I have added this page to keep you up to date with any latest news and gossip if you have any comments which you wish to include please feel free to e-mail me.
Cheers , Dave

Hi,

The Mosel Wine Festival weather continued in the same manner as the rest of August with sunshine and showers, however being German showers they were heavier and longer, and its fair to say had this been a Moto Grand Prix it would have been declared a "wet race". Fortunately, there was plenty of bright spells, and the showers did nothing to dampen the party atmosphere of the Wine Festival. For many, the highlight of the weekend was the Sunday night firework display which as usual was spectacular and very noisy! As you will see from the picture gallery, we got out for a couple of ride-outs to enjoy the great roads and Fairy Tale scenery of the area.

previously..........

Back briefly at my desk after our Northern Counties Tour and frantically trying to get my VAT returns done (yes I am afraid we are not immune) before leaving for the Mosel Wine Festival next week. Sunshine and showers were the norm for this tour, with an occasional over zealous black cloud dumping its contents on us, however, this was balanced by some lovely sunshine and mainly dry roads in an area that I believe, has some of the most diverse biking roads in the country, The tour started in Northumberland, which was a first for us, as we have always struggled in the past to to find decent accommodation. However, having done so we were able to tour the whole breadth of the country from East to West taking in Northumberland, Scottish Borders, Galloway & Dumfries, the Lake District and Yorkshire. Although I know Northumberland reasonably well, it was good to call on friends Roy and Alison from Coldstream Bike Training (CBT - get it!) to show the way, as they ride the area daily whilst training up the next generation of bikers. Having visited Alnwick and Bamburgh Castles it was across to Holy Island for a brief coffee stop visit - never have I had such a punctual return, must have been the thought of the incoming tide lapping across the causeway that concentrated the minds. Saying goodbye to Roy and Alison at Selkirk we headed West into beautiful evening sunshine and our next overnight stay. One of the highlights of the day was that we were "Googled"... whilst travelling down a country lane we came up behind the Google camera car and followed if for some miles - I considered doing a wheelie to impress, but A) I do not think my pan could do one, and b) I am not sure I would know how! - not to mention if I made a mess of it, the world would see me in a big heap in the road... so I stayed behind grinning like a cheshire cat before other taking and giving someone else a minute of fame. Not sure how long it will be before it is on the Google maps, I know most things are about 18 months old - however for the record it was the B7060 just north of Selkirk. The rest of the tour was most enjoyable, some great hotels and even better food meant that the trousers have mysteriously shrunk once again. A final day in the Dales, proved very popular and brought a really enjoyable tour to an end.

I hope to use the short time I have at home to load some more of the pictures you have sent to me onto the gallery - if you have any you would like to share please send them to me on a CD and I will load what I can. Alternatively if you join the White Rose Tours group on Facebook, you can keep in touch with other people you may have toured with, and exchange photos etc there.

I continue to try and update the information regarding the Garmin mapping - I know my instructions are not entirely accurate and it seems that every Garmin unit needs something different depeending on its age - the obvious thing is to contact Garmin and ask their advice - however I will update what information I have the best I can, and as I said if you have any information yourself, let me know. Updating Garmin mapping

The Austria & Switzerland tour enjoyed some beautiful weather with just the one day of rain in Switzerland, which gratefully cooled things down after what has been several weeks heat wave in Europe. (them guys in the Tour de France, mad or what?) You will see from the gallery photos that the scenery in Austria was at its best with the majority of people happy to relax and ride the less demanding but never the less rewarding passes. I was quite shocked to see how low the water level of the Kaunertal reservoir was, a feature which seems to be common everywhere - perhaps its global warming, or maybe just too many people using too much water in their modern appliances. I rode the Furkha and Grimsel passes for the second time in as many weeks, however, I am no less impressed than the first time I ever saw them - and in my opinion- along with the Susten pass, are some of the best in Europe, despite what "Top Gear" says. Our first day in Switzerland saw people leave their bikes and head for the trains and cable cars of the area - quite a few disappearing into the clouds on the Jungfrau rack & pinion railway. Despite restricted visibility everyone felt it was a great day out, and for some, finding Basil Fawlty alive and well and running a shop on the summit was worth the cost alone. (its a long story, but one I am sure you will hear from John Clark when you next see him). The next day we planned a ride out, but had rain, so had a short ride to the Tummelbach falls, which I must admit were pretty dramatic. Leaving Interlaken behind, the sun reappeared and stayed with us as we enjoyed some lovely biking roads across France back to Calais.
Our arrival at the final hotel near Troyes was the end of an era for the older of my two bikes, the ST1100. Keith, a friend of mine living in France had expressed an interest in buying it, and it seemed an ideal solution for the both of us to leave the bike there, with another friend Mike who rode the bike on the tour, becoming pillion for the journey home. I must admit a tinge of sadness, having bought the bike 1 year old and with just 4000 miles on it at Cusworths in Doncaster, it never let me down and was the bike of choice for my UK tours. The final mileometer reading was 92,600 miles, during which time the only things I replaced other than consumables, was a starter relay and the wheel bearings, in fact even the exhaust system was still original. It,s good to know that the bike has gone to a good home, and that it will be enjoying a good retirement riding the backroads of France. (pause.. for blowing of nose and wiping of tears)

The beginning of July saw us head back into Europe after Scotland, on the Zeebrugge ferry for our Source of the Rhine Tour. A new tour, the idea was to follow the river Rhine from its beginnings in the Swiss Alps to its end in the lowlands of the Netherlands. Happily along the way there is some great scenery and brilliant roads to ride. What we did not quite expect was a heat wave, with temperatures rarely below 25C and often in the high 30,s - not ideal when wearing motorcycle gear, but guess one should not complain, and with several "days off" it was great to relax and soak up the sun. It was also nice to enjoy a fast run along the B500 in the Black Forest, despite having ridden this several times, its always been less than perfect, with rain or thick fog. So good were the conditions, that one of our party rode it several times, using the excuse that he had not seen us go into a cafe, and was looking for us - but we know the truth..... the temperature peaked in the Netherlands and a cold beer on the Hull ferry was much appreciated. During the tour a mysterious boiled egg thief was sought, as people returned to the egg boiler only to find their carefully timed eggs had disappeared. The culprit was never found, but the word on the street wa that she may have had red hair (whoops!)

One common feature of the last two tours is that people are having more and more problems with their sat navs. It seems that the lifetime updating of maps which many people (including myself) have signed up for is causing all sorts of problems. I really do despair with Garmin and their software at times, and if people who are computer literate and used to Garmin navigators are struggling, then what chance has people new to them have. Basically what seems to be the problem is that people are not loading the new maps onto their Garmin units properly - this results in your motorcycle floating in space not following any route, or road for that matter. The reasons for this seems to be that the Zumo550 no longer has a big enough memory to take the whole of the Europe mapping due to it having increased by including eastern block countries etc. The 2820 which I have, has even less memory, so I have been getting round this problem for a while by just downloading the countries you wish to have the mapping of, after all what's the point of having the mapping of Norway, sweden etc if you are staying in mainland Europe. Therefore I download the whole of Europe into my computer only. I then open map source, select the countries I am likely to need using "map tool" to make them pink, and then download that into my unit. If I get a moment I will try to get an answer from Garmin, or if someone else knows better, let me know.

Finally, I do not wish to be rude but I am concerned by peoples apparent total reliance on sat navs to a point of not having (or using) maps or the route directions I issue. I understand that route directions can be hard to read whilst riding, but a few simple notes of your own, and a good map is far better than a sat nav, unless you fully understand how to use them properly and I only know a hand full of people who do. So please, switch your sat navs on, listen to the instructions, watch the screens and understand how they work, but do not follow them until you are confident that you can use them properly. Once at your location, then sat navs can really come into their own, put in the hotel name, "Go to" and it will take you right to the door.

previously............

