Blog posts by Timandra Syndicate content

International Female Ride Day
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Timandra writes on May 04, 2012 2:34PM

The first Friday in May is International Female Ride Day for motorcyclists

Today is International Female Ride Day, celebrating the increasing number of women riding their own scooters and motorbikes.

Like many riders, I started out as a pillion, happy to sit on the back and let somebody else do the work. But once I had tried riding for myself, being a passenger was never quite the same. Nothing really beats the feeling of complete freedom and independence of riding your own motorbike.

Several high-profile women have been in the news lately as motorcycle pillion passengers: we're told that Princess Katherine (AKA Kate Middleton) loves to ride behind Prince William on his motorbike. And Amanda Holden was spotted arriving at her TV studio the sensible way - on the back of a motorcycle taxi, avoiding all the traffic jams and probably bagging a bit of extra sleep (always welcome when you have a new baby!).

So if you're a pillion passenger, why not try being on the front for a change? Book a Free Ride with Get On by entering your details on the left, and Get On will put you in touch with a friendly, qualified, local motorcycle instructor. If you don't have your own kit, they can lend you a helmet and safety gear. In an hour you'll learn the controls and be riding around a training area away from public roads.

Afterwards, if you like it as much as I did, you can ask about going for your CBT or your full motorbike licence, what sort of kit you'd need to buy, or what sort of motorcycle would suit you.

So go on, if you're a pillion - or even if you've never been on a motorcycle at all -  celebrate today by booking your Free Motorcycle Tryout Session. And that includes you, Amanda and Princess Kate!

Obviously, if you're already riding a motorcycle or scooter, there's only one way to celebrate International Female Ride Day - get out and ride.

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Le Touquet: not just an Enduro, but a motorbike party
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Timandra writes on February 03, 2012 5:51PM

I'm tempted to go over to France for this weekend's Enduro at Le Touquet: not just a beach race but a huge party.

This weekend is the annual Enduro at Le Touquet: when a genteel French seaside resort turns into a motorbike party centred on a beach race. And though temperatures are icy, I’m very tempted to take a ferry or a Eurotunnel train and pop over for the weekend.

Partly because the Le Touquet Enduro – the Enduropale, as they call it now – was my first ever trip abroad riding a motorcycle. I had been a pillion before, but the first time I loaded up my own motorbike with luggage, layered on thermals and winter gloves, and ventured onto French roads as a rider, was one February with snow still on the motorway verges.

Sounds perverse, but it’s not a bad choice for first foreign foray.

First, it’s not far away. Even taking it slow and careful, it’s an hour or two from Boulogne, mainly on broad, empty highways. That’s a gentle introduction to riding on the “wrong” side of the road. Which is easier on a motorbike anyway.

Second, arriving in Le Touquet on a motorbike is an instant introduction to the biggest party you’ve ever been too. In France, everyone loves a “pilote” (rider) and the town has already filled up with tens of thousands of fellow motorcyclists who are ready to welcome you to their midst. And because you’re staying for the weekend, you can party without worrying about sobering up in the morning to ride home.

Third, the race itself is wonderful to watch. Over a thousand motorcycles race for hours along a course that takes in a flat (and flat-out) run along the beach, a winding course among hilly sand dunes, and a specially-constructed course of bumps and jumps that has some bikes flying and others foundering.

Riders – many of whom are keen amateurs, or locals up for a laugh, get so covered in sand that they wear comedy additions to their helmets (Mohicans and animal ears are popular). Many bikes don’t make it to the end of the race, but that’s all part of the fun.

So I know it’d make a great weekend away. What’s more, I’m much better equipped than I was that first year. Then, I was on my first motorbike, a rugged little 400cc beast with no protection against the wind. Now, as well as all the thermal and windproof gear a woman can buy, I have an 800cc touring machine with heated grips and an aerodynamic fairing that makes motorway speeds as comfortable as town riding. I can easily fit a weekend’s worth of clothes into the tank bag and still have room to stick the France Road Atlas in the see-through top pocket.

In fact, the only thing that puts me off going this year is wondering whether it’s too late to book accommodation. Because, though thousands of hardy souls will be camping this weekend, my idea of motorcycle touring is to pull up in the car park of a good hotel. That way I can enjoy the comforts of good bedlinen and a power shower, eat a breakfast somebody else has cooked before I get back on the bike for the ride home.

So, if you’re in Le Touquet and you see a woman on a silver Honda VFR, wearing lots of warm clothes, give me a wave. And if you don’t, get some pictures to show me what I missed!

http://www.northernfrance-tourism.com/tourisme/enduropale-in-touquet-paris-plage-from-02/04/2012-to-02/05/2012.html

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