Scotland at 45mph

Stunning pics, and beautiful weather.

A few things I've found *really* useful for day/weekend trips have been the following:

1. HVMP Heavy bar ends. Riding my Honda Bros 650 (same engine as your Deauville) or my CBR600RR for 600 k's on a day trip often left my hands tingling from the vibration. These heavy / extra heavy bar ends are a God send, the first time I installed them on my Bros I could not believe how much better my hands felt after long trips. They made a huge difference to the vibration on my CBR too. http://www.hvmp.com

2. Charging my cameras & phones whilst riding. I often found on a weekend away ride, that my iPhone would run out of juice before the end of the day. Also if I took a lot of pics the old camera I had would be spent. This solved that problem:

a) Hard wire charging kit: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ultimate-...78?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item3a7fa1c6c2
This hooks up to your battery, and the great thing about it is you can plug charging cables on for anything - iPhone, Satnav, Mini USB, Micro USB, (GoPro Hero3!) etc etc.

b) Y cable: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UltimateA...92?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item231843f31c
not so necessary, but, it's nice to be able to charge friends' GoPro's/cameras/phones/MP3 players whilst charging my iPhone at the same time. I can swap on different cables to charge just about anything, all whilst the devices sit safely in my tank bag or tail pack, and my iphone is charging in my jacket pocket. Word of warning though - for the love of God when you pull up to a petrol station, and your phone is in your jacket charging, unplug your phone first!! I swung off the bike before unplugging my iphone in my pocket, got tangled in the cable and almost ripped the whole thing out.

c) Here's a list of all the cables & motorcycle cradles/accessories that can plug onto the hard-wire charger: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/GPS-For-LE...2&_lns=2&_sid=349105992&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322
You can get cables and cradles for almost any device you can imagine.

Edit: Sorry for hi-jacking your Ride Report - I'm not affiliated with these guys or anything, I just found their products useful and anything that can charge your camera while you ride so you can take more photos I'm sure is going to make everyone on this thread happy

Thankyou. I enjoyed myself!

I've actually gone under it but looking through my pictures, I clearly didn't stop. I'm guessing that like the trip on Tuesday, I was in a rush to get to my destination as I didn't know how long I'd be. Though in that case I came home a different route so missed out. Thanks for reminding me, I'll make sure to check it out soon.

Yeah that would be a long one. Certainly not the kind of thing to be done on a whim anyway. How easy is it to nip over to France from Plymouth? Or is it deceptively awkward?

Thanks man, glad you're enjoying them. Not all of the write ups are like that. There were a few last year that were little more than a handful of pictures with a short introduction. As I mentioned already, it took hours to write that one up. I'm not always in the mood to be doing that!

Couple of reasons really. For starters, my camera is too big to be doing that sort of thing.



And it's bigger than that if I'm using the zoom lens. I'm also not happy about the idea of taking photos while riding. I know a few people do it but I certainly won't. So even if I did use a smaller point and shoot I'd still be stopping. It might make the process quicker but my photos wouldn't be as good. I moved up to a DSLR from a point and shoot specifically to give me more control over my pictures. I don't want to be going backwards.

The head cam is a good idea. So good in fact that I ordered a Drift HD a couple of days ago! It should arrive tomorrow actually. As well as video (obviously) it will hopefully be quite good for taking some shots in motion. I still wouldn't use it as my main camera though. You don't get the kind of pictures I've got up there from a video camera, head mounted or otherwise. A lot of the pictures involved a bit of moving about too. Not much, but enough to get a tree out of the way or just adjusting my angles.

I used a video camera as my main camera when I was in Australia as it was easier to carry about. Here's a picture of the Twelve Apostles in Oz.



As a photo it's fine but considering how fantastic the landscape is there, the picture is very ordinary.

So when you look at this picture you can see the improvement.



So I'm afraid my hoping on and off the bike will continue for the time being. I know I moan at myself but I love it really. I wouldn't do it otherwise.

