Here is a nice sentence found in the latest San-Antonio (one of the best french novel writers):

Un mile anglais équivaut à un kilomètre, augmenté de l'arrogance britannique et de la fatuité gauloise. Patrice Dard.

Which can be translated in english as follows:

An English mile is equivalent to one kilometer, increased by the british arrogance and the Gallic self-conceit!

Here is a first note about the pleasures of food and drink one can enjoy during a motorcycle tour with Unicorn Adventures or some of its competitors.
Riding on fantastic curvy and twisty roads around great places and sceneries is one thing but it should not be forgotten that in the evening it is time for the “plaisirs de la table” (enjoying a nice meal).

Today we will focus on the Provence as all 2006 Unicorn Adventures tours start from there.
The Provence is a fantastic region of France, borded on one side by the Mediterranean sea, on another by the Alps and the French Riviera, and by the Languedoc Roussillon (visited during the “Mediterranean Coast” tour). This position guarantees fresh fish and great sun a great part of the year and thus wonderful food and drink!

Listing all of the various dishes one can find would take pages and pages! For that reason we will only list 10 of them:

• The Aïoli (try to say I-O-LEE): an olive oil based mayonnaise with crushed garlic (try not to breath in your helmet for 10 minutes after having had some) which is a great sauce for fish and vegetables.
• The Anchoïade (try to say UN-SHWA-I-AD): mashed anchovy in olive oil and garlic (same as above), a nice mash for vegetables and salads.
• The Tapenade is a mesh made of black olives, anchovy and capers mixed with olive oil and spices. It is especially delicious on fresh or toasted bred.
• The Pistou Soup (Pistou is a classic French sauce, made by pounding together basil, garlic, oil and sometimes cheese) very rich in vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots …)
• The Salad Niçoise is a very refreshing salad that you will enjoy during lunch under the sun on the sea side, or to start dinner (depending of the salad size). It is made of cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, bell peppers, eggs, black olives, anchovy; wil some olive oil, garlic and basil spread over.
• The Bouillabaisse (try to say BOU-YHA-BESS) that you will have to taste! It is a soup made of, at least, 5 different fishes (rock fishes): conger, rascasse, grondin, monkfish, saint-pierre, hake to which little crabs (called “Favouilles”) and potato slices can be added. The soup resulting of the cooking, is served aside the fish to “wet” it. It comes with bred and delicious sauce called “Rouille” (say RUY) made of Aïoli (see above) and red peppers (personal advice: get the rouille on the bred you will let damp in the soup…hmmmm).
• The Ratatouille (say RATA-TUY): a mix of vegetables (courgettes, eggplants, tomatoes, bell pepper …) cooked in olive oil with some garlic and Provence herbs. It is a very common side dish for meat as well as fish and complements subtly rice (try that in Camargue with the locally produced rice).
• The Tian (say TEE-YAN): vegetables gratin cooked in a plate called the Tian.
• The Daube (say DOUGH-BA): more a dinner plate as it is quite heavy compared to the previously listed dishes. It is made of beef slowly cooked in red wine with onions (with some clove), herbs and garlic. The cooking lasts a full day and the Daube should be served the day after, as it is more tasty after a second cooking. The side dish will mainly be made of pasta.
• A last Provence dish is called the 13 desserts and comes only at Xmas, which you won’t experience during one of our Unicorn Adventures motorcycle tours , but you can read more here.

All those delicious plates deserve of course a good drink! But always after the ride!

It is always nice to start with a Pastis! Made of anise and alcohol, and served with fresh water and ice cubes it is THE drink in the south of France! You can also find some variations around it like the “Tomate”: a pastis with a bit of Grenadine syrup, or a “Peroquet”: pastis with mint syrup, or a “Mauresque”: a pastis with orgeat syrup. Luckily the Route des Crètes) you will find a famous and very bright white wine, slightly iodized to the perfume of Provence (wines: Marsanne and Clairette for 90%, Ugni Blanc, Sauvignon, Bourbelenc).
Higher up the Coteaux de Pierrevert following some specific rules (at least 2 vines, with less than 70% for the main one, the vines being: for the white wine: Ugni blanc, Grenache blanc, Clairette, Marsanne, Roussane and Picpoul; for the red: Grenache, Carignan, Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, Oeillade and Terret Noir).

Moving towards Italy here comes Bandol and its “Bandol” wine. Stored in oak barrels for more than 18 months and with at least 50% of Mourvèdre vine, this wine can easily be compared to the Bordeaux or Bourgogne. The vines are: for the white wine: Bourboulenc, Clairette and Ugni Blanc, and sometimes sauvignon; for the red wine: Mourvèdre, Grenache, Cinsault, as well as Syrah, Carignan,Tibouren and Calitor.

