Motorbiking
"Biker" for me usually means motorbiking, though I also have a Marin mountain-bike...
My current motorbikes are a Honda CBR600RR ABS 2017, CRF300 Rally and a Kawasaki Ninja Z250SL.
Previously I have owned: 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
Ride out to the Lubéron on my shiny remade CBR600RR to enjoy the strong colours of late summer. Still the classic area for riding a variety of French roads: vineyards and pine forests, limestone gorges and orchards; long straights, gentle curves, hairpins or switchbacks. Some sections to watch the colourful movie of the Provence scenery, others to get my head down and focus on the road.
These roads in Provence were one of the main reasons for me to set up in Marseille following the 1998 AMA/GLME summercamp, and they’re still fabulous to ride on a sportsbike.
Hot... 31°C down in Apt but it cooled a bit in the afternoon as the haze intensified; anyhow, I’ve adapted now. Though my leathers were heavy with sweat by the end of the day. Back to Marseille for an assiette pêcheur (fish mixed grill) at a favourite restaurant.
Great to be back riding my fantastic CBR600RR. It’s been a bit of a journey to get it back. A little damp leaving Marseille on the train to the repairers workshop in Manosque but worth it to get back on the best bike I’ve ever owned.
Un grand « merci » à tous qui m’ont aidé.
Blencathra (868 m.) in mist
Clickham Arms crossroads
Exploring the valley of the River Eden which runs alongside the North Pennines and the Lake District. Lazonby, Kirkoswald, Glassonby, Gamblesby, Melmerby etc villages, each quite different, are spread along the banks of the river, the alignment of a Roman Road and the Settle to Carlisle railway.
Plenty enough bank holiday traffic to prefer to enjoy the smaller roads where there are enough finger signposts to navigate without map or GPS. I’m once again limited to tarmac as I sold the CRF300 rally bike, anyhow the muddy off-road bikers I saw were all on much smaller bikes than that.
Not the afternoon in Cumbria I had been hoping for. My ride didn’t work... stalled at first junction. And the second. So... battery on order as first try fix. Pretty sure the current battery had one cell dodgy when I tried to use it today and now it’s failed... charger won’t get to its switch-off voltage. Photo shows taking the side covers off to remove the seat to access the battery and fuses.
This battery was new to me in March '22 so made before Covid and I guess it was in storage for too long. Tried asking for a warranty replacement but it’s outside the one-year warranty..
This sort of thing always seems to happen on the one day of fine weather in the week. Grrr.
Wasdale and Scafell Pike (964 m.) on the horizon
After a gloomy start, today turned out to be much drier weather than forecast. I was riding around the west of Cumbria, visiting the seaside villages that still have that west coast feel of otherworldliness that you also get in the west of Galloway or the west of the Isle of Lewis, that feeling of closeness to the ocean but detachment from the mainland. The roads are fantastic biking, quite a workout: not a lot of traffic and a variety between open runs, sharp gradients with blind summits and challenging bends. Plus floods and washouts.
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.