Well it is the Easter Holidays. Most of the tourists there were foreign though so I dunno how many places around the world get time off at Easter. I've heard it gets mobbed during the summer so I'm glad I went when I did, even with the scaffolding.

Yeah I think Ben Nevis will be the tallest for a while yet. If it changes it'll be because something cataclysmic has happened so you'll probably see it on the news.

No, no HDR. I'm not a fan of that at all. HDR tends to remove the areas of shadow and like I mentioned about snow on mountains, I like shadows. A couple of my pictures look like they might be HDR (the ones at the bridge for example) because I screwed up the exposure haha! I had to darken them a bit which always gives a messed up look. I was really annoyed about those ones actually because the bridge with the mountain behind it was a great visual.

I'll definitely go back. I hate crowds though so not sure how I'll get on with it when it's mobbed in summer.

Matt, France is easy from Plymouth. About a 7 hour trip across to Roscoff. I have done a few trips across and a couple of times have gone through France to Switzerland, then back into France, over the Pyrenees to Spain and caught the ferry from Santander back to Plymouth.

Brittany ferries is the company if you ever think of trying it. A trip like that above would cost about £350 if you have a cabin each way like I do.About £100 less if no cabin.

Lots of good, helpful info in there. The ability to charge stuff on the move is definitely something I'll need to have. Thanks!

Sounds easier to get to France than Scotland! Aye France and Spain would be great. Not sure I'll ever manage to get to see every country I want to visit in my lifetime. Ireland is definitely next for the bike but I still have plenty of Scotland to see first.

I look forward to seeing fresh material here. I hate the idea of riding when snow is on the ground but you make it look very appealing. I also like the deuville, practical capabale and...you wear a backpack? Are the panniers not large enough?
Perhaps I intrude so forgive my well intentioned inquiry but I am curious. Two things I like about the Deauville (which had a brief run in the US) is the lugagge and wind protection.

The roads here tend to be cleared pretty well so even when there's snow on the ground the roads themselves are fine. I still wouldn't go out in heavy snow unless I had to.

My backpack is my camera bag (ie it's a specifically made 'Camera Bag', not just a rucksack I use to keep my camera in). The camera needs to be in that bag when not in use to keep it protected. I probably could get it into one of the panniers but it'd likely be a squeeze and tbh it's just as easy to have it on my back. If nothing else it means I don't need to retrieve it whenever I get off to take pictures.

My Deauville is the older model. I don't think the USA got that one. I think the panniers on the new one are bigger. Certainly the panniers I have are pretty small as far as panniers go. Clothes could be made to fit in but hard things would be the issue.

I'll take some photos when I get a chance.

A fine ride report, that one, Matt! Thanks so much! I'm sure that it must take almost as long as the ride itself to put together such a report, so you're forgiven (by me, at least) in advance if there are times in the future when your reports are a bit thinner. No worries, just thanks for letting us ride with you. I remember driving past the castle while on an auto-driving holiday a few years ago -- how much more brilliant it must be to do it on the bike! Do keep a sharp eye out for deer in or approaching the road -- one of our US inmates was killed hitting one on his bike. Perhaps the lairds need to get out and do a bit more stalking!!

Suppose having your camera on a strap could be a problem
As for being a squeeze in the panniers, you may find that honda did larger lids for your model, im sure they do on the later one and do for the pan euro as well.
keep it coming

Interesting. I had already got my Bonneville when the deauville appeared by surprise for a couple of years in the US, so I missed the shaft drive weather protection and built in luggage!

I look forward to seeing Scotland in summer and finding out more about your bike. This is a great thread.

So I tested my Drift HD last night. Just a quick run round some back roads I haven't been on for ages. Sound is quiet because it's nothing but wind blast but I think the picture has come out great. Mounting the camera was quite awkward as the helmet is quite angular. I need to aim it slightly more to the left but other than that I'm happy with it. I have a mic so in future I can either slaver nonsense into that or tuck it somewhere under the fairing to get some V-Twin goodness.

