Allan Karl WorldRider

09/12/2026

A few years ago while I was exploring the country of Georgia by motorcycle, I was honored to be hosted by Keto of საოჯახო მარანი ოდა / Oda Family Winery near Martvili in the western part of Georgia.

Looking for Georgian wine. I found rare indigenous grapes, qvevri winemaking, unforgettable Megrelian food, and a family preserving traditions that had nearly disappeared.

Then one sign changed the direction of the story: Russia Is Occupant!!!

From there, the road led to Martvili Canyon and its waterfalls, moss-covered cliffs, and extraordinary green water. Wine, war, and wonder—all in one day on the motorcycle.

The story is in my latest video on YouTube. Please click the link in the comments below and watch!

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09/06/2026

The map made it look easy. A few years ago I traveled through Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey.

You'd think the plan would be to ride from Azerbaijan into Armenia, continue into Turkey, follow the Black Sea toward Istanbul, and eventually reach Athens.

Watch the new WorldRider episode: Link in the comments below!

Except maps don’t tell you which borders are actually open.

The Azerbaijan–Armenia border was closed. The Armenia–Turkey border was closed. Iran wasn’t a practical alternative with my American passport.

So I returned to Georgia, crossed into Armenia, rode through the mountains to Lake Sevan and the ancient Hayravank Monastery—and then crossed back into Georgia for the third time.

There were winding roads, roaming cows, endless paperwork, mandatory insurance, and one final surprise at the border: a 100-lari penalty.

Just another day traveling the world alone on a motorcycle.

09/02/2026

Got turned around outside Oni after another Google Maps fail and ended up riding the same road twice.

Honestly, not a bad problem to have in Georgia’s Racha region—empty mountain roads, cows wandering wherever they please, the Caucasus all around me, and the muddy Rioni River chewing pieces out of the road below.

A local winemaker named Aleko had pointed me this way. He wasn’t wrong. One of the best riding days of the trip.

From a few years ago when I was wandering the country of Georgia, you will love my new WorldRider YouTube episode.

Watch the video by clicking the link in my comment below 👇

08/19/2026

Rode into Crete’s Theriso Gorge not really knowing what I was getting into. One road in, same road out—no other way through.

Slow-roasted lamb in a mountain village that time forgot, a six-generation olive-oil estate where they still crush olives with stone mills, and then some seriously sketchy roads down to a hidden beach—a place most tourists never seem to find.

Also managed to run over my own sunglasses. Solo travel, man.

I’m testing three possible thumbnail photos—which one would make you click?

The new episode is up. Watch the video by clicking the link in my comment below. 👇

06/23/2026

Something I've been working on for a while is finally done.

It's a new book called The Invitation: On the Moments We Almost Miss. It grew out of my motorcycle journey — not the miles or the countries, but the moments underneath all of that. The people I almost didn't stop for. The conversations that almost didn't happen. The ones that changed something anyway.

It's short by design — about 22,000 words, a two-hour read. If you've read The Art of Stillness by Pico Iyer, or Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman, or Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, it lives in that territory. Big ideas carried by small stories.

Before it goes to agents, I'm looking for two or three people to read it — not to edit it, just to read it honestly and tell me where it works and where it doesn't.

If you're interested, send me a message or email me at [email protected]. Three weeks is the window. I'll send a PDF.

And fair warning: it might make you think twice about the next person you almost didn't talk to.

06/23/2026

I Wrote Another Book

I have been riding my motorcycle across over 100 countries for nearly twenty years, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about the moments that almost didn't happen. The stranger who waved me over for food, and I almost kept riding. The table that ran late in a way I almost escaped. The wrong road that turned out to be the right one — or was it the other way around....

I have been riding my motorcycle across over 100 countries for nearly twenty years, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about the moments that almost didn’t happen. The stranger who waved me over for food, and I almost kept riding. The table that ran late in a way I almost escaped. The […]

06/04/2026

This email showed up in my inbox today from a reader who's been following my work for many years.

It touched me.

I've spent much of my life traveling, writing, photographing, speaking, and collecting stories. Sometimes you send those stories out into the world and never really know where they land.

Then a note like this arrives.

That's why I write.

If you didn't know, I publish a newsletter on Substack called Inspired Life of Travel. It's where I share stories, reflections, travel adventures, food, curiosity, connection, and the occasional lesson learned the hard way.

If you haven't seen it before, I'd be honored if you'd become a subscriber. It's free, and if you find value in it, there's a paid option too.

I'll put links to both my latest post and the newsletter in the comments below.

And to Bill: thank you. Your words meant more than you know.

05/27/2026

At 2:27am in Austin, I found myself sitting in a place that still feels real.

No velvet rope.
No influencer wall.
No manufactured cool.

Just music, stories, neon glow, and a conversation with Ramsay Midwood inside Sam’s Town Point.

What started as “one more stop before bed” turned into something bigger: a reminder that curiosity still opens doors, algorithms never will.

We talked about music. Creativity. Fatherhood. Legacy. Why do some places survive while the world becomes increasingly transactional?

And somewhere in the middle of all that, Austin started feeling like Austin again.

This isn’t a polished industry interview.
No studio. No setup.

Just a fan having a beer and staying open long enough for something real to happen.

That’s kind of the point.

Watch This — Please 🎥 https://youtu.be/hz1OEhi9SWo

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05/26/2026

2:27am in Austin | A Conversation with Ramsay Midwood at Sam’s Town Point | Journeys With WorldRider Podcast | Ep 77

It's 2:27 in the morning on a Saturday night in Austin, Texas. The crowd has cleared out. The band has packed up. And Ramsay Midwood and I sit in a dark corner of Sam's Town Point — talking. I'd been listening to Ramsay's music for five or six years before I ever made it down there. Found him on Boot Liquor Radio — part of the Soma FM family of deep-cut internet stations — and I couldn't stop....

It’s 2:27 in the morning on a Saturday night in Austin, Texas. The crowd has cleared out. The band has packed up. And Ramsay Midwood and I sit in a dark corner of Sam’s Town Point — talking. I’d been listening to Ramsay’s music for five or six years before I ever made it down there. Found ...

05/20/2026

Which Way Are You Turning?

Which Way Are You Turning? On opening up, closing down, and the signs we drive past without stopping Somewhere on a road in Alaska, I drove past a hand-painted sign outside a modest house. It said something like Meet Mr. Alaska. An invitation. But I kept riding. I’ve been wondering about that man ever since. The responses to “Eat the Beets…...

Which Way Are You Turning? On opening up, closing down, and the signs we drive past without stopping Somewhere on a road in Alaska, I drove past a hand-painted sign outside a modest house. It said something like Meet Mr. Alaska. An invitation. But I kept riding. I’ve been wondering about that man ...