMA Sanctioned Events

www.americanmotorcyclist.com/findanevent

AMA Clubs and Promoters

www.americanmotorcyclist.com/findacharter

AMA Grand Tours

www.americanmotorcyclist.com/grandtours

AMA National Gypsy Tour, presented by Yuasa Battery

www.americanmotorcyclist.com/gypsytour

Beta AMA National Dual Sport Series, presented by
Yuasa BatterY

www.americanmotorcyclist.com/dualsport

HONDA AMA National Adventure Riding Series presented by
Yuasa Battery

www.americanmotorcyclist.com/adventureriding

AMA LongRider Program, presented by Yuasa Battery

www.americanmotorcyclist.com/longrider

Also remember to check the calendar in American Motorcyclist each month.