Good Vibrations

I chose to read this book just before I left for my own tour of the USA. I enjoyed reading it.

Written by Brit Ton Cunliffe, it describes the trip that he and his wife Roz took from Baltimore – Sturgis – San Francisco – New Orleans – Baltimore. Both on Harley-Davidsons, Tom rides a Heritage called “Black Madonna” and in-experienced on motorbikes, Roz is on an 883 Sportster called “Betty Boop”.

The book tells the story of their journey, from Roz’s unsteady beginnings on Betty Boop through the 12,000 miles they ride across the mid-States, Sturgis, the west coast, the heat of Death Valley and the deep South. I think the book achieves a good balance between appealing to bikers and non-bikers alike as there is enough in there about the bikes and riding to keep riders interested, but it also describes what the couple see and who they meet. If you want to read a lot of technical bike stuff, then this book isn't for you.

A well written book about an epic trip.

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I took my bike to the Airport today....

After some last minute checking to see if all of my gear will fit in the bike, I took my Harley to London's Heathrow Airport this morning so that it can be flown to New York later this week or early next.


It will get crated and protected in the next day or so and I hope they look after it!

The next time I see the bike, I will be in New York.... cool....

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Ireland Bike Festival

Last week, the Ireland Bike Festival took place in Killarney, in Ireland.

As I was in Thailand for my brother’s wedding, sadly I couldn’t attend the festival, but my red custom bike did!

The bike happened to be in Ireland back with Waterford Harley-Davidson where it was built to have some minor work carried out on it. Lenny, the Dealer Principal telephoned me and asked if I would like my bike entered into the custom show at the festival and I agreed.

I am very glad I did agree because it won 3 awards - Best in Show, the People’s Choice award and Best Radical Custom!




















How cool is that!

Thanks Lenny, for firstly building such a great bike and also for entering it in the festival.

I found this video on YouTube from the festival - it is pretty good.... thanks to Altezzaeve for making and posting the video....



Read about the festival here on the HOG Europe website

Check out more pictures here

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Biker FM

A new internet radio station – Biker FM – has recently started broadcasting in the UK.

There are now two internet radio stations here dedicated to bikers....

Biker FM

Total Biker FM

We are spoilt for choice now....

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Bikes in Thailand (ราชอาณาจักรไทย)

Mrs F and I have been in Thailand for a few days now and I took the chance today to take a few photos of the thousands of bikes that are here. Most are small scooter type bikes although there are the occasional bigger machines around. Safety is a huge cause for concern in Thailand and looking at these photos it is easy to see why. The number of bikes is staggering and as a guess I would say that bikes are close to out-numbering cars.

Here are a few photos....

I liked the shape of the fronts of these bikes....



















There are quite a few people that carry their children on bikes....



















Riding side-saddle is quite common by girls wearing skirts....



















The rider wants to protect himself, but it is a different story for his passengers....



















Two kids on one bike....



















Four schoolgirls on one bike....



















Not a good quality photo, but three-up is not uncommon....



















Cool looking skoot....



















If you look carefully, you will see the bottles of petrol being sold at the side of the road. This is a refilling point for bikes set up by somebody to make a little money and there are many of them....



















Parking is not a problem for bikes in Thailand....



















A few side-car photos....



















Home-made outfits to carry goods around in are very common. Here I am on one such bike....



















Some sidecars even come with roofs....



















A fruit seller on her bike with sidecar. Many traders move from place to place selling their wares like this....



















It may have started out life as a Kawasaki....



















I just had to take a photo of this....



















A few Harleys parked in a side alley....



















One of the streets in Patong (หาดป่าตอง) ....



















It is rainy season here and this was just after one of the many downpours....



























The rain is so warm, only a few riders stop for the rain....



















Finally, here is a family on their bike / sidecar outfit....



















As you can tell, bike riding is Thailand is very common, but the safety of the riders is a big problem. Traffic accidents are the second highest cause of death amongst Thai males. It is easy to see why.

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Can my readers help me?

Can I ask my readers for some advice?

What is the best web based weather forecast I should use for my USA tour?

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Pre-Tour Bike Service

With just 20 days to go until I board a plane to the USA for my tour, there are a few last things I need to sort out. Being someone who plans in advance, makes lists and generally gets things dealt with earlier than necessary there are not too many things left to do before I leave.

One that did need doing was sorted yesterday – getting the bike serviced. In 2006 I bought the bike from Warrs in Chelsea on the west side of London and since then I have built a relationship with them that means I have used them ever since for all work on my Road King. I like the personal touch I get there – when I walk in they greet me with a “Hi Gary”.

They are polite, friendly and knowledgable. Just what a customer wants and needs.

While they were still booking the bike in, the technician was collecting the keys and getting the bike up on the ramp. 5 minutes after I rode the bike into the dealership, the service had already started! I asked permission, then popped into the workshop and snapped a couple of pictures of my bike being worked on....








































I spent the day in London and returned to Warrs at 3pm to find my bike not only fnished, but cleaned as well. Great job guys! Here is a link to the Warrs website

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