Le soleil est de retour ; la chaleur nous pousse à sortir nos motos pour des virées mais hélas ils aident aussi à réveiller des gens stupides et les font sortir de leurs grottes, dans le sud de l’Europe, pour allumer des incendies dans les endroits que nous aimons fréquenter pour notre propre plaisir ou lorsque nous emmenons un groupe sur un voyage à moto.

En tant que motard qui aime à rouler sur les petits routes virolleuses des arrières pays, le long de belles forêts et maquis mais aussi en tant que pilote avion je voulais juste dire MERCI à tous les pompiers ainsi qu’aux équipages de PELICANS (nom donné aux bombardiers d’eau) pour leur travail et pour nous protéger.

Did you notice that for very specific machines like motorcycles or planes we have a very specific way to talk to them? Don’t tell me you never gave your bike a name? Or for those, like me, who fly planes that you never pass your hand on the bird talking to her, thanking her?

Why do we have that very specific relationship with what originally is a machine? A set of mechanical pieces put together to, in fact, just transport us?
How comes a big bunch of metal, plastic, carbon fiber, electronics becomes in our view a living “animal”? That we sometimes have a better relationship than with some of our partners, with it (well considering they don’t answer is a first important point)?

Why do we accept their bad moods (not starting in the morning, not handling as expected, etc…) as a normal human reaction, one we would also accept from the above listed partner?

Some people traveling with us as passengers on our motorcycle tours may think I am nuts while writing this but I am sure all bikers, pilots, skydivers etc… will understand me!

Do we have that specific link to our machine because she gives us the chance to experiment the elements in a very different way from any other transportation mean? Or does it come from the fact we are closer to the machine as such? For example for a plane you need to check every part before take off, for a bike you have to be sure each part works as smoothly as expected! In comparison you will just jump in your car, start it and drive to work, school, supermarket etc..
Well some car drivers have also such a relationship with their car, well those we can understand are the ones with custom cars (not the Jacky Touch ones), special sports cars etc..

In fact while writing I noticed that each time you talk about passion or special machines you end up talking about a very small subset of people sharing a passion! Bikers are definitely a bigger sub set than plane pilots or skydivers but still there are less than car drivers! One important sign is the fact we take care of each other, stop when we see a fellow biker in trouble and wave at each other all over the world (well some countries riding on the wrong side have a bit of an issue here but have their solution).

So is it all about Big Boys and their Toys as the title says? Well I guess not, it is all about boys and girls, their passion and machines with a soul (like the Renault Clio, yes I know it is a car this time, “The souls” ad).

Nothing to do with bikes but a nice ad to demonstrate that machines have a soul! This is related to the Boys and their toys note on this blog.

Lire la suite

Was wondering about what I could write today, flipping through the many photos we have from our rides I found this one, souvenirs and memories jumped out of the past and enlightened that moment of the working day (even tough working as a motorcycle tour operator isn’t the worst job).

Photos like that one represent all what riding a motorcycle is about: moments of pure pleasure, moments where the sky, the road, the scenery merge to become a very special universe that only the biker, end his eventual passenger, will enjoy. It is not possible to have the same feeling in a car, you will never have that freedom and fusion with the elements.

On such a lovely road (by the way this is a part of the Alpine Passes tour) you fully switch the brain off any existing worries and just enjoy that moment on your life. The big advantage is that the next moment will have the same quality or be even better. A curve, another one, the sun shines, the tires stick to the pavement, the boxer (you can replace this by any engine you like) purrs nicely and enjoys revving up and down, the scenery plays like a movie in front of you; the smells of the warm road, of the mountain enhance that experience.

Riding the motorcycle is really a fantastic moment of zen! I already wrote it in a note but I like that sentence, heard once on the TV: Motorcycle riding is the lazy man’s Zen!”

Enjoy the original Crazy Frog video, before the Frog got a song star with the Axel. F video clip

Lire la suite

For those who think that the motorcycle rider image is a poetic one have a look at the "L'Homme à la moto" song text, from Edith Piaf .

We have left the text in french...should it be translated?

Nous avions déjà publié une note sur l’image des motards que vous pouvez lire ici.

Il serait dommage de rater les paroles de la chanson d’Edith Piaf - L'homme à la moto: Paroles de Jean Dréjac. Musique: Lieber, Stoller 1956 © 1956 Editions Warner Chappell

Pour notre plaisir les voici:

{Refrain:} Il portait des culottes, des bottes de moto
Un blouson de cuir noir avec un aigle sur le dos
Sa moto qui partait comme un boulet de canon
Semait la terreur dans toute la région.


Jamais il ne se coiffait, jamais il ne se lavait
Les ongles pleins de cambouis mais sur les biceps il avait
Un tatouage avec un cœur bleu sur la peau blême
Et juste à l'intérieur, on lisait : "Maman je t'aime"
Il avait une petite amie du nom de Marie-Lou
On la prenait en pitié, une enfant de son âge
Car tout le monde savait bien qu'il aimait entre tout
Sa chienne de moto bien davantage...
{au Refrain}

Marie-Lou la pauvre fille l'implora, le supplia
Dit : "Ne pars pas ce soir, je vais pleurer si tu t'en vas..."
Mais les mots furent perdus, ses larmes pareillement
Dans le bruit de la machine et du tuyau d'échappement
Il bondit comme un diable avec des flammes dans les yeux
Au passage à niveau, ce fut comme un éclair de feu
Contre une locomotive qui filait vers le midi
Et quand on débarrassa les débris...


On trouva sa culotte, ses bottes de moto
Son blouson de cuir noir avec un aigle sur le dos
Mais plus rien de la moto et plus rien de ce démon
Qui semait la terreur dans toute la région...


Sommes nous tous considérés come le demon de Marie-Lou?

