Looking back on my first year as a Motarde

It's the end of my first year as a bike rider, or 'motarde' as they so beautifully put it in French. What a year of adventure, new friends, new experiences, and a wonderful feeling of freedom. I take my bike everywhere - everyday to work, and for weekend fun - a total distance of 16,000 km.

Me and my Honda 125 cc plus new helmet

After my training forays to Millau and Gordes (already written about before), and my big trip to Loupiac for the Horizons Unlimited Adventure Biker weekend, I started taking part in demonstrations organised by the FFMC34 which coincided with the now infamous Gilets Jaunes demos.

At Christmas, there was a more lighthearted parade in aid of charity when we all dressed up in Santa costumes.

Ready for the FFMC34 Santa parade in aid of charity

A sea of red Santas

Having enjoyed the camaraderie of the group and the friendly welcome I received even with my little 125 cc I decided to join the FFMC34 in January and have participated in the monthly meetings ever since. The demonstrations gave way to roadside Relais Calmos in the nicer weather to encourage bikers to stop and have a rest, cup of coffee, and chat about bikes, equipment and maintenance.

Demo in Sète to protest about the state of the roads in villages

We also attended the Cevenn'Oil gathering of old bikes where we provide fun and laughs for the kids with mini motos. I of course had to have a go...

Recently we spent a weekend on a motorbike-only campsite near Lunas in Haut Languedoc, with lots of winding roads and beautiful views to get there.

First tent camping I've done for 16 years! The tent was ready-mounted with a mattress inside..

5 of the 22 happy campers; we took up almost the whole campsite

In May we went to a giant picnic at Lake Salagou organised by le Gang des Motards where there were over 900 bikes and 1200 bikers.

On Ascension Day, a day off, we got together for a barbecue at HQ before the monthly meeting. The Hérault FFMC is very active and they're a great bunch of bikers both motards and motardes.

In February, I learned about the Women Riders World Relay which is taking place this year. A baton is being passed around the world by women bikers - different ones along the way - and riding to a strict schedule so in rain, wind, even snow, whatever the conditions! It's an amazing adventure and one I wanted to be part of, but with only a 125 cc, I couldn't join the official relay. So I volunteered to organise the France-wide off-shoot, the Ripple. We have a flag rather than a baton and it is going around France so that all the women who wanted to join in the relay but couldn't can participate in the Ripple.

WRWR logo

Through the WRWR, I met a group of amazing women bikers who were the riders for the official relay. I was there when the baton passed through Montpellier, and with my Ripple hat on, I was part of the group that stayed overnight nearby. They were such a friendly, fun bunch, we all stayed in touch and have been riding and getting together ever since.

Thanks to the WRWR, I learned about WIMA the Women's International Motorcycling Association and WIMA France. WIMA France helped me with the start of the Ripple during the Touratech Travel Event held in Orange.

Start of the WRWR France Ripple in Orange 18 May 2019

I was camping in Chateauneuf du Pape over the weekend of the event with my WRWR buddies and had a fantastic time with them and the WIMA motardes. The campsite laid on superior aperos each evening with local (Chateauneuf du Pape) wine producers which gave us a superior state of merriment...

Camping in Chateauneuf du Pape (mobile-homing at least)

Although it rained on my way there and on the way back, the rain kindly held off on the Saturday when it was all happening!

This year I also participated in my first ever Poker Rally which was organised by MCT2000 who are based in Clermont l'Hérault. Another merry group of bikers, they organise biker rides in the region and beyond. The poker rally involved solving clues to the names of local places which provided the itinerary for the circuit. I was hopeless, but got teamed up with another woman who was a bit more with it, but we needed the kind and generous help of others if we were to get off the starting blocks. At lunch time we all stopped for a merry picnic together, and someone sat on a ripe banana which of course set us all off (again).

For International Women's Rights Day, I joined about 500 other women including WRWR and MCT2000 buddies in Nimes for Toutes en Moto.

There was a lot of pink about...

Nice piccie taken by Yagura Photos

I'm currently taking lessons to sit the motorbike licence test. I've had such fun on the little Honda, but I'd like to be able to keep up better with my buddies who have bigger bikes, go further and have even more adventures. It's been an amazing year. The biggest thanks go to my former DB who bought me the bike and encouraged me to become a rider rather than remain a passenger. It's changed my life. So have all the people I've met, and especially the great friends I've made and had such fun with.

Easter Day FFMC34 operation 'nid de poule' to protest about the potholes ('nid de poule') in the roads

Birthday weekend chez les Horizons Unlimited bikers

I'll certainly remember this birthday weekend!

