Cue 12 months of the family rallying around to provide care and support my Dad, through palliative chemo with its ups and downs. It was a tough battle with only one endpoint. But that didn’t stop my Dad from fighting, out of sheer stubbornness, tenacity and refusal to give up – an attitude he lived by. I count our blessing that at the very end, he was comfortable, in no pain and with his family by his side. These moments stay with you.

We all miss my Dad terribly and are still adjusting to life with the gap left behind. To repeat a quote from his funeral from a song that meant a lot to him:

Breathe, breathe in the air.
Don’t be afraid to care.
Leave but don’t leave me.
Look around and choose your own ground.

Long you live and high you fly
And smiles you’ll give and tears you’ll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be.

– Breathe, Pink Floyd (Waters, Gilmour, Wright)

Take it easy folks, take care of those close to you, and make the most of every day. Life is short and who knows what tomorrow may bring. I’ll be back soon, after a good measure of riding and motorcycle therapy. Ride safe!

Donate to Cancer Research UK here.

“We’re in such a hurry most of the time we never get much chance to talk. The result is a kind of endless day-to-day shallowness, a monotony that leaves a person wondering years later where all the time went and sorry that it’s all gone. ”

― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

Have you bumped into anything wild on your riding adventures, do comment below, I’d love to hear more.

The house move in early October was a bit stressful (aren’t all house moves?) Things weren’t finalised to the very last second and due to awkward demands of our buyers, we had to stay with family for a week between houses. Nonetheless, we’re now mostly settled in, we’ve unpacked most of our boxes, kids are settled into their new school and we’ve even managed to get out on the bikes a little! The new house is amazing, in a lovely area, the neighbours are great, there’s so much more space and we have a huge double garage which feels like absolute luxury after our old middle-of-terrace tiny house in London.

Scaling up on houses has necessitated more furniture, but we’ve managed to keep costs manageable by sourcing second hand or on Freecycle. We’re a bit skint after all the house move costs! Turning the garage into the perfect workshop for the bikes might have to wait until next year.

We have had a few good rides when the weather has permitted, just exploring the local vicinity, but by-gum, there’s some stunning scenery here. In these Autumn months, with trees turning orange and red, the low sun and mist creeping across the Loch’s, it really is breathtaking. Everywhere you stop, there are perfect photo opportunities, perfect views, wildlife, interesting little walks into glens, woodlands and waterfalls. We’ve mainly been following Simon Wier’s ‘Stirling Standards’ ride from his Bikers’ Britain book. This ride starts in Stirling, heads North to Comrie, West to Lochearnhead, down to Callander, Brig’o’Turk, through Aberfoyle, Fintry, then finally past Carron Valley Reservoir and back to Stirling. A great ride and highly recommended. We can’t wait until next spring when the weather picks up, we have more daylight hours and we can explore further afield into the highlands and the islands.

On the bike maintenance front, things have been pretty mundane. I had to find a local MOT station for my Fazer and the Street Twin had its first-year service. However, the nearest Triumph dealership was Two Wheels in Edinburgh, so a little further to travel than the Romford Lind Triumph was when in London. I’ve recently had to replace our old Garmin SatNav and my worn-out Alpinestar boots. Managed to blag some cheap replacements in the Black Friday sales, so watch this space for our verdict on these. We also have some heated gloves from the Dutch company Heat Performance lined up for review, something we’ll certainly be testing thoroughly up here in Scotland, as it’s currently fricking freezing! Watch this space.

A frantic dash up to Scotland followed to view as many houses as we could, whereupon we found a decent place in Stirling that ticked most of our boxes. There’s always some compromises to be made, but our top priority requirements were met; location, good nearby school, size, home office, big garage etc. Our offer was accepted (phew!) and now we have the nail-biting wait to get all the finances and solicitors gubbins lined up for the next couple of months. Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly with no hiccups, these things can (and do) go tits up, so I’m not counting my chickens just yet. But it’s a good start to a huge and exciting change of lifestyle.

