As you know I love motorcycle touring, taking a good bike on twisty roads, riding across lovely sceneries, making new friends, organizing tours for people and enjoying great rides.

I have asked on some forums what kind of magazine people read and very often it appears that they prefer the web and all its forums, blogs information than magazines.

Did people reach my level of boredom about motorcycle magazines? Tired of always reading about the latest supersport bike it is 23rd evolution (a bit less frame here, one more BhP here, a new sticker there)?

I like to read and therefore did read nearly 6 to 7 different magazines per month but for some time now I try to stick only to one or two as anyway they do all present all the time the same bikes! GSXR, CBRR, R1, R6, ZXR and the best lap time the journalist can ride! Honestly out of the readers how many can use those beasts to the top on the road? Yes they are a dream, a demonstration of what motorcycle designers and engineers can do, BUT! Is it really necessary to write about them every week? Every month?

I would be that more interesting to read about people and their travel experience, about places to see, special roads that a biker could really enjoy.

I don’t say this is missing, some magazines do from time to time write a couple of lines about that but it takes just a couple of pages out of a 100 pages magazine! Compared to the 10 pages of tests, lap times etc…

Some countries have nice magazines about touring like Germany (we Germans have that historical need to go “visit” the world), some US ones and that’s it or nearly…not that much isn’t it?

The less we buy the more they may understand there is an issue? Or won’t they?

A few days ago I had the pleasure to debate a long moment with a wind music instruments reseller. Music, albums, concerts... we talked about all sorts of very interesting topics. He told me about his business, of course, and made me laugh a lot when he described the type of customers and how it relates to their music instrument.

The flute player is a kind of "neurotic"! It is really important to not touch his/her instrument, to not modify it. No way to unscrew it!

The saxophonist is a person only obsessed by the sound that his/her sax produces. Only the quality of sound is important.

The trumpet player wants to privilege the aesthetics of the object as well as her/his own one. Will the color well suit his/her home decoration? Is he/she beautiful when he/she practices this instrument or does the other trumpet suit him/her more?

The oboe player, will never be satisfied with the sound that he/she will get. He/she will come back to the shop and will ask for a different setting, again and again, more and more depressed.

Of course, one can see here an ounce of caricature. But I just wonder one thing: can one categorize the bikers of the same way? Do you think that an owner of Ducati or BMW or Harley Davidson can be described the same way a musician is?

I am awaiting for your answers guys…!

Picture from François Aragon

Il y a peu de temps j’ai eu le plaisir de discuter un long moment avec un vendeur d’instruments à vent. Musique, albums, concerts… nous avons abordé toutes sortes de sujets fort intéressants. Il m’a bien sûr parlé de son commerce et m’a fait beaucoup rire lorsqu’il a décrit les profils type de ses clients.

Le flutiste ou le « névrotique » de service ! Il ne faut pas toucher son instrument, ne rien modifier. Ne pas le dévisser surtout !

Le saxophoniste pour sa part est une personne obsédée par le son que doit faire son saxo. Seule la qualité de la musique compte.

Le trompettiste quant à lui va privilégier l’esthétique de l’objet. La couleur ira-t-elle bien avec son intérieur ? Est-il beau lorsqu’il pratique de cet instrument ci ou bien l’autre lui sied-t-il davantage ?

Le joueur de hautbois, lui, ne sera jamais satisfait du son qu’il obtiendra. Il reviendra et demandera des réglages, encore et encore, de plus en plus déprimé.

Bien sûr, on peut voir ici une once de caricature… mais je me suis plus tard posée la question suivante : peut-on catégoriser les motards de la même façon ? Pensez-vous qu’un propriétaire de Ducati, BMW ou Harley Davidson puisse être décrit d’une manière aussi précise ?

J’attends vos réponses !

Photo de Francois Aragon

Not going to talk about motorcycles and motorcycle tours today.

As you may have noticed our blog was down for 4 days, four days without any chance to get it back online! As if the fact that the server provider was not giving a s…. about its customers. Is this new? No! You may have noticed that every day you, as a customer, just get looked at as the worst disease as soon as you ask or expect to buy something! It seems that you as the customer have to excuse yourself to bother people to give them YOUR money to get a service or a product in exchange! What the hell is going on?

I always thought that the customer is the key to the business and that as such you should do everything possible to keep her/him happy!

It is like when you want to buy a new motorcycle, lets say a BMW! Being more precise a R1200 GS Adventure…well sorry mate you will have to wait till September because the factory didn’t produce enough and will be closed in august etc.. etc…So I , as the customer, have to wait until the provider is willing to sell! Duh!