The “Côtes de Provence” can be found in a square from the Luc to the Esterel mountain and with a from Hyères to Fréjus/Saint Rahaël on the sea side. Thanks to a great variety of soils and climate a great variety of wines can be found, most of them being Rosé (84%). The vines used for the Côtes de Provence are: For the red vines : Grenache, Cinsault, Tibouren, Mourvèdre and Cabernet Sauvignon, for the white vines the following vines are used, Rolle and Sémillon which tend to replace the Ugni-Blanc and the Clairette.

At the foot of the Sainte Victoire Mountain one will enjoy the “Côte de Provences – Sainte Victoire”, name that only the red and rosé wine can have. Produced from the best Côtes de Provence parcels this wine will be refreshing and dry, with a red fruit taste, as a rosé, whilst being complex and subtle, also with a red fruit taste, for the red wine.

As you will have noticed the Provence has many treasures, from its sceneries, to its dishes, not missing the twisty roads under the sun with Unicorn Adventures !

After a great experience from one of our team members, Unicorn Adventures Ltd is currently considering having a team at the 2007 and/or 2008 Marathon des Sables.

The Marathon des Sables is an extreme race, it is even said to be the or one of the toughest races on earth. It takes place early April in the Morocco desert. The objective is to cover the 240 km (approx. 150 miles) distance in 7 days over 6 legs, each one with a different distance. The idea being that the first one is a warm-up of less than 30 km, then the distance gets bigger each time until day 4 and 5 with a 70 to 80 km leg followed by a Marathon, the day after and a semi-Marathon for the last day. Of course each leg is full of surprises (hills to climb, dune fields etc…).

One important point: each runner has to carry her/his own food and equipment during the whole time. The organization providing the water and the tent only.

People interested to join our team can contact us!

Keep in mind that the training should start not later than September to attend the race in April.

Registration fee should be close to 2.600 Euros (attention: this is a price set by the Marathon des Sables organisation, Unicorn Adventures will only manage to get a team together, each member being in charge of getting to Paris for the departure), including:

• Return flight from Paris
• Bus trasnfert in Morocco
• General ground assitance
• Bivouac
• Hotel (2 days)
• Water for the race duration
• Repatriation insurance France and Europe
• Technical support
• Medical assistance
• Air and ground support
• Survival kit
• Medal, tee-shirt and official film of the race

Join us for the ultimate challenge! Of course people joining our tours can go for a run with our team members as we do also like go for a run after a good ride!

The first 2006 tours with Unicorn Adventures will start mid April.

It is important from a financial standpoint for the customers to keep in mind that the best way to book and pay is to book at least 2 month in advance and pay a 500 Euros deposit, instead of having to make the full payment if the tour is booked less than 60 days prior to departure.

The first tours to start, "A ride in Provence and Camargue" and "Corsica Tour" still have some free slots, but very few for passengers requesting the "chauffeur service".

During our travels we noticed that on a regular basis you can find some old guys riding those out of age Motobecane or Peugeot 102/103 scooters in France. It made us wonder what are the images international bikers give of themselves and of those of their country. Of course the following text is based on some funny comments and views and does not present the real image as all bikers look the same as long as they enjoy riding on two wheels with an engine!

Image from vieuxenmob.free.fr
Let us start with the French stereotype: the bred under the arm, an outdated helmet, some bottles of vine in the side bags and of course between their legs the pride and joy of French motorcycle manufacturing: “la bleue” (a Motobacane 50cc or a Peugeot 102 or 103). Most of the time the guy (or the woman by the way, no, don’t even think about a biker babe) riding this prehistoric sample has lovely red cheeks (result of the cold and the French “anti-freeze” solution - which varies from one part of the country to the other one starting in the south with the Pastis and replaced by stronger stuff in the north), wears a blue dungaree, a helmet two sizes too small and way out of the frame of the latest Euro Norms, and last but not least a nice open and warm smile!

Another easy one to list is the American biker, who is perceived as the direct inheritor of the old cowboys! The horse has been replaced by a Harley Davidson (major advantage: it is easier to customize a HD than a horse), the Stetson is now a helmet (or a bandana), and the cows are car drivers. The usual stereotype ads to that long hair or a long beard, a lot of tattoos, and a sexy chick (not that much dressed) on the pillion. Seen from this side of the Atlantic the way they prepare the fire is also interesting, compared to the cowboy who use wood they do, nowadays, use japanese bikes.

