Breaking in to the NYC riding scene

I’ve had a lot of luck with finding people to ride with and joining motorcycling communities in the city.

It’s honestly super simple.

Your first stop is the FB Groups. Join NYC Gotham Riders, NYC Motorcycle Meetup, and We Ride New York. That’s the easy ones and should get you going. Join the groups, lurk a bit, see what people are up to, and maybe join some of the events.

Follow Spiegel on Instagram. This is the group that runs Two Wheel Tuesdays in the city and they’ve done a phenomenal job. The events are well organized and while the locations aren’t always agreeable, the people you meet will quickly become family.

Wicked Wednesdays are a bit more rowdy (Spiegel just has a ton more organizational experience and deeper care for the venues) but to each his/her own. Follow their Instagram account for updates on locations.

Your best bet - and what I did - is to spend some time around other riders. The easy way to do that is to hang out at the dealerships in the area (Ducati in NYC, Triumph in Brooklyn, etc etc etc) and meet independent mechanics (love Mark at Brooklyn Moto). Ask them about who people ride with.

Most of the groups in the city have started their own WhatsApp groups and that will likely be your end goal. Immerse yourself in the culture and you’ll end up in one in no time.

Feel free to reply to this email and I’ll be happy to point you in the right direction.

Washing & detailing your bike

Just do it. There are approximately 562 different ways to wash & detail your motorcycle and everyone’s got an opinion.

Some swear that water will never touch their bike. Others use pressurized jets and a snow foam (what I have used) attachment. Regardless what everyone says, there’s nothing more satisfying than foaming your bike. Do it once and get it out of your system.

Find someone in your riding group that always seems to have an immaculate bike and ask them their process. Then incorporate the steps within what works for you.

Here’s the process from a good friend of mine: (keep in mind that this is for gloss coats)

1. First, hit up the bike with the Chemical Guys Paint Correction Compound

2. Then comes the cleaner wax paste

3. Follow that up with polish with Meguiar’s Tech Wax

4. Use the FW1 Wash and Wax as a quick detailer post-ride instead of washing

1-3 should only really be done once a month or so depending on how & where you ride. #4 can be done after every ride.

On top of the above, I’ve also purchased a ceramic coating which should really bring out the deep red in the bike.

Weather’s great, Catskills are calling

Get the hell out of the city and hit up the Catskills for fantastic views and curvy roads. Take our recommendations for some fantastic breweries and thank me later.

We’ve got 5 amazing rides on deck, all of which we’ve done ourselves and thoroughly enjoyed. As a group, we ride these roads every damn weekend and never left disappointed.

We’ve also been through a ton of breweries and cafes in the area so I felt like a guide to riding the Catskills wouldn’t be complete without a section on the breweries that have helped us finish so many of our rides.

I hope you enjoy these roads as much as we do.

The entire guide with ride descriptions & routes, food & drink options, the full routes with Google Maps link is available here