Off On A Bimble

                                                      One of my most common destinations this weird year - Dream Machine                                                                  near Modbury. Its been a very strange year for motorcycling for me. After the highs of last year in Italy, and a few winter rides, I returned from a visit to my family in Australia in early March to a much changed UK. The government was giving different kinds of advice every day, and there were rumours of a “lock-down” - whatever that would entail. There was one reasonably fun day on the Guzzi and then that was it. We were not to ride unless it was es...

I have a lot of time to listen to podcasts, and one of my favourites is Front End Chatter, by Simon Hargreaves and Martin Fitzgibbons. I was listening to the FECers on my commute home in the horrible rain and darkness of the A379 and they were talking about riding a small bike fast, rather than say an S1000RR or R1 slowly (as far as the bike goes anyway) and it came to me that what would be great would be a lightweight 250 or 350cc cafe racer with a single seat and all that - really light. Best of all would be one I made myself, but an SRX250 or Suzuki Goose would fit the bill just as well. It would never replace the Breva for serious miles, but for a sunny short ride on a twisty local road - great fun.

Well, this year is a great improvement on last year as far as my personal motorcycling goes, and there have been some interesting developments in the wider motorcycle world too. Here are a few random thoughts; Big Trip - its really important (for me at least) to do at least one Big Trip a year. When I don't do such a thing the biking year definately has a "flat" feeling to it. This years trip was to Italy (as previously detailed in the blog) and was the trip of a lifetime - so far. I still think about the places we went and the things we did, months later. New foods, new roads, new countries, and new people. I learned that the Italian drivers are not mad, but they are pretty fast. That everyone rides a scooter. That the Guzzi brand is alive and well and a big deal in Mandello. That Switzerland costs a bomb. And that I really want to go back to lots of these places. British driving - I sort of doubted myself, but now having ridden overseas again, yes British drivers ar...

The bike is ready, idling away to a steady beat with a full tank of fuel and its time to go. Earplugs in, helmet on (check its done up good and tight) and then gloves on. A few deep breaths, allows you to focus mentally, to get ready   for the job at hand. Shake hands with your mate. Hop on, quick blip of the throttle and its kick up the stand and off. 250 miles to go, no mystery about the route, just want to get home. City traffic for a few miles and its an edgy annoying experience, as it always is for this rider. Out onto the motorway and now the speed picks up. Slipping into the mode where there is just the miles to go, the fuel warning light and the beat of the engine. Not really travelling much faster than a lot of cars today, too much on your mind and its too slippery. Now the rider is in an interior world of their own imaginings, cars are threats, uneven surface is threat, the sights and sounds of the countryside are reduced to shades of grey. And only serve to co...

Well I have had 10 weeks or so to think about what happened on the trip, what we saw and what we did, and what I would maybe change. Heres a few things bouncing around; Next time we go back that way I think maybe some motorway at the start to kill miles might be a good idea. Sure, we really saw the detail in the countryside of France and Belgium, it was a very immersive (to use a trendy word) experience. But we probably could have cut a day off each end by using motorways and had more time for those alpine passes, which were really highlights. Camping might not be the way to go on a trip where you move on each day. Not decided 100% on this yet, but the good nights sleep we got each day was pretty good at stopping tireness build up. Maybe as a compromise I can talk my riding partner into more Youth Hostels? Cheaper than hotels...modern hostels are pretty good. If we went somewhere and the weather was kind, maybe camping would be cool as a base camp type thing. Maybe its the ...

                           Overlooking the French plain from the edges of the Black Forest. Todtmoos to Miesenthal - total miles 155 - 12 July Not a great deal to say apart from we were sad to be leaving the Black Forest, and heading down onto the plain. I took one last photo of Jeff standing out on a rock looking towards France, and then we descended onto the plain, and it just got rather hot again. The traffic was intense, fiddly, and bloody annoying, and at one stage we were both dehydrated I am sure. Finally we managed to enter the Vosges National Park and the riding got a little more fun and we chilled out a bit. Not before me getting stuck in an irrigation ditch just after an al fresco lunch after crossing a river, possibly the Rhine (again). It just sort of symbolised the day up to that point so far. We eventually found a hotel, rat...