Just back from a most enjoyable tour of the Scottish Highlands. As you will see from the pictures we had a mixed bag of weather with everything from beautiful sunny days to low cloud and drizzle, but on the whole pretty good, with little rain and some great biking roads. The hotels we used were a mixture of old favourites and one or two new ones which worked out well. All had great food, which unfortunately caused my trousers to be a little on the tight side by the end of the week. We always tell everyone that although we make all the arrangements and plan the routes, it is the people on tour to make it what it is, and I am pleased to say we had a really good group who never stopped laughing and made the most of every minute.  I think one of my favourite moments was at the "Electric Brae" on the Ayrshire coast. An optical illusion, this section of road looks to rise when in fact it falls - a fact I was finding hard to convey until a car driver obligingly stopped and free wheeled backwards uphill - the look on peoples faces was priceless.

It may have escaped your notice, but the tours are coming thick and fast and we are now half way through our tour season. Unfortunately we have to close many of the tours well before departure dates in order to satisfy ferry and hotel operators, which means anyone expecting a last minute booking are disappointed. So if there is a tour you are interested in, please contact us asap and we will hold you a place.  You will see we have one last Double room left on the Mosel Wine Festival tour - this really is a great short break holiday and one we we will not do for another 2-3 years. The Northern Counties has a little room left, and takes you on some of the most scenic roads in Northern England. An excellent tour to try if you have never toured before combined with some great hotels and good food. Finally I am being pushed to release the rooms we are holding at the 4 star Nidd Hall for our 60,s weekend. Anyone who have stayed at Warner hotels know how popular they are, and so once again if you are interested please contact us asap.

Finally managed to work my way through the paperwork to give me time to write a little about the last few tours. As always May is a busy month and I have just arrived back from an enjoyable (if eventful) tour of the Pyrenees and Costa Brava.  Although we have been to the Pyrenees many times, a few days on the beach was a new venture and one that worked well, giving everyone time to recharge their batteries before returning up the scenic A75, over the Millau Bridge and along some lovely cross country French roads.
The Tour started with our usual St.Malo crossing, down the west coast of France to the Bordeaux area. The next day we passed through Lourdes to climb the "Col de Tourmalet" - with blue skies and the sun shining I was looking forward to the crossing - as often it can be covered in cloud and rain - only to be confronted with the"Col de Tourmalet" FERME sign (closed to you and me). I must admit looking at the more than usual snow covered peaks I was not altogether surprised, and so we back tracked to take a longer but lower route to the Bielsa tunnel. Seemed that France was not keen to see us go, as no sooner had we left Bagneres, than yet another sign told us that the Bielsa tunnel was closed for repairs !!  At this point a lesser man would have slit his wrists, but seeing as I could not find a knife there was nothing else to do but take a 100 mile detour through the Vielha tunnel. To be honest it went well, until the mother of all thunderstorms dropped torrential rain on us and threw some lightening in for good measure.  But of course we are British, and so unbowed we made it to the hotel where a hot shower, lovely meal and several beers (and a sense of survival) made this journey the topic of conversation for many days. In comparison the rest of the tour was easy going, with dry roads and scenery that only the Pyrenees can supply.

I did say this was an eventful tour, and unfortunately one of our party was taken ill and had to go into hospital for a short while, however, I am pleased to say he his back home and well on the road to recovery and itching to get on his bike again.  We had someone who had to go looking for a tyre, (his new bike must have been shod with super soft rubber), someone else clipped a white line whilst passing an unmarked police car (40 Euro fine), the same person hit a stone and fell off at a roundabout.  He is now approaching Triumph with a view to patenting his indicator lens cover made out of one swimming goggle, As usual I will not mention any names (Mike). The final thing was the last morning when a bike would not start - however I am pleased to say that it did start eventually and they were able to catch a later ferry.  Despite these bits and pieces, a good tour with a great crowd and lots of laughs. We also had a first on this tour, as Karl Boddy & Fiona Barlow got married the weekend before we left, and this was their honeymoon. We wish them all the best for the future.

Its always amusing to hear the tales from other riders whilst waiting for the ferry, however, some make you shake your head - as we heard of a rider who had been caught doing 90mph on a D road (usually 60mph) his fine? - a cool 750 Euro's.......

The NW200 & Donegal Tour saw us take our annual pilgrimage to Northern Ireland, the weather was its usual mixed self and although colder than normal kept pretty dry, especially for the racing and our day tour out in Donegal. A small group from a bike club near Cheltenham won the unluckiest riders award - firstly having one of their party took a fall due to a car driver incredibly stopping dead on a dual carriageway, another having their bike break down, a third collecting a stone through the radiator on the way home and the last limping home due to a an electrical fault. Thankfully they all have a good sense of humour and enjoyed their trip despite these things.
Anyone who read my comments on the NW200 last year will know I was not impressed with the organisation - I still think it is a bit slow, but was a great improvement and there is no denying we saw some great racing. Uel, our Irish guide took us on a different route this year and it was nice to take a back seat for a change and sit back and enjoy the scenery. I keep thinking I will give the NW200 a miss, but I must admit I still find the Antrim Coast a lovely part of the world and the tour if anything gets more popular each year.

Pleased to say all went well at the GPS Course despite my not been there (perhaps they are trying to tell me something) and from the feedback I have received everybody managed to go home a little wiser. One thing that came to light, is that quite a few people had not plotted a route on mapsource before , and so were able to do it for the first time. Despite running over, I believe the general feeling was that the course could have been even longer - and so if we get sufficient demand, we will repeat the course towards the back end of next year and include a tour to put new found skills to the test.

Happily I did make it back in time for the Scottish Borders Tour. One of my favourites, as riding on empty roads on a Bank Holiday some how gives one a feeling of superiority as you imagine the masses nose to tail in traffic jams. However, the weather was true to form for a Bank Holiday with showers on the Saturday but dry if a little cold on the Sunday. Needless to say Monday dawned without a cloud in the sky!.  Once again an enjoyable tour, with a good crowd of riders.

You will remember that I mentioned that Garmin were to release a budget sat nav for bikers - the Zumo 220.  Well seems Garmin's idea of a budget model and what was expected by everyone else is rather different, the model has been priced in the USA at 600 dollars, which at today's rates, means when it becomes available in March, it is likely to be £380. With numerous other Garmin models available at £100 or less, I do not see how making a model suitable for bike use can quadruple costs - yet again another case of ripping the biker off I think.

Last week we went to the MCN show at the Excel centre in London, quite a long day for us, but enjoyed the walk round and was able to talk to some fellow tour operators we have not seen for a while. I - like many others judging by the dealers face - were disappointed not to see the new VFR, as Honda in their wisdom were sticking to their release date the following weekend.  However, I actually did get to have a sneak preview whilst delivering brochures to a dealers - my immediate thought was how ugly the silencer was, but then it is the current trend.  But the quality of finish certainly looked good and thank goodness they have not gone the same way as everyone else by sticking plastic brake fluid containers on the handlebars as if an afterthought.  No doubt time and sales will tell if the bike is going to be a success, but I think the small fuel tank has already put quite a few people off.  I was also told that Honda's reason for not going to any shows was so they could save money which could be used to reduce the cost of the new VFR ! - and that a new Pan is still 2 years away.

Previously ......

