JULY 2015 BMW OWNERS NEWSwww.bmwmoa.org

By Don Argento #195751Photos by Neil Peart and Holly Carlyle

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THERE AREN’T TOO MANY JOBS THAT allow you to ride a motorcycle for up to ten hours a day, almost every day, for six months every year. Most of us would jump all over a chance to do that. Add an itiner-ary that takes you all over the world, riding roads less traveled and washed-out trails – now you’re salivating like a Pavlov’s dog, aren’t you?

Since the Rush Vapor Trails tour in 2002, Michael Mosbach has been the riding part-ner, road manager, and security for the band’s drummer and lyricist, Neil Peart. Michael’s number one priority is to make sure Neil gets to every show on time, with-out incident, and in proper working order. Not an easy task, considering Neil’s insa-tiable appetite for exploring off-the-grid routes. But six tours later Michael still gets the call – and happily answers.

How They MetIn addition to his gig with Rush, Michael is a Private Investigator and security consul-tant. Long-time Rush photographer, the late Andrew McNaughtan (who sarcasti-cally bestowed Neil the nickname Bubba), introduced Neil to Michael in 1999 during Neil’s Ghost Rider trip. Neil was planning on moving to LA and needed someone to handle his privacy issues, what security professionals call a "reduction of vulnera-bility." Michael recalls, “We met and took care of his transition requirements. It turned out that we were into a lot of the same things and got along really well…we became friends.”

His First BMWMichael rode motorbikes when he was a kid, but didn’t own one until he was 32. He got a lot of advice to start small and work his way up. At first, he was considering a BMW 650 GS, but Neil told him to go big. “He said don’t get the one that serves your needs now, get the one that serves your future needs. You’ll be disappointed if you don’t.” Michael walked into BMW of Hol-lywood and applied Neil’s sage advice. He saw a matte finish, charcoal grey R 1150 GS and “fell in love. I left with it that day.”

His New GSMichael recently took delivery of a brand new 2015 gray and black R 1200 GS. It’s his 5th GS – he’s never owned any other bikes. “They are the most ergonomically designed

motorcycles available, perfect for a 6’2” guy to ride for 10 hours straight.” Everything is BMW OEM on his new GS, except for the Jesse Luggage Systems hard cases. “We had a bad experience with BMW’s luggage in 2004 and don’t trust them anymore.” The two were riding through Colorado Springs, when unbeknownst to Neil his right-side luggage case had fallen off. They went back to look for it, but it had vanished. Later that evening, Neil received a voice message on his cell phone from a gentleman who said he’d found it. Neil enthusiastically went to replay the message for Michael, but his fatigue got the best of his fingers and acci-dentally erased the message. Ugh! The case and the contents were considered casual-ties of the road. That is until recently, when a woman who was cleaning out her garage stumbled upon the missing bag and all its contents, still neatly packed. Like a time capsule, remnants of Neil’s life from ten years ago reappeared. The unusual turn of events is quite possibly the closest thing Neil would consider a miracle, “In this crazy mixed-up world, all I know is, it’s some kind of a story – with a bittersweet ending and renewed faith in humanity.”

Rushing ItMichael is the first to admit that he was not prepared for his first tour with Rush. “Bubba (Neil) had more than 200,000 miles on me. I was a novice, but he was a great mentor and never left me in the dust.” Michael quickly built his riding skills as they logged over 25,000 miles during the five-month Vapor Trails tour. “Like so many things in life, you can read it in a book, but until you put it into practice you really don’t learn it. There was a lot of trial by fire on that first tour. I went down a lot.” But despite an occasional fall, being away from his home, friends, and his typical daily routine, Michael never once thought of turning back or quitting.

With an estimated 150,000 miles touring with Neil, Michael says, “Riding a motor-cycle is completely second nature now.” But when the tour concludes they both look forward to some time off the bikes. Of course the process starts all over when it’s time to go back out on the road. “The first month of every tour is grueling. You burn and hurt. You’re waking up muscles you hardly ever use.”

