This Sunday dawned clear and bright in Marseille with a fierce and violent Mistral blasting down the Rhône valley following an overnight storm further North. The wind wasn't too bad up in the hills, the sun was strong and warm and the roads were clear. Particularly, the roads were clear of motor caravans and coaches; but not clear of goats... biker beware!

The Ardèche gorge road from Pont St. Esprit on the Rhône up to the natural rock bridge at Vallon Pont d'Arc is known to motorbikers as a particularly sporty route. It's not just the river that twists and winds through the gorge. A spectacular 48km of twisty roads with curves that start challenging, keep on coming and then get tighten further with the odd unexpected hill thrown in just to keep the rider alert. Yes there are warning signs aimed at bikers saying "Prudence - trop d'accidents" (Too many accidents - take care). It's different from riding a mountain pass because there is little overall change in altitude, though each hill is quite significant in its own right. You're never quite sure if the next bend will be flat, a dip or a crest but  that makes a huge difference to the riding technique.

Easter Monday 2011: Fine sunshine in London and all across Southern England. Booted, leather suited, ears plugged and helmeted head well in the supersportsbiker zone, I left home while the roads were still quiet. Westwards, down in to the Thames valley at Stokenchurch, clear skies and clear roads as far as the eye could see...

Read more: Cotswolds and Chilterns

Some pictures from a motorbike ride to the “Cinque Ports” along the English Channel coast. Tony and I dropped in for coffee and a tasty bacon sandwich at David in Canterbury, then visited Hythe, Romney, the town of Rye and then Hastings before enjoying a delicious home-baked cake with Terry in his garden in Brighton. Then the ride back to London on the main road.

Scenic road from Canterbury down to Hythe. The windmills on Romney Marsh were turning well. There were some posh motorbikes out on the roads but the motorbike stop and cafe in the town of Rye weren’t particularly busy. At Hastings… another Victorian pier sadly lost to fire. We missed out Dover and Sandwich was represented by the bacon sandwich!

Here's my postcard from riding in Provence on clear dry roads yesterday and today; afternoon temperatures up to 20°C and the sun now has some strength in it. This has been clock change weekend in France just as in the UK. Also springtime so time to take my RR bike in for its service at Moto Peyrolles and then enjoy the roads around the lower Verdon river in the départments of Bouches du Rhone (13), Alpes de Haute Provence (04) and the Var (83).

I rather like this postcard as it works on many levels: contrasts between textures of the wrought iron and the trees, the church overseeing the secular and business activities of the market place - isn't it nice that you can see there's a heart at the centre of the cross...

The no parking symbols looking similar to putting on the hour on the clocks but also indicative of the "keep out" nature of the countryside.

Plus the sequential frame travelogue story of my Saturday out motorbiking with my great friend Pascal, who first got me hooked on motorbiking in Provence. We met up at the bike shop in stone coloured Peyrolles, then had lunch outdoors under the chestnut trees in Greoux and a coffee at Quinson.

Also the dual character of Provence as the land of mountains and gorges between the Alps and the Mediterranean

Shame the weather got the story wrong: Saturday (on winter time) was brilliant and fine and Sunday (on summer time) is grey and threatening rain! But the rain over Mont Sainte Baume will be good for the old vines.