After having read some comments in various Travel, touring forums about the situation in France and as we have some of our 2006 Unicorn Adventures Motorcycle Tours taking place in France I wanted to write a note about it.

First of all: there is no civil war in France! It is important to say as the media very often do dramatize quite a lot in order to get more audience. A couple of month ago when there was that situation in the Paris suburbs it was interesting to see how the media transformed a local problem in a major civil war!! We had many friends asking if we were ok, if our cars and motorcycles were still in one piece. Etc… Well as nothing happened outside the 5 or 6 big towns with some nervous guys and police forces, if you didn’t watch the news life was sweet. Now it doesn’t mean that there weren’t some issues but as dramatis as the media said.

At present days it seems that again the press, TV etc.. do start to present the next weeks as a major problem! There will be strikes…but this is part of the French way of life! The French need to get out on the street from time to time! It is their way to get fresh air. Now not all French do strike as many, the majority, do work and work hard.
But you have to make sure when you travel over to France that, in case you travel right before or after school breaks, or holidays, that there is no strike rumor as most of the time strikes in transportation (train service, metro in Paris, luggage management in airports) happen around those dates (gives the guys an extend vacation or week-end).

There is a joke about Sept 9/11 saying that the terrorists wanted first to hit Paris but as they got delayed on the flight in due to French air traffic control, their luggage got lost thanks to a luggage management strike, then had issues accessing to Paris City because of Metro and taxi drivers strike and once they arrived they could not access to the buildings because the streets were packed with students striking, they decided to hit New York!

The main advantage with motorcycle tours is that the selected roads are empty and far away from any local big city issue! The second one is that Motorcycle Tour operators work only with selected professionals (like hotels) who do focus on customers, which guarantees a nice and great time!

Another advantage is that the Motorcycle Tour Operators like Unicorn Adventures Ltd do provide a Guide, riding with the group, and who is able to avoid cities with strikes (if any) as his experience and information is local.

In summary: France is safe, has its little “spicy” strike moments but those won’t stop you enjoying a great tour!

The sun is getting every day a bit more present and warms the roads, removing the last wet patches from the pavement. The hot fleece gets back in the storage cabinet while winter gloves (for those without heating grips) get replaced by a lighter model helping for a better feeling !

Slowly the heat of the engine will start to be a real pain after having helped keeping the legs a bit warm, slowly the speed in the curves will increase (but keep it at a normal road speed), and the tires will stop slipping all over the road.

After the dreaming about great roads, sunny breaks along the road on the beach or in a grassy field; after having spent hours checking all the motorcycle tour operators web sites it is time to plan the next big ride or tour!

All those ideas about riding the Mediterranean coast, discover the most beautiful island in the Mediterranean sea: Corsica!, go for the most twisty roads in the Alps or enjoy Italy, Provence, Camargue and many more lovely places in southern Europe, now is the time to schedule the next vacation on the motorcycle! Lets make the dreams come true!

Being it with a motorcycle tour operator, with a club or with friends get the bike out of the garage, check it, start it and have fun!

Freshly arrived in the cinemas The World’s Fastest Indian movie from Roger Donaldson, with Anthony Hopkins is a wonderful movie !

The story of Burt Monro and his streamlined Indian world speed record motorcycle, you will watch in this movie is just fantastic ! Well if you look for super duper spaceship 3D high tech computer generated images with some blood and sex, this might not be the movie you should go for ! But don't get me wrong the images and sceneries are fantastic!

But if you want to enjoy 2 hours which are about passion, friendship, great actors (Anthony Hopkins and his Kiwi accent is fabulous) and a great piece of road movie that’s the one you want!

It is one of those movies which gets you to you smile because you feel great watching it and because of its good vibes, you know? The type of movie slightly watering big boys eyes from time to time (nah! not crying, we are bikers!).

The passion of Burt Monro, his simple way to afford problems (you will enjoy the technical check of the Indian) and art to see life is so refreshing!

In summary: after a long period of some, well hmmmm, missing good motorcycle movies at least here is one! And you don’t need to be a biker to enjoy it! In fact there is very little motorcycle riding! But good one!

Do you want to know the next motorcycle event in the US, Australia... wherever in the world? Click on the following link and you'll get your answer! MotorcycleEventsWorldwide

Vous voulez savoir où et quand se déroulera le prochain événement motard aux US, en Australie... n'importe où dans le monde ? Cliquez sur le lien suivant et vous aurez votre réponse ! EvénementsMotardsMonde

I invite you to click on this link. You'll read a cute story about the possible meetings you can have through the motorcycle and touring world. TwoWheelsand12000miles

A sentence we like:

The goal isn't what matters, the travel is

Entendue récemment:

Ce n'est pas le but mais le voyage qui compte

I often watch TV with my love and the kids and we enjoy programs like American Chopper OCC, or Biker Build-Off. It’s always quite interesting to see what the guys have in mind and how they get from an idea to a working stunning motorcycle.

