Nicola Dove/AMC

Norman Reedus could well be this generation’s Steve McQueen, Peter Fonda, or Sylvester Stallone: he makes riding bikes look seriously cool.

Best known as Daryl Dixon in the zombie apocalypse TV show The Walking Dead, in which he rides a bike while blowing zombie heads off, he also stars in his own motorcycle travel documentary, Ride with Norman Reedus, and most recently, he’s also in the film The Bikeriders alongside Tom Hardy and Jodie Comer.

Now, while he rides a vintage Harley-Davidson Panhead in The Bikeriders and a custom ratbike while killing zombies, he also counts the Triumph Tiger range as among his favourite bikes.

So, we sat down with the Hollywood star to find out more about his love for adventure bikes in the latest issue of Adventure Bike Rider.

To give you a taste of what you can look forward to, here’s some of Norman’s hilarious anecdotes from his time riding on set and in his spare time.

Riding across America to the Country Music Awards

Kyle Kaplan/Focus Features

Norman was about to get in the car to take him to the airport for his flight to Nashville for the Country Music Awards, when he decided he’d rather ride there instead.

“I just said, ‘fuck it’, and I put a suit in my backpack, got on the bike, wrote the directions on my arm with a Sharpie, and just headed towards Nashville.”

What he didn’t expect however were the crowds that would gather along the way to catch a glimpse of the star.

“At the first gas station there was like two people saying, ‘Hey, can I get a selfie?’ At the next gas station there was like 15 people, at the next there was 20 people, and then at one point I drive by a McDonald’s an up on a marquee it says ‘We love you Norman’. It felt like Forrest Gump running across the country.

Jumping armadillos on the freeway on his favourite adventure bike

Eli Ade/AMC

On his series Ride with Norman Reedus, his bike of choice for most episodes is the Triumph Tiger 800 XCX, and for the most recent season, he’s been riding the Tiger 1200 Rally Pro.

He spoke to us about his love for adventure bikes, and his answer goes to show that whether you’re a Hollywood actor or not, we all appreciate adventure bikes for the same reason.

“The [Tiger 1200] Rally Pro is one of my favourite bikes ever. Even if you’re in New York and there’s tonnes of traffic. It’s good for standing up on, you can ride across country and climb a mountain as well.”

Norman also recounts the time he “jumped an armadillo on that bike going down the freeway”, which is both a testament to his riding skills and the bike’s ability.

Read the full interview with Norman Reedus

You can read the full interview with Norman Reedus in the latest issue of Adventure Bike Rider magazine, which is out now.

Not only will get to read the highly entertaining interview, you’ll also get other adventure biking travel stories from around the world, UK routes and green lanes that you can ride this weekend, and reviews of the latest motorcycles and gear.

Plus, there’s masterclasses to improve your skills, how to ride the Trans Euro Trail in Spain, and plenty more inspirational, entertaining, and informative adventure biking content to sink your teeth into.