Battlefield Biker is situated at the intersection of Motorcycle Touring and Military History and their relationships to Current Events.

Some features of the site include;

• Battlefield Biker TV Pilot.
• Battlefield Biker Tours (NEW for 2010 tour season!!)
• Descriptions of rides.
• A blog which discusses various topics about the site, current events and the business associated with it.
• A reading room where you can find the books and movies associated with Military History and Motorcycle Touring.
• A store where you can buy Battlefiled Biker gear. This includes the NEW Battlefield Biker Ride Guides.
• A maps and navigation page for finding the information you need to ride around battlefields confidently.

Come on in and take a look around. If you like what you see, please tell others who might enjoy Battlefield Biker.

Battlefield Biker TV
Below is an 8 minute pilot that we are using to pitch an 8 episode TV series.

I am a fortysomething guy who loves military history and riding motorcycles. Its that simple. I combine the two loves into this site to help provide information and inspiration to others who may share my tastes.

I was originally inspired by a motorcycle trip to the D-Day beaches a few years ago. Like so many others, I was awestruck by the solemnity of the sites, but I also realised that riding my motorcycle gave me some unique advantages to understanding the sites. Experiences like exposure to the elements, having to pay attention to road and path conditions, map reading whilst on the move and walking around with a lot of protective kit on vaguely simulates some of the challenges faced by the historic players. Not to mention the more mundane advantages of easy parking and avoiding long traffic tailbacks around popular sites.

I am a veteran of the Persian Gulf War (December 1990- April 1991) and the Cold War (June 1988 - October 1990). I served for seven years in total and I am the son of a veteran of both world War II and Viet Nam. Although I claim little special insight into the historic combat I write about on this site, I do feel I have a special connection to my brothers in arms, regardless of nationality. Whether 1644 or 2007, warriors have always been willing to put their beliefs to the ultimate test. That's why I ride to remember.

I hope you enjoy the site and, more importantly, I hope you are inspired to use some of the information found here to do your own rides.

Ride To Remember

Battlefield Biker

Because I spend so much time in relatively rural roads and tracks whilst riding around historical battlefields, this post from Ride it Like you Stole It hit home. (pardon the pun)

On 29 December 1890, a group of Sioux, led by Bigfoot, arrived at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation after hearing of Sitting Bull's death on 15 December. The resurgance of Indian spirituality in the form of the "Ghost Dance" was worrying the U.S. government agents in the area who feared violence. The attempt to disarm the Sioux descended into chaos that left nearly 200 Sioux, including many women and children, and 25 Cavalrymen dead. One can find many interpretations of the battle of Wounded Knee...many not calling it a battle, but a massacre. Wounded Knee marked the end of the Indian Wars of west, in much the same way as it started... duplicitousness, misunderstanding, confusion, chaos and death to many innocents and warriors on both sides.
Read a few different versions and decide for yourself;
"Massacre At Wounded Knee, 1890," EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (1998).
Wikipedia
Bowling Green State University
Public Broadcasting Service

Books from Amazon.com

Motorcycle Ride

Try South Dakota State Route 44 southeast out of Rapid city to Scenic. From Scenic, go south along bombing Range Road, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 27, Indian Service Road (ISR) 27, ISR-33 and finally Big Foot Trail to Wounded Knee. See map, here.

Maps

By 1862, the Union army had pentrated deep into the south in Tennessee. The Rebel army seemed incapable of stopping the southern push with force, so they decided to try to disrupt the Union's supply lines from Kentucky, namely the L&N railroad. The Confederates sent native Kentuckian General John Hunt Morgan.
Morgan launched a raid over the Christmas holidays and evaded capture and destruction from determined Union forces to destroy a critical bridge of the L&N.

Books from Amazon.com

Motorcycle Ride

Try US 31E from Glasgow to Bardstown to follow some of the route Morgan took. Also Check out Lincoln's boyhood home and birthplace near Hodgenville.

