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Living together in a group is a strategy many animals use to survive and thrive. And a big part of what makes that living situation successful is listening. In this episode, we explore the collaborative world of the naked mole-rat. Threshold is nonprofit, listener-supported, and independently produced. You can support Threshold by donating today . To stay connected, sign up for our newsletter . Operation frog sound! Send us your frog sounds for an upcoming episode. We want you to go out, listen for frogs and toads, and record them. Just find someone croaking, and hit record on your phone. It doesn’t matter if there’s background noise. It doesn’t even matter if you’re not sure whether or not you’re hearing an amphibian—if you think you are, we would love to get a recording from you. Please also say your name and where you are in the world, and then email the recording to us at outreach@thresholdpodcast.org…
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Driven to Ride shares the stories of motorcyclists from all walks of life: prominent journalists, racers, celebrities who you didn’t know rode motorcycles, first-time adventurers, and ordinary folks who have taken extraordinary adventures. Driven to Ride also documents the adventures of its host, Mark Long, further exploring his life-changing experiences on two wheels. You’ll meet riders just like you who share moving stories about why they love to ride and how the sport has changed their li ...
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The American Motorcyclist Association with Nick Haris
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If you’re a motorcyclist living and riding in the U.S., Nick Haris works for you. Even more so if you’re one of the more than 200,000 members of the American Motorcyclist Association, whose tagline is “Rights, Riding, and Racing.” Haris leads a team of six who comprise the AMA’s government-relations department. Their job is to protect your rights a…
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Annick Magac and “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long grew up in different parts of the country, but they share common ground. They both live to ride and ride to live, as the saying goes, and they both have a strong sense of community. What’s more, Magac founded her own motorcycle-oriented podcast, “Féroce,” which, as its title suggests, inspires listen…
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Motorcycling and politics don’t mix, right? They do for Nick Haris. In college, the Washington state native was an economics major and worked at a motorcycle shop. Degree in hand, he applied for his dream job: a government-relations role at the American Motorcyclist Association. “It was just kind of a natural combination of that interest in politic…
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Larry Fletcher grew up in Wisconsin in the late 1960s and early ’70s, like a lot of people his age, doing “silly stuff” on minibikes with his buddies. He took a break from motorcycling until he moved to Chicago as a 20-something. “I figured out, what a great way to commute,” he says. “Bikes were an easier way to get around, and I loved getting back…
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Thalassa Van Beek fell in love with motorcycling as a teenager working as a hostess and model in her native Netherlands. She was handing out brochures at a trade show when a blue Yamaha YZF-R6 caught her eye. “Right then and there,” she recounts to “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long, “I decided to get my license because I needed to ride that bike.” Va…
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Moms are the best advice-givers. Wyoming native Brady McLean once dated a woman from a multi-generational motorcycle family. “Her mom is the first one that I can ever remember saying, ‘Go fast, don’t die,’” he recalls. McLean took that message to heart and ultimately founded a lifestyle apparel brand by the same name dedicated to “the culture and c…
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Vanessa Ruck is a self-proclaimed “go-getter, a chase-your-dreams kind of girl.” Her path to motorcycling came in a roundabout way: on the heels of a devastating bicycle accident that required seven surgeries and put the adventure-lover out of action for most of a decade. During her recovery, Ruck decided that life-changing event would not dictate …
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Daniel Ritz stumbled upon motorcycling a dozen years ago while working as a newspaper editor in Southern California. “There was a small shop up the street from where I was living,” he tells “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long. “I started looking at Triumphs, and I saw the Scrambler as a good mix: heavy enough for big trips but light enough to still mov…
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Some might say Aussie Alana Baratto was destined to work in the motorcycle industry. Her father was a rider, both on- and off-road, and he shared that cherished pastime with his daughters. Alana was gifted a Yamaha PW50 at age four and attended her first Grand Prix a year later. “It was something that I grew to love,” she explains, “and then decide…
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Ultimate Motorcycling - TeeJay Adams & Arthur Coldwells
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There are few better examples of a relationship coming full circle than British expatriates Teejay Adams and Arthur Coldwells. The pair knew each other as teenagers, and even dated, but they didn’t marry until some 40 years later, well into adulthood, on the heels of other relationships, and, in Teejay’s case, raising three children. Another common…
