Touring Bikes

Paul Smith rides through Belgium and France to find the grave of his great uncle, who died on the Somme Wouldn’t it be great if there was a country about twice as big as the UK but with no more people, well-maintained roads, where bikers were generally welcomed and respected, and that could offer world-class…

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New Zealand isn’t that wide – you can ride right across it in a day. On a scooter. In fancy dress… New Zealand is well known for its endurance events, and one of them is the annual Coast to Coast, in which competitors run, cycle and kayak their way the 151 miles across South Island.…

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That funny bit of the UK between Yorkshire and Scotland is often forgotten by riders dazzled by the Dales and the Lakes. Steve Rose heads a little further north than usual for the best weekend of the summer so far. The first morning of our spontaneous tour is peppered with just one phrase: “Can you…

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Adventure doesn’t have to mean gruelling off-road exploits – there’s an easier way to tour South Africa… It had been a frustrating day. I was camping in the rhino reserve near Serowe in eastern Botswana, and despite seeing lots of everything else – impala, springbok, zebra, a giraffe and all sorts of birdlife – there…

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Peter Gripton raced on the Isle of Man in 1970-71 – what was it like to go back 45 years later? They say that life is what happens while you’re making other plans. I’ve been riding for 52 years – everything from an early Vespa to a petrol/methanol burning Suzuki TS250 and my current grey-import…

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A long day ride of nearly 300 miles from Northumberland into Scotland and back. Ever heard of the Border Reivers? They were English and Scottish families and clans who took to cattle rustling and raiding (reiving) as almost a way of life between the 13th and 17th centuries. Sometimes they would cross the border, sometimes…

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Jessica Leyne rode a Ducati Multistrada 2400 miles through Japan (and a typhoon), as part of the round-the-world 18,000-mile Globetrotter project So I’ve made it! From the bootcamp in 2016, when riders for the Globetrotter project were tested and chosen, to now taking over the Multistrada Enduro from Laurent (who rode the Ducati across Siberia,…

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Dolomites, Cortina… great European destinations that aren’t the Alps. June 2015 found Chris (BMW R1200GSA), Neil (KTM 950 Supermoto) and myself (R1200GSA) following a winding route to Lake Como and back. The initial plan included France, Austria, Germany and Italy, and the 2015 FAGI Tour was born. Chris had planned a route all the way…

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Forget Trump, there’s a far nicer side to the US – the Rustic Roads of Wisconsin Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck wrote of Wisconsin: “Why then was I unprepared for the beauty of this region, for its variety of field and hill, forest and lake? I never saw a country that changed so rapidly, and…

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Last month Steve and Julie flew into Las Vegas, picked up a couple of  Harleys and set off through the desert to the Californian mountains,  Yosemite and San Francisco. This time we trace their route back down  Highway One, through more deserts and back to Las Vegas… San Francisco on Sunday, and Union Square is…

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