Have you ever wondered what goes on during a live TV news shoot?
Last week, I rode the RT to the Yellow Ribbon shoot at the request of North County House of Motorcycle in Vista, CA to the Fox 5 San Diego station. I was able to shoot behind the scenes video, including snapshots before, during and after the shoot.

Please enjoy the video.



Remember - it’s the RT helping others.

Genuine Spyder riders ride year round.  Here are some holiday gift ideas that are sure to please any Spyder enthusiast at any point in time!

Can-Am Spyder Licensed Products
Have your homemade coffee to-go in the morning with a leakproof Stainless Steel Travel Mug that keeps liquids hot or cold for extended periods of time.

Jot down your appointments, sign that contract or keep track of your memorable Spyder rides with a Waterman* Hemisphere Rollerball Pen, complete with chrome trim. Listen to the sounds of the season by zipping up your trusty MP3 player in a cool Sound Bag that doubles as a speaker while keeping your favorite playlists safe from water and dirt.  Deck out your Spyder with a stainless steel customizable license plate and holder.  Our new Hitch Plug will give your truck or SUV a custom finish look, while keeping dirt, snow and other debris away from the receiver.

Can-Am Spyder Sportswear
Thanks to an expanding collection of Can-Am Spyder Sportswear, you can now wear your true colors on your sleeve year round. Choose from a range of official Can-Am Spyder logoed men’s and ladies’ tops, sweaters, tees, polos and caps perfect for lounging at home or getting together or joining friends for a ride through the hills.

Whether you are holiday shopping for yourself or others, these items are sure to bring out the Can-Am Spyder culture in us all!

Take two for the Can-Am Spyder RT5 Highlight Video! After a great reception to the first RT highlight video, we thought you’d enjoy more footage from the RT5 Ambassadors and Spyder enthusiasts! The Ambassadors have been travelling throughout North America for the past three months, introducing Spyder owners and fans to the new Spyder touring model. Check out their impressions and critiques of BRP's new roadster! Subscribe to the YouTube channel through this link  and view the highlight video and all other videos from the Spyder RT Ambassadors!

 

On Thursday I needed to get a guardian bell for a friend that I promised to get one for. The only place outside of a MC rally that I know I could get one today was at my local Harley dealer –  El Cajon Harley so I hopped on the RT and headed over.

I am still friends with a lot of the workers and the general manager so I parked the RT at the front door at curb line. While I am inside the General Manager saw me and came over to tell me that he was talking to a customer about me and my Spyder RS. He tells me that he had just seen an ad on the back of a motorcycle magazine about the RT. Well I said I know all about the RT would you like to sit on one. He was just blown away with the RT. 

I get my bell and head home to get ready for a lunch meeting with Dennis at Downtown Disney on Friday. I headed out to meet up with Dennis and his friends and to show them the RT; after all he already ordered a blue RT and trailer. We had lunch at the Rain Forest Café where the décor was all rain forest and animals.
 
Lunch was great and the company was good. Dennis showed me around the area and then I headed home to get ready for the Spyder Thunder ride that is sponsored by Malcolm Smith Motorsports, a dealership in Riverside, CA.

Sunday’s ride started out just like any other ride until we changed ride leaders. The new leader was on two wheels and I didn’t think very much about until he left everyone about 2 miles behind him with the exception of a couple West Coast Spyder riders and myself. We tried to stay 45 seconds to a minute behind him with me trying to keep the rear pack in sight and still see the lead. It turned out to be a “Hound and Hare” ride, where the lead rider takes off and the rest try to stay close or catch him if you can but that’s not likely. That day, I logged about 365 miles including back and forth from my house to the start line in Riverside.

After the ride, we had lunch at the Big Bear Mountain Airport Bar and Grill and then headed to desert at an apple orchard where the group got mobbed by the visitors that were getting fresh apple cider and fresh picked apples.


 

The next big ride will be the West Coast Spyder “Where Am I Now” ride at the end of Nov.
You can catch more RT adventures on westcoastspyder.com
Remember– it’s about the ryde - not your destination

The RT appeared on Fox 5 San Diego during a Veteran’s Day segment on September 10, 2009. North County House of Motorcycles, an authorized Can-Am Spyder dealer located in Vista, CA, supports Yellow Ribbon America, an organization that gives direct help and support to our Nation’s Military and their Families in their Local Communities.

