For those of you who’ve been following my travel blog in recent years, this is a new location for you – and a dramatically different look. Thanks for stopping by. I’m glad you’re here.

You may wonder, “What happened?”

Here’s a little background.

My former blog, “Travels With Harley,” was hosted by TravelPod, a TripAdvisor brand. TravelPod called itself “the web’s original travel blog.”

It may have been original, but it’s soon to be defunct.

To my great surprise, in mid-May, TravelPod announced it was “shutting its doors,” effective June 19. TravelPod didn’t really give us users much of an explanation, except to say it was a “difficult decision.” I had a career in PR, and I’d call that rationale intellectually dishonest, disingenuous, and transparently lame.

Let’s be honest: it was all about money. How could they possibly monetize my Harley trips, and the travels of others? Anyway, it turns out that Facebook and Twitter and Instagram have become the sharing platforms of choice for travel and pretty much everything else, sending TravelPod on the road to obsolescence.

And yet, during my annual road trips over five years with TravelPod, their platform made my on-the-go blogging fairly simple. Quite a few of you have expressed your appreciation for my blogging, some even saying you learned a thing or two from it. Some claimed to be entertained, or at least mildly amused. Good enough.

So, with my biggest Harley trip ever coming up later this summer, I had to find a new home for my blog. These techie transitions are easy for Millennials. It’s part of their DNA. Not so much for us Baby Boomers, who actually learned the art of typing on typewriters with real ribbons. And keys that jam.

The good news is I got some solid advice (yes, from a Millennial), and got back on my blogging feet after a near knockout punch from TravelPod. The result is the new blog you’re seeing. It’s called “Riding With Gary: All Vroom, All the Time.”

I’ve re-posted all previous materials from my major rides, using tools provided by WordPress, a free and open-source content management system. Here on this blog, you can find all those old travel descriptions, routes, photos of too many bad meals, and too many good times.

Just scroll down, and you’ll see the previous 77 blog posts from nine different trips. They’re arranged in reverse chronological order; most recent first, oldest last. That’s the same way you generally experience Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

The people at WordPress have made this transition fairly simple, and their tools are far more flexible for creating a customized blog than were available to me before on TravelPod. Over time, as I get more helpful coaching, and feedback from readers, I’ll work to improve the look and functionality of the blog.

If you can dream it, I can blog it.

As always, I’ll look forward to having you along for the ride.

Vroom, vroom.

— Gary Lesser

All Vroom. All the Time.