Thanks to everyone for their help with our attempts to set up a Face Book page - we have tried several options and have decided to go with a group page. If you would like to join the Group, you will first need to be a member of face book then either follow the link from our homepage or search for White Rose Motorcycle Tours.  Once your membership has been confirmed you will have access to our discussion board and be able to contact fellow members.

Just back from our annual pilgrimage to the Expro show in Birmingham. This is a trade show, so you are not able to buy anything (phew) but its interesting to see all the new products that will be available in the shops soon.  As usual the show was dominated by Chinese manufactured small cc bikes and scooters, however there was some nice clothing and many new crash helmets.  However the most unusual, which I assume are new, I certainly have never seen them before, were some decorated in pictures of fruit, strawberries, apples that kind of thing - with a label saying smell me!  Yes, they really did smell of the illustrated fruit !!!!!! - now quite why you would want to ride with the smell of strawberries in your nostrils is a complete mystery to me.

Good morning - I hope you are all well and survived the recent spell of bad weather.  I must admit I was starting to get cabin fever, never get far at this time of the year - but was unable to even get out and deliver brochures to the local bike shops.  As you would expect all the shops are quiet, so now could be the time to pick up a good bargain - I see the low value of the pound against the yen has driven the price of japanese bikes up, especially the Yamaha R1 which I believe is 25% more expensive and even some helmets now looked decidedly expensive. Good news for BMW and Triumph though, who seem to be going from strength to strength - owning two Pan Europeans I am a bit of a Honda fan, but I think they are seriously loosing their way - especially with the new VFR, so I may have to look in that direction for my next bike.

In the constant attempts to part you from your money I see that Garmin are releasing a new sat nav, the Zumo 665 - having read a few reviews I can not see any great advantages for updating from say the 660 - as it is aimed more for the American market where you can get XM (satellite) radio and weather updates.  Indeed in one review it says the battery life has been reduced from 5 hours to 3 hours so that seems a distinct disadvantage to me. Whilst trawling the reviews I also came across the news that Garmin are launching a "budget" sat nav for bikers - the Zumo 220, not sure what price this is going to be, but I consider all the present Garmin and Tom Tom models overpriced.  If you have just bought yourself a sat nav and would like to know how to get the best out of it, why not join us on for our GPS Basics Course in April, we still have a few places left.

Bookings for 2010 are going well, and I am pleased to say the tours are filling up nicely. I am sorry if the tour you were interested in is full, remember, if there is anything you are interested in please pick up the phone and let us know, we will hold your place for a week, whilst you check to see if you can get time off work and get the relevant paperwork to us.

I am afraid to say that Tony, a regular with us for many years, has finally lost his crown to a new upstart who has broken his record of 7 by booking 9 tours with us this year - what was wrong with the other 3, I am not too sure.... (must of heard me - we are now up to 10) . However, I am pleased to say that Tony will be riding with us this year and has threatened to make a big comeback. Once again I will have the invaluable help from Jane and John who will be helping me in my attempts not to lose anyone.

If you are thinking of signing up for the Garmin lifetime map update be prepared to lose several days of your life trying to achieve this, if you have a fast broadband connection it may not be too bad, and if you have dial-up broadband do not even consider it !! 

Having spoken to a Garmin representative at the NEC and to members of their help team in the past, it appeared that I was unable to update my Garmin 2820 mapping to the lifetime map update scheme, and that I would have to purchase the new Zumo 660, this I was reluctant to do, (a) because I have become attached to my 2820 which has proved ultra reliable (should I have said this )  and (b) it would involve spending even more money buying yet more leads from Autocom.  This turned out to be incorrect, and it is indeed possible to update the maps on the older models, although you have to select the countries you wish to get coverage of due to memory limitations. I am sure things will be a lot easier on the Zumo 550 where you have much more memory and a SD card. I am no expert, but if you want any help give me a ring.   I am also told that I will have to go through this performance every time they update the maps (up to 4 times per year) - why they can not just update the changes I am not sure.

End of Term report

With the economic situation and poor exchange rate this has not been the easiest of years.  Thankfully over the last 14 years we have built up a pool of loyal customers who come back to us year after year, many several times a year.  Several of these have now become firm friends, and, in turn, have made new friends themselves with others they have met on tour.

I am pleased to say that despite the continuing fall in value of the pound against the Euro, we were able to maintain our brochure prices, and were not forced to implement any supplementary charges. We are confident that this will also be the case in 2010.  However, it is inevitable with the pound and Euro practically at parity that you will notice a rise in the prices of next year's European tours.  We could limit costs by reducing the quality of our accommodation and including fewer evening meals, but we know from previous comments that this would not be a path you would like us to take.   With this in mind, next years schedule will have some new tours along with some old favourites and a bias towards UK tours until such time as the pound recovers. Being conscious that many of you need to get holiday requests in ASAP, so we will endeavour to update the website as often as possible with the latest information.

2009 Tour Blog

So the October Getaway tour concludes our programme for this year. Despite some early morning cloud the weather cleared to give a good two days riding the Dales of Yorkshire, Lake District and some excellent roads in the Northern Pennines. It was good to see so many familiar faces and welcome along some new ones - the good food and accommodation at our favourite hotel completing what was an enjoyable tour.

The Mountains of Spain was our last European tour of the year and one of our biggest with regards to numbers.  To be honest having experienced the wonderful smooth roads of France and the stunning scenery of the Alps I felt that in my mind Spain no longer lived up to my expections - however I was wrong, and it really was as good as I remembered from my early trips many years ago.   I am not sure what it was, the erie silence as we rode up through the clouds to the sunshine above, the beauty of the Pyrenees & Pico's, or just the the sheer enjoyment of riding some great roads for hour after hour and hardly seeing another vehicle.  Put this together with great hotels, good food and above all a great crowd of riders and it made for yet again another enjoyable tour.

Only down side, was our wait on the dock side in Santander to board the ferry, followed by an equally long wait to get off in Plymouth - you really must do better Brittany.

So its official, the UK is grid locked and I experienced what I can only describe as one of the worst journeys of my life as we rode back to Yorkshire from Plymouth. What a mess our roads are in, and a disgrace when you consider the money that is extracted from the motorist, I know it was a Friday afternoon but stationary traffic on and off for over 300 miles is not acceptable. It is no exaggeration to say I must have filtered for more than 50 of them 300 miles and half expected to see an odd skeleton or two on the M6 hard shoulder of a frustrated car driver who never made it.

The Italian Dolomites tour started for most with an overnight ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge, the sea was a little rough but lulled us to sleep until early morning when I can only presume the ship ran over a whale, submarine, fishing boat or maybe all three, judging by the noise and bump! 

The next day took us across Belgium to our first night stop in the Vosges mountains where we met our colleagues who had ridden down from Calais having absorbed a vast quantity of French rain. To be honest the forecast was not good, with a front that was scheduled to follow us eastwards and true to form as we rode out of it, kept catching us up making the journey to Italy pretty awful. Rumours that the rain clouds were attached to my bike by a rope are all lies .... Thankfully, the weather came good when it really mattered, and for the rest of the tour we had beautiful blue skies and perfect riding weather.

SW Ireland was our destination last week, and for once our luck ran out with the weather. Whilst you sat sunning yourself , sipping wine and eating burgers off the Barbi, we were treated to a little of the Irish mist......In fairness our journey across to Kerry was dry and bright and we had time to make a detour to ride part of the "Ring of Kerry" and enjoy the views before arriving in Killarney proper. The next two days were disappointing, so little riding was done, instead many people choosing to visit local attractions such as "Muckross House, Gardens and farm, which I must admit were quite interesting.

