Been a great year for publications this year with three published magazine pieces and two magazine posts plus photos in the Motorworks BMW Calendar – my latest BN article is here… roll on 2017
Reflections on solo travel
One of the luxuries of solo travel is not worrying about knowing where you are, I might never be truly lost, I always have the choice of a left or right turn and sometimes stopping and looking back is all that is required to get exceptional clarity on life – being dwarfed by nature often puts things into perspective.
Hillclimb Cuneo – Col de la Madeleine
Laying in the grass trying to cool down but no shade for miles as I reached the top of the plateau from a road off the Col de la Madeleine. I decided to follow the tracks of the famous 1920 hillclimb route as I snaked the sixty odd kilometres between the French and Italian borders through the edges of the Vanoise National Park on the SP212 and into Novalesa. Easy on the CRF1000, but i wondered how the original hillclimb enthusiasts managed in the 1920s on such sharp includes with unforgiving and unprotected edges?
Preplanned service is always best…
First bit of preplanned roadside maintenance required on the Honda in the form of replacement rear pads – after about 11,500km on the DCT and a lot of mountain and track work the rear pads are looking decidedly worn with less than 1mm left of the 8mm original – I have to say the bike is very balanced, but dragging the rear brake and using the DCT G mode is the best way I have found to maintain effective low speed control on the loose stuff. The job is best done early in the comfort of my present location, with a small swimming pool handy and in the shade rather than later in the next week or so by the side of the road in +33 degree temperatures. I am sticking to conventional organic fibre pads (EBCFA174) and the job is simple, a couple of torx and a slider pin to move followed by maybe a cold beer… These will see me out for the rest of this trip and beyond… and before anyone comments, apart from tubes and my puncture kit and tools these were the only parts I carried with me as I could foresee this happening looking at the existing wear rate, but they were not worn enough to change pre trip. One questions remains… why is it EBC fibre pads smell so badly of fish?
Sand… oh joy, the bikers nemesis…
Today is different… the sometimes oppressive overhanging green canopy has broken away and the trees have been replaced with scrubby conifers struggling for purchase in soft sandy soil. The smell is different as well and the unmistakable fragrance of pine sap fills the air. Sand… oh joy the bikers nemesis… its hard packed but goes on for mile after mile and in the end I am glad when the gravel makes a return shortly to be followed by Spanish tarmac, not as smooth as the French type but very welcome all the same. Riding in sand is counter intuitive, going slower does not help and the Africa Twin is a heavy bike to rock back and forwards as she digs a trench with the rear tyre. The DCT gearbox is a revelation and Honda have certainly got that right and as Jeremy Clarkson would say “more power required” and the sand is a distant memory.
