What is a “Grand Tour” Rally?

I have been asked this a few times, and based on some of the posts I have seen on the Facebook group page, I am guessing there are some questions about what a Grand Tour style motorcycle rally is all about.

In the most basic sense, this Grand Tour style rally is a self-guided, self-paced trip to explore some collection of the 30 destinations I plan to provide the riders. Self-guided in the sense that there are no rally organized group rides, and self-paced in the sense that you choose when and where you want to ride, and even how many destinations you want to visit. We give you 30 choices – you chose the ones that are right for you! Will some riders visit all 30 destinations? Yes. And some may only visit a few. It’s up to you!

The approach to this style of rally is pretty simple. You ride to the location, take a picture with your bike and rally flag in the frame and then e-mail it to the rally at your convenience.

I have also been asked about the philosophy used in picking the destinations. Our approach for 2021 is to provide you with great riding in some of the most beautiful areas of the Pacific Northwest. The destination proves you made the ride, but the ride is really the important part of this obsession of ours. We tried to adhere to a fairly simple approach when picking destinations:

  • Avoid locations near interstates.
  • Avoid dirt/gravel roads, but when dirt is involved, provide a safe alternative nearby that doesn’t involve dirt roads.
  • Choose objects that are easy to find and sometimes provide some interesting history.
  • Choose objects that allow for safe parking and picture taking opportunities.

So why are the destinations being kept “secret” until the end of February? There is a lot of work involved in picking destinations that meet the above criteria. We need time to make sure the destinations are quality locations.

Be patient – we will have a lot of fun this year!

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