<object width="640" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gJ4WjW1mGXo?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gJ4WjW1mGXo?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="360" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

Well they're talking about a cull but think that may be England only. Tbh other than paying attention there's not really that much that can be done. The luck of the draw really isn't it?

Yeah there are larger panniers out there. I think they're quite rare though. I remember looking into it when I bought it. I think they'll probably be fine as they are. I can always get a top box if I'm struggling for space.

Thanks man. It's good for me too as it works a bit like a diary.

I'd love a Bonneville. Maybe not as practical as the Deauville but that's hardly the point. Lovely bikes.

Today I tested out the microphone attachment to the Drift HD. It seems to work pretty well though there is a bit of distortion when I'm at speed so need to sort that out. I have also added a crumby title screen.

And the video is at and angle because I forgot to rotate the lens. I'll get there eventually.

In this one I cross the Kincardine Bridge and drive about Grangemouth, sharing my wisdom throughout. If you can get passed my accent you'll hear how I bombard you with fact upon fact about my local area. I also peep my horn when reaching for the indicator.

I should say there's one or two instances of coarse language in this. It's not bad but you have been warned.

<object width="853" height="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8FaxWy_enZk?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8FaxWy_enZk?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="853" height="480" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

Good work. Such a run can offer an inside look into an area way better than a series of snaps. This one delivers on that.

Had to adjust while watching. It's awkward riding with one who's driving on the "wrong" side of the road. Kept telling myself this was still the safest place for you there and then.

Crunchy detail: we swapped weather apparently. Your rode in the sun yesterday while we had overcast; it was the glorious opposite today.
Happy vlogging.

Yeah once I get issues like the warbling sound and squint camera angle worked out I'll get to more attractive and interesting places than the ones in the video. There are huge chunks edited out because I wasn't saying anything and watching houses pass by isn't entertaining or because I was annoying myself. To make myself understood over my accent I have to speak more clearly than I normally do and on a few occasions I went too far and put on an annoying voice. Torture to listen back to.

Maybe I'll do some Americanized versions of the videos where I flip them round so it looks like I'm riding on the right.

Yeah weather for this week is not looking promising. Lots of dark clouds and rain forecast.

That's summer over folks. Cancel your flights and hotels.

Nice video. There were only a few words I couldn't pick up. Looking forward to more.

The subtitles don't help. Tried putting them on to see if they worked. They translated the phrase "Apparently there were going to build an airport here once" to "cat". :huh

If you do need a translation at any point just give me the time on the vid and I'll let you know what I said.

Video 2 brought back some memories, I used to cycle over the Kincardine Bridge with my pal when I was about 10 years old. And my parents had friends who came from Skinflats - you're right it's a dump!

And the end shot riding up Ladysmill towards Kerse Lane - I often used to walk down that road, on the way to visit my gran if I'd been in the town centre.

I'll have to get the S10 up to Falkirk for a run, when the weather improves

the video amused me.

Keep making them.

i have thought about getting a camera and doing the same, letting the nonsense pour from my head. I think it may be therapeutic. Well for me anyway, traumatic for everyone else.

Where did you get the camera and mic? Sorry if i missed a post where you explain that.

Your accents not that bad.....and you are on the 'proper' side of the road

Glad they brought back memories. Certainly wasn't going to educate anyone! I've found myself making disparaging remarks about places I pass that I'll need to cut out.

It's a simple formula with me. No people = lovely place that I could spend all day in. People = dump.

The first video there I found it very awkward to talk. The problem being is that I don't really have much to say. I obviously have political views and personal issues and enjoy Game of Thrones like everyone else but who the hell wants to hear about that? So I tried talking about the stuff I could see and it sort of worked. I was a bit more relaxed yesterday so I wasn't quite so stuck for things to talk about. Having said that maybe it's the struggling to find something interesting to say that makes the video remotely watchable. Give it a go though. Once you get past the initial awkwardness it's fine.

I got them from Amazon. It's the Drift HD. I'd been holding off pulling the trigger on one until I was sure I would use it. The price usually fluctuates between £170 and £190. Not sure of the reasons why but it's worth keeping an eye on the prices. I checked back one day and it had dropped to £150 so I bought it before it went back up. Mic and memory card were bought separately but still from Amazon.

