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
Mt. Blanc (4808 m.) from the Col de la Madeleine (1993 m.)
Provence heat
Once again... riding the Grands Cols of the French Alps on my CBR600RR. Lots of sportsbike fun: challenging stacks of hairpin bends, big sweeping transalpine routes and little roads across the alpages. Concentrating on the high tarmac while surrounded by glaciers and snowy-topped mountains. Enjoying the Alpine tradition of hospitality and fine food. A great ride but the heat, traffic and unpredictable weather are all getting worse year on year. When the fun stops, it’s time to do something else.
Checkout ride: the full heat of the Provence summer is daunting and it’s been a while since I last gave it a go. So an afternoon on my CBR600RR doing a tour of the Sainte-Baume Massif not far from Marseille. Great fun to ride my RR in fine weather and on clear dry roads but too hot to ride fast - temperatures in the mid-thirties.
Out to Penrith on the old roads for a pre-MoT check on my Ninja Z250SL. Not wonderful riding weather but my Rukka PVC rain gear from the Nineties copes fine, plus the big TCX moto-X boots. Unfortunately the cracked headlight is a problem but better to know now so a replacement (£££ = eek) can be obtained.
Two bikers set off twenty-one years ago to ride to New York the long way round the world from this street just off Shepherds Bush Green in West London. Actors Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor’s 115 day, 118,478 mile road trip and adventures inspired a generation of bikers and changed the shape of motorcycles on the roads.
Revisiting Bulwer Street today, it’s now one-way, the steel shutter remains but No. 27 is being refitted as an artists’ workshop; there is a parking at the end of the road for delivery scooters but I don’t see any large motorcycles. The front door of Lytton House next door is now painted the same blue that No. 27 was in the bikers’ time. No historical plaque at No. 27. Yet.
Read more: Bulwer St. W12: start of the “Long Way Round”, 2004
Gorges de l'Ardèche - Belvédère du Serre de Tourre
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Three day’s excellent touring in Provence, Dévoluy, Ardèche and the Cévennes plus the Pôle Méchanique circuit. My CBR600RR running great. Variety of roads, marvellous spring views and friendly, family-run hotels with fantastic food.
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.