Among the books one should take to relax during a motorcycle tour there is the one written by Sonny Barger, one of the Hell’s Angels founding members.

You can have your own view about the Hell’s Angels but that book gives you a different point of view, one from the inside, and well it opens your mind.

You can even feel somehow “shaken” by that story and get somehow attracted to the Hell’s Angels from their original philosophy, and to the current one as long as it still exists (I hope so).

Now if you register to the web site you will find at the end of the book your dream about freedom and friendship may get a bit of “lead in the wings” as you will get sucked into the perfect marketing spiral around Sonny nowadays (a bit far from the Hell’s Angels lifestyle and mindset), but why shouldn’t he make good money with his life story and image?

An interesting book to enjoy as a biker but also as a non biker when you want to have an idea about the way motorcycle riders gather together and why, being it the Hell’s Angels or other groups.

For all those of use who like long rides and travels there is one adventure most of us heard about : Charley Boorman and Erwan Mc Gregor’s Long Way Round ™.

After having noticed one can circle the world with a motorcycle they decided in April 2004 to get from London to New-York across Europe, Asia and Norther America! Quite a nice trip!

During the 115 days long journey their best friends were two BMW R1150GS ADVENTURE they did prepare themselves. Don’t expect to see two movie stars playing the heroes! They are real bikers and did that ride as such! Which makes any special moment a great human one. And for having had the chance to listen to Charley during the 2005 BMW Biker Meeting I have to say he is a cool guy! and I liked the fact that his best souvenir from the ride was: arriving home and being again with his family!

UK based people could enjoy the TV show in 7 or 8 episodes documenting their fantastic adventure. For those who couldn’t the video (DVD) is available as well as the book!

While attending a Motorcycle Tour this is a very nice reading while relaxing on the beach or in the sun enjoying a nice drink.

We all have experienced the long journeys by car with the departure way behind the foreseen timetable, the driver who fulminates, the mom who gets stressed, the growing exasperation of the children and their" when do we arrive? "and the famous pee pause requested by mom or the kids whereas generally dad only wants to continue to drive!

This situation can quite be compared with the motorcycle tour one, except that we will be less numerous to go and therefore, to complain.

After a few hours of riding, it is usually the passenger who snaps first. Her pee desire makes itself more pressing, village after village, or highway area after highway area.

Comes the moment when the risk to disturb the pilot fades away ("too bad, I am not able to bear it longer! ") and the famous question is asked.

If you don't have an Intercom, the wind, the speed or the helmet will very certainly stop your pilot from understanding your request (I’m kidding!).

If you have the Intercom, you won't fail to note the sigh of manifest boredom of your favorite biker and the tone of his constrained voice to answer that he will stop at the next possible hidden bush or gas station.

After missing "some exits" (don’t joke,I’m not a fool!), he will finally stop for our biggest pleasure.

Best is to let him notice that this station allows him to fill the tank and check the bikel. Our beloved biker loooooves that one worries about his adored motorcycle!

On a tous connu les longs trajets en voiture avec le départ en retard sur l’horaire prévu, le chauffeur qui fulmine, la maman qui s’énerve, l’exaspération grandissante des enfants et leur « c’est quand qu’on arrive ? » et la fameuse pause pipi réclamée à corps et à cris par maman ou les kids alors que généralement papa n’a qu’une envie : continuer à rouler !

Eh bien cette situation peut tout à fait se calquer sur la balade à moto, sauf qu’on sera bien entendu bien moins nombreux à rouler et donc, à se plaindre.

Après quelques heures de route, c’est habituellement la passagère qui craque la première. L’envie se fait plus pressante, village après village, ou aire d’autoroute après aire d’autoroute.

Vient le moment où, n’y tenant plus, l’ennui de déranger le pilote s’efface (« tant pis, je n’en peux plus ! ») et la fameuse question est posée.

Si vous n’avez pas d’Intercom, le vent, la vitesse ou le casque empêcheront très certainement votre pilote de comprendre votre requête (je plaisante !).

Si vous en avez un, vous ne manquerez pas de noter le soupir d’ennui manifeste de votre chauffeur préféré et le ton de sa voix contrainte pour répondre qu’on s’arrêtera à la prochaine station.

Après quelques sorties « ratées » (mon œil !), on s’arrêtera enfin pour notre plus grand plaisir…

Le mieux est de faire remarquer que ce break permet de faire le plein. Notre chauffeur préféré adooooore que l’on se préoccupe de sa moto adorée !

We are often asked by friends and customers “Why did you name your company Unicorn Adventures”, this is indeed a good question! As we are proud of our name and the little story behind it, here it is.

When we decided it was time for us to get out of the world of major companies and create our own one in which we could use our philosophy about life, fun and quality applied to our passion: making friends while riding the motorcycle across many places, it was time to find a name.

Obviously the very first idea was about twisty roads, but some people already had that idea, and after a longer thinking we decided to get away from the easy stuff with “Motorcycle Tours” and such! So it was more about finding a generic name, something positive!

An animal could look good, yes why not but which one? It needed to carry our values…hmmmm… after a little while the Unicorn appeared in the list.

Of course this needed to be checked as everyone has a different view and image of that beast.

This mythical animal is reputed in all cultures for its pure and positive image; for example in the European culture the Unicorn appears often accompanied by a powerful and positive magician. In the Chinese culture, the Unicorn is a sign of good omen for the travelers and an announcement of happiness to each of its apparition.

Great! It needed a bit of fun too as we won’t just offer straight line rides but pure curved roads around great sceneries…lets use Adventures (which also works well with our hockey player, skydiver, ultra marathon, planes, motorcycles and various other sport some of us like) and here we go Unicorn Adventures is the name we like!

Of course we did not forget to add the Motorcycle Tours label as this is what we do, now.