Before I write another thing I would like to thank Grant & Susan Johnson and Chris Colling & Dave Lomax at adventure-Spec for making my attendance possible this year. Without them it would not have happened.

the 2010 10th anniversary event was much bigger than previous years. As I rode up the driveway to Lumb Farm I said to myself “Oh Wow”. They had pulled out all the stops. There were more vendors, more bikes, biggest tents, a video screen. It was all together an impressive event.

The campfire was blazing, the road kill cookout was in full swing but most importantly the people made the event special. Old faces, new faces, adventurers to be and adventurers with many years and locations under their belts.

In addition to the great setup the weather was perfect. It was consistently warm and sunny for the entire event. 28C and wall to wall sunshine. You could not have asked for better.

Attendees included Austin Vince and Lois Pryce, Jenny Furneaux, Simon Gandolfi, Walter Colebatch, Jenny Morgen, Peter & Kay Forward and many many more that can be found here

This year I was of course without my F800GS and arrived on my 1994 CB500. I guessed I would be the only attendee on a CB500 but by some strange quirk of the universe two guys arrived on loaded up CB500′s. Not only that but they plan to ride around the world over 80 months on these machines. I was heartened by their story and impressed at their low tech approach to luggage and increasing comfort. They were good guys, with a good sense of humour and I reckon they will go far and I personally will be looking forward to reading their story.

To find more photos of the event have a look here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/everywherevirtually/sets/72157624238859917/with/4736800180/

Or click on the gallery above.

I spent a very pleasant few days in Linz seeing friends and making new ones. Linz is the 2009 capital of culture and has made noticeable strides since I was last there in April and August of 2008. It has an energy and vibrancy which is tempered by the fact it is also a provincial city. So unlike the brashness of a capital city the people are still warm and friendly.

The weather was of course fantastic and the cold temperatures and rain of the UK were now a distant memory.

The city have erected walkways, a Ferris wheel and numerous installations on the roof of one of the city’s main buildings. It is a fantastic idea whereby you literally get a birds eye of view everything.

This is my kind of thinking!

Linz is of often unheard of in the English speaking world due to it being an industrial city. It is in the shadow of Vienna and Salzburg not to mention all the famous Austrian ski resorts. The pace of life is welcome after the dog eat dog attitudes found in the UK. Nice to soak up the warm sunshine and enjoy the cafe culture.

I was most certainly rejuvenated after my endurance ride to Austria

The tyres turned up today which left only two more potential problems. Firstly how to fit them and secondly how to balance them.

Chris at adv-spec sent me a link to BTS (Bike Tyre Services)

I spoke to Matt who owns it and it turned out he had a cancellation in Macclesfield and was quite close to me. he turned up at 4 and was done by 5. A real decent bloke who did an excellent job, took a lot of care of the black rims and even told me that the last person had put my rear tyre on the wrong way around. He took my old tyres away and gave me a good price.

he really saved my bacon and saved me from a lot of blood, sweat, tears and copious amounts of swearing!

If you are in the North West of England give this guy a call. he’s good!

Matt: mob 07771 962 239

I have been rather remiss of late in updating this blog. I’ve been annoyed at myself because there has been a lot going on. A lot of good stuff going on… a lot of adventure motorcycling goodness

I recently attended the Horizons Unlimited UK summer meeting at Ripley in Derbyshire. This is an event that draws people from all over the world. That phrase is often used for events and it’s always a little hollow but on this occasion it was true. We had Canadians, Americans, Dutch, Germans, Greeks, French, Irish, Spanish, Australian. Then there were the bikes. Not shiny, immaculate machines but battle hardened adventure motorcycles that had travelled the world. Sometimes many times over.

They bore the scars and stickers of many places around the globe and it was a delight to see. These bikes take on an almost mythical aura and are more than the sum of their parts. They tell a story of themselves and of their owners.

The welcome at Lumb farm was fantastic. I had ridden the 50 or so miles to Ripley straight after work in Manchester. Not long after leaving home I spotted another 800GS in front of me and assumed he was also off to the meeting. As it transpired he wasn’t and lived locally. nevertheless I made a new friend and had made a promise to share a brew in the future and talk bikes

I pressed on and arrived at Lumb Farm by 8pm. I had a very friendly welcome. I was given a map of the campsite, a bottle of water and some stickers. This was great because I’d been at thsi place the previous year for another event and the welcome was non existent. In fact it was bordering on rude. So I was setup for a great weekend.

