Ride back from Seascale over Cold Fell in the west of the Lake District. I preferred the Z250SL for this over my ZX4-RR; I haven’t found any ride better for the small roads round the Cumbrian Fells.

Carter Bar, Scotland Border

Langley Castle

My day in green, white and blue riding big sweeping roads in the North Pennines and Northumberland Moors. Lunch break at Bellingham, it’s on the Pennine Way and in the Northumberland National Park. I reached the Scottish border at Carter Bar (418 m.) in the Cheviot Hills. The ZX4-RR is just great on big roads like the A68, revvy and precise.
Return down the valley to Newcastleton and Carlisle but riding on a fuel economy basis because I was misled by the tank indicator on the new bike and nearly couldn’t find a fill-up in time.

More photos: Carter Bar (418 m.)

One last blast under the pines before the heat of the Provence summer makes every day out an endurance ride. This is the popular road to the circuit at Le Castellet, there are not a few interesting features for a sportsbike rider as it weaves its way up through the forest.

Close to the Edge - Bocca di Belle Valle (521 m.)

Photo says something about just how close motorbiking always is to being a wreck, also about the legendary Corsican bandits, once you understand this was the top of the last col on my way to the ship back to the mainland. That was the best riding road I’ve found so far on Corsica. No fancy sign at the top saying the height etc, just a burnt-out old car. The French map calls it Bocca di Belle Valle, that’s Beddi Vaddi in the Corsican language.