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
Fine engineering for race track motorbikes, a team of race bikes, big exhaust pipes on a custom bike built around a huge engine and a cash prize competition for the longest time holding fat tyres on the arms. A group of pictures linking power and money, my attempt to get away from the clichéd imagery in this area, city buildings at night etc.
Remember remember the fifth of November... for a very pleasant ride around taking in the vineyards on the south-facing flanks of Montagne Sainte Victoire, near Aix-en-Provence. A good ride to round off the season of 2015.
The 79th Bol d'Or endurance motorcycle race, "Burning Man" for bikers maybe, is the mythical French motorbike festival that has in 2015 returned to the Provence sunshine of the Circuit Paul Ricard at Le Castellet, just 35 km from Marseille. Traffic jams from hell, crazy motorbikers with overnight racing and music even louder!
I'm in the Alpes Maritimes on my motorbike for a road trip from Nice to Annecy, following my version of the Route des Grandes Alpes. Last week of August and the weather is "Set Fair" as aneroid barometers used to be marked. A lot of the tourists have gone home so no problems with hotels being full. I'm not booking in advance so I have the true freedom of the road! In practice this means finding myself in a room above a small town bar facing a Baroque style church. The other hotel guests are a couple of pairs of French builders and a Ducati biker (Italian) also on his own, on his second night: he left his bag here yesterday so as to ride a loop with the bike light.
Ride out to the Ardèche Gorge road. It's a favourite route of about 25 km for tight turns that are not quite hairpins. Lots of holiday traffic as it's the end of August but maybe helped a by this being a market day in Vallon-Pont-D'Arc at the upstream end of the gorge. Had a snack lunch there and back down the same road. Always a bit smoother when you have fresh memory of the road. Seem to have damaged one of my knee sliders: I wonder how that happened! I've brought back some saucisson (meat dried so it doesn't need refrigeration) for my salad supper in Marseille, together with a 2014 Tavel rosé from just down the road from the gorge.
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.