It's a very good camera. The one thing that's holding me back from saying that it's amazing is the fish eye lens. It tends to make objects in the middle distance seem microscopic. At one point in the first test video I turned to the left to show the mountains but in the video you can hardly see them at all.

If I drop the image quality down from 1080p (which I didn't really want to do) I can narrow the angle a bit which will hopefully lessen the fisheye effect. One of the reasons I got it was to show how stunning it was to ride through Glen Coe. Would be a bit pointless if the mountains look like they're 100 miles away.

Will see how it goes and report back.

Well if you can understand me (I'm assuming you have a Brummie accent here) then anyone can!

Yesterday I went for a short ride to Aberfoyle. Aberfoyle is a place I used to go when I was learning quite a lot as it was quite close to home and had some good, twisty roads into it. I was only there once last year though as I had started doing longer trips and sadly for Aberfoyle to get to it you have to deviate off the road to somewhere else. So unlike Callandar that you pass through to go all sorts of places, to pass through Aberfoyle you have to either be going to Aberfoyle or be lost.

If you find the ride report I did from last year there's every chance I said the exact same thing then too. My views on Aberfoyle haven't changed. Nor has its location.

It's quiet and quaint. There are some traditional style shops and cafes in the main street (more or less the only street) and the Scottish Wool Centre. Despite riding a Honda Deauville, I have no intention of visiting the Scottish Wool Centre so as far as activities go there wasn't much for me to do. Just up the hill is an outdoor activity place though which apparently has the UK's longest zipline. It looks fun enough but my place is on the ground, not in the trees even if I do look like a partially shaved gorilla.

Anyway I wasn't ziplining so have to entertain myself in other ways. So I grabbed some food and took some photos.

This is the picnic area and car park. There are a few houses behind where I'm standing but 90% of Aberfoyle is in front of me here. It's usually quite busy with bikes but I only saw three.

Car Park:




The river here is the Forth. The very same Forth that flows under the Forth bridges (obviously) and the Kincardine bridges. Next time I'm in the area I'll head a little further up the road and visit the source of the river Forth. The road up that way is a mess but quite picturesque in places.


Craigmore and the Forth:




Over exposed picture of a bridge and the Forth:




I grabbed some lunch in the picnic area.

Lunch:




By this point I was struggling to find something to do and was about to just head off when I noticed the sheep outside the Wool Centre. "They're only sheep" I though but wandered over anyway. Turns out they had a couple of exotic (as far as sheep go anyway) breeds that had four horns there were relatively cool. And they were all fighting. "Result!" I thought, but it should come as no surprise that the moment I took my camera out they all calmed down, wandered away and munched on grass for the entire time I was there. I waited in vain for them to start sparring again but nothing happened. There was sheep dog trial stuff in the paddock but there was no sign of that happening either. Right up until I was geared up and leaving of course. I wasn't prepared to remove all my gear again so I missed out on just about the only interesting thing you can do with sheep, besides slow roast them.

Let's get this over with.

Sheep:




Because I'm a shameless fool, I tried calling the 'cooler' breeds over to get close ups but no matter how much I BAAAA'd they were having none of it and stayed away.

Four Horned Sheep of Satan:





The one at the front here was clearly the alpha male. He was a big bugger. And he had massive bollocks.

The big man:




And that's all the photos I took. The real reason for bikers to go to Aberfoyle is The Duke's Pass. It's a mini Dragon's Tail. I video'd the full thing start to finish but as that's still uploading to Youtube (10 (ten) hours to upload!!) it'll need to wait til tomorrow to get posted. Not that many of you will want to watch 27 minutes of me slowly riding round a winding mountain road.

This video was taken after I'd gone on the Duke's Pass but to keep the length of the video down I split it up. So this is me passing Stirling Castle and doing a bit of hardcore offroading.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/m6PmaQU2dqk?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>