Despite the forecast - the following day we headed for the Beara Peninsula - seemed the gods had forgiven us, and as we rode up the Healy Pass the clouds rolled back treating us to some wonderful views and a good days riding. Our journey back to Dublin was dry and sunny, giving us the chance to see the Wicklow Mountains at their best. Despite the weather, everyone enjoyed themselves, and I personally always enjoy the wonderful scenery in that part of the world. If you are planning a trip to Ireland, it is no longer cheap. Petrol is on par with the UK and the price of eating out can only be called horrendous !!

Another great weekend for our Dales, Lakes and Mountains Tour as the sun shone and the tarmac was sticky - well that bit is a bit of an exaggeration because the Dales roads could never be described as sticky unless you count the numerous dead bunnies !!  However, we did enjoy some good riding.  Saturday saw us head for the Lakes, needless to say due to the good weather, the roads were busy, but it gave us chance to relax and enjoy the scenery before taking to the back roads and heading up Honister Pass. Having told everybody to take care, I suspect they thought I had over-egged things slightly, however, I am sure I heard a sharp intake of breath as they crested the ridge by the slate mine and took a look down the other side. Leaving the lakes behind we took to the Northern Pennines to ride Hartside, down through Teeside and back through the Dales in time for dinner.  Sunday saw us move into the Dales proper, as we criss crossed from one Dale to the other picking up a mixture of scenic and "playful" roads.

Recently had the opportunity to spend some time in France checking out new routes and places to see. Unfortunately many of the places we wanted to visit clashed with the "Tour De France" race. It seemed unlikely they were going to change their route for us, so we dodged back and forwards to avoid them.  I really have nothing but admiration for them guys, some of the routes they tackle are hard enough on a 1300cc motorbike never mind a push bike. Apart from 5 minutes getting off the ferry, the sun shone every day, with temperatures in the mid 30's and an unbelievable 18C on Col de Bonnette (2802M) generally accepted as the highest road in Europe.  Col de Bonnette was part of the Route de Grande Alps, some of which I have done before, other bits which were on my wish list. 

Just one tour since I last wrote, and that was the Mountains of France tour. Although we did this tour a couple of years ago, and have visited the Auvergne region many times before, I really enjoyed this one. I never tire of the traffic free roads and smooth tarmac that the French seem to excel at. One exception is the Tarn Gorges I suppose, but then the scenery and twisty road to the top makes up for it.  With a very "together" group of riders we made the most of every day, and even discovered some great new biking roads amongst old favourites. We had a virtually rain free tour with blue skies, and at times, too high a temperature, fortunately we were able to quench our thirst by large quantities of beer and the excellent local cider.

On the morning of our departure to Chamonix we were delayed by one of the bikes having picked up a puncture. Having had problems in the past with local companies unwilling to come out, I suggested that " breakdown assistance" be called, after all that's what you pay your money for, this turned out to be a big mistake as the lady concerned spent 30 minutes giving every possible detail to the guy at the other end (several times). Fortunately she has more patience than me as I was ready to tear the phone out of the wall when he asked if she had a spare wheel ! - he then advised that he would have to wait till the office opened (1 hour later) to confirm her details. When asked that surely it was a 24 hour service the answer was "no - we just answer the phone 24 hours" - so there you have it.  The company concerned? IAM Surety......Having given up with them, she limped to the nearest Kawasaki garage and had a new tyre fitted within the hour.

Proceedings were delayed further when another bike would not start, fortunately they had the fault diagnosed and were able to join us the following day (faulty starter switch).  Rest of the tour went smoothly, and as I said I really enjoyed the trip - the thoughts of riding across the Auvergne with perfect skies, lovely smooth sweeping roads and even the smell of freshly mown grass will keep me going through many a winter evening.

A special "Happy Birthday" to Geoff Stewart (Jersey Geoff to his friends) who just had the big  60 - amazing he does not look a day over 65.....

Its been a fairly busy month with three tours taking us half way through our 2009 touring season.  I am pleased to say all three tours were blessed with good weather and were different but enjoyable in their own way.  Our Rhine Valley Tour must go down as an "umleitung" tour, for those that do not know, that is German for diversion - and the Germans do seem experts at closing roads and diverting you into the blue wide yonder to find your own way.  However, in this case our first road blockage was caused by a two lorry collision on the Autobahn blocking the carriageway completely. In true German efficiency, the middle lane of the motorway was left clear for the emergency vehicles which allowed us to the front, but it soon became obvious that we were going nowhere and radio reports from a Belgian lorry driver confirmed at least a 4 hour wait to clear the debris.  Fortunately in true German logic, after an hour or so,without drama or fuss or removal of barriers, all the traffic was turned round and sent off at the previous junction - why the hell can't we do that !!

Our stay in the Rhine Valley was as usual very laid back, and it was so pleasant to ride the river valley's with their fairy-tale castles and half timbered houses in lovely sunny weather - fortunately it was not the really high temperatures you were experiencing back in the UK - think that would have made riding pretty uncomfortable.  We had our usual visit to the Nurburgring, which was particularly busy and to be honest looked pretty hairy due to the amount of traffic.  My only regret was not been quick enough with the camera to catch the "ring taxi" do a 4 wheel drift in a cloud of smoke as it passed through Adenau.

Although we had been warned about yet another diversion near Monschau, I was keen to ride the 258 again with its long swooping bends - eventually getting to the diversion - the trusty Garmin found a way through, only to be confronted by a total road closure which forced us on a long detour into Belgium.   Germany 1, Brits 0.

No such problems on our Scottish Highlands Tour - my only fear was the poor weather forecast and of course the dreaded midges..  I need not of worried, the further we got from our original departure point in the Scottish Borders, the better the weather got, and tales of flooding and cancelled TT races seemed to be a different world. The midges were kept at bay by a spray I had found on the internet called "stop bite" and made from Bog Myrtle.  It seemed to work, but to be honest I was not going to pull even the ugliest sheep smelling like that...

We had the odd moments of drama, with a couple of punctures, some over ambitious navigation leading to someone nearly running out of petrol and a minor off on gravel leading to some damaged pride.  Nothing serious I am pleased to say and the Gentleman concerned ( will not name you - Alan) has already chopped the bike in for a brand new one (said the ash trays were full anyway). We did have an odd shower, but with mainly sunny clear days and traffic free roads, it makes you realise you - that when the weather is right -Scotland takes some beating.

The Scottish Tour finished at the hotel we use between the Lakes and Dales which meant I had a free day before our scheduled weekend Yorkshire Dales tour. I spent the day riding around my old haunts in the Lake District, I rode over Wrynose and Hardknott passes, something I have not done since I was at college, and re-confirmed that I would not personally take a group over them.  Its not that they are just steep and twisty, you get lots of that in the Alps, but the road surfaces are unnecessarily poor - I thought the same in Scotland, why is it that the road user is taxed almost to a point of extinction and yet we still have minor roads that are no better than cart tracks and main roads that are now so poor that they are dangerous to ride on. Of course should the legislation to reduce speed limits to 50mph on county roads be implemented, no doubt the quality of road surface will fall further - no such problem in the Lakes where they seem to be putting a blanket 20mph limit on many of the roads....

Anyway, the Yorkshire Dales Tour was billed as short weekend break suitable for first time tourer's, so it was nice to see lots of new faces. Having explained the "drop off" system we use on guided tours, our merry band set off,only for some to miss the second marker - fortunately we got back on track and everyone got to see the Dales at their best. Judging by the comments everybody enjoyed their first touring experience and we hope to see them again.

