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
Riding a loop from Keswick to see the autumn colours, including the biker favourite road from Patterdale to Pooley Bridge in both directions. The lakeside road was dry and mostly clear of leaves, but not the day to wring the neck of my Ninja Z250SL. Pause for a lakeside coffee from my flask; then back via the old roads around Stainton, Newbiggin, Penruddock and the flanks of Blencathra.
The autumn colours were spectacular and the air warm enough in the sunny intervals. Happy to have seized the moment for a ride before the winter chill arrives.
More photos: Coffee by Ullswater - Lake District National Park
Great light for photography, open roads and with the colours of autumn developing almost before my eyes. So an inspiring background for a bike ride in classic Provence in the Lubéron and around Ventoux.
Roads I’ve ridden many times since the GLME Summercamp of 1998 enthralled me with riding in Provence. Some villages remain much as they were despite nearly thirty years of “progress”. The road through the Combe de Lourmarin road remains “unimproved” but Apt in the Lubéron is now served by a highway and the railway is now a cycle track.
More photos: Classic Provence: Lubéron & the Plateau d'Albion
Mazan-l'Abbaye
Corniche of the Cévennes on the horizon
Riding.lesser-known roads in the Ardèche mountains to the west of the famous gorge and north of the Cévennes. Riding with a group of the French club AMA and guided by a local rider, this was a loop taking in many rider challenges as well as scenic distractions. Valleys and ridges, hairpins and straights; red pines and colourful chestnuts, villages and forests etc. Quite a sporting challenge too on my CBR600RR to ride with the mostly litre bikes in the group.
New for my underground garage: a mains power pack that gives enough power for the bike battery charger. There’s no mains in my box garage two floors underground so with this power pack I can top-up the bike’s battery in place. The CBR600RR’s not the worst of bikes for taking the battery out of and strapping it back in but charging the battery in the bike is one step less hassle when preparing my RR for a trip after a lay-up.. Could also use the power pack for an electric air pump for the tyres but the foot pump has been fine for years.The little floodlight on the power pack’s handy though.
One of the most spectacular road passes in Europe, it joins Martigny (CH) and Aoste (I). The name Grand St. Bernard Pass is mythic, evoking Roman legionnaires and the big dogs of the hospice reviving medieval travellers with brandy. The Grand St. Bernard Pass fits in a itinerary on the way to Piedmont and Tuscany or as part of a tour of Mont Blanc.
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.