So, apologies for the slight lack of content recently, preparing our house for sale has taken up a lot of time and things will likely be in a state of turmoil for a little while yet. But watch this space, for news on our big Scottish adventure!

Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.

James Dean

“put out the lights on the Age of Reason.”

– Here Comes the War, New Model Army

You’re not a proper biker until you have:

1. Dropped your first bike
2. Written off a bike
3. Taken a pillion passenger
4. Persuaded your partner to go pillion…
5. Joined a huge ride out, > 50 riders (Southend Shakedown, Margate Meltdown, Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride etc).
6. Travelled further overland on your bike than other forms of transport
7. Done 3 digit speeds on autobahn
8. Got your knee down (low side crashes not counting!)
9. Commuted on bike year round, rain or shine, all weathers
10. Visited the Ace Cafe, London
11. Ridden 100+ miles for fish and chips / ice cream / other snack
12. Toured for more than a week on a bike
13. Gone camping on your bike
14. Been rally virgin’ed
15. Braved a winter rally (e.g. Dragon rally, Elephant rally, Primus rally etc.)
16. Ridden on snow
17. Filtered like a boss through a city centre (Le Filtage!)
18. Worked as a bike courier in city
19. Volunteered as Blood Biker
20. Kickstarted a bike
21. Ridden on track
22. Done the Nürburgring
23. Ridden the IOM TT circuit
24. Learnt to wheelie on demand
25. Learnt to stoppie on demand
26. Continued a journey following a road side fix
27. Helped a stranded fellow biker on the road
28. Ridden famous coastal route (e.g. Scottish NC500, Route 1 LA to SF ‘Big Sur’, etc)
29. Ridden through more than two European borders in a day
30. Crossed two US State lines in a day
31. Monetised your own motorcycle vblog
32. Braved crazy traffic in an Asian city
33. Ridden across a desert / wilderness
34. Ridden a Hog across Route 66
35. Visited the Pacific and Atlantic coasts on a bike
36. Ridden the Transfăgărășan pass (Romania)
37. Ridden the Tail of the Dragon (North Carolina)
38. Ridden the Road of Bones (Russia)
39. Ridden on more than 3 continents
40. Ridden on a Christmas toy run
41. Ridden into the Arctic circle (e.g. Nordkapp)
42. Clocked up a 6 digit mileage on a bike yourself
43. Completed advanced training (e.g. IAM, RoSPA)
44. Completed level 3 at California Super Bike School
45. Gained your ACU race license
46. Ridden green lanes and trails
47. Ridden motocross or trials
48. Raced flat track or speedway
49. Competed in a huge Enduro event (e.g. Erzbergrodeo, Weston Beach Race, etc)
50. Completed the Iron Butt Challenge
51. Filled a garage with multiple bikes for different moods
52. Filled a garage with more ‘project’ bikes than running bikes
53. Done your regularly bike servicing yourself
54. Built your own custom bike
55. Travelled abroad to watch a MotoGP race
56. Joined an MC
57. Have a leather cut-off and patches from your MC
58. Been pulled over by the Police
59. Talked your way out of a Police ticket
60. Understood what ‘Quality’ is (as described by Pirsig)

“You got a helmet?”
“Oh, I’ve got a helmet! I got a beauty!”

Well, 2016 was quite a year; so many great musicians and celebs dying; the whole Brexit fiasco, Big Mother Theresa May in power and not to mention despicable Trump being elected. It’s difficult to look back and take stock of the good stuff that happened. But, my wife finally finished her PhD, my best mate from college got married,  I popped my track day cherry and even managed a whole year without falling off!

As for new year’s resolutions and forthcoming plans, here’s just a few:

• More track days. It was great last year at Brands Hatch, definitely want to do more.
• Off road riding. Something I’ve never done, but definitely want to do.
• Do more videos. Haven’t had chance to do many lately, but I have some ideas I want to realise.
• Help my wife get through her IAM. She starts this month, so look out for some reports on her progress.

Many thanks for all the support and following us in the past, I wish you all a great new year of biking!