Michael Mosbach with his 2015 BMW R 1200 GS.Photo by Holly Carlyle

Road HazardsWith so many miles on the road the odds are you’ll run into a hazard now and then. Riding cross-country from LA to Nash-ville, as the road warriors were passing through Oklahoma City they found them-selves in heavy, multi-lane traffic. Up ahead, and a lane over, “This big wheelbar-row comes flying off the back of an old truck loaded with junk and bounces right front us. It was a close call – another few feet and it would have hit Bubba. It reaf-firmed my aversion for riding the highways.”

In south Texas, a small deer ran right out in front of Neil and he cut it nearly in half, but the expert rider stayed up. Michael was behind him and watched the accident unfold. “I guess the weight ratio was in favor of the motorcycle. It was a two-lane road on a hidden switchback, so I knew it would be dangerous to leave the deer there. I had to do the humane thing and put it down, and drag it off the road.”

Left, Michael takes a dive. Below, Playing in the rain.Photos by Neil Peart

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The PhotographerMichael has snapped a lot of photographs on their journeys. Though he didn’t have any prior photography experience before getting called up to the big leagues. “My first tour, we didn’t take that many photos, and even the ones we did were on some dinky camera. Then on the Time Machine tour Bubba got into photo-documenting our travels.” They have hand signals for everything; turning, slowing down, speed-ing up, bathroom breaks, and of course photo ops. “He’ll point and I’ll run up ahead to where I think there’s a good back shot and then set up. I’ll have a high-speed shutter going as he passes. Then I’ll take my time getting the camera back in the case because I know he’s going to set up somewhere down road to take shots of me. So we kind of hopscotch our photo ops along the way depending on where we are and how much time we have.”

His GearWhen it comes to protective riding gear, Michael is set on BMW. “Even though BMW gear costs a bit more, it holds up. I’ve tried other brands, but was replacing pants every year; something would rip, or some-thing wouldn’t fit right. Now, I don’t mess around – I get the good stuff, BMW. I just scored a new Airflow suit, Globe cold weather gloves, and Gravel boots. I’m ready to roll.” And for keeping the contents of his skull safe, “I wear a full-face Schuberth helmet.”

Planning The RidesThe biggest misconception fans have is that Neil and Michael ride their bikes directly from one show to the next. Michael puts it this way, “We don’t ride based on distance; we ride based on time.” If Rush is playing a show in City A and the boys have a day off between the next show in City B, they’ll pick a road that they like and ride – it could be only 30 miles from City A, but the route is configured based on “the most optimal ride, not where the next show is.”

Neil will lay the maps out on the floor of the tour bus, take a highlighter and mark all the grey and green lines, steering clear of main roads, what he calls “Shunpiking.” Once the route is set, Michael takes the paper maps to his computer, which they call “Mother,” and programs the entire

route. He then loads their individual GS GPS units, aptly named “Doofus” and “Dingus,” by syncing them with Mother via USB. “We wake up in the morning, eat breakfast and take off on the bikes. Our entire day is mapped out.”

When they arrive at a show venue they tie down the bikes in an enclosed trailer that’s hitched to their tour bus. Typically, right after the show – while the crowd is still rabidly applauding the final encore – they’ll jump on the tour bus and Dave, their driver, will whisk them away into the night. They call it a “Runner.” The guys enjoy a celebratory snort of The Macallan and then it’s off to bed to catch some Zs. By

morning they’ll arrive at a predetermined “drop zone” for their next day’s ride.

Because Neil’s a rock star, another erro-neous belief is they stay in five-star hotels. They don’t. “We’ll find the closest Best Western or mom-and-pop motel. We just want a bed and a shower and hopefully the place is within walking distance of a restau-rant.” Though he loves the long rides, Michael confesses, “By the time I get there I feel like falling over.” These out-of-the-way, small town inns also provide them with the privacy and solitude they prefer.

The Road AheadAs Rush embarks on the R40 Tour this

spring, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers celebrate 40 years as a band. Behind the scenes, Michael is busy procuring the essentials for the long road ahead.

Maps? Check.Mother? Check.New Gear? Check.New GS? Check.

It’s a rough gig, but someone has to do it.

For more information on the author, Don Argento, visit donargento.com

Ontario à Deux.Photo by Neil Peart

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