Reviews

This "John Ciribassi Special" was a hit out of the ballpark. Good food and lodging options, phenomenal countryside (there's nothing else like northcentral PA in October), and great routing through interesting and varying terrain. John and "Tail Gunner Jim" led a memory-packed jaunt with yet another great group of riders.
Incidentally, I loved this ride format. So nice having a steady "landing spot" after each day's riding.
Sign me up for next year's ride, John!

You are on the list Diane!!

The tour was fantastic, well thought out routes. Great scenery and lunch stops at local restaurants. John and Jim accomodated all riders of different skill levels so everyone could enjoy their trip. Great team evironment and the camaraderie was second only to the fantastic riding.

Thanks Mark. Loved having a fellow Midwesterner on the trip along with Cris. You both were great riders and even better with comic relief. Just wish we got a shot of the "Michelin Man". 🙂

I learned so much as a rider and absolutely feel far more confident offroad under John's instruction. Learned some previous ideas and faux pas about offroad ridding were completely wrong and was able to immediately put my new skills to the test. I would recommend this trip to anyone who wants to become more skilled offroad and to see the beautiful NE.

Thanks Tom. My goals for doing tours include having a rider become better skilled off road, enjoy the ride and want to continue adventure riding. Looks like all three boxes were checked with you. Very satisfying for me. Of course, most of your success was because you were riding the "right" bike. 🙂

This is what I had in mind when I purchased my Adventure bike. Something different than riding the pavement all the time. I am hooked. Rode away with a higher skill level and a lot more confidence to take on the next challenge.
I highly recommend Emmaus MotoTours.

Thanks Brian. It was so cool to see you hesitate at first to take on some of the tougher sections then to see the big smile on your face after completing them. I can definitely see you moving on to greater challenges on the big GS!

This MABDR ride was my first off-pavement experience (except for 2 MSF dirt classes), and my first motorcycle tour with a group. John and Jim were kind, patient, supportive, instructive, and humorous. As I struggled through the steep learning process (I was pretty much a dirt virgin, remember) they kept my spirits up and helped me learn. By the end of the trip I was a far better rider than I was at the beginning. As far as the mechanics of the tour, John's organizational skills are great. He booked the lodging, made sure there was food available, did a great job of leading the group, and took all the worry out of the trip itself. We stayed in a variety of cool places, ate some great food, and everybody had a fabulous time.

Thanks Stephanie. It was a pleasure having you and Diane on the ride. You both had such great attitudes about the ride. Your positive approaches made the trip that much more fun. You were a good rider to begin with and you really picked up some additional skills along the way. Thanks again.

Not enough stars for an honest rating! John took care of every detail so that this first time off-roader had nothing to concentrate on but the ride.
Accommodations were pleasant and there was plenty of spots for good food throughout the trip. John communicated well and set expectations necessary to keep a large group (10 riders) moving along safely. John and his wingman both have teachers' hearts and provided guidance and support for an enjoyable and successful ride. And both of course provided assistance when machines went down and performed trail-side repairs when those were needed.
All in all, a stupendous experience, and one I won't soon be forgetting! John and Jim, thank you again!

Thanks Diane. It was great to have you along and to watch your progress along the way. Especially with you riding "by the seat of your pants". 🙂

This was my first multi day tour and it went without any issues. The route is planned in such a way that you get to challenge yourself with blacktop, gravel, dirt, sand, mud and water. Don’t let any of this concern you, John talks you through each section of the trail. He then takes the time for the group to navigate it safely before beginning again. The tour was well planned and I really can’t say anything negative about it. It was great, actually exceeded my expectations and after being home a week now, I can’t wait to go on another tour. To quickly summarize, the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail is great. The hotels and restaurants were just what you wanted after a day of riding. And John’s knowledge of the trail and ADV riding skills allowed even us beginners to have a blast.

Thanks Mike. I get a lot of satisfaction watching riders like you go from beginners to gaining increasing amounts of confidence. Then showing greater interest in the sport. Really glad you enjoyed the trip.

This was my first group guided tour, John the group leader was kind enough to offer to ride down to the start together.
John is a perfect guide, patient, knowledgeable, and a great rider.
Our group was 7 or 8 and we had a great time together, the group was a mix of rider skill levels, and everyone was able to go at there own pace without any pressure.
John had planned some great places to stop over night and also lunch stops.
I will for sure be doing more trips.

Thanks Justin. The ride down to the start of the mabdr was really great...except for Daniel's bike problems. We did have a great group and hope we do get to ride together again.

John made our NEBDR happen.

He rented us 2 Yamaha T 700 in excellent condition and provided us with a very fair quote to drive all 4 of our bikes (and us) to the Canada border -where we started the NEBDR.

John was incredibly patient and knowledgeable, spending a lot of time getting us ready for the trip. both on the phone - weeks before the trip, and the day of - setting us / packing the bikes.

His sense of humor and awesome personality made for a very fun 8 hours drive in the car together.

First and foremost John is a truly honest and kind man.

I will be working with him again!

Thanks Shmuli. It was a pleasure meeting you all and glad I was able to help. Hope we get to ride together sometime. L'Shana Tova

I did the MABDR for the first time in early Sep with EmmausMotoTours and it was a blast for the best price I have seen out there. I look forward to doing another BDR with John in the future!

John is very flexible and can accommodate different things if you bring it up early so he can plan ahead. Our group split into a camping group and hotel group.

If you are concerned about who you are riding with skill-wise, our group broke into two groups for the first two days linking up at the stops/major turns, until everyone got more comfortable and picked up speed where we merged back into one group. Sometimes, it just takes a few days for a group of new people to get on the same page. It worked out great.

He was concerned about everyone having a good time, ensuring safety, and made sure we don't forget to stop at some of the important sites. He also has done the route a few times and knows the timing and favorable places to stop, eat, and sleep.

If you pay attention to how John rides you will learn a thing, or two and at the end of the trip will notice your riding improve. Don't be afraid to ask for pointers.

For someone new to the MABDR looking to book a route: We did the trip in 5 days starting from Abington on Monday and ending Saturday evening. For those who want to ride all day with minimal stops and not overly concerned with the sight seeing aspect, you will have a blast at a faster pace with longer riding days.

While I had a blast and requested a 5 day trip, if I did it again, I would do 6 days just to get into hotel/camp a little earlier, have more time to enjoy some of the sights around the towns etc. I found that with a 8-10 person group the stops can add up quick, and next thing you know, your setting up camp in the dark etc. All part of the fun in an adventure, which I don't mind. If you do mind, I would highly recommend the 6-7 day timeline and probably staying in a hotel since the campgrounds are going to be further from the sites and restaurants. I did a mix of both and really enjoyed it. Work with John on his recommendations of when to stay in a hotel vs. camp based on the section and whats around, how long of a day your riding, and how far away the camp/hotel is off the route so you can optimize your trip based on your needs.

Thanks Liam. In addition to planning trips and introducing people to ADV riding, I do hope new riders can pick up some riding tips along the way. I am not an experienced instructor by any means but do feel like I can share a few things to help improve a person's riding. I also totally agree with you on the length of the trip. I agreed so much that I lengthened the MABDR to 7 days instead of 5 for all the reasons you mentioned. Also reduced the group size a bit to make things a bit more intimate. Thanks again for doing the MABDR and being the stimulus for getting the AZBDR group together.