Story and Photos by MB McQueen and Steve Baskin {phocagallery view=categories|categoryid=863|imagecategories=0|} Bikes, Blues and BBQ is one of the largest bike rallies and the largest charity rally in the U.S. Going on its 11th year, it’s held here in the gorgeous Ozark Mountains, and is visited upon by about half a million bikes, their owners, and the general public. It’s...

Story and Photos by J. JOSHUA PLACA {phocagallery view=categories|categoryid=849|imagecategories=0|} As the party rages on and traffic snarls on Casino Drive during the Laughlin River Run, a motorcyclist’s thoughts can wander to peaceful places and scenic roads. Sometimes all a biker wants to do is get out of the vendor mosh pit and actually go for a damn nice ride. A visit to...

Story and Photos by J. Joshua Placa {phocagallery view=categories|categoryid=845|imagecategories=0|} Some 30,000 motorcycles snaked into the 29th Laughlin River Run, enduring relentless winds, tent tearing gusts and unseasonable cold. The up to 20-degree below normal temps kept the tank top and bikini crowd bundled up, but could not detour the bikers from their annual return to...

Story and Photos by J. JOSHUA PLACA {phocagallery view=categories|categoryid=847|imagecategories=0|} Nestled on the western banks of the Colorado River, south of Lake Mead and directly across from Bullhead City, Arizona, Laughlin has been a mecca for motorcyclists for decades. The event, now in its 29th year, draws a strong Southern California crowd eager to soak in the Mohave...

By TAJ and J. JOSHUA PLACA {phocagallery view=categories|categoryid=848|imagecategories=0|} When it comes to event coverage, most publications get so caught up in the bikes and babes nary a thought is given to what’s really important—food. That’s just not right. Your hard-earned pay and biker bellies deserve better, so we’ve done some of the eating for you. The Black Bear Diner...

Story and Photos by J. JOSHUA PLACA {phocagallery view=categories|categoryid=822|imagecategories=0|} As if on cue, just as baseball spring training wound down, Biker Opening Day arrived at Arizona Bike Week with record temperatures and a wave and roar of thousands of motorcyclists as they washed over the Valley of the Sun. Despite a struggling economy, temps that pushed triple...

Story and Photos by J. JOSHUA PLACA{phocagallery view=categories|categoryid=823|imagecategories=0|} According to rally organizers and my naked eyeball, some 52,000 motorcyclists rode into AZ Bike Week this year, rolling around the event’s epicenter, Cyclefest, and assorted Harley-Davidson dealerships, eateries, western saloons and various questionable joints about town. If you...

Story & Photos by TAJ and J. JOSHUA PLACA {phocagallery view=categories|categoryid=824|imagecategories=0|} The road is not just all coffee and cigarettes and maybe the occasional hotdog. Bikers of every ilk love to eat, and eat well. While burgers and barbecue may be a staple, tastes can run from hunkering down to a fine filet mignon or a delicate plate of micro-greens with...

Story and Photos by J. JOSHUA PLACA {phocagallery view=categories|categoryid=825|imagecategories=0|} Just when we thought there couldn’t be more pink and ink adorning womanly arms, thighs, shoulders, busts and even necks, we are again surprised, often pleasantly so. At this year’s edition of Bike Week, where record-setting temps pushed the mercury near triple digits, the Arizona...

Story and Photos by Rodent {phocagallery view=categories|categoryid=827|imagecategories=0|} The subject of this jumble of words, observations and photographs: Route 66. In making, taking and traveling The Road, I’ve come to notice that the majority of riders I come across are Europeans, primarily Germans, who wish to do what they cannot do anywhere else on earth, ride what...