Monday, April 27, 2015

2015 AMCA Meet, Oley, PA

This past Saturday I rode up to the Antique Motorcycle Club of America's annual meet in Oley, Pennsylvania.  Two days later, my legs are still sore from repeated crouching down to shoot photos of so much great vintage iron; everything from Concours-quality restorations to bikes that looked as if they were just unearthed from the back of a barn that morning.  More than you may think were ridden to the meet, too.  Below is a mere sampling; click here to see many more from 2015, and click here to see motorcycles from 2013's meet.

Don't see this brand every day.






Liter bikes aren't new; this model was Lawrence of Arabia's favorite ride.

Beverly Hillbillies meets The Munsters?


This had a number plate autographed by Jack Penton, too.










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Tuesday, April 21, 2015

MotoStays: an Airbnb for motorcyclists?

MotoStays, the web site that connects motorcyclists with free home stays in other motorcyclists’ homes, announces free memberships for another twenty-five days, until May 15, 2015. “We’ve been offering the MotoStays membership for free for the past year and the site has expanded to include twenty-six countries,” said Tad Haas, co-founder of MotoStays.

MotoStays is a growing motorcycle community that promotes and provides access to home-sharing opportunities throughout the world. The MotoStays network provides a convenient alternative to camping and hotels by connecting motorcyclists with local hosts along their route. MotoStays also features motorcycle-friendly businesses that offer accommodations for members at reasonable rates.

Launched in June of 2014, MotoStays.com is the motorcyclist’s equivalent to Airbnb; the difference being the overnight stays are free. Motorcyclists create a membership account and profile listing then look for places to stay. Using the member location, photos, amenities and accommodation details to see which hosts best match their needs, members then contact potential hosts to work out the details.

“There are lots of people doing this, and have been doing it for years; it just hasn’t happened in an organized way until now,” said Gaila Gutierrez, MotoStays co-founder. “What we’ve done is create a community that is based on reciprocal hospitality and consolidated it in a way that people can actually plan around. It eliminates the randomness and connects people who share the passion of motorcycling in a unique and interesting way.”

Haas and Gutierrez quit their jobs, rented their house and took off on their motorcycles for fourteen months in 2012-2013. Traveling over 40,000 miles through ten different countries, the trip opened their minds to a new way of thinking. Upon their return home they decided to build a community where other motorcyclists could take advantage of the experiences that result when you share space and a connection with other people and founded MotoStays.

MotoStays will be offering free one-year memberships through May 15, 2015. More information can be found on www.MotoStays.com.

If anyone uses this service, please drop me a line or a comment to let me know of your experience.

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