Riders standing beside adventure motorcycles in Cuba

The Riders

Two riders. One rule: keep moving when the plan breaks.

Adventure rider with motorcycle gear in Cuba

Seattle Safari

Don Shingler

Don Shingler is a Seattle-based adventure motorcyclist, Boeing engineer, Ski Patroller and Search and Rescue professional. His rides focus on real-world problem solving—navigating remote terrain, adapting to the unexpected, and operating without a fixed plan.

His travels include riding through Cuba, circling Ireland and Northern Ireland with a stop at the Isle of Man TT, reaching the Arctic Ocean, navigating the Yukon, breaking down in Baja and exploring the BDR’s. Don’s talks highlight decision-making under pressure, balancing preparation with adaptability, and why the best adventures often begin when things don’t go as planned.

Adventure Motorcyclist

Justin Leigh

Justin Leigh is a Tech entrepreneur and an adventure motorcyclist who rides for the experience, not the itinerary. Drawn to unfamiliar places and unpredictable conditions, he embraces the kind of travel that requires quick thinking, adaptability, and a willingness to figure things out on the fly.

His journeys have taken him across remote regions, international borders, and into environments where plans rarely go as expected. Whether navigating backroads, tackling long-distance routes, or integrating into local cultures, Justin focuses on staying present and making the most of whatever the ride delivers.

In his presentations, Justin shares a grounded perspective on adventure riding—less about perfection, more about mindset, resilience, and the ability to keep moving forward when things get uncertain.

Touratech Presentation Series

No cards.No signal.No Plan B.

Twelve days on rented BMWs through central Cuba, where the route is simple and everything else is improvised.

12days

1,200miles

5route legs

Start here

What happens when the backup plan cannot be rescued by a phone, a card, or a parts counter?

Route Frame

Havana to Havana, with no invisible safety net.

A central Cuba loop: city streets, the Bay of Pigs coast, Trinidad cobblestones, the Sierra Escambray mud, Che's Santa Clara, then the north coast back home.

ArrivalCoastTrinidadCheReturn

Map showing a loop route through central Cuba

Blue vintage car parked beside flowers in Cuba

Why Cuba

Riding into the past, while it is still running.

Living history1959, Hemingway, and today show up in the same conversation.
Highway for warThe main highway was built wide enough to land military aircraft.
Land crabsGreen were fine. Red popped tires. Colorblind dodging added drama.
InventaHarlistas keep old American iron moving with whatever still works.

Havana

Beautiful, gritty, improvised.

Casas particulares kept the trip local, legal, and personal.

Inventa is the practical philosophy: nothing is discarded if it can become a part.

The Cuban game is friendship, stories, and maybe a larger bar tab than planned.

Money

All is not what it seems.

Cuba ran two exchange rates. The state quoted one number. The street quoted another. American cards did not work, so cash shaped the whole trip.

24official CUP : 1 USDWhat the government paid

120street CUP : 1 USDWhat the street actually paid

En Route

Crocodiles on the way south.

The road to the Bay of Pigs crosses the Cienaga de Zapata, Cuba's largest wetland. Mangrove, swamp, narrow causeways, no easy inland flank.

Cienaga de ZapataCrocodylus rhombifer1961

Fidel Castro museum sign at the Bay of Pigs

Historic black-and-white Bay of Pigs scene

Day 3

Bay of Pigs: three days, permanent consequences.

In April 1961, about 1,400 CIA-trained exiles landed here. Three days later it was over. Cubans call it Victoria de Playa Giron.

Playa Larga / Playa Giron

Days 5-6

The culture is deep. So is the mud.

Deep enough that horses almost had to pull a bike out. Nothing a Cuba libre could not fix.

Day 7

Trinidad: 1514, cobblestones, and a cave nightclub.

One of the oldest Spanish colonial cities in the Americas. Casas particulares above the plaza. Bikes unhappy on the stones. People very happy underground.

Road Stories

Everything is different there: how beef gets to the table.

After 1959 the state nationalized cattle. Milk and beef mattered so much that unauthorized slaughter could bring severe penalties.

So people got creative: if a cow died by accident, the meat could sometimes be handled legally.

Inventa, again: a train track can become a legal argument.

The gallery

From the saddle.

No Plan B

Ride bold.
Ride No Plan B.

In Cuba, you do not just ride through the landscape. You ride through a living history book that greets you with a smile and a cold Bucanero beer.

Questions?

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