Just back from the NW200 & Donegal, compared to previous years the weather was disappointing, but to be honest it never stopped us doing anything, and everyone enjoyed themselves. Saturday being race day we rode to the circuit where the weather was far better than forecast, unfortunately the organisation was not, and proceedings dragged on so slowly that the final two races (one of which was the main race of the day) were  cancelled to allow the roads to re-open.  We will return next year as we consider this one of the best road races around, but come on organisers, get your act together.

Go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/northern ireland/nw200/ to watch the highlights.

Sunday saw us take our usual tour into Donegal. Although I have been there many times, I have always happy to take a back seat and allow Uel Irwin of NI Mototours act as our guide, his local knowledge once again ensuring we get the most out of the tour.   The day started in the walled city of Derry with Uel giving us a brief history of the city (I never knew one city could have so many different names) before riding westwards through the the Glenveagh National Park and past Errigal Mountain to lunch by the Atlantic Ocean.   With blue skies we finished the day riding down the side of the Foyle river, topping up with petrol before our return to British prices - ironically with the devaluation of the pound against the Euro there is now little difference.
Talking of pounds I think I put a few on, they certainly know how to feed you over there.....

May Bank Holiday saw our traditional return to the Scottish Borders always a favourite, we were blessed with sunny days and dry roads - I never tire of this part of the world with its traffic free roads and wonderful scenery - even the policemen are friendly as they chatted to us by St.Mary's Loch and seemed interested that we could keep 20 odd bikes together without loosing anyone. Only fly in the ointment was intermittent water supply in some of the hotel rooms, as way of compensation we were supplied with free wine, which of course led to calls for the water to be cut off completely!  Having stayed there last week, I am pleased to say everything is back to normal the fault being traced to the new plumber shutting off a valve. .

.For all you Garmin fans I see there is a new sat nav out, the Zumo 660, I read reviews on it in the USA which were not altogether complimentary, but its certainly more compact and along the lines of the car units - shame its some £400 (why?) - I can't help feeling once again the biker is getting ripped off.

The Press/TV driven doom and gloom continues to push the economy ever further into a recession- just imagine if you did not have a TV/radio or read a newspaper - would you really know anything had changed ?  Unfortunately we do, and we are now starting to feel the effects as people have to cancel their tours due to having their hours cut or loosing their jobs all together, hopefully this will be a short term thing for them and they will back touring with us soon.  Thankfully for us, we are filling many of the gaps, however, as I said in the latest news bulletin email if there is anything you are interested in that was previously fully booked check out the website or give us a ring, there now may be a vacancy.  Speaking of emails, I had quite a few returned - this may well of been spam filters rejecting a multi address email - but I suspect many of the address's were no longer valid, so if you have changed yours in the last year please let us know and we will correct our records.

So the Taste of Wales kicked off our 2009 touring season, and what a lovely weekend it was, not even a spot of rain. We had a mixed crowd of regulars and new customers, and for me an easy weekend, as Jane one of our guides, led the group whilst I kept an eye on things from the back. We will be returning to Wales October 1-4th  2010 for a long weekend, which will allow us two days of touring.

If you have read last years blog (see below, under Austria & Switzerland) you will remember my comments regarding having new tyres fitted by a firm, who very kindly stripped the front axle bolt on my Pan.  Well attempts to get any kind of admission of guilt or even a simple apology were not forthcoming and I really do not have time to take it to the courts, so I am stuck with paying myself. For legal reasons I can not name the company, all I would say is if it is a company that fits tyres and its in Saltaire, near Shipley - stay away. picture of bolt

My thanks to John Brown who brought a couple of  points to our notice

1. The new EHIC cards that replaced the old E111 actually have an expiry date.  I must admit I had not noticed, however please check you card to ensure it is still in date.

2. If you have an older vehicle (over 10 years) and require breakdown insurance through "Gold Cover" - the premium is now double not 50% extra as previously

from Greg West - if you insurance through e-bike they are offering free classic bike insurance with every 12 month policy. If you are thinking of using them please go via the link on our home page - that way I get a small commission and it costs you no more !!

Thanks to Keith White for the following warning should you have one of the new type driving licences, I have one of the green ones which is probably not legal anymore either...

Driving Licence renewal
"Thousands of motorists are at risk of being fined up to £1,000 because they are unwittingly driving without a valid licence. They risk prosecution after failing to spot the extremely small print on their photo card licence which says it automatically expires after 10 years and has to be renewed - even though drivers are licensed to drive until the age of 70.

Motoring organisations blamed the Government for the fiasco and said 'most' drivers believed their licences were for life. They said officials had failed to publicise sufficiently the fact that new-style licences - unlike the old paper ones - expire after a set period and have to be renewed.

To rub salt into wounds, drivers will have to a pay £17.50 to renew their card - a charge which critics have condemned as a 'stealth tax' and which will earn the Treasury an estimated £437million over 25 years.

The fiasco has come to light a decade after the first batch of photo licences was issued in July 1998, just as the they start to expire. Official DVLA figures reveal that while 16,136 expired this summer, so far  only 11,566 drivers have renewed, leaving 4,570 outstanding. With another 300,000 photo card licences due to expire over the coming year, experts fear the number of invalid licences will soar, putting thousands more drivers in breach of the law and at risk of a fine.

At the heart of the confusion is the small print on the tiny credit-card-size photo licence, which is used in conjunction with the paper version. Just below the driver name on the front of the photo card licence is a series of dates and details - each one numbered. Number 4b features a date in tiny writing, but no explicit explanation as to what it means. The date's significance is only explained if the driver turns over the card and reads the key on the back which states that '4b' means 'licence valid to'. Even more confusingly, an adjacent table on the rear of the card sets out how long the driver is registered to hold a licence - that is until his or her 70th birthday.

Motorists who fail to renew their licences in time are allowed to continue driving. But the DVLA says they could be charged with 'failing to surrender their licence', an offence carrying a £1,000 fine.

Today the DVLA said the date of expiry was carried on the new-style licence's, even though the AA says this is 'not clear'.  The Agency was unable to say whether motorists were told the licence's would expire when they were first issued.  It said it was issuing postal reminders to drivers whose photograph was due to expire, to get the renewal message across. But a spokesman admitted this was the limit of the DVLA's publicity.

Experts say many drivers will slip through the net because DVLA records are inaccurate and many motorists have changed address, making it impossible to trace them.  A DVLA spokesman said: 'Previous experience has shown that wide-scale publicity is less effective and can generate enquiries and concerns from those not affected. Instead, DVLA focused on targeted publicity to ensure that we got the message to the right person at the right time."'.

The other week I was at "Expo", a trade exhibition held each year to showcase products for the motorcycle dealers. My intention was to source a new jacket, but was disappointed that many of the companies, who are usually there, were missing - a result of the present economic situation and the high cost of exhibiting I suppose. However, a few things did take my interest. The first was the amount of Chinese manufactured motorcycles and scooters, one particular electric scooter caught my eye, and if I commuted in a city I think would be a really good idea, however at some £7000 not particularly cheap!  Looking at all the various motorcycles I could not help feeling a little bit of déjà vu as I remember the arrival of some of the first Japanese motorcycles in this country (when I was but a lad) – very much like the Chinese bikes of today, they were low capacity, go to work bikes, and were not taken seriously by the British motorcycle manufacturers - however as history as shown, it was not long before the Japanese increased their bikes right across the range and effectively destroyed the British motorcycle industry.  With the present high value of the Yen against the pound looking to increase the costs of new Japanese bikes, I wonder if the Chinese are set to be the new force in the biking world?