Check out the segment here.

The Spyder Team recently caught up with Lamont Bryden of Spyderlovers.com to get some more details about some of his recent rides. We got the details of his ride to Mt. Mitchell in Burnsville, NC. For more stories from SpyderLovers, become a member on their Web site, www.SpyderLovers.com.

The weather has been great around east Tennessee and I got a call on Thursday from SpyderLover mike3069 and he wanted to know what I was doing this weekend. He looked at the weather and figured he should take advantage of what's left of the good riding around here.

On Friday night he gave me a call letting me know that he was staying in Boone,NC and wanted to see if I would head over to Maggie Valley and go to Wheels Through Time. Sounded like a plan to me.

About an hour later I got a call from my friend Roger and he wanted to know if I wanted to take a ride to Mt. Mitchell. I had never been there and it sounded like a great ride, I guess it's the tallest peak east of the Mississippi and it was less than a 100 miles from my place. Mike was about the same distance as we were from there so I called Mike back with a change of plans. Mike was cool with that so we planned on meeting at the top of the mountain around 11 am.

Roger rides a Harley and his wife's Spyder from time to time. This time his wife, SpyderLovers member redspyderlady, rode with us and Roger was on the Harley. I met them at their place off of the Asheville hwy around 9 am and we stopped at a gas station to pick up another SpyderLover "Bill."

We headed down the 70 to the 208 and that's where we took some awesome back roads. These roads had everything that Deals Gap has without all the traffic. I don't know how many times I've passed right by this road and had no idea how great it was. It's only about 30 miles from my house.

Felicia led the ride and I got to say she did a great job. These roads were a workout and she handled it like a pro. I was behind her a Roger behind me with Bill bringing up the rear on his silver Spyder. He's new to the Spyder and this was not a good road for a new guy so we waited on him at each turn.

We stopped for fuel before heading up the mountain. Three Spyders and a Harley.

We got to the top of the mountain and Mike was just heading down as he thought we got lost or something. He got there about 30 min before us.

The view from the parking lot was great but you had to hike to the top to really see everything.

Here's a pic of Mike in the parking lot.

What a view.

I didn't realize how out of shape I was till we headed to the top of the peak. Bill is 73 (I think) and he motored right by me and Mike is missing a leg and he made it to the top with no problem. I guess it's time to hit the treadmill again.

These pictures really don't do it justice. The view from up top was like nothing I've ever seen before. The mountains seemed to go on forever and it was a beautiful clear day so we hit it just right.

Wow!

That's Bill taking a picture of Felicia and Roger. 

If you look down in the parking lot you can see my Spyder.

From there we headed back on the Blue Ridge Parkway toward Burnsville for some lunch. After lunch we hit some more roads I have never been on before and they were just as good as the roads going out.

We parted ways on the 208 and I took Mike into Greeneville so he could get a motel for the night. It was a little over 220 miles of some of the best riding I've had since I moved here seven years ago. The funny thing about it is I never knew any of the folks I rode with before the Spyder and SpyderLovers.com. It was like riding with old friends even though we haven't known each other that long. What a great day and great fellowship, just what the doctor ordered.

Greetings Spyder Enthusiasts!

I hope you’ve been enjoying my updates as much as I’ve been enjoying touring with the Can-Am Spyder RT. Ever since I saw photos and got a chance test ride, I knew this vehicle was going to be a hit. But each and every day I ride more, I fall deeper in love with it and I’m confident in standing by my prediction: Within five years, the RT is going to represent the fastest growing new major segment within motorcycling.

I have over 40 years in the motorcycle industry and in my lifetime, I have only seen two or three really groundbreaking vehicles that have come around – vehicles that have defined an entirely new niche within motorcycling and I believe the Spyder RT is one of them!

Below is a link to a recent Spyder RT webcast I did for BRP and their dealers. It runs a bit long -- over 13 minutes of me talking -- so, you've been warned. There are, however, some pretty good shots of the roadster being ridden on the streets around my house, more information on the unit and a terrific view of my driveway!

If it looks like I'm sweating, it's not from the pressure -- though it was late October, at my home here on the edge of the Mojave Desert, it was 93 degrees that day.






Ryde Safe!