Last week, I realized that all these programs always show men. No woman, never. Why? Does it mean that there is no woman strong enough to compete? Or, simpler than this, is there no woman working in this field?

I did some research and found at least one: Christine Vaughn. A motorcycle enthusiast since the age of 10, she started being interested in mechanics pretty early, taking the motorcycles apart and putting them back together without any help. She made a lot of trials, mistakes and, consequently she learnt a lot. Although she doesn’t own a degree in design, doesn’t even know how to use a CAD (computer-automated design) program and have no formal mechanical nor fabrication training, her passion was stronger and led her to create Wicked Women Choppers in Herrin (IL/USA).

It became the first (and only?) female-built, designed, and owned motorcycle manufacturer in the country.

She understood that most motorcycles are built to accommodate the average-sized man, while creating and building bikes for her own, she realized that she always had to fabricate parts to make the bike comfortable and safe to ride for a woman rider.

In this male-centric motorcycle industry, Wicked Women Choppers offers bikes designed specifically for the 51% of the population ignored by other manufacturers.

For instance, the Shady Lady line of motorcycles is suited for the average-size woman, keeping in mind that the average woman in the US is about 5 feet, 5 inches tall ; the Shady Lady's drop-seat frame lowers the seating position while maintaining ground clearance and full-range function of the rear suspension. Because an estimated 15 percent of the American motorcycle-riding population is female and a larger percentage are passengers, Vaughn knows there is a market for her line of bikes.

And the more surprising is that it's not only women who like the design work and styles created by Vaughn. Up to now it has been mainly men who contacted her.

Do you want to know more about Christine Vaughn and her Wicked Women Choppers start-up? Click on the following link: WWC

Picture taken on the Wicked Woman Chopper

Je regarde souvent la TV avec mon homme et les enfants et nous nous régalons avec les programmes tels que American Chopper OCC ou Duels de Bikers. Il est toujours très intéressant de découvrir les idées des designers concepteurs et de voir de quelle manière ils arrivent à les concrétiser.

La semaine dernière, j’ai réalisé que ces émissions sont exclusivement menées par des hommes. Pas une femme, jamais. Y a-t-il une raison ? Cela signifie-t-il qu’il n’y pas une femme assez calée pour se mesurer à eux ? Ou bien tout simplement n’y a-t-il aucune femme exerçant dans ce domaine ?

J’ai fait ma petite enquête, et j’en ai au moins trouvé une : Christine Vaughn. Dingue de moto depuis l’âge de 10 ans, elle a commencé à s’intéresser à la mécanique très tôt, démontant et remontant entièrement des motos toute seule. Elle a fait beaucoup de tentatives, des erreurs et, par conséquent, a énormément appris. Bien qu’elle n’ait obtenu aucun diplôme en design, qu’elle ne sache même pas utiliser la CAO (Conception Assistée par Ordinateur) et qu’elle n’ait pas suivi de formation spécifique relative à la mécanique ou la fabrication, sa passion a été la plus forte et l’a conduite à créer Wicked Women Choppers à Herrin (Illinois, USA).

Elle est ainsi devenue la première (et la seule ?) femme à designer et fabriquer des motos, sous son propre label, dans le pays. Christine Vaughn a très vite compris que la plupart des motos sont faites pour répondre aux besoins des hommes de taille moyenne. Un point de vue conforté lorsqu’elle a conçu des motos pour elle et qu’elle a réalisé qu’elle devait toujours fabriquer des pièces spécifiques afin de rendre la moto confortable et « safe » lorsqu’elle la pilotait. Dans cette industrie de la moto très centrée sur le client masculin, Wicked Women Choppers offre des motos spécifiquement designées pour les 51% de la population jusqu’alors ignorés par l’ensemble des fabricants.

Un bon exemple : la gamme de motos Shady Lady est tout à fait adaptée à la femme de taille moyenne, gardant à l’esprit que la taille moyenne de la femme américaine est de 1,60m ; le cadre de la Shady Lady est fait de telle sorte qu’il permette une position assise plus basse tout en maintenant une garde au sol et un débattement de suspension arrière corrects.

La population de motardes américaines étant estimée à 15%, sans parler d’un nombre certainement plus important de passagères, Vaughn sait très bien qu’il y a un marché pour elle et ses motos. Et il est amusant de constater que les femmes ne sont pas les seules à apprécier son style. Il y a beaucoup d’hommes qui l’ont d’ores et déjà contactée.

Vous voulez en savoir plus sur Christine Vaughn et sa start-up Wicked Women Choppers? Cliquez sur le lien suivant : WWC

Photo prise su le site de Wicked Women Choppers

A set of examples of video and press campains you can find around Europe. Some are really excellent and some others just think we are idiots.

Lire la suite

A very nice sentence from the french movie maker J. Audiard makes it clear that one should hit he road and travel, get on tours for the pleasure of discovery, learning and making new friends:

"An intellectual seated will always go less far than an idiot who walks".

And as there is always someone thinking that you are an idiot, lets take advantage of it!