2009 AMA Grand Tours with KOA Along the Way

The AMA Grand Tours Series with KOA Along the Way is growing this year, offering even more fun for riders all over the United States. With the backing of Kampgrounds of America and our other prize sponsors, five AMA chartered riding clubs will each present one uniquely themed Grand Tour in the Series. With their help and imagination, this is looking to be our most challenging Grand Tour season yet!

In each entry package, grand tourers will receive a year-long discount card for stays at KOA Kampgrounds across the United States and Canada, as well as other goodies provided by these AMA clubs. Each grand tour will have a different scoring system, but all riders who finish an AMA Grand Tour Series event will earn one entry in the series grand prize drawing to be held in December. Riders who complete at least four of the five Grand Tours will receive a Master Grand Tourer certificate from AMA Road Riding, and an extra entry into the grand prize drawing.

The five Grand Tours that will make up the 2009 AMA Grand Tours Series with KOA Along the Way are:

The Color the World with KOA Grand Tour presented by the Midnight Riders. If you like the thrill of the unknown, this tour should color you happy. Find at least 30 destinations with one of 10 colors in their names, such as White County, or Silver Creek, and take a picture of your bike there. You won’t know how many points you’ve earned until the end of the Grand Tour, when the Midnight Riders will draw cards to determine how many points will be assigned to each color. The rider with the most points wins a prize. You may want to hedge your bets, or concentrate only on one color. Visit www.midnight-riders-mc.com for details.

The Grand Tour of Ireland presented by the Irish Riders Motorcycle Club. May the road rise to meet you and may the wind always be at your back. You won’t need a shamrock as you take on this Grand Tour because the Irish Riders will provide all the direction you need to visit destinations harkening back to the ol’ Sod, earning points along the way. Find more information and sign up at www.irishridersmc.com.

The American Roadside Attractions Grand Tour presented by Road Winders Motorcycle Club. What could be more American than a 11 foot ball of twine, or an auto graveyard known as “Carhenge”? Do you want to find out? The Road Winders want to help you find as much real American roadside kitsch as possible. Make sure you have your camera ready and get on the road! Email hogman19053@yahoo.com for more details.

The Ride with the AMA Classic Grand Tour presented by the Dayton Motorcycle Club, celebrating the AMA’s 85th Anniversary. Do you know what the towns of Jamaica Plain, MA; Kalamazoo, MI; and Panama City, FL have in common? Well, for starters they’re all stops on this year's AMA National Grand Tour. They’re among the 400 cities and towns in the US that have the sequential letters A-M-A in their name. And that brings us to the idea behind this year's “Riding with the AMA” Grand Tour. Last run in 2003, this year’s Classic Grand Tour celebrates the AMA’s 85 years protecting and promoting the interests of motorcyclists. Why don’t you dust off the atlas, do some planning and come along? Find out how at www.daytonmc.com.

For the above four AMA Grand Tours, in addition to points for visiting destinations, riders will also earn bonus points for visiting KOA’s motorcycle-friendly camping resorts.

The USA Four Corners Grand Tour presented by the Southern California Motorcycle Association (SCMA). For serious riders only. The point of this extreme Grand Tour is to visit the four geographic corners of the USA. That’s it – four destinations. Oh, did we mention you have 21 days to do it? That’s the challenge of the USA Four Corners Grand Tour. Are you up for it? The four official checkpoints are: 1. San Ysidro, California; 2. Blaine, Washington; 3. Madawaska, Maine; 4. Key West, Florida. Complete rules and sign-up form are available at www.usa4corners.org.

Riders can sign up for this year’s AMA Grand Tours with the individual clubs or through the AMA Grand Tours with KOA Along the Way entry form (DOWNLOAD PDF LINK HERE). For more information about AMA Grand Tours with KOA Along the Way, contact Dave Hembroff at dhembroff@ama-cycle.org.