Maps

On 22 December 1944, the German Army was near their zenith in the Battle of the Bulge and had surrounded the town of Bastogne, a key road hub of the area. The USA 101st Airborne had control of the town, but had no support. The German Army sent 2 officers and 2 NCOs to deliver the ulimatum to surrender, but were met with the reply of 101st acting commander General Anthony McAuliffe of "NUTS!" A source of great pride in the 101st forever more, McAuliffe's response has gone down in history as possibly the 2nd best defiance of a surrender request. Molon Labe being the undisputed best.

Books from Amazon.com

Motorcycle Ride

Try the N84 southeast out of Bastogne to the Luxembourg border where the road continues as the N15 to Ettelbrook.

Maps

General Patton died this day in 1945* after an automobile accident on December 9th 1945. He was buried amongst the dead of the Battle of the Bulge on Christmas Eve 1945.

Books from Amazon.com

Motorcycle Ride

Check out this ride in Luxembourg, then head down to the US military cemetary in Luxembourg.

Maps

*"Old Blood and Guts" dies, http://www.history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6650 (last visited Dec 21, 2006).

On 20 December 1860, South Carolina seceded from the USA and set in motion the events that would tear the USA apart for 5 years.

Books from Amazon.com

Motorcycle Ride

To get a feel for South Carolina, try the Savannah River Scenic Byway and follow along the S.C. and Georgia border.

Maps

On 20 December 1914 the French launched The First Battle of Champagne in an attempt to take the offensive to the Germans. Joffre, the French Commander-in-Chief wanted to pound the Germans in the Sayon salient near Reims and Verdun. As with virtually all battles of WWI, it ended in stalemate with thousands lost to the cause.

Books from Amazon.co.uk

Motorcycle Ride

Try the N135 and the N35 from Gondrecourt-le-Chateau to Erize-la-Brulee passing through Bar-le-Duc. Part of this ride is on the La Voie Sacree.

Maps

Check out the podcasts over at The Harley Dude and Beemerman Roadshow.

Check out the lady who has configured a Ural sidecar rig for her wheelchair. Very cool.

Having lived and worked in the United Kingdom for the last 12 years, I've had a good chance to see a lot of the countryside of the UK. However, my recent rides around the English Civil War battlefields have given me a new perspective on the countryside and how much of it remains. There is still a good amount and it is beautiful.....and much against my gut, civil planning has made this the case.
I am torn over the level of civil planning required to build in the UK. The liberal in me says, if you own the land, you should be able to do what you want to with it. However, the pragmatist in me knows that the countryside would be quuickly overrun by the hordes building houses all over the place. Whilst it is understandable and even agreeable for this to be the case in place like the US, it is open to much more debate in a place the size of Oregon and a population of 60 million. Back on the other hand, why should urban dwellers be subjected to high housing prices and cramped, mid-20th century standards of living just because someone wants to see a 400 year old hedge retained instead of a string of houses. I think, in the balance, I still come down on the side of much less restrictive planning, but not as wholly as I might have at one time.

Our favourite movies about military history and motorcycle touring.

This is the page with the links to all of the books that the Battlefield Biker has used (is using) as references for much of the narrative and information for rides around the historic battlefields.

• English Civil War 1642-1648
• Seven Years War (inc. French and Indian War)
• American Revolutionary War 1775-1781
• Napoleonic Wars
• British-USA War of 1812
• Seminole Indian Wars
• USA-CSA Civil War
• USA Indian Wars of the West
• World War I
• World War II






Technorati Tags: battles books history links military motorcycle touring none wars

This is the page with the links to all of the rides that the Battlefield Biker has done and created (is creating) Ride Guides for. You can search by War, era, country and region.

• English Civil War 1642-1648
• Seven Years War (inc. French and Indian War)
• American Revolutionary War 1775-1781
• Napoleonic Wars
• British-USA War of 1812
• Seminole Indian Wars
• USA-CSA Civil War
• USA Indian Wars of the West
• World War I
• World War II
• Battles from Various Wars