MotorsBikes: Going on tourWhen it comes to motorcycle touring, the world is your oyster, and you do not even have to own a bike. The world has changed greatly since Ted Simon's book Jupiter's Travels opened many an eye to the magic of motorcycle touring. For those who have yet to tour on a motorcycle, and by tour we mean leaving the home parish for several nights, touring has a magic all of its own and can in no way be compared with touring by car.
Trust us, if you have never done this, it really is something that has to be experienced. And it's never too late to start.
Not all that long ago, so few of us had been anywhere distant, there were precious little sources of information and you had to have your own bike.
Many of us, no matter how ambitious the horizons of our dreams, considered ourselves lucky to get as far as Continental Europe. Indeed, to this day, the majority of Irish motorcyclists have never taken their bikes abroad. One Dublin-based owner of an impressive, top-of-the-range luxury touring machine once said he thought you had to go by ferry to get to Connemara.
These days it could hardly be easier to experience motorcycling all over the world. Dozens of tour organisers, large and small, now offer all manner of opportunities. Some can simply hire out a bike so you can head off and do your own thing. Others organise accompanied tours both on- and off-road, with the bikes and all the gear you would need included in the price. There is hardly anywhere you cannot tour, and the variety of machines on offer is impressive.
To begin to get just some idea of the possibilities, take a look at www.worldofbmw.com. This site lists such tours as the Battlefields of the Somme, Roads to Morocco, serious riding in northern Spain, luxury weekends in Champagne, in the Mediterranean, going to Verona for the open-air opera, discovering the magical Black Forest, island hopping, the Tatra mountains and Slovakia, the best bits of Scandinavia, the Baltic States, enjoying luxury in Austria, sampling the Riviera Lifestyle and trail riding in Portugal.
Maybe that is not as far afield as your dreams? Then how about trying www.outback-mongolia.com for, as the URL implies, adventure tours in Mongolia. Then there is Moto Adventures www.motoadventures.com for a variety of African safaris, and for the really adventurous www.kuduexpeditions.com which offers a three-stage, 16-week London to Capetown experience. Go to www.rockymtnmoto.com for luxury motorcycle holidays in Canada's Rocky Mountains. Great American Motorcycle Touring (www.gamct.com) do unescorted tours on Harley-Davidson machines.
www.borneobikingadventures.com claims to offer the best of biking in the best of Borneo.
Well worth considering is H-C Travel, perhaps the longest established motorcycle tour specialists, www.hctravel.com. They cover both on- and off-road tours and rentals in the US, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Laos, Bhutan, India, South Africa, Morocco, Andorra, the Philippines, Mongolia, China and Chile. H-C Travel along with James Cargo Services (bikers@jamescargo.com) are also well worth talking to if you are planning taking your own bike abroad by sea or air.
If you fancy something a bit more ambitious, rather more out of the ordinary, how about touring in Russia with a Ural motorcycle sidecar combination?
These immensely rugged machines, made in Russia and copied from pre-war BMWs, while retaining traditional looks that qualify them as extras in second World War movies, have subtly evolved and now boast such modernisms as disc brakes, electric start, electronic ignition and alternators that work.
This is a machine designed and built to withstand the worst and keep going with "blacksmith" level mechanical skills. It is also enormous fun to ride, and probably, for a solo rider, like nothing else you have ever experienced. http://welcome-ural.ru.tours/55/ is where the real fun starts.
KTM, whose bikes took the first three places in the recent Dakar Rally, also offers a comprehensive range of adventure tours with bikes supplied at www.ktmadventuretours.ch. Especially for beginners to motorcross is the Motocross Camp, held in both Germany and Italy. For Supermoto adherents similar Supermoto Camps are held in Spain, Italy, Hungary, France and Germany. Other venues and challenging tours include Austria, Slovenia, Ibiza, Fuerteventura, Crete, Romania, Tunisia, Egypt and South Africa.
And if, apart from not having a bike you have never ridden before, you fancy the idea, but would like to sample riding first, go to www.bmw-motorrad.ie and under "Events" look at their Motorrad Academy.
The concept of the academy is to give people a one-day insight into the world of BMW motorcycles.
This introduction is designed as an information package which enables the participant the opportunity to ride a motorcycle for the first time in a safe and controlled environment. Bikes and all the rider equipment are provided.
The academy is aimed at people who have little or no idea about motorcycles but would like to learn to ride, or former riders who are considering a return to biking after a long absence.