Another example: we may want to get Harley’s in case US based customers (mainly) do absolutely want to get a HD instead of a BMW. As we are nice guys focusing on our customers and their needs we did contact the local HD store…haven’t heard back from those guys for more than two month! Seems that selling half a dozen bikes doesn’t interest them! Well if they can live without customers I happy for them!

You want you web agency to change something on your web site you cannot change thanks to some sort of proprietary technology or highly expertise requested one: sorry mate we don’t have time for that or will do it when we like it…eeeeh sorryyyy I am the one paying you!

What the hell is going on? Why do we have to accept all this?

Are we living in another world? I mean we at Unicorn Adventures Ltd do our best to get our customers happy, all our philosophy is based around the customer! Serve the customer, have her/him enjoy her/his vacation, have fun, don’t worry etc… Are we nuts? Are we living in parallel dimension? Well I may be stupid but I still don’t think so! There are people willing to do the best they can to provide quality and service and we are lucky to meet many of them especially hotel owners on our tours! But how sad to see that majority hidden by a set of bad quality focused people!

As much as others don’t care about quality we try to increase it day by day! We may lose the quality war but will fight until the end!

By the way to all those who don’t care: I take my business elsewhere!

A unique opportunity, only available with Unicorn Adventures Ltd.

Ancient vineyards, serpentine roads, magnificent French castles and beautiful sceneries all in one spectacular motorcycle tour; a dream come true.

Along fifteen days, you will ride a “tour de France” through historical places like the Loire valley castles, Verdun and particularly through all the major wines regions: Provence, Rhône, Beaujolais, Bourgogne, Savoie, Jura, Alsace, Champagne, Loire, Cognac, Bordeaux, Cahors, Corbières and Languedoc.

A real special way to experience France’s long history of wine!

Daily program: riding, taking plenty of time to discover the regions during the day and then experience the wonderful regional cuisine and wines tasting in the evenings.

Caution! The Wines Tour de France tour is limited to twelve motorcycles and there are only two dates this year:

• from September 2nd to 16th 2006
• from September 30 to October 14th 2006

To get the full description of the tour as well as the prices have a look at our Web Site www.unicornadventures.com or get the tour description PDF file.

Photo Office du Tourisme de Bergerac

Eine einmalige Gelegenheit, nur bei Unicorn Adventures Ltd verfügbar.

Alte Weinberge,Serpentienenstrassen,herrliche französische Schlösser und schöne Landschaften, und dies alles in einer grossartigen Motoradtour: Ihr Traum wird wahr.

Kommen Sie zu einer 15-Tage “Tour de France”durch alle Hauptweinregionen: Provence, Rhône, Beaujolais, Bourgogne, Savoie, Jura, Elsass, Champagne, Loire, Cognac, Bordeaux, Cahors, Corbières und Languedoc.

Diese Tour ist eine einzigartige Gelegenheit, Frankreichs lange Geschichte des Weins kennen zu lernen!

Täglisches Programm: am Tag wird gefahren und am Abend wird Wein genossen.

Achtung! Diese Tour ist auf 12 Motorräder beschränkt und wird dieses Jahr nur zweimal Stattfinden:

• von September 2 bis 16 2006
• von September 30 bis Oktober 14 2006

Um die volle Beschreibung der Tour zu bekommen sowie den Preisen schauen Sie sich unser Web Site www.unicornadventures.com an oder laden Sie die Tourbeschreibung PDF ab.

Photo Office du Tourisme de Bergerac

Une opportunité unique : Unicorn Adventures Ltd est le seul tour opérateur à offrir un tel circuit aujourd’hui..

Des vignobles, des routes sinueuses, de magnifiques châteaux français, un décor superbe, tout ceci réuni dans un circuit à moto spectaculaire. Un rêve qui devient réalité.

Quinze jours de ride, un tour de France des lieux historiques tels que la vallée des châteaux de la Loire, Verdun, Carcassonne et surtout un sublime voyage à travers les principales régions viticoles: Provence, Rhône, Beaujolais, Bourgogne, Savoie, Jura, Alsace, Champagne, Loire, Cognac, Bordeaux, Cahors, Corbières et Languedoc.

Ce circuit est pour vous une occasion unique de découvrir la grande histoire de France du vin!

Au programme, le plaisir de la moto et le temps de découvrir de fabuleux paysages et les trésors de la cuisine régionale en journée, et la dégustation des vins en soirée.