The other thing I noticed was the Scotoiler Automatic chain lubrication e system.  I believe it was on display at the NEC, but I did not notice it.  With both my bikes having shaft drive I have no real need of one, however I did have a scotoiler on my VFR and found it invaluable.  A visit to their website will no doubt tell you all about it, but if it does all that it says it does it should be a useful accessory for touring holidays.

Thanks to Keith White who brought this to our attention.

"The lead story in the Irish Times has one of the most striking headlines of the morning. "Irish will need passports to visit Britain from 2009," it says. reports that the Irish government has instructed its civil servants to "draw up a plan for dealing with the ending of the common travel area between Ireland and the UK".
The paper says it's "all part of a British policy to introduce electronic border controls over the next two years".

It points out that Ireland is planning a similar system.

The papers says it won't mean that border controls will be introduced between the two parts of Ireland, but it will mean "that anyone traveling between Ireland and the UK by air or sea will need a passport".

Obviously we do not know when this is likely to come into force - however if you have booked or are going to book our Southern Ireland Tour it would be wise to carry a valid passport.

A big thank you to everyone who came to see us at The Manchester Motorcycle Show.  It was a little disappointing that there was hardly any other touring companies at the show, but good for us as we had many enquiries and received enough bookings to make it worth our while. No doubt the present economic climate kept exhibitors away, but it is the usual story, if you don't use it you will loose it , and it would be a shame to see the one show we have in the North disappear.

We have also been out and about dropping brochures off at the various motorcycle dealers who very kindly display them for us.  Having talked to the dealers, I do not think they are feeling the economic doom and gloom that the press and TV constantly spread, although if you are thinking of buying a new bike perhaps now would be a good time, as they suggest the high value of the yen and Euro against a poor pound will mean imports could rise considerably in price.

I am pleased to say our bookings are at their normal levels, as usual some tours fill up quicker than others, however there are still plenty of vacancies.  Despite our best attempts to get the hotels to allocate us more, Single occupancy rooms are always the first to go, and we have already run out on some tours.  However, If you are willing to share, there is a good chance we can get you on the tour of your choice.   There is no doubt that the devaluation of the pound against the Euro is going to effect the costing of European tours - however our first European tour is not until the end of May, so we have decided to nothing about it for the present time and will review costs tour by tour, however the general feeling is that the pound will recover to around the 1.20 mark. 

previously........

Since I last wrote I have been to the motorcycle Show at the NEC - I know I am a Yorkshire man, but this seems to be getting really expensive, especially if you take the car, buy a programme, watch one of the special shows or dare to eat!  Obviously apart from looking at any new bikes I like to see what the "opposition" is doing.  Actually, none of us think of each other like that, every tour company has their own style and way of doing things and it is for the customer to choose what suits them best.  It is also good to talk to others and find out that they have problems just like yourselves, however we were all concerned that our friends Rob and Sandra along with Freedom Touring seem to have disappeared, so if you read this Rob give us a call.

From the 1st January due to a change in regulations we can no longer sell travel or breakdown assistance directly to you, however we still continue to recommend Gold Cover Insurance Services as our preferred supplier of Travel Insurance and European Motoring Breakdown Assistance. They provide insurance which is tailored specifically for motorcycle tours and holidays and can be arranged on a single trip or annual multi-trip basis.

If you would like to take advantage of this insurance, please call 01892 559530 and request Whiterose Goldcover for the best quote and immediate cover.

2008 Tour blog

Well no doubt the return to wind and rain after the short "Indian summer" will make you realise that I am back home again - in all fairness we did have our fair share of good weather on the "Tyrol, Lakes & Alps" tour not even having to break out the waterproof's, however, it was surprisingly cold. 

The tour nearly did not get off the ground as we were booked on the Channel Tunnel the Tuesday after the fire.  Knowing how long it took to open the tunnel last time, we took no chances and rescheduled our crossing to a 5am ferry (yawn..)  fortunately the early start and a fine day got us across France in plenty of time to have a beer or two before catching up with our sleep.

On arrival in Austria, we were told that the next day would be good but to expect bad weather the day after - so keen to get some passes in, we headed for the Timmelsjoch.  Couple of years since I have done this, and then the visibility was poor, so was good to see it at its best.  The predicted bad weather never arrived and if anything it got better, so next day we were off to Silvretta and the Alborg pass before going up the lovely Kauntertal valley.
Unluckiest person of the trip was John, having got lost, he finally found his way and emerged blinking from the Reschenpass tunnel and straight into the hands of the police, where he received a fine for not having an Austrian vignette!

Low cloud greeted us as we left Austria for Lake Guarda.  The Gavia and Croce Domini passes awaited, I had been looking forward to doing these for some time, however the low cloud meant visibility was poor, I think actually this could have been a blessing as much of the road has sheer drops and no barriers. Our journey was temporarily halted when we came face to face with a funeral party, whoever it was must have been popular, or perhaps there is nothing else to do around there, as the whole village had turned out, forming a long procession behind the coffin and a group of priests bearing a huge crucifix.   The head priest must have been a biker, as he gave us a broad smile and wink as he passed by.

Our stay in Guarda was at a lovely hotel high above the hustle and bustle of the lakeside road. A boat trip to Sirmione proved popular, whilst others just chilled out in the lakeside villages and watched the world go.  Several of us went out for ride outs, finding some really nice roads, including the one to Tremosine which will feature in the new James Bond film. After French prices the bar was popular, so much so, the hotel is looking forward to our return. (especially Mr Gin & Tonic, Will) .

Our final base was Chamonix.  Getting past Milan surprisingly unscathed, we passed through the Mont Blanc tunnel to immerge into this popular tourist town. A trip on the cable car up Agui du Midi and train ride to the Mer De Glace were on the cards, although I have done this before I still find the views stunning.  With temperatures up the mountain below freezing being promised, I finally admitted defeat and bought a fleece to keep warm, only to swelter in the heat. Once again, a great crowd, who were a pleasure to have on tour.

I did the Cochem Winefest and Chateux & Battlefields Tours back to back, and they could not have been more different.   Our base for the winefest in Cochem was a 4 star hotel overlooking the river, the weather was sunny and warm and to be honest very little biking was done, with everybody in party mood. What we had not put in our tour description was that the package included free drinks Friday and Saturday evening - I think you could say we got our money's worth! 
Saturday morning was a vineyard walk followed by lunch - unfortunately this was a little disappointing, however at least it gave time for the riverside cloud to burn off and leave perfect blue skies for our afternoon river cruise. The winefest finished on Sunday night with a fantastic firework display.  The hotels situation meant we were in the middle of the action, and had one of the best views without even leaving our hotel balconies.

The Chateux & Battlefields started with one of those days when you wonder what else can go wrong next?  We met the group off a delayed channel tunnel train in pouring rain and a strong side wind,  having lost half of them at the first roundabout, we reformed and made our way southwards on what is always quite a long day.  Despite the weather we made good time until losing one of our number to Garminitist, followed by another to Aprilia failure (a well known Italian disease) that left Kevin without a bike for the rest of the tour.  Weary but not broken we arrived at the hotel, and after a shower and a few beers were back to full fitness.

The weather continued to be mixed, however never stopped us from doing anything, and the first day we rode around some of the fantastic Chateaux of the Loire valley.  The second day we visited the village of Oradour-Sur-Glane. Oradour-sur-Glane village was the site of one of the greatest atrocities of the Second World War, when occupying SS troops massacred the entire population in reprisal for French resistance. The village has since been preserved exactly as it was then, and is well worth a visit.  We found some nice twisties on the way home and Kevin not to be left out of things, played shotgun fending off crazy french drivers at the back with his hire car.

