Lac de Vouglans

A long days riding which saw a complete set of seasons was capped by a lunch of nectarines and cherries at the top of the pass overlooking Lac de Vouglans. The reservoir provides power for the hydro-electric power station at Vouglans on the River Ain. Warnings of a severe storm are everywhere – lets see what the new day brings but the forests today were glorious, damp and primeval, its only when you ride a bike can you smell the changing surroundings – actually smell the earth and the rain soaked canopies.

Lac de Vouglans

The book has left the building…

In the late spring of 2013, I left my home, my wife and my family to complete a solo motorcycle expedition – no substantive planning, just my old BMW R1150 GS Adventure, a tent and sleeping bag, a handful of spares and some cash. I only had one fixed point on my itinerary and that was a return ferry ticket 98 days later. Today I finally managed to upload to my publishers the first draft of my pictorial journey of the expedition – a representation of the challenges, situations, peoples and landscapes I discovered over that inspirational period. I travelled over 24,000 km, exhausted five tyres and only had one puncture… I came back a changed man and for those of you who look at this and wonder if you can complete a similar undertaking, all I can say is ‘do it’ – I promise you will never regret it.

Book Cover

To say its been breezy here…

To say its been breezy here is a bit of an under statement – night time fun over the last week has revolved around playing cards under the opaque yellow glow of an oil lamp and a few left over Christmas candles such is the vagary of the overhead power supply. We have had it easy compared to some, but I do wonder just were all this water is coming from and how much more the sodden ground can take. It takes no effort to wheel spin the GSA over the mud and gravel now deposited all over the local track and roads – makes even my riding look like dirt track pro…Cwmtudu Winter Storms

Downtime in Austvågøya

Austvågøya could be overshadowed by Higravstinden the huge dominating mountain on the eastern island side but it also shares superb coastal beaches, stopping for tea and dried fish (is this were the British and Norwegian cultures met?) I kicked back in the summer sunshine and marvelled at the clarity of the water which at times allowed you to see the unperturbed marine life in its natural glory. Austvågøya

The GSA is Dead – Long live the GSA

Been a topsy turvy month with the gearbox on my 02 R1150 GSA wearing the main bearings and damaging the gearbox case, its in Cardiff Mototrrad still with Phil working his magic and within a few weeks he will have cannibalised three gearboxes into one new refurbished one for me. In the meantime I have a new blank canvas to play with – the Bumble Bee.The Bumble Bee