Welcome to My World
Life Changing Motorbikes
I bought my first motorbike as cheap transport to work and my mum said "You'll kill yourself in a month!". Well, I survived the first month and I was hooked! I passed my test and rode as far and as often as I could, exploring my ever expanding surroundings while gaining valuable riding experience. I passed the advanced riding test the following year.
Honda CB750KZ
This was my first "big" motorbike and I loved it! I was lucky as a colleague was emigrating and needed to sell it fast. I wanted it but couldn't really afford the price. The day before he was due to fly out, he phoned me and said "turn up with £500 and it's yours!". I passed my advanced riding course on this and clocked up around 36,000 miles a year!
Suzuki GSX750
The Suzuki was probably the most comfortable motorbike I had. Not just for me, but for any passenger sat on the back. The rear was spacious and well padded with a relaxed sitting position. It was just as happy as a sporty weekend thrasher as it was a reliable tourer. Again, clocked up many pleasant miles on this machine.
Suzuki GSXR1100
I had the GSXR750 first but it was stolen. As I had a tour planned, I bought its big brother, the GSXR1100. This was a beast of a bike, with what seemed like limitless power yet surprisingly agile, flicking through the bends like a middleweight. Most of my Euro trips were aboard this solid and reliable machine.
Camping Under the Stars
Now I have a bit of a confession: I was really a "fair weather" camper! There, I've said it. From the early 80s through to the new millenium, I toured extensively, first around the UK and then across the channel to Europe - mainly Germany because their roads were by far the best, but including most of the northern countries including Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, and down to Italy. However, if there was prolonged rain over many days, I would book into a B&B.
New Forest, UK
My first real camping trips were to the New Forest in Hampshire. I used to get a day off each month so during the Spring and Summer months would ride down from the North West for long weekend breaks.
Cornwall & the South West
Thanks to my generous holiday allowance, I could have several UK tours per year where I usually headed off down to the South West, taking in Devon, Dorset, Cornwall and all the interesting stopovers on the way there (and back). The Cotswolds, Stratford upon Avon and so on.
Over the Sea
After my first taste of European touring, I was hooked! I loved the people I met along the way and the German roads were a motorcyclists dream!. The picture was taken while camping by the river Mosel at Trier.
So What Now?
Well, I still love traveling, even though I don't get to go abroad as much as I would like. Now with the restrictions brought on by the pandemic it's looking like I'll be stuck in Blighty for the forseeable future. Never mind, there's plenty to be getting on with in the meantime, from planning destinations to learning the language.
Sports Trading
I've been trading the sports markets on Betfair, on and off, for a few years now. Am I rich now? Not at all! But, it's a hobby I enjoy and my results are pretty stable so I just need to improve my ability. Fortunately, there's plenty of help around:
- BetAngel TV For a very thorough intro, start here!
- Bet Angel Pro Top class trading software, always improving.
- Geeks Toy. Ladder style trading software. Fully functional but rarely updated.
- BetFairLightWeight. Very useful Python script for the Betfair trading platform.
If you want to get started, take a look at Peter Webbs tutorials first using the BetAngel TV link above. He's the guy who develops the BetAngel software so you are getting training from the best, for free! If you are a competant Python programmer then check out BetFairLightWeight and it's sister package, Flumine by the brilliant and extremely helpful Liam Pauling.