In Europe you can also find the German bikers. Mainly riding in groups on Beemers (but not only) and easy to stereotype as they do always ride with the full equipment! You will never see a German biker without the whole leather or Cordura suit, the boots, the gloves, the tank bag, the top case, the side boxes, the rain suit etc…even when the weather is bright, sunny and warm! Of course when they aren’t on the road you find them at the bar enjoying a good beer! Always ready to get to the end of the world and back!

Riding the most sexy bikes and a real fashion victim: here comes the Italian biker! The stereotype describes her/him on a lovely Ducati (even though there are great Guzzis) with the racing leather suit, the perfect sun glasses and of course the helmet perfectly matching the suit and bike colour! There is a huge chance the colours look like Rossi, Biaggi or Capirossi’s bike ones! The only problem will come from removing the helmet and keeping the hair perfectly brushed! This is where bald bikers always look better.

Last but not least for today here comes our UK friend! A frustrated biker! Living on an island full of radars (even though its starting to look the same way in many other countries), where it rains most of the time but a huge sports bike amateur the UK biker has a complex equation to sort out: how to spend a lot of fun time under the rain while keeping the driving licences, avoiding the police and be able to ride a more than 160 Bhp bike on slippery roads, while all the cars drive on the wrong side of the road (luckily he drives also on the wrong side of the road)? A first solution: show your bike in front of the Pub! (see places like the Ace Café in London). Another one: attend crazy races like the TT! And finaly the less dangerous one: get over the channel and enjoy the rest of Europe roads and their radars.

Again the purpose of this short note was to have some fun about us bikers, no disrespect here, but we all know that none of us is like that!

If you have more stereotypes you would like to share let us know.

On the Mediterranean coast there are many little roads and places one can admire and enjoy! But the best way to discover them is on a motorcycle or a plane .
One of those is the charming little town of Cassis, eastwards from Marseille.

The best way to get to Cassis is to take the “Route des Crêtes” starting from La Ciotat. It offers a ride of some 9 km (approx. 6 miles) of perfect pavement and curves! All that by the sea side over white cliffs.

This is a very well know road from the local bikers and you could enjoy some interesting “races” taking place there, but avoid to take part as those guys know the road by heart (check the tire marks in the curves…leaving the road and back on it…scary)!
Normal (lets say: less Testosterone pumped-up ones) can work on their skills at a normal pace and enjoy all the parking places to enjoy the breath taking vista.

Don’t stop in the middle of the road to take a great shot of the curves, car drivers don’t like it! Trust me !

For a first ride this January it was decided to use on of our tour rides, or at least part of it.
One advantage with the French Riviera and province is that in January there is a good chance you will get a fantastic sunny weather while most of Europe stays under the clouds. Starting from the little sea side town of Saint Raphaël (from where the 2006 Unicorn Adventures Tours start), we took the road along the coast down to Saint Tropez. One good thing is that the speed limit is set to 70 km/h (approx. 44mph), which by European biker standards can be a bit slow, but it gives you plenty of time to enjoy the vista and admire the lovely houses.

This time we didn’t stop in Saint Tropez to buy a Tropezienne neither to walk around the tinny streets nor along the port always filled with lovely yachts (keep in mind that Saint Tropez is one of the fashionable places along the French Riviera, attracting a lot of VIPs).

Right after Saint Tropez don’t miss the right hand turn to go on the coastal road and cross places like the Pampelonne beach, famous last century for its outlaw naturism.
The road climbs up a little pass and offers delicious little curves in the middle of the forest until it reaches the Corniche des Maures coastal road. From one little sea side village to the other one it will take you to Le Lavandou where the secret right turn should not be missed!

Speed limit of 30 km/h (approx. 20 mph) getting out of Bormes les Mimosas, a place no one should miss in early spring when the Mimosa flowers are blooming. From there the trick is to catch the Babaou pass road. For bikers this is a dream: perfect road surface, curves every where, nearly no cars, but a lot of cyclists some times! From the tire skid marks in all the curves you already know this is a road the local bikers enjoy a lot! But one should avoid to get as extreme as some did, as some marks end up in a tree or some where lower on the hill! After working hard on the perfect curve riding a new road arrives taking you either on towards more curves or to Cuers after having passed the ostriches farm.

Seems short when described on an article but that little ride takes at least 2 hours to reach Cuers.

When on a tour you decide to visit some gorgeous historical place or just want a rest in a good restaurant you always end-up with your helmet on the arm! Which is never that comfy! Not even mentioning the glances you get from people ready to scream because they think you are going to rob the bank (see the “Are bikers that scary” note).