I met Chris & Dave from Adventure-Spec. Despite me bringing a tent it would transpire that I would crash on the floor of their marquee shop. Although after one night of my snoring Dave decided to upgrade to the hotel “Volkswagon Van”.

The weekend was packed full of talks from adventurers that included Austin Vince, Sam Manicom, Ted Simon, Nick Sanders and many others. There was a roaring camp fire that was burning the whole weekend. A road kill cook out, workshops on how to change a tyre out in the wilds, yoga and many more events too numerous to mention.

It was a great event and not dominated by BMW GS’s wannabe travellers (I say that as a BMW GS owner myself). The people who attended were the real deal and hadn’t just bought into the image of adventure motorcycling. Most of these folks made their own luggage for Gods sake. They are hardcore!

I have finally started to get around to processing the video from the Touratech Travel Event in March. by a complete stroke of serendipity I happened to find one of the funniest clips.

Austin Vince regails the audience with Viz style hilarity as he talks about his travels through Russia.

On this day last year I passed the practical exam of my motorcycle license. What a day, what a moment. It was hot and sunny and the highway was open to me. At that moment I knew that a BMW F800 GS was soon to be mine. I also knew that I would ride to Austria in the August of that year. What came next I was not to know.

I didn’t know that I would meet so many great people along the way. I didn’t know that I would meet some of the adventure motorcycling greats such as Austin and Gerald Vince, Lois Pryce, Walter Colebatch, Nick Plumb, Simon Pavey, Patsy Quick, Dave Lomax, Chris Colling, Paul Mules and many more. I would also meet the more mainstream adventure motorcyclist Charley Boorman. One meeting led to another and another. Opportunities arose where my photos and video were used at the first Touratech Travel Event. My bike was featured at the dirt bike show by Adventure Spec and from there I became involved with the Sibirsky Extreme Project.

11 months on and I have traveled across 26 countries and territories notching up 17000 miles worth of experience. I have crossed the Alps 4 times, conquered the mighty Rubicon, ridden in the rush hour traffic of Tirana, found great hospitality in Kosovo, talked history with feisty Greek border guards, attempted an impromptu power slide into Albania whilst fully loaded, took mud therapy in the depths of night whilst taking the 800 GS across a rutted field in Macedonia and tested my iron butt credentials by riding 22 hours from Vidin in Bulgaria to Linz in Austria.

It has by all accounts been quite a year. It passed by quietly today as I sat in front of my computer at work. I see the world differently now. I see it how I used to see it when I was younger, when my bicycle was my ticket to freedom and exploration. The only difference is that now I can go a lot further.

mmm quite a year…

I’m a regular contributor to ukgser.com and no subject is sacred on the forum. Death, politics, bikes, divorce, adventure it’s all there.

Of course being a topical site swine flu raised it’s head above the trough (sorry) and I have to say I have never laughed so hard at some of the responses to the following question…

Do you have swine flu?

read the responses in the forum link below and brighten your day

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185220

Well with only 3 days to go until lift off I sit here with a mild sense of alarm. I haven’t made copies of my documents, money essential for the trip is owed to me, my co-riders bike broke down and is in the garage being investigated, my luggage is all over the place, I have yet to pack everything I need, sort out how I will store all the film footage and work out how I will charge my conventional camera. There are a myriad of others things I need to do right now but can’t remember. Like approaching near earth asteroids, it’s the ones you can’t see that are gonna get you. Of those that I did remember I put on a list… but where did I put the list?

I show no signs of stress externally but believe me it’s all going on inside. Think of a duck. Calm on the suface, paddling like a maniac underneath the water

I think I’ll go surfing to relax…

This is my first High definition (HD) video for Sibirsky Extreme. I have spent the past week getting to grips with the camera. I’ve made all the usual silly vid’s you make when you first get a camera and this is my first real attempt at building up my part of the story for Sibirsky Extreme. It will take practice as I have a tendency to let the camera wander off the subject and it’s also unscripted so I’m still a little stage struck. This will get better with time as the trip unfolds.

BMW F800 GS Walkaround from Jonathan Fox on Vimeo.