The AMA Grand Tour Motorcycle Scavenger Hunt

Develop Better Riding Skills With the Annual Thematic Treasure Hunt

Nov 11, 2009

The American Motorcyclist Association's Grand Tour series can help with trip planning and riding skills. The AMA announces several motorcycle scavenger hunts each spring.

The American Motorcycle Association Grand Tour is an annual series of motorcycle treasure hunts. Each scavenger hunt has a different theme, and comes with a scoring system and set of rules determined by the sponsoring club.

Previous themes have included locations with certain colors in their name; historical markers, with the requirement that at least one be out of state; and locations that include the name of a now-defunct motorcycle manufacturer. The mix is different every year.

How the AMA Grand Tour Motorcycle Scavenger Hunt Works

A typical AMA Grand Tour begins in March and runs through October – an extended riding season. There is usually a choice of 4-5 different games. Treasure hunt participants do not need to be a member of the sponsoring club or even the AMA.

Usually, the participant pays the organizing club a fee in the region of $25-$50. He signs a waiver of liability and receives an identifying item like a placard or bandanna. This identifier, and the motorcycle or motorcylist, must then make it into a photograph at the specified type of location. At times this can be challenging, requiring creative parking and speedy execution.

An ambitious rider may take multiple challenges. The scavenger hunts are set up so that everyone can finish and therefore "win" a patch, certificate or other prize.

Taking an AMA Grand Tour can Enhance the Riding Experience

Aside from the obvious reason to take part in a motorcycle treasure hunt – they are fun – AMA Grand Tours help develop several motorcycling skills. If the sponsoring club publishes its scoring system, there will be a strategic element to the treasure hunt. Navigation, planning and endurance skills are play a part, too.

First, the rider must identify qualifying sites in her region. Then she will plot a route between them. And finally, she must actually navigate to each location. Once there, she must figure out how to get the place name and her motorcycle in the same image. One 2009 winner solved this problem by photographing the reflection of his bike in a post office window.

Treasure Hunts like the AMA Grand Tour Give Motorcyclists Ideas for Rides

Motorcycle treasure hunts can help the rider develop confidence. A new rider may have difficulty figuring out where to go beyond his immediate region; enlisting a friend into the game and going together helps him take the next step into longer rides. Scavenger hunt quests might take the participant on his first motorcycle camping trip, for example, or he might take his first multiple-day adventure.

Taking a motorcycle challenge like the AMA Grand Tour adds a different dimension to riding. Such thematic tours provide numerous opportunities and excuses to go for a ride. The communities, virtual or real-life, that build up around scavenger hunts offer support and encouragement. The AMA Grand Tour is an annual event that is awaited with anticipation every year.

The copyright of the article The AMA Grand Tour Motorcycle Scavenger Hunt in Touring Motorcycles is owned by Linda Gentile. Permission to republish The AMA Grand Tour Motorcycle Scavenger Hunt in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.