Archive for Touring
Back from the Fin del Mundo
Posted by: | CommentsPatagonia was simply amazing – totally fantastic in every respect. My trip was all I hoped it would/could be.
This is as far as the road will take you in South America and what a road! Mountains, deserts, rainforests, glaciers, lakes and let’s not forget the wind. It blows constantly in the south – relentless and bitingly cold at times with speeds that sometimes required us to ride the bike at what felt like 45 degees just to stay on the road.
I’ll be updating this blog with more pics and words in due course as I get organised. At the moment, I am nursing a bad cold and a sore leg – yes, I did fall off.. – so plenty of excuses to sit at the PC and get some stuff sorted. A selection of photos can be seen in the right hand side bar and clicking any of them will take you to my Smugmug site with more photos – also here
Completely Bonkers??
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My paper Aerostich catalogue landed on the mat yesterday and for those of you who haven’t yet acquired one of these I suggest you do so without delay – it is a veritable Aladdin”s cave of biking gear porn and guaranteed to be injurious to your financial health.
On the back cover was an ad for something I hadn’t heard of before – Aerostich tours. Intrigued I read the text then went to the tours website to learn more. Oh what have I done? Before I knew it, I had called the States and booked myself provisionally on the “End of the Earth Tour” through Patagonia to Tierra del Fuego. Here are a few pics from the Aerostich site.
Today, after earnest conversations with my dear wife – about me going at all, as getting her to go would require at least a major miracle – my provisional booking has turned into a firm booking with deposit paid and my head filled with thoughts about freshening up my off-road riding techniques, the clothes I need to cater for temperatures ranging from freezing to boiling and whether my old motocross boots will do. Now I love my Goldwing but it sure ain’t the machine for this adventure. After thinking about booking one of the optional BMW R1150GS/R1200GS bikes I have decided they are too big and top heavy for my ancient bones and have opted instead to go for the basic BMW F650 GS about which lots of reviewers are very complimentary. It is certainly capable of the job by all accounts.
I may be completely daft but I love adventures and this promises to be a biggie. Logic says it’s for younger folk but also that if I don’t do it soon, I shall definitely be too old to contemplate it.
I have made a start again at the gym and am determined to (a) lose weight and (b) build up muscle so that when I inevitably fall off, I shall be able to pick myself and the bike up and continue riding. Not least because the amount of off-road riding suggests a potentially exhausting trip. I reckon off-road motorcycling is probably closer to the Tour de France in this regard than most people would guess!
Now I have to do all the stuff like book flights etc etc. I may also take myself off for one of the BMW off-road courses to see what I remember and repair any deficiencies in technique (there will be plenty of those to guarantee I get my moneysworth!)
1277 Miles
Posted by: | CommentsThat is how far I managed on my first proper tour with the Goldwing. Having got the first service out of the way, I watched the weather forecasts and as soon as they looked halfway decent I headed up the A1 to the North York Moors.
OK so no prizes for guessing this photo wasn”t taken in Yorkshire. I stayed one night there at an excellent B&B in Ingleby Cross on the Coast to Coast walking route but the weather was basically cloud at ground zero, so the next day, I rode west where the weather man said there was some sun to be found. Before that, I did find time to traverse an excellent road from Stokesly to Helmsley, meeting another Winger there.
The Dales were brighter but still too gloomy for my taste as I couldn”t see the tops of the hills and whilst the roads were pleasingly twisty and uncrowded on this weekday, the view left a lot to be desired. I continued my westward journey to the Lakes and ended up in Ambleside where there were plenty of bikers but as far as I could see, no other Goldwings. Again, the next day looked rather threatening and the weather man said Wales look good, so after a couple of hours of motorway travel I was pointing the bike to the welsh hills. I used to climb there in my youth and I was glad to see that once in Snowdonia, things were much as I remembered them. I can’t say the same for the nightmarish road from the Chester area, that is the A55 through Colwyn Bay to Bangor. It was extremely crowded and ugly – a route to be avoided at all costs in future I feel. I found a very nice B&B in Llanberis, thanks to the Tourist Information Office in the high street. I was rather glad of their help as many places I had tried earlier were full. I stayed two nights in Llanberis and that afforded me the opportunity to ride all over Snowdonia, giving the bike a thorough workout on the hills and through the valleys. It was very enjoyable and a great learning experience in terms of getting to know the bike but all too soon it was time to turn southwards and down the M1 towards home.
Rocky Mountain Holidays
Posted by: | CommentsAn email offering me a 25% discount on last minute bookings reminded me of two great holidays I have enjoyed in North America (Canada and USA) with Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Holidays. They use Triumphs principally, although they are getting a BMW R1200RT and the Moto Guzzi Breva 1100 for this season. Nothing is too much trouble for this outfit – like cleaning bikes every day and helmets at every stop! My bikes were the Tigers in these pix. Now I am acquiring the Wing, I am starting to think about long tours in Europe, I just hope I can find a company that does it as well as these boys.
