Motorcycles, Travel & Adventure

Motorcycle TourMagazine

Brian Rathjen and Shira Kamil - Publishers

The heart and soul of Backroads, these two have been riding a number of different machines for years. It is not uncommon to find them at various motorcycle events and other related functions.

When not scouring the planet looking for the next great touring story, they can be found at their humble home in the Backroads Central Compound, located in the forests of northwestern NJ.

Mark Byers

A chance meeting with Brian and Shira on a Montana tour is how Mark was introduced to the crew. A few touring articles, a couple Backroads events, and a few "Cycle Sidebars" later and this motorcycle-riding engineer and writer is the newest of our regular contributors. When he's not serving as a motorcycle referee for bicycle races, Mark can be found riding his BMW R1150RS two-up with his wife Betsy from their home in Southern Maryland.

Bill Heald

Probably the most prolific of the Backroads crew, you’ll find Heald’s name popping up in a number of excellent moto-publications. His unique style and witty outlook make him one of the top freelancers in the business.

Bill and his longtime friend Danielle live on a farm deep in the Nutmeg state, along with a large number of dogs, cats and horses. His current ride is a Honda VFR750.

Doctor Seymour O’Life

Little is truly known about Seymour, yet he constantly pops up at Monkey with a Gun, Backroads’ private watering hole, with some of the most bizarre places to which one can ride their motorcycle.

His Mysterious America column has long been a favorite