Attention ! Le Tour des Vins de France est limité à douze motos, et il n’y a que deux dates:

• Du 2 au 16 Septembre 2006
• Du 30 Septembre au 14 Octobre 2006

Pour une description complète du circuit rendez-vous sur notre site www.unicornadventures.com ou bien procurez vous la description du circuit au format PDF.

Photo Office du Tourisme de Bergerac

Some time ago during a weekend in May. I sat in my car and drove for a couple of hours, as a lot of my compatriots.

I drove, quietly until the moment a certain annoyance won me.

How many drivers remained glued on the left slide of the motorway, stopping me thus from passing whereas my speed was higher? Why did some drivers (men or women) accelerate deliberately when a car overtook them, creating a dangerous and especially extremely stupid situation? To what end do people honk in the lines at the toll when a person is just a bit slower than expected? Because they will lose 5 minutes, or even 2 on their trip?

Astounded by this type of stupid behavior, I came to think about bikers and their reactions on the road. Of course I don’t know that many people to elaborate a representative sample that would allow me to establish reliable statistics… but if I refer to the different rides made as passenger, I never had to deplore this type of behavior. Of course, if my chauffeur was overpassed, he tempted to pass again, titillating thus his/her "adversary" in this imaginary race, but none of them put us in danger stopping another biker from joining back the good side of the road, or passing us. I also never noticed obscene gestures. On the other hand not each biker makes the special lateral leg gesture in manner of thanks to the driver who let him overtake. And don’t bikers give each other a wave (see various notes on, that topic in theis bog) when they cross each other? Instead of being agressive?

It is funny to see to what point bikers and car drivers behave in a very different manner. This makes me think about a survey I read and that I found very interesting. This survey was about proxemy. The human being delimits his personal space very precisely (a space which is equivalent to the length of a tense arm around oneself in European countries). All intrusion in this space by a person not considered like intimate represents an aggression. This perception varies from a population to another. For example, if an Australian appreciates to keep some distances in relation to the other people, Japanese will prefer to be closer. This is intimately linked to the space you have where you live.

This survey also analysed the notion of space especially through the car, notion that was fully reversed. Indeed, whereas in normal time each among us has its intimate space and, farther, a space in which others are allowed to penetrate, the driver who is installed very comfortably in his car considers everything around, I mean the whole road, as his own space. That’s why all the others drivers are considered as unacceptable intruders!

It’s a fact that the motorcycle offers us less protection, but at least we keep this feeling of total freedom, and especially the one to continue to respect the others!

Pictures : from www.google.fr (http://images.google.fr/images?q=boxe&hl=fr)

Lors d’un week-end prolongé du mois de mai, je me suis installée au volant de ma voiture et j’ai pris la route, comme beaucoup de mes compatriotes.

Je roulais, tranquille jusqu’au moment où un agacement certain m’a gagné.

Combien d’automobilistes sont restés collés sur la voie de gauche, m’empêchant ainsi de dépasser alors que je roulais à une vitesse supérieure ? Pourquoi certains conducteurs (hommes ou femmes) accéléraient délibérément lorsqu’une voiture les doublait, créant ainsi une situation dangereuse et surtout extrêmement inutile ? A quelle fin les gens klaxonnaient-ils dans les files au péage lorsqu’une personne rencontrait un problème ? En refus de perdre 5 minutes, voire 2 sur leur trajet ?

Estomaquée par ce type de comportement stupide, j’en suis venue à réfléchir aux motards et à leurs réactions sur la route. Bien sûr mes connaissances ne me permettent pas de construire un échantillon représentatif pour établir des statistiques fiables, mais si je me réfère aux différentes balades faites à moto en tant que passagère, je n’ai jamais eu à déplorer ce type de comportement. Bien sûr, si mon pilote se faisait doubler, il tentait de dépasser à nouveau, titillant ainsi son « adversaire » dans cette course imaginaire, mais jamais aucun d’entre eux ne nous a mis en danger empêchant un autre motard de se rabattre sur la voie, ou encore de nous dépasser. Je n’ai pas non plus eu l’occasion de noter de gestes obscènes. En revanche ne voit-on pas chaque motard écarter sa jambe de sa machine en guise de remerciement à l’automobiliste qui s’est poussé pour le laisser passer ? Et la confrérie motarde ne se salue-t-elle pas « poliment » chaque fois que ses membres se croisent ? Au lieu de s’agresser ?