Bike ride Home to Loupiac, and back via Severac le Chateau - 645 km round trip
Click on the photo to see it better

Horizons Unlimited is a website set up by a couple of adventure bikers. Over the years they have organised meetings for other adventure bikers. The French branch had its meeting this year in Loupiac near Rocamadour.

View from the campsite

Although I'm hardly an 'adventure biker', I love hearing about the adventures of incredible people who have travelled around the world. For me, getting to Loupiac is an adventure. I left home at 8.30am, stopped for coffee and lunch and got to Loupiac at about 3pm. The bike meeting was taking place at the Camping les Hirondelles which is where most of the other participants were staying too. We had a mobile home (with hot shower) so it was la luxe!

Proud little 125cc in front of the chalet

Many other hardy bikers were camping... by choice.

Definitely a biker take-over!

The BMW is the adventure bike of choice for many.

What impressed me most was that you could talk to anyone, including the presenters. Lots of people knew each other from previous meetings, but there were those who had come alone and for the first time. We all ate at long tables and of course the chat was essentially biker-oriented but it could veer right off. I met retired university professors, a Welsh fire safety inspector, an Aussie, a croupier, a restaurant chef, a graphic designer...  

I watched a presentation by Eric Lobo called Arctic Dream on his amazing journey both physically and spiritually across Russia and through Alaska with the aim of riding the polar ice road to Tuktoyatuk, a road which ceased to exist from this year.

He faced minus seventy-four degrees C, a polar tornado, and recalcitrant authorities, but with help from unexpected quarters, and the addition of skis to his Harley Davidson bike, he made it. Everyone who watched his film left it moved by the experience.

The Harley (with skis) that rode the Arctic sea ice

I watched other presentations by bikers who had travelled across Europe and Asia to Mongolia, and even Japan; one who had ridden to and around Iran; and another who had been down South America. It didn't matter where they had been, they all said that the encounters with people along the way was what marked them the most.

They came back with the most amazing, stunning photos, and films shot while riding or from drones. Some showed scenery that stretched as far as the eye could see across the steppes, others showed problems encountered along the way - bikes that had fallen down, or broken down, terrible traffic, an accident... One of the most important things about adventure biking is how to deal with issues and problems, especially when on a tight budget!

During the weekend, some bikers were taken through their paces on the campsite on a little course among the trees that included a large sand pit that they had to navigate with the help of a professional trainer. That was great fun to watch. I did not join in as I'm hardly experienced enough, and don't even have my biker's licence.

Gently does it over the (Saharan) sand...

I expected a lot of ribald joking about my little Honda 125, but everyone was very nice, and said they had started on something similar, and what fun they'd had. The most popular bike was of course the BMW GS1200 but there were all sorts although only one 125!

Funnily enough, on the way up, I was riding along the road about 150 km from Loupiac when a biker who had been taking a break took to the road in front of me. I wondered if he was going to the meeting, and I suppose he did too, because we ended up riding the rest of the way together. He very kindly held back because I respect the speed limit and go up hills with difficulty. We got to say hello once at the campsite where I introduced myself. I thought that typical of the esprit de biker of the meeting.

The journey back home was very similar to the one there, but I went via Severac le Chateau and stopped for coffee in Millau. Lunch was taken next to the dinkiest little single track bridge along the road.

Dinky bridge for a perfect picnic spot

I sat on the bridge and watched the fish and the ducks and enjoyed the peace and quiet away from the main road.

The view across the dinky bridge

 Seen along the way, a menhir 3.5m high.

My bike with its tank bag and Rok Straps, and the menhir de Bélinac

I got stopped along the way too, by the gendarmes who checked my papers and made me blow into a breathalyser near Arboras. The gendarmes were out in force - I saw three lots within a short space of time!

The temperature was very different in Hérault and I was very happy to arrive home and shed my leather jacket and trousers, and grab a cool beer from the fridge.

It was a fab weekend, with some great people, new friends, lots of ideas and even more dreams. Certainly a birthday weekend to remember!

My First Ever Long Ride on my Honda CB125F

I've had a lovely day today on my motorbike - a Honda CB125F that I've had since May.

My lovely Honda CB125F

I was intending combining my coding skills with creating a new blog for my motorbike adventures, but I'm not quite there yet, so as I wanted to document this trip, I'll do it here.

I'm just back from my longest solo motorbike ride: home - Millau - home

Today's ride - not a circular route because you see different things from each direction

The furthest I'd been until today was to Mèze for an oyster lunch, a mere 40km away. Millau is 154km and, avoiding the motorway, a nearly 3 hour ride.

