When I look at motorcycles and moto-gear, I often hear the comment, “it looks aggresssive” It’s a huge turn off for me. Why would I want my transport and gear to look aggressive? On a bike, it means it looks like an insect, on gear, it’s angular and busy looking. YUCK #motorcycles
Hey #motorcycle riders... what is the way to get your bike on the paddockstand by yourself? Without accidents. Should I get one of those roll-in front wheel clamps?
First time I have a bike without a center stand and no obvious aftermarket ways of adding one.
I took advantage of good weather to ride back roads from Lithgow to Oberon.
Put simply, a #KTM690 makes a brilliant back roads bike. As you'd expect from a chookchaser, it eats up crappy potholed country roads, & on good roads it's even better. Light, chuckable, great clearance, & plenty of poke to keep me powering around the limit. ~4hrs riding, 290km, ~4km up & down 24km/l vs 26km/l relaxed riding.
It's dark outside, my airy makeshift office is at 14°C. Still at the "having wake-up coffee to make some decent coffee" stage. Thinking of the nice roadside chai I had yesterday, standing in warm sun.
The upcoming Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 is really growing on me now that we can see it without that ugly Tron-esque livery. Now it looks even better than the Super Meteor!
I wonder if they'll move the USB port to a more sensible location (the handlebars)? It'd also be nice to see a centred speedo with no tripper, but I'm not expecting that.
Sunny lunch break = first ride for more than a year on my #Triumph Tiger Explorer
(hadn't been able to support it's weight after breaking my ankle at the end of 2022, so it's been sat in the garage waiting for this moment 😬)
Only a few miles to make sure it - and I - still worked, but felt great to have it out on the road again 😎
Pictured at the obligatory stop at the #IsleOfMan TT Grandstand
Today or this week does not bode well for a motorcycle ride to town, but have groceries to fetch and car won't start today (looks like rats got some wires) 🤷♂️
It's in-your-face cloudy since morning. Another low pressure area in the ocean? Okay
Today I discovered one road not yet marked on any maps. It's fun and challenging to ride. Narrow enough that a car and a bike can't share it, plenty of blind turns and bushes growing over the road from side. And has sustained damage from heavy rains.
Found a little sunshine to warm my bones, a bike ride on gravel road to rattle them and then some off-road potholes to settle them back in their places 😆
Took half the day off to finally look at Kodaikanal like a traveler exploring the hills. Thoroughly loved riding around the hills for its own sake!
In my 20s i would joke with riding buddies about living in the hills so i wouldn't have to first ride 150km to then enjoy a mere 16km of twisties, twice, before returning home tired.
I've been biking a lot more this year. #Bicycling was my second love (after #basketball) and was a stepping stone to #motorcycles. I'm getting older and recognize that my ability to ride motorcycles is dependent upon maintaining physical fitness. Plus it's hella fun and makes me feel young again.
This #BikeFriday All Packa #foldingbike is kind of like an #ADV do-it-all kind of bike so I thought that I'd send it down some rocky, muddy, and leafy #singletrack. It did way better than me.
The impacts of the road 'renewal' projects in the Bellingen/ Gleniffer area
The stated rationale given for the $5.3 Million 'Road Renewal Program' was to boost tourism and businesses of the Promised Land and the Never Never River. The clearing of vegetation and lining the soil with bitumen and cement incidentally also eased access for the government's logging corporation (Tuckers Nob State Forests).
The year long road construction alone caused air pollution, noise, erosion, habitat loss, and greenhouse gas emissions.
The long term effects for wildlife and residents have been the loss of a livable habitat: Intensification of traffic on Gleniffer Road and Roses Road. Speeding, night time noise from traffic. More garbage in the 'gutter'.
Many fossil fuel enthusiasts are going for their ritualistic 'Sunday drive' on The Loop Drive to the Promised Land. Hoards of wanna be 'bikies' are now attracted to cruise the loop with their souped up machines. No, 'bikie gangs' are the others, here we have the fat grey nomads that finally can afford the 'Easy Rider' Harley-thingy-toy.
The area is also a niche for many local motorbike riders that are exceeding the 94 decibels limit in the age of electric motorcycles. People actually move to the countryside to enjoy the freedom of lawlessness in under-policed areas.
Picked up a visiting friend from the bus station in town in the morning, spent the rest of the day yakking away, catching up on last year in our lives. Also, first pillion ride on the motorcycle after years!
Made photos of streets while waiting. Spotted a pretty skink on the way back.