There is so much to see in the Loire valley that we could not hope to get a snap shot of the area, and soon it was time to head north to our next base in Honfleur for the Normandy beaches. The day dawned sunny and bright and we enjoyed a ride along the Normandy coastline visiting what WW2 attractions we could.

If you were on the trip you will remember that one of our number Jeff Bailey admitted himself to A&E feeling unwell, it turned out that Jeff's lung deflated on the journey down (told you it was one of those days) - anyway Jeff rang me the other day to say that he was back home and recovering.   It seems after we left him in Tours hospital he was there some 17 days. Apparently they wait 3-4 days to see if the hole that causes the lung to deflate heals itself, if not they operate and close the hole by means of a graft.  Jeff had to have the operation, and was full of praise for the French medical system. He was also full of praise for the Gold Cover travel insurance that had looked after him, and sent a taxi to Tours to bring him home to the UK.  He thankfully had BMW recovery for his bike which was waiting his return. Once again, showing just how important it is to have the right kind of cover.

Jeff also tells me that a collapsed lung is more likely to happen to tall, skinny men - guess I am safe then.....

previously............

Well its been a busy month, seeing us do a further three tours. The first being a tour to Bavaria.   Following a Hull Rotterdam crossing, we had an overnight stop in the lovely Mosel valley before making our way down the "Romantic Road" to the walled city of Rothenburg.  To be honest the road was far from romantic as we rode through heavy rain, however it was not to last, and having arrived in Rothenburg, the sun broke through giving us a lovely sunny evening to enjoy a beer or two whilst looking around this beautiful walled city.  The following day saw us skirt Munich before arriving at our base for the next few days, a hotel set in a typical Bavarian village. 
Our stay in Bavaria gave us chance to visit Hitler's summer residence, known as the "The Eagles Nest", the house as such is a little disappointing, but there are some great views. Whilst others visited nearby Saltzburg, Fussen and Dachau, some of us headed south to ride the "Grossglockner" alpine Road.  This is a toll road, but lived up to expectations, and is probably the best 18 Euros I have spent in quite a while.  Apart from some fantastic views, the road surface is excellent and unlike passes like the "Stelvio" the hairpins are open, allowing you to enjoy them to the full.  Although the road gets 1000,s of visitors per year, we were rather surprised to find a queue of traffic waiting to pass through the tolls. With a helicopter hovering above, we at first thought there had been an accident, however, after working our way to the front we were confronted by a police van behind two racing cyclists - the shake of the head from the police van confirmed my worst fears - we were not to pass - so we pulled over for an early lunch - allowing us a "bike free" ascent of the pass. 

Just 5 days later I was under way again - this time for Austria & Switzerland.  Before I went, and seeing as its a twisty part of the world, I decided to have  a new front tyre fitted. My usual dealer was unable to source a tyre so I went to a nearby company who specialise in such matters. The "do it has you wait" turned into a mornings wait, and it was obvious that something had gone wrong - on asking I was assured that all was well and that the axle bolt being made of a different material to the front wheel spindle (really?) had seized.  I was told "that it was not their job, but been professionals they had eased the bolt and coated it in copper grease" . So being the trusting sole that I am, I went to the dealers the next day and asked them to remove the front wheel spindle and check it.  To our horror we found that the bolt thread had obviously been cross threaded and stripped,( probably by using a air gun) and that they had cut three v grooves into the bolt to turn it more into a "self tapper" to make it grip, not very reassuring as you head for the Stelvio pass !!   I will say no more at this stage, but if things do not work out, I will be naming and shaming the company concerned and will put a picture of the "altered " bolt on the web site.

Anyway I digress - what a great tour we had, the roads, scenery, accommodation, a great bunch of people, and above all wonderful weather, made this a tour rather special.  That's not to say we did not have our dramas... you can not ride some of the most spectacular passes in Europe on a motorbike without expecting some kind of injuries, and this time we had not one, but two people break bones!!   The first was Pam, who stumbled in the bar, put her hand out to break her fall and broke her wrist instead ( she was only drinking orange juice-honest) and the second was Steve who broke his ankle whilst playing crazy golf - now its not for me to say, but there was talk of sabotage because he was winning ...  Seriously, it was a shame that they had their holiday spoilt in such a way, but just goes to show that accidents are just that, and how important travel insurance can be.  I am pleased to say that both Pam and Steve are well on their way to recovery, and we hope to see them back on tour soon.

One thing that did come to light, was that although Steve had breakdown assistance insurance, because his bike had not broken down, or was damaged in any way - his insurance company (AA) would not repatriate it. I know since that incident several people have checked their own policy, and they have been told the same, so its something you should check before going away.  I am pleased to say that our own Gold Cover insurance would repatriate your bike if you were unable to ride it, regardless how you had injured yourself.

Just three days at home this time, before I headed for the Mosel Valley and the Balloon Festival in Bernkastle.  Like most of the tours to the valley this was a very chilled affair, it must be all them fairytale castles and half -timbered houses that take you back in time!   I,m pleased to say we found the odd road or two to put a grin on every bodies face and a look of terror (see picture gallery) on the few who ventured onto the Nurburgring.  Our visit coincided with the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival hence the tour name, however due to wind, launching was restricted to one morning - (so I,m told, I was in bed).

previously........
So what's been happening - well since I last wrote we have been to Spain, the Auvergne region and Isle of Skye - diverse scenery to say the least, but all great in their own way.  One common feature to them all was the weather - which I would say "could have been better, but could have been a damn sight worse".  Anyone who knows me,or reads this page on a regular basis will know its one of my favourite topics (moans) as I am never happy unless its sunny with cloudless skies - of course then its too hazy for photographs.

Seriously though, as we set off on the Spanish Pyrenees Tour the forecast for our journey across France and beyond was horrendous, and the long range forecast suggested nothing short of an "ark" would be a suitable means of transport - but it never happened! - as each day brought more bad news, we enjoyed near perfect biking temperatures, dry roads and clear skies - ok, not wall to wall sunshine, but as I said "could have been better, but could have been a damn sight worse"

Ok that's enough about the weather.  Having got south of Bordeaux we struck southeastwards until the snow capped Pyrenees rose up before us, I don't know what it is about seeing mountains like that, it sends a little jolt of adrenalin through your veins, perhaps in anticipation of roads to come?  Stopping briefly for lunch in Lourdes, we started to ride the Pyrenees proper as we climbed the "Col de Tourmalet" (ok, ok, it rained, but it always does) before sweeping through the Bielsa tunnel and into Spain.  The next 4 days saw us take a leisurely tour of the Spanish Pyrenees, you just forget how quiet the roads are there, and its not until you come up behind a vehicle, that you realise this is the first you have seen for the last hour.   Needless to say the Pyrenees offer some really lovely sweeping roads to ride, one of my favourites been between Sort and Seu D'Urgell - however, if you are going that way, take great care between Vielha and Sort just after Port de la Bonaigua as they are building a new road and the road can best be described as "temporary".

It was whilst in Spain that I came across a new biking pastime. Each evening after dinner, and surrounded by empty wine bottles and half drunk pints of beer, a group of bikers would be seen huddled together furiously manipulating some object in their hands, could it be a Rubic cube? (they are making a come back), or maybe a "Game Boy" ? - No, it was a "Garmin party", as they were just programming their sat navs for the next day!  The amazing thing was that although they had all downloaded the same routes I was using, every Zumo took a different way - however we knew that Mikes was wrong, as Libya was defiantly not a waypoint. One interesting feature about sat navs, is their ability to get you lost - on the plus side many people said they would never have found some very scenic back roads/goat tracks had they not had them.

