Click a cover, buy a book. Or several.
It's not getting any easier to make a living as a motorcycle journalist. Some of my peers have sold out and are now in the 'branded content' business. I'll be honest with you: I probably couldn't make a business of that kind of writing even if I wanted to, because I've been too outspoken for too long and by now I've alienated almost every OEM! Other writers have set up digital 'tip jars' on their web sites. I say, Patreon, schmatreon! If you want to reward me for writing, you deserve to get something for your money. Buy a book for your moto-shelf, or as a gift for your favorite biker who reads. Not sure if your friend reads? Well, does he poop? If so, he'll definitely love one of my Bathroom Books of Motorcycle Trivia.
Here's what Amazon customers have to say about my books...
On Motorcycles (16 reviews averaging 4.8/5 stars)
'Whyaduc' wrote, "Unfortunately, we are not blessed with an abundance of accomplished moto-journalists. Mark has a talent for telling a good story plus he has access to people and places that gives him a lot of information that the average motorcyclist does not have. Mark is an excellent writer with a passion for motorcycles. I hope that he keeps writing for a very long time. I loved this book!"
"20 years of motorcycle journalism, minus the crap." This heavyweight softcover includes all my favorite columns and feature stories from a career at Motorcyclist, Bike, Classic Bike, Road Racer X, and other great publications. Includes classics like Searching for Spadino and Bastille Day Blues (aka The Naked Frenchman). Click the cover image to go straight to the Amazon page for this book. Need instant gratification? Click here to download it to your Kindle immediately for just $9.99. .
Riding Man (58 reviews averaging 4.7/5 stars)
'GeoUser' wrote, "A deep and wonderful read about the paradox between the high and almost holy achievement of competing at the Isle of Man, and the obvious dark side of instant serious injury or worse if you're not skillful enough, don't have an excellent memory, or the stars just didn't align for you. Anyone you loves motorcycles and the freedom they bring, and recognizes that exhilarating paradox even in ordinary riding, will love this book. For me it was cover-to-cover almost in one sitting."
Riding Man, my memoir of riding in the Isle of Man TT, is currently in development as a feature film at Escape Artists. Click the cover image to go straight to Amazon and buy this quality softcover book. Or, click here to read it today on Kindle for just $9.99. Thanks!
Bathroom Book of Motorcycle Trivia (87 reviews averaging 4.3/5 stars)
'Rachel P' wrote: "Bought this as a gift for my bf and he loves it. He’s a Honda man so I’m hoping it has enough Honda info. He keeps it in the bathroom and seems to enjoy it."
Are you tired of those dog-eared old copies of Motorcyclist and Cycle World that have been sitting on your toilet tank, and that you’ve been flipping through once a day since 2004? Well, buy a copy of the Bathroom Book of Motorcycle Trivia, you’ll have 365 new entries to peruse. I wrote the cult classic Riding Man, and my feature stories include some of the most thoughtful, inspiring, and moving stories ever published about motorcycles. This book doesn't contain any that stuff, but somehow, it's my best-seller by far! Click the cover to go straight to Amazon and buy it. Or, download it to your Kindle and have it in time for your next poop, for just $5.99. Thanks!
My first Bathroom Book of Motorcycle Trivia became an Amazon best-seller. Well, we all know that when it comes to reading on the john, Number Two is even more satisfying than Number One. This is the perfect Christmas, Birthday, or Father's Day gift for any biker. Click the cover image to go straight to Amazon. Thanks!
Hi. I'm Mark Gardiner.
I've been riding motorcycles since the late '60s, and writing about them for the last 25 years or so.
For much of that time, I led a sort of dual existence; I had a great job in the advertising industry on weekdays, and raced motorcycles on weekends. But in 2001, I quit my last ad gig, sold everything I owned, and moved to the Isle of Man. My goal was to train and qualify for the Isle of Man TT. I achieved that goal in 2002, and wrote about it in a memoir, Riding Man, which is currently in development as a feature film.
Stylin’ in the Times
I wrote about Portland’s terrific Langlitz Leathers shop for the New York Times’ Style section.
