FROM THE TEAM

ReasonsToRide.com is the evolution of a really basic concept within the riding community – a motorcycle focused co-operative!

For almost 40 years, free local motorcycle magazines have served as a means of letting riders know of rides and rallies, bike nights and bike shows, and recommended ride stops both within their community and within a days ride. For event organizers, local shops, and supporting dealerships – they provided a cost effective means of connecting with riders and inviting them to their events or simply through their doors.

By posting within the local mag – organizers were able to let both their friends and riders that they’d never met that they were welcome, cordially invited even, to join them for a ride or get together.

Anyone with a motorcycle or simply a love for two wheels – or the cause being supported –could attend. And with such an invitation, everyone knew that they would be welcome as brothers or sisters within the riding community.

It’s a cool concept, and we believe that the “local motorcycle mag” played an integral part in defining the riding community. Free biker mags let everyone know what was going on and where they were welcome. While there are other types of newsletters and trade journals, its only in the motorcycle community that you find the concept so established. Riders know that they can pick up a copy of their local mag and it’s speaking to them.

With the internet and social media, many print publications have gone by the wayside over the years. Traditional newspapers have largely disappeared in many communities, as folks find an easier connection online and simply through their phone. Once again, though, the riding community remains unique in many ways.

Our community is one of traditions and nostalgia, though. The twisting of the throttle and sound of the engine are an integral part of the riding experience. And while it’s hard not to appreciate the energy and purity of the electric motorcycles, it’s really not the same sensation for most riders. For much the same reason that the new electric Dodge Charger “muscle cars” have an artificial sound added to their engine, riders like to hear the roar as they twist the throttle. And similarly, they like to “turn the pages”.

ReasonsToRide.com (RtR) was established back in 2019 as a resource for riders looking to find riding events anywhere in the country. Since the very beginning, RtR has partnered with local riding organizations and their regional print mags in order to connect with riders and the events in their community. These online listings soon evolved to the point where riders could actually register for the rides or bike shows, and purchase concert or event tickets – through the same listings. For even the smallest local event organizers, this offered exciting new options and made things so much easier as the world moved more digital.

COVID and the ensuing dramatic increases in the cost of paper and transportation have forced even more publications to either close up or dramatically restrict the number of copies they print. They can simply no longer offer advertisers the reach that they once could – thus reach only a small number of riders. In many cases they are now only reaching 1/10 of the riders they were before – for even more money.

With RtR it’s now possible to reach thousands of riders for as little as $1. RtR offers a new, much more effective option for the riding community. Working with the same folks that have brought you the local motorcycle mags for years, we now offer a hard print version of our concept backed by the numbers and reach of our digital editions. Event organizers and advertisers can reach over 300,000 riders and enthusiasts each month, for less than they were paying to reach 10,000 previously. And riders can still “turn the pages”.

Members of our team created some of the the largest local biker mags in the country by serving the local riders and supporting the local events. We sponsored and subsidized the charity rides and non-profit organizations. As the world changed and went digital, our network expanded to include SEO (“Search Engine Optimization”) and web designers to offer even more options.

Nobody likes change, but growth and development offers new opportunities.

We are proud to produce new PRINT versions of RtR that bring together over 20 years of serving the riding community and cutting edge opportunities online in a concept that welcomes all riders.

Even with this evolution and all the new possibilities online, there is one thing that remains constant – that we can’t do any of this without your support. We remain dependent upon the support of the local riders and the businesses serving them in order to do what we do. So as we prepare for the upcoming riding season, we hope you keep us in mind.

We are Reasons To Ride – proudly serving the local riding community.

The RTR Crew

For more information on Reasons To Ride – or how you can join the network, email us at Info@ReasonsToRide.com

On the Cover:

Mike Morman, of Morman Kustoms of Portsmouth, OH, brought this beautiful custom Harley-Davidson Shovelhead to last year’s Wild Turkey Bike Show and took home the Best of Show Trophy. He then went on to win shows all across the country with her. Word is that he has another bike lined up for this year.

38th Annual Wild Turkey Festival, May 4-7th 2023 www.VCWTF.org

Join the Team

If you love to ride…

If you enjoy exploring back roads and discovering new stops…

If you enjoy being part of the show, not just on the sidelines…

If you enjoying sharing your adventures and undertaking new ones…

If you enjoy helping others on the road or in your community…..

If you feel a connection with other riders….

You sound a lot like us.

And you might consider becoming a part of our family…

This year we brought teams to Daytona, Sturgis, Sandusky, Geneva, and dozens of other events across the state and Midwest. We stood side stage at some of the biggest concerts and worked hand in hand to help pull off some of the biggest motorcycle events.

We are actively looking to add Road Reps, Promotional Staff, Contributors, Photographers, and Area Managers all across the midwest. Some positions are paid and some are volunteer, but most are a blend of both. You can make a lot of money, but it takes work, dedication, and a real passion for working with others within the riding community.

We have both paid commissioned positions, hourly paid positions, and volunteer positions. It all depends upon what you’re looking for.

We are a family of good folks from a variety of different backgrounds. We have different interests and skills – but we all enjoy being an active part of the riding community. RTR allows us to actively contribute to this community – helping it grow and sharing the stories we’re a part of.

The first step is to email some information about yourself. Next, we need to meet up and talk. Then let’s hit the road together!

For more information or to start the process, please email us at ReasonsToRide@gmail.com or stop on out to an event and introduce yourself. We look forward to talking.