Most bikes come with a sort of solution to hang one helmet to a metallic loop hidden somewhere under the saddle. But that element is only made for one helmet. Where does the second go? Most of the time, and we have seen it many, many times, on the ground, locked with the U lock or chain. Which seems a good idea…if you except dogs walking around and always curious to drop…a drop in a new place! This really happens!

A nice little trick is to get a bicycle cable lock and attach it the motorcycle frame or rear handles or any static piece! Those locks are long enough to get at least to helmets (you aren’t supposed to be more than two on a bike, aren’t you?) and can stay in place all the time.

It is cheap and efficient!

I could have called this note "do designers ever test what they design!"

Here is a little trick I have applied to my R1200RT (works the same on the K1200LT).
It could happen that you hit the outside of a mirror during your ride or while moving the bike around.
A very smart guy at BMW came out with a fantastic idea!
- "Why don't we find a solution to avoid the mirror exploding or getting broken when it gets hit?",
- "Wow! replies the project team, lets do it!"
Here is the solution: the mirror clicks out of the casing to avoid damage when hit!...only issue is that....they aren't attached to anything!
Which means your miror doesn't get broken because you hit it BUT because that smart system let it crash to the floor (don't even look at the spare part price)!

The solution: use a plastic collar to link the mirror to the casing! It will still get out of the way but will no more crash!
The collar must cost ....approx....0.10 Euros which is of course a HUGE over cost on a more than 16.000 Euros bike!

C’était à Ibiza, l’été 1991 (ça ne nous rajeunit pas tout ça !). Deux jeunes étudiantes en délire parties pour faire une fête de tous les diables. Un soir, on décide de partir faire un tour dans le centre ville, histoire d’avoir autre chose à raconter à notre retour que les boîtes de nuit.

On prend donc un taxi et nous voici à déambuler dans les ruelles. Beaucoup de monde : des femmes toutes plus élégantes et sexy les unes que les autres, des jeunes hommes beaux à croquer (!), des travestis bien voyants qui distribuent des tracts pour le club le plus branché de l’île… l’endroit est pittoresque et original !

Et si on rentrait à présent ? Mais comme pour tout étudiant qui se respecte, le porte monnaie est bien léger et le taxi reste cher. Nous allons faire de l’auto-stop !

Presque une heure pour arriver à la sélection finale : celui-là a une sale tête, je n’ai pas confiance. Et là, ils sont trop nombreux ! Et celui-là ? Il a l’air sympa, mais on le voit arriver avec ses gros sabots : il s’imagine déjà qu’il va conclure !

Finalement le choix se porte sur deux jeunes hommes : un (très séduisant du reste) conduit une Renault 4 qui a quelques heures de vol, et l’autre pilote une moto de petite cylindrée ; en plus, il a un casque, ce qui laisse entrevoir qu’il est sérieux…mon amie opte pour le garçon charmant et moi je mets le casque que me tend son copain. Quel gentleman ! Il me file son casque alors qu’il pourrait se rompre le cou si nous faisions une chute. La galanterie est si rare de nos jours…

Oui, mais le temps se gâte après quelques kilomètres, quand le charmant garçon se sent obligé de profiter du short court que je porte et se met à me caresser la cuisse. Mais il ne va pas bien ??!!! Super gênant comme situation. Et je ne peux rien faire ! La moto file assez vite, je ne peux donc pas sauter en route. De plus, on est au milieu de l’île, et je ne vois pas comment je pourrai rentrer à l’appart… sans parler de mon amie qui ne saurait où je suis (pas de portable).

Bon, restons calme ! Si je lui explique gentiment, il va certainement comprendre… et se calmer. Tu parles ! Maintenant il se la joue « mâle en période des amours » ! Et je te lance des fleurs, et tu es très belle, et nous pourrions nous revoir. S’ensuit le baise-main… tant que cela reste gentillet de la sorte, tout va bien. Mais là où ça se complique c’est quand il décide de sucer un de mes doigts. Beurk ! Mais il est dégoûtant ce type !!!

Heureusement que j’ai pu me débarrasser de l’énergumène assez facilement arrivée à destination. Et dire que mon amie, elle, a passé un excellent moment en compagnie de l’hidalgo craquant. C’était bien ma veine ! La prochaine fois, pas de moto-stop !

As promised here is a note about riding in a group. This is based on our experience and does of course not represent the ultimate solution as each group will have to adapt to the set of bikers it is made of.

A group starts with two, sounds pretty logical and can go up to…many more (see the more than 1.000 bikers attending the group ride at the BMW biker meeting or the HOG rides! The rules apply as well for groups of friends on a Sunday ride as to groups managed by professionals like Unicorn Adventures Ltd.