I returned to North America in 2004. Since then I've written feature stories for Motorcyclist, Cycle World, Road Racer X, and Roadracing World in the U.S., Bike, and Classic Bike in the UK, and many others from Australia to Norway. I wrote 100 'Transatlantic Notes' columns in Classic Bike, and published hundreds of columns online as 'Backmarker' – first on RoadRacerX.com, then MotorcycleUSA.com. Nowadays, my work is most often seen on Common Tread, thanks to the folks at Revzilla, who still believe there's a place for in-depth stories and occasionally iconoclastic opinions.
I also provide content, PR, and strategic communications advice in the C-ITS space, in particular as that technology applies to Powered Two-Wheelers. If you're an automaker, motorcycle manufacturer, or supplier that needs to communicate with motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users, click the Venn diagram to learn more.
In 2017, I began an in-depth series of articles on the way autonomous vehicles will interact with motorcyclists. Over the course of that reporting, I realized that auto manufacturers, motorcycle manufacturers, and supplier tiers in the C-ITS space have, so far, done a poor job of communicating with motorcyclists about impending changes that will affect us all. Since I have knowledge and access in the motorcycle industry and decades of high-level corporate communications experience, I'm uniquely positioned to help automakers and suppliers communicate with the motorcycle industry, as well as to help companies of all kinds communicate with riders. I created a separate business, HAVstory, to do that work.
I'm the author of a screenplay, 'The Trophy', based on the escape of the British Army motorcycle racing team from the Nazis at the start of WWII; and six books about motorcycles and motorcycle racing (four of which are still in print.) I was the subject of an acclaimed documentary film, 'One Man's Island'. And, I've written two books that aren't about motorcycling; 'Build a Brand Like Trader Joe's' is a business book about marketing, and 'Year of the Raven' is about fly fishing. Last but not least, I wrote the hit play 'Jesus on Toast'.
I'm a Canadian. I currently live in Kansas City, MO. I ride a first-gen Ducati Multistrada, and a very battered, single-speed SR road bicycle.
Click this photo to read this story in the Times.
A new era dawns for harley-davidson
Harley-Davidson’s 2021 Pan America represents a surprising turn onto a road less taken for the legacy manufacturer.
Few experts expected that H-D’s first ADV bike would rival high-tech marvels like the BMW R 1250 GS or Ducati Multistrada, but it is. It’s as if the Buffalo Bills decided, “We’ll play that European ‘football’ too,” joined the Premier League and were immediately competitive with Manchester.
Click on this photo to read the complete story in the New York Times.
What’s new at Langlitz leathers? Nothing
My profile of Portland’s iconic Langlitz Leathers shop.
If you’ve never been to Langlitz, you owe it to yourself to drop in then next time you’re in Portland. Just don’t blame me if you drop a couple of grand on a custom jacket!
Click here to be immediately teleported to Goshen, Indiana. OK, click here to read this story in the Times.
Motorcycles With One Foot in the Future and One in the Past
The Halcyons from Janus Motorcycles, assembled in an old dry cleaner’s shop in Goshen, Ind., look like machines built back in the town’s heyday.
The hook for this cool story is that many of the components are manufactured by Amish fundamentalists, whose religion prohibits them from even riding motorcycles.
Click on Pierlucio Tinazzi’s photo to read my reappraisal of his actions, in the New York Times.
Click on Katy Perry to read my story about her song, ‘Harleys in Hawaii’, in the New York Times
A Deadly Blaze in the Alps Made a Biker a Hero and Tunnels Safer for All
Twenty years after the Mont Blanc Tunnel Fire, I revisited my most famous story, ‘Searching for Spadino’ and spoke to civil engineers around the world. The result was my first ‘editor’s choice’ story for the Times.
That additional research also forced me to dramatically correct the journalistic record. I wrote a second story about Spadino that became Columbia Journalism Review’s most popular feature of 2019. To read the CJR story, click here.
Katy Perry dropped a seven-figure gift in Harley-davidson’s lap
Christmas came to Milwaukee a few months early when Katy Perry decided to write a song called ‘Harleys in Hawaii’.
But just how much was that song, and her social media promotion, worth to Harley-Davidson? I interviewed several experts in the field of ‘influencer marketing’ and got answers from ‘a lot’ to ‘a helluva lot’. (Not in those exact words.)
Looking for an older post?
From 2011 until 2018, I put up hundreds of posts on motorcycle topics, which are still available here.