Last Call for Ride Stops!

Ok, so that’s not exactly true. We accept Ride Stops all year, but there’s a lot more “Bang for the Buck!” when you kick things off with us as the season starts in May.

In May, Reasons To Ride will kick things off for the 2023 Ride n’ Win Riding Challenge! And this challenge isn’t a skills challenge – it’s a challenge to just get out and ride as much as possible. We encourage riders to explore new areas and check out new events. We challenge riders to join us at new rallies and rides all across the Midwest – and even at some of the biggest national events across the country. And along the way, we’re looking for new places to stop!

As with everything these days, the contest has evolved and taken on a new name and has likewise expanded. Our primary area of focus for our Midwest stops is across Michigan and Ohio. We have some stops in neighboring states, especially in terms of Events –but at least 80% of the stops and events are in Michigan or Ohio. Within these states, however, we run “border to border” with Ride Stops in the far Western Upper Peninsula and then running south all the ways to the Marietta, Ohio.

If you own a business, are hosting a ride or other motorcycle friendly event, or would like to recommend a place for riders to visit – shoot us an email for more information on how to become a ride stop.

Over 40,000 riders have participated in this program since launched – and we’ve awarded over 2,500 prizes!

For more information, email us at Info@ReasonsToRide.com

How To Enter Your Events Online

The cornerstone of everything we do is our motorcycle event listings. While we spend a lot of time on the pretty pictures and the articles, it’s really all the events that bring people to ReasonsToRide! When you boil it all down, motorcycles are a mode of transportation – and we are always looking for places to go… reasons to ride! Even when there’s a foot of snow outside and we can’t bring ourselves to ride the bikes – we still want to hang out with other riders.

And if you’re hosting an event – you want to get it listed here and connect with the more than 300,000 riders we reach every month!

It’s a pretty easy process, and gets even easier once you’ve gone through it. However, it may seem intimidating at first – so, we’ve decided to take it step by step here. All these steps may seem like a lot listed here, but it’s really just “clicking here, clicking there”…. And once you’ve done it, you’ll fly through it the next time!

• Get your information and materials together. This would be all of the details on your event, including where, what and when. If you have graphics, photos, or, most importantly a flyer – you’ll want to have those available on your computer to upload as well when asked.

• Go to ReasonsToRide.com or your state’s specific page, ie. ReasonsToRideOhio.com or ReasonsToRideMichigan.com for example. From this page you’ll want to select “Add Your Event”. It’s located several different places on the page, including at the very top right or in the center of the main page.

This will then take you to a page that includes various options for listing your event(s) online. These are primarily Basic Event Listings, Featured Event Listings, and Featured Event w/ Ride Registration. Each of these options is listed with what they include underneath and the costs associated with each.

If you’re with a CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION (501c3) or hosting a NONPROFIT EVENT, we have special discounted rates for Events. You can scroll down the page for these. These discounts are subject to approval.

Once you select which option you want to go with, you want to click “List Your Event Now”. This will take you to the form for your event.

If you have an account as an Event Organizer, you’ll want to sign in at the top of the page. If you haven’t done this already – you’ll have a chance to register as an Organizer later in the form.

• Now, just go through the form and enter the information for your event. A few notes – o Event Type – go with the primary classification. Most events will qualify for multiple, and you’ll have a chance to add more later. o Event Icon – this is your event flyer, if you have one. If you do not, you can upload a photo from past event or a logo for your organization here. o Event Banner – this is for the space at the top of your event listing. It’s a horizontal space, and you can use the “Event Header” image from your facebook event if you’d like. Or you can use a photo of the event from past years or a logo here as well, if you’d like. (This is reserved for Feature Events) o Event Description - Include the basic detail on your event here. Don’t repeat details such as date or times, that are listed elsewhere. However, you can include KSU and Bike in times, if you’d like. Basic Event Listings allow approx. 150 characters. Feature listings allow approx. 300 in the magazine listings and unlimited online. o Event Dates / Times – you must fill in all of these. Even if you don’t have an “end approximation. If it goes “all night” – or no end time in mind, just select 11:30PM. This will keep the event on the one day and not

Add Tickets / Rider Registration to your Event. This will allow online registration or ticket sales for your event. There is information on this and all it has to offer on the website. You can also email us for more information. It’s really a great system, and we often have sponsors that will cover this for Non-Profits – so it’s NO COST to the host organizations

Are you an Organizer? If you haven’t already done this – select “Sign Up Now” to get yourself registered. This will allow your events to be grouped

Once you’ve entered all of your event information, you can preview the event listing and select other options for it. Once you’ve reviewed what you’ve entered, completed you’ll be directed to PayPal to pay for your event listing. We use PayPal to provide safe and secure, third party CC

Your event is then reviewed and approved by the system, it will be shown on the ReasonsToRide.com websites and come up in searches. If you are in a region or state that has a partner publication, it may also be printed within the magazine – space allowing. These Print placements are done as space allows and are subject to secondary approval by the magazine editors. If you have a paid or feature placement, your event should appear in the magazine as long as it has been entered by the 15th of the month prior to it being held. If you have a paid / feature placement, you can confirm this by emailing Events@ReasonsToRide.com Please include which state you are

Again, it sounds complicated – but it’s really just a common sense process

Please note – that the earlier you get your listing up, the more people will see it! So as soon as you get your date set and details worked out – post it