Before leaving home, I popped down the road to buy a crusty baguette and dried ham to make a sandwich for lunch, downloaded the itinerary into my phone and set off around 10am.

First stop for coffee was in a dinky village called Arboras which is a favourite area for mountain bikers. My son has been there to practice downhill riding with his group and had a lovely time.

A stop for coffee in Arboras

The coffee cost €1 and came in a locally made pretty pottery cup. I got chatting to a merry family group of dad, brother (visiting from Milan) and three boys. Apparently the men are both divorced and have cried off the bother of women. Mostly...

The café terrace (and my bike) 

 The local one is a biker, admired my bike, and told me that a good biker is an old biker...

Book-sharing shelves, and washing machine bar table

I left them enjoying a plate of local goats cheese, honey and bread, and continued my route. From the winding roads of Hérault, I climbed onto the Larzac plateau and the trip took me right down memory lane. I used to come this way a lot when I was married, before the A9 autoroute was built, and we had to take the National 9.

The road is now the D9 and a lot quieter. I always wanted to linger going through Le Caylar and L'Hospitalet-du-Larzac, and on the bike I could. I could dawdle along on the empty road, stop if I felt like it and admire the old stone houses, and take note of the appealing menus in front of the restaurants. It was too early for lunch though so I stopped instead to take a photo of an iron sculpture seen along the way at Les Infruts.

Seen along the way at Les Infruts

It felt much fresher up there on the plateau and I had a lovely time flying along in the cool breeze past the military training grounds, the Millau-Larzac aerodrome, and parallel to the autoroute. I thought of all the poor sods going north, their holidays over, and revelled in the fact that I live here year round.

I wanted to eat lunch with a view, so I picked the spot where I knew I'd get the best one possible - of the Viaduc de Millau.

Overlooking Millau with the viaduc in the background

There was shade, there were picnic tables, there was a panoramic view. I couldn't have enjoyed it more. I shared a table for a while with a family who were on their way home to Brest having had a lovely time in Aveyron and the Camargue. The picnic spot had a special kind of loo which used no water but you had to press a lever ten times with your foot to work a moving belt. Intriguing.

Millau was my target, so after I'd finished my very tasty sandwich, looked down on the soaring condors and counted a dozen para-gliders having fun in the rising thermals, I rode down the hill and stopped for a coffee at the river beach where there was a playground, pizza shack and bar. This time it cost €2.40... and came in a bog-standard white china cup. The location was pretty though and there were lots of people enjoying Sunday lunch with kids playing in the river in the cordoned off zone.

It was very warm down in the valley, so I was keen to be back on the bike and on my way home. The 125 is not very powerful so I took it at a leisurely pace climbing back onto the plateau. Luckily no one was following me and getting impatient so I didn't need to push my bike to the limit.

I took the same route home because you see different things from the other direction, and you can also stop and check places that you noted on the outward journey. A working windmill at Saint Pierre de la Fage, for example.

Restored windmill at Saint Pierre de la Fage

I came off the beaten track to admire the views from another high point of note - on Mont Saint Baudille at an altitude of 848m.

Mont Saint Baudille in the background with the television antenna

I thought I'd be the only one trekking over there on the single track bumpy road, but the car park was pretty busy, to my surprise. There's an observation point where you can admire the view that extends on a good day from Mont Ventoux in the east to the Spanish border and Mount Canigou in the west! It's used in the summer by the forestry service to keep a look-out for forest fires. Two members of staff were there to hand out leaflets on how to not start a forest fire as well as keeping their eyes skinned. They spot at least one fire per day in the dry season.

Looking east with the Pic Saint Loup in the background

The views were fantastic - I could see the Pic Saint Loup, the Lac de Salagou, and way in the distance Montpellier and the sea. The forest service man very kindly took a photo of me - he's a biker too so we bonded... He told us that despite the place being isolated, there is a lot of crime in the car park, with cars full of holiday treasures broken into, and one woman even had her tyres slashed so she couldn't go after the thieves! There are some very nasty people out there.

My bike was safe and sound when I got back to the car park I'm happy to say. I stopped briefly on the Col du Vent just to have a quick rest. There were no cyclists there on the return trip. Going up, I video-bombed a guy who was being filmed by his mates arriving at the top. I'm sure it was very hard work going up. I was happy not to be making that effort in such hot weather!

I got home at 5pm to a nice cup of tea and piece of cake. It was a lovely ride full of varied sights and smells and I felt like I'd been on a mini holiday. I love my bike.