C’est amusant de voir à quel point motards et « caisseux », comme on le dit souvent, se comportent de manière très différente. Ce qui me fait penser à une étude que j’avais lue et que j’avais trouvé fort intéressante. Cette étude portait sur la proxémie. L’être humain délimite très nettement son espace dit personnel (équivalent à la longueur d’un bras tendu tout autour de soi). Toute intrusion dans cet espace par une personne non considérée comme intime représente une agression. Cette perception variant d’une population à une autre. Par exemple, si un Australien apprécie de garder certaines distances par rapport aux autres personnes, le Japonais préfèrera être assez proche.

Cette étude abordait notamment la notion d’espace à travers la voiture, notion qui se trouvait totalement inversée. En effet, alors qu’en temps normal chacun d’entre nous a son espace intime et, plus loin, un espace dans lequel peuvent pénétrer les autres, l’automobiliste bien confortablement installé dans sa voiture considère tout ce qu’il y a autour de lui, à savoir toute la route, comme son espace propre. De ce fait, tous les autres automobilistes sont perçus comme des intrus inacceptables !

La moto, sans carrosserie, nous protège moins, c’est un fait mais au moins nous conservons ce sentiment de totale liberté, et surtout celle de continuer à respecter les autres… !

Image extraite de www.google.fr (http://images.google.fr/images?q=boxe&hl=fr)

Companies like Unicorn Adventures Ltd Motorcycle Tours work thanks to the beauty and sceneries, and of course twisty roads, one can find in the visited countries. For our 2006 catalogue we have most tours riding through the most exciting places in France.

In fact each country does part of the communication job for us. Is it always done in the right way? Well if you consider people like ADéToMES (Association for the Development of Motorcycle Tours in Southern Europe) who do a lot for work for that I would say yes. If you take the politicians …well I would say no!

People start dreaming about their vacation because they have a given image of the country they target. It will be linked to its sceneries, culture, history, gastronomy, wines (keep your eyes open for a smashing new tour coming soon), and people. But once the decision has been taken or even before, and thanks to the high information rate we get every day, the current political, economical situation has a huge impact!

Lets take France as an example! Nowadays it is definitely not the most shiny country on the international scene! Political issues, strikes and low profile on international situations definitely don’t make it a happy country; which is of course asap reported in the international press! Media doing their best to show the situation as desperate (allows to sell more….even if it is crap…but so easy to sell).

The problem being to get to the potential customers and let them know that the sceneries, roads and tours aren’t impacted and that a motorcycle ride is always the best way to get rid of troubles!

Another example: Unicorn Adventures Ltd Motorcycle Tours has a tour taking place in Corsica, which is on of the most beautiful places existing in the Mediterranean see and in Europe. But the Corsican have the reputation to be quiet people, not talking that much and not liking tourists! Wrong! They live from tourism! But as anyone of us they hate “conquerors”! People who think that once on vacation they can do what they want with most disrespect! Corsican are among the most interesting people we know and the nicest we have met around the Mediterranean sea. The fact that we get there with motorcycles helps a lot and also that we have respect for them! So on one side a negative image given by the press (yes they have some fights against the police out there, they have some strikes too) and people who couldn’t “conquer” them and on the other side: amazing sceneries, the most twisty roads, and great people!

I think the best way is to decide where to go, get there (alone or with a motorcycle tour operator) and enjoy it! Let the politicians and “conquerors” screw their own life, not ours!

Unicorn Adventures Ltd has joined last week ADéToMES the Association pour le Développement du Tourisme à Moto dans le Sud de l'Europe (association for the development of motorcycle tours in southern Europe).

Their web site is: www.motorcycletourseurope.com

Just read a note from Steve on Wearing a short while riding, as much as I agree that everyone can do what ever s/he wants on his bike when it comes to dressing code as much I think that our skin is far from being the best safety and protection device it gives, especially against harsh pavement.

On most of our motorcycle tours we are lucky to enjoy nice warm weather and sun as we ride southern Europe routes, which of course tends to have you remove as much layers as possible to keep cool (not talking about the looks here just about temperature).

But we don’t do this! At any time you can hit some gravel, some oil spilled from a truck tank, some animal (like in Corsica pigs or cows) crossing right in front of your wheels etc… and end up on the ground slipping along the nice, warm, gravely pavement. If you wear at least denim jeans, gloves and a jacket (the helmet is mandatory in Europe) you have a chance to avoid major skin damage, if not your going to look like a road pizza.

I have only tried once to ride with just a tee-shirt (and jeans, helmet and gloves) once and even though it was very nice to have that feeling of wind rushing over my arms I just didn’t feel safe!

It may be warm, sweaty and hard to wear but I think that a full gear is always the best solution to stay safe. That is one reason why at Unicorn Adventures Ltd we provide the gear for free to our customers (yes we do clean it after each tour).

Stay safe!