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Motorcycling and music seem to go hand in hand, or at least that’s the opinion shared by Wes Fleming, the host of “Chasing the Horizon,” and Mark Long, the host of “Driven to Ride.” Both enjoy playing stringed instruments, Wes favoring the guitar while Mark is a bass player. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” admits Fleming, adding, “It’s the two …
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Bob Starr considers himself “lucky,” having spent his entire career in the motorcycle industry, including more than 32 years at Yamaha in marketing and, currently, corporate communications. “I turned a passion of mine at a very early age into a lifelong career,” he says with the enthusiasm of a teenager, “and I have really, really enjoyed it. I hop…
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The couple that rides together, stays together, right? Well, Cassey Stone, founder of the “Hell Yeah! Moto” women’s dirt bike riding school, and Jacob Michna, former head of the AMA Hare and Hound National Championship Series now running the AMA West Hare Scramble Championship Series, bring vastly different two-wheel experiences to their relationsh…
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Stage names often have interesting backstories. For Ryan Kluftinger, better known as “RyanF9,” host of the “FortNine” YouTube channel, the explanation is straightforward: His boss came up with the internet alias. At the time, Ryan wasn’t exactly pleased, but he shrugged it off, figuring that was a small cost for the opportunity to produce his own c…
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Like so many of his peers, Sean Bice began his lifelong love affair with motorcycling on a minibike. His adventures in small-town, northern New York state eventually led to the purchase at age 16 of a two-stroke Yamaha RD350, which Bice still owns. “My dad was cool enough to go, ‘I’ll pay for half, you pay for half, but you have to take care of thi…
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What comes to mind when someone says, “Sturgis”? As in, the annual motorcycle rally set in the South Dakota city of the same name. If you’re Mark Long, host of “Driven to Ride,” you know only what you’ve read or been told. See, before this year, Mark had never been to Sturgis, never mind the rally. So this past August, he packed his bags and pointe…
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Keith Keller ventured from the U.S. to the Cayman Islands to experience first-hand the spectacular diving and snorkeling for which the British overseas territory located in the western Caribbean Sea is known, and he stayed for the motorcycling. That description may seem odd to dyed-in-the-wool riders, since Grand Cayman, the largest of the three is…
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True story: “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long booked a Kawasaki Vulcan S through Riders Share for the MotoGP race weekend at Circuit of The Americas. Upon arrival in Austin, Texas, he went to the designated location to pick up the bike from owner Guillermo Cornejo. Turns out, Cornejo is the founder of Riders Share, said to be the largest motorcycle-s…
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For generations of teenagers, a driver’s license represented independence, a milestone moment that transported fresh-faced wheelmen (and women) one step closer to adulthood. That is less so now, with fewer young drivers showing interest in taking to the road. Andrew Pieper, however, is all about bucking trends. In fact, he couldn’t wait to pass his…
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If spectating at a MotoGP race in Europe is on your bucket list, then the Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello won’t disappoint, as “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long discovered firsthand this past June. Long spent the week traveling with his buddy Mike, who lives in Switzerland. Together, they enjoyed the full, immersive race-we…
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“You’ve come a long way, baby,” was an advertising slogan created in the 1960s by Philip Morris for cigarette brand Virginia Slims. Aimed exclusively at women, the long-running campaign promoted equality among genders, particularly in the workplace. Crystal Fong has come a long way, too—both literally and figuratively—as she explains to host Mark L…
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“Farm to fork” is a popular movement in which restaurants source fresh, locally grown ingredients from nearby farms for the meals they serve, as opposed to purchasing those items from wholesale distributors that cater to nationwide chains. Janus Motorcycles is the farm-to-fork of motorcycle makers, a regionally focused alternative to the global par…
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Have you ever met someone who describes their life on this planet in such an entertaining way you lose track of time? Well, that is the dilemma “Driven to Ride” podcast host Mark Long faced with Mike van der Sleesen. Mike, the CEO of Vanson Leathers, was one of Mark’s first guests, and that interview barely scratched the surface of a life of advent…
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Jeff Allen has been taking beautiful photographs of motorcycles for Cycle World magazine and its digital sister, cycleworld.com, for more than 30 years. Jeff got his start in the early 1990s as a studio assistant. His current position as staff photographer has taken Jeff all over the world in a unique role that enables him to capture the essence of…
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We're taking you to the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas for the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas. We're not just going to the race - we're talking with Clerk of the Course Beth Miller; Sean Bice, the prolific MotoAmerica content creator who co-hosts the series’ weekly “Off Track” podcast; Brian Case, Executive Director of the Barber Vin…