The first thing to keep in mind is …testosterone! And that need to always be the one ahead of the others! If you need to race there are many tracks all over Europe where this can be done, but it is best to avoid it on open roads as we share them with car, camping cars, trucks etc…not even mentioning those driven by a person on the mobile phone ;) .

One of the things making group riding such a pleasure is the diversity of people, bikes and experiences you can find in the group! But that positive point is also the most challenging one to manage! As you will need to find the rhythm which will work for all. The main idea is to get in front of the group ONE (not more…remember the testosterone issue) experienced biker, well aware of the itinerary, then comes the set of less experienced riders and less powerful bikes up to the most experienced/powerful. To close the group the rear guard is made of one very experienced biker.
Make sure all members know the itinerary and define regular stop points or places you will wait for the group in case of red lights or bio-brakes (it should be possible for anyone to get a break without thinking they will get lost as the head of the group, riding with the speed of light will never stop….real experience here ;) .

If the group is big split it in sub groups of 5 to 7 bikes, make sure meeting points have been set properly in order to get the group together from time to time.

The group members should ride in a quincunx figure (one on the right, one on the left etc…). This allows to ride in the most safest way as breaking distances are kept and visibility is maximum. Just make sure the group gets in one line when ever necessary (like a car overtaking! Yes it may happen ;) . Never race after a rider way faster than you! But learn from one a “bit faster”!

When overtaking is necessary always leave space between you and the bike in front of you! As that one may have calculated the available space between two cars for her/his bike but not for yours (real life experience again!).

Don’t hesitate to use your mirrors in a group to make sure the guy behind you follows and does it with pleasure (watch the amount of flies on the teeth)! If it looks like s/he is trying to keep up and will end up on the ground be nice, slow down!

Last but not least! At the end of the group ride get all together for a nice drink…but not before!

Another good place to find info on group riding can be found on motorcyclebloggers.com.

Diving into our archives we discovered a good manual : Brilliant riding – The Manual, The definitive guide to a fast and beautiful ride. Edited by “Bike” magazine in July 2002.
This little (A5 format) manual has all one needs to know about riding properly:

• Breaking hard: with all the “excellent” car drivers on the road this is a must!
• Reading the road: the best book ever! But not the one you can read in bed!
• Steering: sort of an important topic! How does it work? Do you remember the gyroscopic effect? At what speed does it start?
• Changing gear: try to do that nicely with a passenger and without getting the usual “tonk!” of her/his helmet hitting yours!
• Using the throttle: it is not just about “on”, “off”! But about efficiency.
• Overtaking: ahaaa an important topic for us as we cannot stand to be slowed down by anything slower than a jet fighter! Lets us the testosterone in the smart way!
• Relax: isn’t motorcycling all about that? The guy who once on a TV show came out with “riding a motorcycle is the lazy man’s Zen” was right!
• Clutch Control: pretty close to the gear changing topic, but also useful when the road gets tricky.
• Sitting comfortably: not all bikes are super duper comfy GTs! And even then you better get a good position to enjoy your ride.
• Riding at night: that time of the day where your lights go to the side of the road right when it turns sharply the other way!
• Scraping the pegs: not every ones cup of tea, but gives a feeling of success when achieved (not talking about Harley’s or their Japanese –and soon to come Chinese- imitations with which just looking at the bike scraps the pegs, no talking about bikes made for max angulations).
• Group riding: our favourite chapter! Don’t miss our soon to come article on that topic!
• Engine breaking: this is of course linked to the type of engine you have ;)
• Vanishing point: will you ever get there?
• U Turns: necessary when you get lost
• Fast roundabouts: when there is no truck fuel on the road (be careful they always dump it on the outside of the lane) this is nice.
• Riding pillion: what a passenger should know before getting on a motorcycle.
• Town riding: avoid being hurt in the jungle!
• Riding in the wet: this should not be necessary on our tours but you never know.
• Crash avoidance: the manual puts it clearly “fight or flight”!
• Tyre pressures: never to be forgotten, that small surface of rubber is all we have between us and the road!
• Getting noticed: even though bikers have a strange image we still need to make sure car drivers see us.
• Taking a pillion: once your passenger knows everything just make sure you keep her/him happy.
• Wheelies: the title says it all!

Each chapter gets the important points to know on one page and a nice illustrative picture on the other one.

As you can see from the list some items are more important than others, depending on your style and objectives.
For example: the group riding section is an important one when you join a guided tour, and we will have an article on that topic soon on blog!