Motorbiking
"Biker" for me usually means motorbiking, though I also have a couple of mountain-bikes... see Trail Bike
My current motorbikes are a Honda CBR600RR ABS 2017 and a Kawasaki Ninja Z250SL.
Previously I have owned: Kawasaki ZX4-RR (Ninja anniversary edition), Honda CRF300 Rally, Honda CBR600RR 2005, Honda CBR600FW, Honda VF750F, Yamaha FJ600, Suzuki GSX750EX, Yamaha FJ750, Yamaha XJ900, Kawasaki Z750 and I passed my riding test on my Kawasaki KH250.
See also my Motorbiking web links
Spring weather returns to Provence so a dream ride through four départements, Bouches du Rhône (13), Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04), Var (83) and Vaucluse (84). Warm enough to play and no sign of the strong winds that had been forecast. Checking in en route with Lionél in Peyrolles-en-Provence, who looks after my bike, and very happy to find the convenient boulangerie in Gréoux-les-Bains has reopened with a new boulanger and staff. That’s a Tarte Citron I’m enjoying in my photo. Then up the twisty road to the Valensole plateau for a ride through the fields of lavender with distracting views of the snowy Alps above Allos and Barcelonette.
Unlike yesterday’s: Marseille snow
Going home time from the GBMCC pub night. The last of about three dozen club members striking a pose and getting ready to ride home after another popular club event in Kennington, southeast London.
Photographically, this is the latest in my series of photos of “After the...”
If you want to ride stylish then a Bonneville 750 or a Vespa PX125 are good choices but today’s blizzard means it is probably not a good day to ride the bike to work in London.
Not the largest motorbike show in the UK, taking just one of the ExCel’s four halls this year, but with plenty of bike art on display. There’s a current fashion for retro styling of new bikes, so including numerous restored “classic” bikes on the stands fits well. This makes an opportunity to explore the visual aspects of motorcycle engineering over the years from a 1938 Brough Superior model SS80, similar to that owned by TE Lawrence, through the first 1970s Kawasaki models to the latest production Suzuki GSXR.
After Monday’s Whiteout, time to taste again the tender charms of sportsbike riding in Provence. My old friend, the road to the Col de l’Espigoulier (723 m.), as twisty for a rider as it is to the tongue. Riding under a clear blue sky with a Mistral seemingly direct from the Arctic so tyres treacherously cold and nowhere near the rev or lean limits this early in the season. But a fun ride out nonetheless, good to feel again a lean and a pull and maybe even a bit of late braking fear once more.
“Through the wind, through the rain, the snow, the wind, the rain... to taste your tender charms again”
Drive all night, Bruce Springsteen.
Subcategories
Alps Biker 2016
I'm riding light for a week on the mountain roads of the Alps. No laptop, although I do have my SLR camera but photos will have to wait till I'm back in Marseille..
I left Marseille for a long ride north via the Col de la Croix Haute (1179 m.) to Saint-Gervais under Mont Blanc. A bit of rain towards the end of the day which cleaned the Provence dust off my white leathers and boots but didn't soak me through.