The tour continued through Andorra, and leaving the Pyrenees behind, we spent the night at the beautiful walled city of Carcassonne.   A further days ride across the Midi-Pyrenees took us to the Auvergne region where we joined up with the people on the Cantal Mountain tour, who had just arrived.

As usual, we enjoyed our several days here - the area offers such diverse range of scenery and roads - why is it that the French can lay such lovely tarmac compared to our crappy tar and chipping's?  Had a great day out at Millau Bridge and up the Tarn Gorges unfortunately spoilt slightly by Tony (who comes on practically every tour) taking on a herd of cows - needless to say the cows won, and Tony had a minor off.  I,m pleased to say the bike was only slightly damaged, but Tony broke his leg. Now at home, Tony is cheerful and on the mend, although out for this year - hence the recent single room vacancies. As expected everyone was very sympathetic and he received, cow key rings, cow postcards and was told generally to moo...ve along......

A couple of years since we last went to the West Coast of Scotland, and during our first day up the Ayrshire coast on our W.Scotland and Skye Tour, we were treated to some beautiful views of Ailsa Craig, Arran and the Mull of Kintyre before crossing the Firth of Clyde and into Argyll.
After that, being Scotland, the weather was mixed, but as usual the scenery was tremendous and never ceases to impress.  If you are going that way, allow extra time on the A830 from Fort William to Mallaig as they are spending some serious money on a new road and its all stop and go.
A ride through the "Great Glen" brought us back to the Trossachs, before getting our passports stamped and returning through the Scottish Borders to our final nights stop in the Lake District.  Lovely scenery, nice roads, good food and hotels and a great bunch of people, what more could you want?

By now, most of you will have received our latest news bulletin regarding having to have a hi-vis vest whilst abroad - if not, this is what I sent

Many of you may have read in the motorcycle press that a new law came into effect on 1st July 2008 in France and Spain regarding the carrying of a warning triangle and hi-vis vest for use in the case of breakdown.

Although I believe this as been the rule for cars and lorries for some time; the new law makes a point of saying all vehicles, which obviously includes motorcycles.

Having spent a great deal of time trying to get clarification on this law, I finally got to speak to a representative of the French Embassy, who confirmed that the law did include motorcycles.  When pressed regarding how one finds room to carry a warning triangle, I was told that obviously motorcycles were not expected to carry a triangle but a hi-vis vest was advisable!

Although I can not confirm that the police will apply the same common sense approach, it makes sense to carry at least ;a hi-vis vest in the event of a breakdown, especially on motorways.

To this end, we have decided that once we have vests in stock, we will supply a hi-vis vest free of charge to each rider on any European tour.  Should you require further vests; (e.g. for pillions, use in the UK) these may be ordered from us at a nominal price plus P&P or we can deliver them on tour"

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Last week saw our traditional visit to the NW200, due to the clash with the BMF show, I have considered dropping this from the calendar , but if anything the demand to attend the races and see this scenic part of the world increases.  Since we first started going , the amount of people attending the event seems to have increased dramatically and many people are preferring it to the TT, being less hassle.

To be honest we have had pretty good weather over the last few years, but this year it excelled itself, with not a drop of rain from leaving to returning home. The Antrim coast was stunning and you would be hard pressed to see Donegal looking much better ( see gallery pictures) - anyway, we will be running this tour again next year should you be interested.

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Nearly a month since I last wrote, during which time we have started the tour season. .   For us, this was a departure from our normal first tour in the Scottish Borders, as we headed for the Dales and Moors of Yorkshire. However, I am pleased to say that all went well and the weather was pretty kind to us.  From the feedback I have received, everybody loved the location of the hotel and I am told the food was great (unfortunately I did not stay, as I live so close).  The weekend having a 60's theme - entertainment was provided by various groups, including "Herman's Hermits".
  Saturday was spent riding the roads of the North York Moors (the beauty and diversity of landscapes of which, I think, surprised quite a few people) and on the Sunday it was into the Yorkshire Dales until approaching rain from the West forced us East to find some dry, "bike friendly" roads.  Although we will be back in the Scottish Borders next year, I think this venue could become a regular for the future. 

One final point - if you have any digital photos from the tour can you pick out the best and send them to me for the picture gallery

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A big thank you to everyone who came to see us at the Scottish Motorcycle Show - I was amazed at how many people were there, so much so, that we eventually ran out of brochures.

Talking to people at shows, one topic that crops up the most, is people considering touring on the continent for the first time.  If you have not done this before, the thought of riding on the wrong side of the road, strange road signs, a different language and various horror stories you have read about, are going to make you apprehensive - but there really is no need.  Like most things in life its a matter of common sense.

If you have never ridden any further than your local bike meeting place then you need to increase your mileage - we do not ride huge distances, but whatever tour you go on, in order to get anywhere - you are going to do 200 or more miles per day. Finding out that you are in agony after just 50 miles is going to make you miserable and pretty unpopular with your fellow riders who have to keep stopping for you.  Like anything, the more you do, the better you get - so the more miles you do the more the more comfortable you get with your bike and hopefully become a better and safer rider.

If possible do some touring here in the UK - either by yourself or on one of our short break tours - that way you can see  a) if you like touring    b) if you like riding with other people  c) whether your bike is suitable for touring  d) whether your luggage arrangements work  e) you have the right riding gear?

Once you feel ready to try the continent, I suggest you go with a reputable tour company for your first tour - it does not have to be us - every tour company has its own style, ask around and go for the one that suits you. Most tour companies will indicate that a tour is suitable for "first time abroad" riders or similar. The obvious benefits of this are that all the ferry and accommodations arrangements are made for you, allowing you to concentrate on what matters which is enjoying yourself.  You will also be accompanied by a guide who is there to look after things and generally make your holiday go smoothly.
I actually think it is easier riding on the continent, there is usually less traffic, people are much more bike friendly and the roads are superior to ours.  I find riding on the right more natural, my biggest problem is remembering to ride on the left when I get home !

Having done that first tour no doubt you will be a lot more confident - you can then decide to tour on your own, go with a tour company again, or both.  For many, going on organised tours is the best of both worlds as all the mundane arrangements are taken care of, group rates ensure we are able to secure superior accommodation, and much of the guess work has been taken out of the best routes and things to see.  During the day you can ride on your own and yet socialise with like minded people over a beer or two in the evening.  Many of our customers come with us year after year, some several times a year, many of whom have become firm friends

The TOM TOM versus Garmin Zumo satnav battle continues - I can not confess to be an expert but having had Garmin navigators for the last few years I tend to favour them.  I have a 2820 - which is the last of the Street pilot range and it works very well, but of course it has now been superseded by the Zumo 550.  Whichever satnav you buy, ensure it has European mapping.  Both TOMTOM and Zumo have faults and I do not think either is particularly well built.  The thing to remember about satnavs are that they are navigational aids and I would never go anywhere without a good map.
If you come on any of our European tours we are quite happy to email you our intended routes - all you need to do then, is to download them into your unit and then recall them when needed. All Garmin satnavs use mapsource for their mapping - if you want to plan your own routes, using this can be a little confusing, so I am happy to give you any advice should you need it.

If you want to call us - this time of year, I am usually at my desk from 10am to 10pm (tel 01423 770103) so please give me a ring I am happy to chat and hopefully answer any questions. If the phone is engaged please leave a message - once again providing we can understand your message we will ALWAYS PHONE YOU BACK

all the best
Dave