Well, I'm getting ready for a summer of biking Nirvana. The FJ has got over it's teething troubles (minor electrical niggles which saw me having to start it by shorting out the starter solenoid with a screwdriver), and is now eager and willing! Took a spin out yesterday but had forgotten that it is still only the beginning of March so I am still awaiting the return of feeling to my hands and feet. It really is time to get those heated grips you know....

Cleared out the garage last week and put the various bits and pieces on ebay so I have now raised enough to fund my new top box rack. Might have enough left over to get the grips too! Wouldn't that be spiffing....

Ah well, still haven't bought the map but I'm compiling a list of places I'd really like to go. So far I reckon I'm going to need the best part of six months and about ten thousand quid to fund this trip! Maybe I should calm down a bit.....

I just never seem to get around to things do I? I'm not just talking about this blog either! So far the "to do" list was fairly short - buy a map. That was it! And I haven't even done that! Good grief.....

Over the past couple of years I've done a fair bit of trundling around on my trusty old 600 Suzuki Bandit and thoroughly enjoyed myself in the process. Aaaahhh the bandit.... faithful steed, willing workhorse, reliable old friend. Unfortunately though she was less than up to the task of lugging my rather bulky bod and my wife and all our camping equipment around. The 600 Bandit is a great bike but it struggles somewhat when used as a pack animal. Riding around the West coast of Scotland had become a rather less relaxing activity than I had imagined. We were arriving at our destination wearied and sore, knackered and grumpy and with sore backsides due to the fact that the Bandit had a rear shock absorber which was apparently made out of marshmallows! Two up, it took on the demeanour of an overexcited trampoline and provided us with a few "exciting" moments (nearly exiting moments on a couple of occasions).

The long and the short of it is that the Bandit and I had to part company. It was a sad moment, as I said, it has been a steed both faithful and true, and in an ideal world I would have kept it and cherished it and possibly mounted it on a plinth in the garden. I am a man of slender means, however, and the motorcycle dealers made me an offer I couldn't refuse and so the Bandit has gone on to provide someone else with a heap of fun on the twisties.

In it's place there now sits a venerable but shiny Yamaha FJ1200! Holy green underpants, what a difference! No more squirming round the corners or kicking it down three gears to perform a dangerous overtake. Not for me the half hour of hand thawing when you get home from a ride, nor the constant shoulder ache from having to perform constant manual "windscreen" wiping duties on my visor. No, no.... peace, power, comfort & luxury are the watchwords now.
Ya beauty...

So I intend to make good use of this beast over the summer. A set of hard luggage should ensure ample space for my camping equipment, food, pipe, slippers etc. and I'm really looking forward to getting some miles under my belt this year. Hopefully the weather won't be as lamentable as last year! Might have to buy some heated grips though....

In the beginning...

Travel.... Adventure.... Discovery.... (self or otherwise). These are the philosophies behind this blog. We'll see how the actuality turns out!

I've always dreamed of getting out there and taking on the world, turning down a road and following it until it runs out, seeing what the world really looks/smells/feels like. For many years I've tortured myself reading books written by those who have done it for real. Some of them have been the hardy, rugged, adventurous types that you would expect, some the mystical, spiritual types who are intent on self discovery as much as anything. Recently, however, there have been a new wave of explorers who are just ordinary people like you or me who have decided that they are fed up with their 9 to 5 drudgery and want to see if the world really is as small a place as we keep telling ourselves.

All this reading gets a guy thinking you know. Could I do that? Is it just as simple as packing a bag and going for it? Am I for ever destined to read other people's exploits and never to experience the real thing for myself? Surely not.....

I am resolved to have "an adventure". I wil record the processes that I go through on the way for my own amusement as much as anything else but you never know, maybe I'll do something truly exciting and end up writing a book about it! Never say never etc...

I should point out that at this stage the only decision that has been made is to go by motorcycle. I have been riding bikes for a few years now and have never gone further than the North of England (although the West coast of Scotland can provide some pretty good adventures - ask me sometime about the night we tried to camp in Durness!). Motorcycles are by far the best way of seeing the world though. It really puts you in touch with the countryside that you pass through but I'm not going to wax on about that just now, it's not the point of this post.

So! I am going on a motorbike and I'm going to go off now and buy a big map of the world. That's the story so far. It's absurd how excited I am just posting this into my blog! It feels like I'm finally starting to take this idea seriously! We'll see.....