Neil Peart and Motorcycles

 

The above appears to be the earliest (public) photo of Neil Peart with a motorcycle.  It was taken following a production session for his instructional video "A Work In Progress" (source, Hudson Music).  The motorcycle in this picture is likely a 1994 R 1100 RS (stock picture from wikipeida shown below), given to him by his first wife, Jackie.

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Another early photo of NEP, at least him in his riding gear; same as the Hudson Music photo; below) comes to us from his interview with the BMW Motorcycle Owners News (BMW ON) in ~2005.  Though the black item in the bottom left of the picture looks like a tank bag, so, his R 1100 RS is likely just in front of him.  This interview can be found here (Motorcycling: The Perennial Gift An Interview With Neil Peart). 

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Another earlyish (?) photo (below) of NEP with a motorcycle is provided to us by a post on the Adventure Rider forum (www.advrider.com) soon after his passing.  Breaking: Neil Peart, Rush Drummer, Lyricist, Rider, and Writer Dead At 67 announced his passing to adventure motorcycle enthusiasts and covers a brief summary of NEP, his life and love of motorcycles.

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A couple interesting things in the above photo of NEP and his HIS VERY MUDDY R 1100 RS are that 1) it seems as though he replaced his previous red side cases, with black ones. But more importantly, 2) this maybe the EXACT MOMENT when NEP realized that he preferred ADVENTURE RIDING much more than Sport Touring!  The R 1100 RS is what is called a Sport Touring motorcycle (R 1100 RS link) and Sport Touring (Wikipedia link here) is NOT what he is really doing here (in all that mud!).

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After he had his R 1100 RS for a couple of years he made the move to a motorcycle that was more inline with his ADVENTOURS personality!  He speaks of purchasing his first BMW GS (an R 1100 GS, shown below) in ~1996 in the aforementioned BMW ON interview (linked above).  In his own words, the draw of the GS was  "...[We] had an interest in unpaved roads and roads that end....So, the spirit of the GS [seemed] totally in tone with the spirit of us as motorcyclists..."

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A stock photo of an R 1100 GS (wikipedia BWM R 1100 GS) is shown below.

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Following the change from a Sport Touring Motorcycle (the R 1100 RS) to the Dual-Sport (on road/off road) R 1100 GS, NEP (and his various riding partners) explored almost every nook and cranny of the backroads of Canada, US, South America and even parts of Europe on 2 wheels!  These travels are covered in a handful of his books and those who are familiar with his writings, know them well!

 

Road Show: Landscape with Drums (linked) covers his motorcycling adventures while riding from show to show on the band's "R30" tour.

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In a fun series of books (The Far and "Blank" collection, linked), NEP draws upon posts and pictures from his News, Weather and Sports blog to bring those "electronic" tails into "solid state," as hard copy!

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From the forward of Far and Away: Following in the tradition of Ghost Rider and Traveling Music, Rush drummer Neil Peart lets us ride with him along the backroads of North America, Europe, and South America, sharing his experiences in personal reflections and full-color photos. Spanning almost four years, these twenty-two stories are open letters that recount adventures both personal and universal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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From the forward: Far and Near brings together reflections from another three years of an artist’s life as he celebrates seasons, landscapes, and characters; travels roads and trails; receives honours; climbs mountains; composes and performs music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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NEP's last contribution to this series, and sadly, his last publication is Far and Wide.  In this book he chronicles his and the band's experiences and travels during their final tour, R40.

 

From the forward of Far and Wide:  35 concerts. 17,000 motorcycle miles. Three months. One lifetime...In May 2015,... Rush embarked on their 40th anniversary tour, R40.... for Neil Peart, each tour is more than just a string of concerts, it’s an opportunity to explore backroads near and far on his BMW motorcycle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And from his last News, Weather and Sports blog post (parts of which are included in Far and Wide, which is no longer listed at that website), we have what is likely the last public photo of NEP and his motorcycle (below).  This was taken near Crater Lake in ~2016.

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And the last picture posted in that now "absent" News, Weather and Sports blog installment (~May 2016) was the below.  Also taken by Crater Lake, UT it is a snapshot of the "ride" sans the "rider." It is not in the tradition of his other Ghost Rider pictures (taken from the back), but it is, none-the-less, a striking image.  

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As a sad juxtaposition to the above series of "fun" books, the first book NEP published on his travels via motorcycle was far from fun.  Ghost Rider: Travels On The Healing Road (linked) covers his personal rebuilding following the loss of his daughter and wife in the same year (1998).

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The motorcycle he used on that epic journey (his R 1100 GS, shown below) was put on display for a period of time (~2009) at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Columbus, Ohio.

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The journey that he embarked upon and completed, covered a physical and emotional distance that few would even consider traversing!  The term "inspirational" barely captures the essence of Ghost Rider! 

Without having experienced that great level of loss, there is truly no way one can measure that emotional distance (moving from such a dark place, to a place where new light and, new love, shines).  The below picture (from the back cover of Ghost Rider) does, however, give us a glimpse at that emotional distance, showing a tired and road-beaten NEP along that "Healing Road."

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And as much as that emotional distance cannot be quantified, the physical distance (in terms of miles and countries and territories and states) can be.  Over the course of ~14 months, NEP covered ~55,000 miles of road, had traveled as far north as the Artic Circle (in Alaska) and as far south as Belize (in South America), all the while nurturing what he called his "little baby soul."  And beyond being quantified (as above), the epic journey that NEP shared with us through Ghost Rider can also be mapped out, charted and explored, and that is EXACTLY what we at Sunlight and Chrome have done (are doing)!  Below is a routing of NEP's full Ghost Rider trip!  Starting from Chapter 1 in Quebec, to the end of Chapter 18 in California, and every place in-between! 

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If you found reading Ghost Rider to be inspirational, it is our hope that joining us on the Ghost Rider "Ride-along," as we explore NEP's trip through google "street-view" images as narrated by his own words, further inspires you to take on new challenges (perhaps riding a motorcycle?) and to explore the world around you!  One of Neil's best quotes (or rather questions to himself) is "What is the most excellent thing I can do today?"  If you can't get out on a ride, COME RIDE-ALONG WITH US!

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[Banner is linked]

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[Map is linked]

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