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If there was a dictionary entry for “Moto California,” the definition might be “a nightclub on two wheels.” Or at least that is the concept West Coast transplant George Beavers had in his mind when he cooked up the idea of creating an exclusive and unique intercontinental vacation experience centered around riding fun motorcycles on spectacular roa…
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Are you afraid to ride a motorcycle at night? Does your heart skip a beat when drops of rain appear on your faceshield? You’re not alone. Carolyn Figueria—better known as “Doodle on a Motorcycle” to the legion of fans who subscribe to her YouTube channel—uses her ever-expanding platform to address these and other challenges that could have prevente…
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Some people seem destined for a certain line of work—a family business, for example—while others set out on a unique and unexpected career path with a specific goal in mind. Sarah Schilke identifies with the latter, the Oregon native having established early on that a life spent on two wheels in the motorcycle industry was the one and only directio…
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When Hank Snow took “I’ve Been Everywhere” to number one on the country-music charts, Dennis Noyes was writing for a daily newspaper in Venezuela. South America is a long way from central Illinois, where Noyes was born and raised. His father wrote for the “Stars And Stripes” and his mother was a linguistics professor at Purdue University, so words …
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When Bridget McCutchen set off from her rural midwestern home on a world tour, she had no idea what the next 16 months would bring. Some 451 days later, after covering nearly 50,000 miles and visiting 45 countries, the 22-year-old Wisconsin native had successfully checked off all the requirements to become the youngest person, man or woman, to trav…
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Would you let a complete stranger ride your prized motorcycle? Austin Rothbard is betting that you will—for a fee, of course. In fact, Rothbard started a business in 2017 based on that very concept. Rothbard is a motorcyclist himself and the founder and CEO of “Twisted Road,” a peer-to-peer, community-based rental service that he fondly refers to a…
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How’s this for a company motto? “Hand built. Made to last.” Those aren’t just words, either: Top Fuel Motorcycle drag racer and former world record holder Kory Hogan survived a 246-mph crash in a leather suit designed and manufactured under the unyielding direction of the guest on this episode, the founder and CEO of Vanson Leathers, Mike van der S…
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Michael Lichter rode a motorcycle to the Black Hills Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, for the first time in 1979—44 years ago. He documented that trip with a camera from the seat of his Harley-Davidson Shovelhead. Little did Lichter know that inaugural visit to the wildly popular biker party would lead to attending dozens more rallies and hundreds o…
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“Authenticity is earned through epic work” is one of Robert Pandya’s favorite sayings, and indeed, Robert has done some epic work during his long and wild and varied career in the powersports industry. In fact, Pandya is a bit of a jack of all trades with experience in many aspects of marketing, from media relations to hosting and producing world-c…
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Once in a great while, an individual connects with an audience. News anchor Walter Cronkite was often called “the most trusted man in America.” Vin Scully was the “voice of baseball.” For legions of motorsports fanatics, our next guest’s encyclopedic knowledge and booming baritone cemented their connection with all manner of two- and four-wheel com…
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For those who watched our next guest’s ascent to motocross and supercross greatness, the acronym by which this hall of famer is often and deservingly referred is apropos. Credited with 15 national titles—10 in motocross, including two perfect seasons, and five in supercross—Ricky Carmichael is indeed the GOAT, or the Greatest Of All Time. Following…
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For a generation of motorcycle enthusiasts, Peter Egan represented something of a revelation. Here was someone who spoke their language, who found ways to escape the chill of winter to bring them with him across the country, eloquently describing through the pages of Cycle World the flat expanses, curving mountain roads, and scenic coastlines he tr…
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Six-foot-four-inch Alonzo Bodden strikes an imposing figure, both on the stage as an internationally recognized comedian and off it. A native of Queens, New York, Bodden moved in the 1990s to Long Beach, California, where he worked in the aviation industry as a mechanic. Since his comedy career took off, Bodden has appeared in numerous films and TV…
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The National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa hosted over 500 motorcycles from every decade and almost every manufacturer, all handpicked by John Parham and his family of J&P Cycles fame. Unfortunately, the museum had to shut down back in September. Let's take a look inside before they close the doors for good, and find out the story of how one guy got…
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Curious about what you'll find on the Driven to Ride podcast? Start here! All our links: https://linktr.ee/driventoridepodcast Business Inquiries: hello@driventoridepodcast.com Connect with Us: Website: www.driventoridepodcast.com Instagram: www.Instagram.com/driventoridepodcast Facebook: www.facebook.com/driventoride Email: hello@driventoridepodca…
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