It's not as if you need a reason to ride your motorcycle.
You've got that super-nice Yamaha Raider parked out in the garage and you itch to ride it.
It's more a matter of where to go.
You've been on every road out of town, turned down every interesting looking county road, and ridden to all the local watering holes far too many times.
But it's not enough.
There has to be more.
Not a problem.
Help is as near as your home computer, or laptop, or smart phone.
You need to find a game of Tag-O-Rama.
So what the heck is Tag-O-Rama? I thought you'd never ask.
Tag-O-Rama, or TOR for short, is a game motorcyclists play.
Rules vary from game to game, all depending on what the players choose, but the gist remains the same.
Someone starts the game by riding to a spot where a building, rock, or other recognizable landmark sits, and shots a picture of his or her bike with the landmark.
The photo, along with a (preferably) cryptic clue, is then posted on an internet motorcycle forum and it is up to anyone who wants to play to identify the location and then try to get there, shoot a picture with their bike and the landmark, and get that new shot posted on the forum before someone else does.
Then it's up to them to go shoot another picture somewhere else and post that shot.
The game continues.
At its best, the game is educational.
If the site is historic for some reason the person posting the shot may present some of the history, either as part of the clue or just to share the knowledge.
It can also be pretty amazing to discover all these places in your own area that you never knew about.
Games can drag during the winter, like when it snows a foot and no one is going anywhere on their motorcycles, even the dual-sports like the Suzuki V-Strom 650 or the Kawasaki KLR650.
When the weather improves, though, watch out! You might see three new tags go up in a day.
It absolutely does get competitive.
Riders with smart phones have an advantage because they can shoot the picture and upload it to the forum immediately, while those who only have home computers must ride home first.
With amazing frequency, the tag will be taken by a rider who got there later but had a smart phone.
In the middle are those riders with laptops who don't necessarily need to ride home to upload the photo but must find a nearby wi-fi hot spot as quickly as possible.
Rules vary from game to game.
For some it's a simple matter of finding the location and getting a shot of your motorcycle in that spot.
In others you may have a token of some kind, some small object, that is hidden at the spot and the finder must not only post a picture of their bike in the spot but also one of the token.
They then carry the token to another site, upload their picture, and the game is on again.
Another limitation may be put on the type of spot that can be tagged.
If the group is primarily composed of riders with street bikes it may be forbidden to choose a spot that cannot be reached on pavement, or at least on very good gravel roads.
Others, riding dual-sports, may specifically prohibit anything on pavement.
One game in Colorado is restricted in the wintertime to the eastern plains, and can only go into the mountains in summer.
Nobody needs a reason to ride, but a game like Tag-O-Rama can open your eyes to all kinds of riding possibilities you may never have thought of.
To locate a game, check local motorcycle forums or look on the Adventure Riders website, where numerous games are going on all the time, and find one in your area.
Or, start your own.
It couldn't be easier.
And it's a heck of a lot of fun.
You've got that super-nice Yamaha Raider parked out in the garage and you itch to ride it.
It's more a matter of where to go.
You've been on every road out of town, turned down every interesting looking county road, and ridden to all the local watering holes far too many times.
But it's not enough.
There has to be more.
Not a problem.
Help is as near as your home computer, or laptop, or smart phone.
You need to find a game of Tag-O-Rama.
So what the heck is Tag-O-Rama? I thought you'd never ask.
Tag-O-Rama, or TOR for short, is a game motorcyclists play.
Rules vary from game to game, all depending on what the players choose, but the gist remains the same.
Someone starts the game by riding to a spot where a building, rock, or other recognizable landmark sits, and shots a picture of his or her bike with the landmark.
The photo, along with a (preferably) cryptic clue, is then posted on an internet motorcycle forum and it is up to anyone who wants to play to identify the location and then try to get there, shoot a picture with their bike and the landmark, and get that new shot posted on the forum before someone else does.
Then it's up to them to go shoot another picture somewhere else and post that shot.
The game continues.
At its best, the game is educational.
If the site is historic for some reason the person posting the shot may present some of the history, either as part of the clue or just to share the knowledge.
It can also be pretty amazing to discover all these places in your own area that you never knew about.
Games can drag during the winter, like when it snows a foot and no one is going anywhere on their motorcycles, even the dual-sports like the Suzuki V-Strom 650 or the Kawasaki KLR650.
When the weather improves, though, watch out! You might see three new tags go up in a day.
It absolutely does get competitive.
Riders with smart phones have an advantage because they can shoot the picture and upload it to the forum immediately, while those who only have home computers must ride home first.
With amazing frequency, the tag will be taken by a rider who got there later but had a smart phone.
In the middle are those riders with laptops who don't necessarily need to ride home to upload the photo but must find a nearby wi-fi hot spot as quickly as possible.
Rules vary from game to game.
For some it's a simple matter of finding the location and getting a shot of your motorcycle in that spot.
In others you may have a token of some kind, some small object, that is hidden at the spot and the finder must not only post a picture of their bike in the spot but also one of the token.
They then carry the token to another site, upload their picture, and the game is on again.
Another limitation may be put on the type of spot that can be tagged.
If the group is primarily composed of riders with street bikes it may be forbidden to choose a spot that cannot be reached on pavement, or at least on very good gravel roads.
Others, riding dual-sports, may specifically prohibit anything on pavement.
One game in Colorado is restricted in the wintertime to the eastern plains, and can only go into the mountains in summer.
Nobody needs a reason to ride, but a game like Tag-O-Rama can open your eyes to all kinds of riding possibilities you may never have thought of.
To locate a game, check local motorcycle forums or look on the Adventure Riders website, where numerous games are going on all the time, and find one in your area.
Or, start your own.
It couldn't be easier.
And it's a heck of a lot of fun.