This has been in the pipeline for a while but 2011 is the year it all kicks off. I am very much looking forward to this.

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.

Some of you may know that despite riding the Balkan leg of the Sibirsky Extreme project I am also the creative brains behind the website and supporting media. The logo is a different matter. That honour goes to Matt Hill of Terra Circa. He also designed the Mondo Enduro logo and is a very talented graphic designer.

Well, I have some exciting news. Plans are afoot for the Sibirsky Extreme book and DVD. Walter who is the mastermind behind the whole project got in touch with me last week to start brainstorming some ideas for a book cover and to freshen up the website a little for 2010. By good fortune the first design off the bat was a good one.

Of course it cannot be denied that the quality of the photos is superb and the old adage of a picture paints a thousand words is very much true in this case.

To keep up to date with Sibirsky Extreme 2010 and the 2009 book and DVD release visit the website…www.sibirskyextreme.com

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.

I’m sitting down to write about the Touratech Travel Event and all I can do is smile. With a few false starts at various bike events and meets I was beginning to wonder if I would find a bunch of friendly bikers.

I was not disappointed this weekend.  I managed to get away from work early and get packed up relatively quickly. Now that I’m a seasoned biker after my trans continental trip last month

Anyway I set off on a mild and sunny Sunday evening. I knew that I would arrive around 10pm so decided to stop for some supplies. Namely a snickers, a can of red bull, a peppered steak slice and some cheese and onion crisps.

I noted that the mileage on the bike was 6660 and chuckled to myself that it was an omen… an ‘Omen’, get it? OK never mind. Anyway I walked into Hilton Park services and watched as the lights fading in and out and then bam… the whole place shutdown. It’s one thing when the lights go out at home but when you’re in a shop with 60 or so other people it is a surreal experience. A few kids started crying and then the lights were back on. I discovered it was not the Devil leaving his calling card but local workmen digging through the mains supply as only local workmen can.

I forged on to South Wales and made good progress. The only real surprise of the trip down was the temperature drop. It went from 18c to 5c when I was passing the Brecon Beacons. I was in my summer biking jacket and freezing my nad’s off at that stage. Before too long though I had arrived at Touratech just outside Swansea.

I was apprehensive that everyone would be settled down for the night but I needn’t have worried. There were people still arriving and marshal’s all over the place.  I looked at my watch and  thought if I was quick I could get some pints in at the local pub and pitch my tent. I managed to get it erected in 20 minutes which I believe is a personal best. Doubly astounding considering it was pitch black.

I walked into the local and ordered two pints figuring that it was close to last orders and I needed to hurry. The pub had an unusual mix of clientèle. One half was BMW clad bikers and the other side karaoke singing locals. It was hard to strike up a conversation because groups had been formed and I was the latecomer, the outsider.

After drinking up I headed back to the tent and tucked into my Ginsters peppered steak slice, washed down with red bull. I retired to bed after that. It was a cold night but my trusty down sleeping bag did the job.