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Commuting to work on your Victory is old hat to many of you, but everyone is encouraged to ride their bike to work on July 18, the 16th annual Ride to Work Day.
You can learn more about the event at www.ridetowork.org
It was started by a group of avid riders who wanted to promote the good elements of motorcycles and riding to a public that sometimes sees bikes only as loud, stinky, dangerous vehicles. Ride to Work Day is designed to put as many bikes on the road in a single day as possible to open motorists’ eyes to the presence and positive nature of motorcycles.
The RTWD group reports: “According to the United States Census Bureau and the Department of Transportation, over 80 million cars and light trucks are used for daily commuting on American roads, and about 200,000 motorcycles and scooters are a regular part of this mix. On Ride to Work Day, the practical side of riding becomes more visible as a larger number of America's 8,000,000 cycles are ridden to work.”
There’s a lot of interesting info at the RTWD website, and don’t worry, nobody’s getting rich off this promotion. It’s a non-profit group and people like founder Andy Goldfine have other pursuits to keep them busy and fed. Andy is a longtime avid rider and is the founder of Aerostich, the company that makes premium riding suits.
RIDING THE FUTURE
As you read this, journalists are probably throwing their legs over the seats of the new Victory Vision as part of the new luxury-touring bike’s press launch. We’ll provide details after the press into concludes, but suffice to say members of the motorcycle media are getting a great opportunity to enjoy the Victory Vision experience on some scenic, twisty roads as well as some “let’s cover some ground – fast!” interstates.
Full details about the 2008 Victory Vision Tour and Victory Vision Street will become available next week after the press introduction. You’ll find details about the bikes – their full specs, their equipment packages, various price points and more – on the Victory website.
And you’ll be able to read editors’ first riding impressions soon on their publications’ websites and in magazines that mail in the next couple months.
KYLE IN THE BOOTH
Victory owner and NASCAR racer Kyle Petty is taking a mid-season break from the seat of his No. 45 NASCAR Nextel Cup car this summer to take a seat in the TNT broadcast booth. Kyle is glib, articulate and has been racing full-time on the premier circuit since 1981, so he knows what he’s talking about when the topic is NASCAR racing.
He also know what he’s talking about concerning Victory Motorcycles. Kyle owns several Victorys and he wrenches on them, modifies and accessorizes them and loves riding them. He has had a promotional partnership with Victory for several years, and you’ll see the Victory script logo on the sleeve of his race suit.
During a post-dinner chat during the 2005 Kyle Petty Charity Ride, I got an idea of just how much he loves his Victorys. The day’s ride ended in Tupelo, Mississippi, the hometown of a guy who made a name for himself in rock ‘n’ roll.
The mayor and other local officials made some after-dinner speeches and presented Kyle with the key to the city. Then Kyle joined Victory dealer Jeff Whaley (Victory of Cumming, GA) and me at a table to chat. When Jeff told Kyle I was associated with Victory, Kyle started talking about how he was converting a set of Touring Cruiser saddlebags into a trunk box he could mount on his Victorys.
He took my reporter’s notebook and sketched the angles at which he was going to cut each box before bonding the pieces together to create a box.
Later that summer I showed the notebook and drawings to a Victory product manager. Very interesting, he said, but please don’t put those in the magazine. We’ve got something in the works and I’d rather that people see that first.
“That” was the trunk of the Kingpin Tour.
Kyle is scheduled to serve as a TNT analyst starting this Sunday, June 24. During this race, he will provide analysis while driving on the Infineon Speedway road course in Sonoma, California! For about four races after that, he’ll provide analysis from a more traditional position: in the broadcast booth.
He’ll also lead the Kyle Petty Charity Ride – from the seat of a 2008 Victory Vision that will later be auctioned off to benefit the Victory Junction Gang Camp. The charity ride runs from July 14-20 and will take riders on a new East Coast route, from Bar Harbor, Maine, to Hollywood, Florida.
To learn more about the ride and the Victory Junction Gang Camp – and take a virtual ride along with Kyle and the gang – visit: www.kylepettycharityride.com
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