A ride for pure sportsbike fun, enjoying the big sweeping roads around the Lac de Sainte-Croix. Payback time for all those gym sessions and everything else: rides like this make it all worthwhile.

More photos: Lac de Sainte-Croix

Golfe de Porto

Embarking at Marseille

Corsica in November, my escape from storms on the continent and taking advantage of Black Friday pricing. Seeing snow on the Corsican mountains at dawn was the first of many memorable sights. The road from Ajaccio to the red rock Calanches goes over two good cols, both reasonable surfaces for a bit of sportsbike fun, though a bit of sand washout. Cool but not cold first thing, and by midday I was opening the vents on my jacket and boots

More photos: Calanches de Piana - Corsica in November

Afternoon ride on arrival in Marseille from rainy London. The road to the Pas d’Ouillier (349 m.) is well-graded both in slopes and curves; it used to be the trunk road from Marseille to Toulon, now labelled D559A. There are 10 turns in about 3.5 km between Roquefort-la-Bédoule and the roundabout at Pas-de-Bellefille.
Still a good surface, so great to play doing a few runs in each direction then doing the photo as the shadows were lengthening quickly. Mild temperature too but the low angle sun is a distraction and it was a bit windy at the top.

Boarding in cold rain/sleet at London Heathrow Airport

Great Gable (899 m.), Scafell peaks (977 m.) and Wast Water

Wasdale

Cold Fell

Awesome scenery: Gable, Scafell and Wast Water seen on my afternoon riding in Wasdale. The low cloud clearing at last. Hazy sunshine, then a fine sunset over the Irish Sea - I could make out the silhouette of the Isle of Man by eye. But air temperature just 6°C by the time I got back to Keswick, with an air frost overnight.