Fred

Congratulations to all you Spyder Ryders who have hit the 25,000 mile/KM mark and beyond! Three owners have sent in their photos and mileage numbers for the month of October and have achieved their 25,000 Mile Pins — who will be next to join this group?

Check out these dedicated Ryders and their Spyders below! Keep on Ryding!

Donald Corey



Nichele Weatherford



Robert Anderson

 

Congratulations to all Spyder Ryders who have hit the 5,000 mile/KM mark and beyond! Eleven owners have sent in their photos and mileage numbers for the month of October — who will be next to join this group?

Check out these dedicated Ryders and their Spyders below - Keep on Ryding!

Brian Ashby


Brian Reuss


Carole Ballman


Glenn Yerkes


Gary Hilgendorf


John Vickers


Logan Watson


Michael Bell


Michael Weiblen


Roger L. Trickett


Virginia Baker


Arnie T9


Gary Clark


Guylain Marquis


Serge Lefort


Yvon Simard

 

On the morning of October 24 I left the house at 5 a.m. to start a San Luis Obispo ride, the first overnight ride for the West Coast Spyder Ryding Group. My first stop was 40 minutes to North County House of Motorcycle to meet with Spyder owner, Art and his wife to be, and to top off the gas tank for the two hour ride up Interstate 5. We would officially start the ride at Jet World in Castaic and meet up with the rest of the riders.

We left Jet World at around 10:15 a.m. and proceeded up Interstate 5 and then west on a two lane road that took us to New Cuyama. This turned out to be a very good road with all types of riding, for the group it was great.



When we reached New Cuyama we stopped to pick up another rider named Diggitt and had lunch at the only place to eat within 50 miles called the “Burger Barn.” The cook was outside on a huge BBQ pit cooking away and the meat smelled great. I was getting ready to order some nice diet food when TJ announced that he would pay for the lunch of anyone that could finish the “Big Buddha Burger.” Now I like a challenge and a free meal so I ordered one. Tony and I counted the patties and there were 6 burgers! Tony also ordered one and the eat fest was on. We both finished the Buddha and then split the left over fries from someone and washed it all down with a couple of cokes. TJ paid up and gave me cash for my free meal that I paid for before eating.

From there we traveled west on highway 166 where we arrived at the town of Santa Maria. From this point Kathy was the only one that had the motel in her GPS so she took the lead and only made one bad turn in the wrong direction. She just couldn’t take directions from that woman in the GPS – who was right all along!

We arrived at the motel and everyone got settled in and we were off to downtown San Luis Obispo where there isn’t free parking until after 6 p.m. We finally found a public parking lot with enough spots for the 8 Spyders and 10 riders that made the trip. I returned the bet money and told Tony that I would take credit for future help.

We finally located a bar and grill called “Mothers” and went inside to eat again. It had only been a few since the Big Buddha Burger and here we were eating again. We spent about three hours there before I headed out for ice cream just down the street. We decided to head back to the motel and I held an open room until about 11 p.m. and then shut it down because we planned to leave at 6 a.m. the next morning for breakfast in Morro Bay.

By now you must think that all we did was ride and eat – and you’re right we did!
We were up bright and early Sunday morning. I could not resist showing off the RT’s heated hand grips that were on the highest level. There was some jealously but it was short lived. Off we went in the darkness of the morning where we arrived at the rock in Morro Bay and TJ found a place called “Frankie and Lola’s Front Street Café.” I thought that this little hole in the wall would have only expensive food (see the video) but to my surprise this was a fine gourmet eatery. The food was awesome and we highly recommend this place to anyone in the Morro Bay area.

As the sunrise continued we could see that it was going to be a beautiful day. We headed out to the rock for about one hour and then headed north to Hearst Castle and only went through the information center.

We decided to head south and stop at a gas station just short of the Madonna Inn. We had a couple of minor repairs that needed to be done so I tried out the passenger seat and almost fell asleep except it was too hot for that. Off to the Madonna Inn for lunch which turned out to be sundae’s, banana splits etc. Yes we were eating again!

We rode south on the 101 freeway and we split into two groups as half of the group was headed inland the other half continued south. It was the end of a memorable weekend. I think we are all looking forward to the next trip.

I traveled 847 miles that weekend. I am closing in on 11,000 miles and loving every minute of it with the West Coast Spyder Group.

You can catch more RT adventures on westcoastspyder.com

Remember– it’s about the ryde - not your destination