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
Resting up in the forest on the Sainte Baume massif between Marseille and Toulon. Enjoying the buzz of Circadas and high revving sportsbikes quick-shifting through the gears. The Circuit du Castellet is not far from here but you don’t need to have a track day ticket to enjoy the area. A payback ride after I replaced the mirror and clutch lever following the parking incident on the Col de l’Iseran in June. Honda parts fitted first time so an easy fix! 25°C and humid in our garage and 33°C but super-arid out on the roads. Hot!!!
The pretty way home: Penrith to Keswick on the Ullswater route with my Ninja Z250SL riding great after a full service and the annual MoT inspection, including a replacement headlight due to cracks on the lens. Many tourists in the water, not so many on the roads, but there’s been a lot of (welcome) road repair by spraying tar then laying chippings, which limits the fun until it wears in.
More photos: Ullswater: riding the pretty way back from the MoT
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.
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.
