Daily Slideshow: Riding through Muddy Waters in the Rural South

Red White & Blue

If there's one thing as American as Harley-Davidson, it's something less wholesome than mom or apple pie—it's the blues. Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson and even R.L. Burnside are gone but the land that gave birth to the blues is still there and begging to be ridden. It's easier than ever to retrace the route of the famous ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, the man who recorded literally thousands of songs and interviews documenting true American music for the Library of Congress (check out this footage Lomax shot of Burnside sitting in his back yard in Mississippi playing See My Jumper Hanging on the Line). Thankfully, today it’s easier than ever to pack a guaranteed no-hassle, fun-filled tour into your your schedule than ever, with the help of bike-based tour outfits that rent out machines to save you the headaches of getting your bike to and from the places you really wanna be.

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One Man's Tour

Forbes contributor and avid motorcyclist Josh Max recently took just such a tour through blues country, and with the help of just such a tour and rental organization. He used Eagle Rider, a company that has over 100 branches all over the globe. Max's path didn't run through Singapore, though Eagle Rider even has a branch there, it went straight through the heart of blues country—Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Max rented a Harley-Davidson Road King from Eagle Rider for his guided tour through the balmy south (Eagle offers guided and 'self-guided' tours). His long-weekend, four-day 395-mile cruise started in New Orleans at the bike-friendly historic Dauphine hotel, which offers indoor parking and gives two-wheelers a 10% discount.

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The Big Easy

"It’s called the Big Easy, not the Small Difficult," Patrique at Eagle Rider New Orleans told Max, perhaps preparing the Forbes writer for an evening of living large at local watering holes like the Loa Bar and Bourbon Orleans Cocktail lounge—this was a guided tour, remember. Eventually, they ended up at Eagle Rider's New Orleans HQ. More than just a clubhouse to sit and talk turkey, Eagle's HQ featured a crawfish boil, providing all the fresh crawfish, potato, and garlic gumbo any army of bikers could chow down.

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Riding on Water

When Max and company rolled out of the posh hotel and onto the road they headed for Natchez, Mississippi, their route taking them over the Lake Ponchartrain causeway, one of the longest bridges in the world. Max reports taking in "the fragrant fauna and flora [with] names like thorny elaeagnus, gingerlily and sweet autumn clematis," while laying his eyes on his first real-live cotton field. Suddenly, the songs he'd been hearing his whole life evoked much more vivid images. The group made Natchez by 5pm and checked into the Grand Hotel.

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Blues, Board, and Bikes

After another night filled with delicious food, and more than a few games of pool, the group turned in so they could head out early enough the next a.m. to take in the sights on the next leg of the trip. No sight means more to the story of the blues than the crossroads where Robert Johnson allegedly sold his soul to the devil, Max and his cohorts rode right through the mythic spot before enjoying more fried green tomatoes, fried chicken, fried onions and fried potatoes than anyone has a right to expect. Max selected a few other sites along the way for special praise, including the Hooker Hotel in Clarksdale, Mississippi, for its retro appeal, and the Ground Zero Blues Club for, you guessed it—its live blues. Upon reaching the final destination of Memphis, Tennessee, Max's only critique of the tour was that it, understandably since it was a group ride, didn't offer much in the way of time for personal exploration. So if you're short on time, or motivation to plan, and have a hankering for authentic southern vittles and America's music, consider a tour package that lays them out for you and gives you a Harley to do it on. And when you ride by somebody's laundry swinging in the breeze, remember R.L. Burnside and maybe write a song about it.

>>Join the conversation about the Blues and Harley-Davidson right here in HDForums.com.

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