Category: Riding

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Riding

Scottish Route: Bridge of Allan, Fort William, Aberfeldy Loop

There are many great roads up into the Scottish Highlands, but planning a manageable loop from the Central Belt that fits into a day is harder than you first think. The landscape and mountains force you to follow a limited set of main arterial roads that are full of slow tourists and camper vans. Many quiet side roads I’d normally try to opt for simply come to a dead end up long valleys. As such, you’re forced into either shorter loops through some of the low lands, or very long loops North around huge mountain ranges.

This route is a loop North from Bridge of Allan to Fort William and back via Aberfeldy and is on the longer side at ~220 miles but is a great loop you can fit into a day. Albeit a longish day with about 5-6 hours of saddle time, plus stops.

The first leg takes us up through Callandar and Cranlarich to a pitstop at The Green Welly Stop in Tyndrum. The section of the A84 & A85 from Callander to Mid Lix is a great set of twisty roads skirting the side of Loch Lubnaig and then climbing up to Glen Ogle Viaduct. It can get busy with tourists peek season and the A84 is often policed, so take it steady. The A85 from Mid Lix to Tyndrum is all average speed cams, not particularly exciting, so just sit back and enjoy the scenery of Ben More, they’ll be time for more progressive riding further on.

The Green Welly Stop, Tyndrum
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Riding

Short Motorcycle Route from Stirling to Kinross and Queensferry

Here’s a short little motorcycle ride-out route for you. Perfect for when you’ve just got a couple of hours to kill or an evening ride once the nights get shorter.


We start off from the Wallace Monument in Stirling, a lovely place for a walk and a great view out over Stirling and Bridge of Allan all the way out Ben Lomond and Ben Vorlich near Lochearnhead. There’s a decent cafe here, so you can get your espresso shots in before you set off!

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Riding Videos

Lake Tahoe Motorcycle Ride and Yamaha Super Ténéré XT1200 Review

Check out this new video or a chilled-out Lake Tahoe motorcycle ride as part of my past motorcycle trip to Yosemite. Located on the California/Nevada border and a great excursion for a San Francisco motorcycle route. I rode a Yamaha Super Ténéré XT1200ZE picked up from Eagle Rider, San Francisco motorcycle rental, a great dual sport bike for this adventure.

The route took in some breathtaking scenery alongside this beautiful lake. I also review the Yamaha Super Ten after three days of riding and give you my verdict.

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I actually filmed this Lake Tahoe motorcycle ride back in late 2019 just before the pandemic, I just haven’t had the chance to finish editing it until now. Sadly, much of the area was hit badly by forest fires since I was there, and there is a worrying trend of fires getting worse with each season.

More details about the trip, my plan and the route can be found here.

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Riding

Is it worth getting a 50cc motorbike at 16?

Derbi Sena Xtreme 50cc motorbike 16 years
Do you want the freedom to go where you want, when you want?

16 years old is the first big milestone towards adulthood, with many things you can (legally) do at this age: leave home, join the army, apply for an adult passport, have sex, get married, register to vote and so on. But crucially, 16 is when you can legally start to ride a motorcycle on the road. You can only ride a small 50cc moped and it may be your first set of wheels to get around, but what is involved, what does it cost and is it really worth getting a 50cc motorbike at 16?

What can you ride at 16?

Get a 50cc motorbike at 16?In the UK at age 16, you can legally ride a 50cc moped with a top speed of 45km/h (30mph). OK, certainly no speed daemon, but it’ll get you around faster than a push bike and will have more street cred.

The most common 50cc bike will be a twist’n’go scooter with automatic gears. However, there are a number of traditional geared 50cc motorbikes available, ranging from basic commuter bikes to retro classics, dirt bikes to race replicas. Basic Chinese bikes start at around £1k, with prices going up to about £4k for posher Italian models from the likes of Aprilia.

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Riding Uncategorized Videos

Random Encounters Video – Scotland Style

Random encounters when out riding in Scotland are quite different to what I used to encounter in London. Check out this short video of some of my recent daily observations from riding around Scotland.

YouTube player

Have you bumped into anything wild on your riding adventures, do comment below, I’d love to hear more.

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Riding

Is the end of petrol motorcycles upon us?

At some point, we bikers really need to discuss the big elephant in the room – burning petrol, no matter how much fun it is, causes some serious problems.

Recycling dinosaurs doesn’t half feel good!

Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy revving the tits off my motorbike as much as the rest of you, hooning it through the twisties, revelling in the sound, vibration and smell it makes. Recycling dinosaurs doesn’t half feel good! But we really need to face up to the fact that burning petrol is not without consequences. I don’t want to go all Greta Thunberg on you, but we can’t live in denial and we should face up to some home truths.

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Riding

Fair Weather Biker / Weekend Warrior

What’s happened to me?!

When I first learnt to ride almost 10 years ago, it was primarily driven by the need to commute to London in a more efficient way. I needed to get to work and back faster and cheaper than train, tube and bus. Too many changes, too much walking to/from stations and tight childcare drop off/pick up deadlines simply meant public transport was no longer working for me.

London biking wasn’t necessarily enjoyable, but infinitely preferable to public transport

Over the years that followed, I became a hardened London biker, commuting in all weathers, all year round, carving my way through the traffic, idiotic drivers, suicidal cyclists and oblivious pedestrians. I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as enjoyable, but it was infinitely preferable to public transport and it certainly kept one alert and on the ball. Though, London weather was rarely ever too bad to contemplate riding in.

Like many, the COVID pandemic changed everything. The office commute stopped just like that and working from home became the new norm. My employer reducing office space, introducing flexible days and new hotdesking plans meant that even when lockdown restrictions eased, I was still only commuting into London just once or twice a week. The change of pace, and the additional time freed up in the day all added up to a better quality of life and something I was keen to take advantage of permanently and somewhere outside of East London suburbs. If you can work anywhere, you may as well work somewhere nice.

If you can work anywhere, you may as well work somewhere nice

Fast forward to today, I’m working from my dedicated home office in beautiful Scotland and only pop back down to the London office for a couple of days every couple of months via train. It’s 5.5hrs train vs ~9hrs on bike and tickets are a similar price to the petrol! This is all great, but the amount of biking I’m doing has dropped considerably. No more motorcycle commuting, just fun blasts through the Scottish mountains on free weekends when the weather is decent. A leisure ride in Scotland in torrential rain or snow is not something you want to do out of choice…

Yep, I’ve become that stereotype I used to mock, I’ve turned into a fair weather biker and a weekend warrior. Uh-oh!

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Riding

Numb and Cold Hands and Feet when Riding a Motorbike

Just after the summer break, the weather in the UK begins to deteriorate quickly. The leaves fall on the roads and the temperature begins to drop rapidly. This is always a rather dangerous situation for motorcyclists.

Cold Weather Motorcycle GearMany motorcyclists have these problems. Fortunately, you are not the only one. There are two types of motorcyclists, those who only ride in the summer and those who always ride. The tips in this article will help you to continue to ride safely through the winter weather.

One key problem is cold hands and cold feet. But not only these two, also the rest of the body is difficult to keep warm in the freezing air. It is therefore important that you clothe yourself properly on the motorbike.

It is also important that your motorbike clothing not only protects you from the cold, but also from possible falls. So, make sure you wear protective motorcycle gloves that are warm, warm underwear, and of course, some good quality kit to protect against the slippery roads in autumn- or winter weather.

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Riding Videos

Big Changes Ahead – Highlights from a Summer of Riding

There’s some big change ahead here at Beginner Biker Adventures as our plan to relocate to Scotland is rolling full speed ahead. All the moving stress and preparations may have reduced the amount of content we’ve been able to deliver, but we’ve still been out riding as much as we can. Here’s my latest YouTube video with highlights of our best riding moments from the summer – enjoy!

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What were your summer biking highlights? Have you undertaken a big relocation recently (or planning one)? I’d love to hear from you!

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Riding

Should you take your child pillion on a motorbike?

Child Pillion Motorbike ClothingMany people have speculated that children shouldn’t be allowed on the motorbike because it’s unsafe but this is untrue, I’m here to explain the possible issues and solutions for children as a pillion on a motorbike. In this article, we will cover the legalities, safety concerns, where to buy motorbike gear and some handy tips!

The Legalities

According to UK law, a child of any age can ride as a pillion as long as a few basic requirements have been met:

  • The motorbike has a pillion seat
  • The child can reach the footrests
  • The child has a well-fitted helmet

It is also highly recommended that the child has protected clothing, (such as; a jacket, trousers, gloves, boots etc.) and some form of hi-vis, though these aren’t required by law.

Safety concerns

Letting your child pillion on your motorbike can be safe and enjoyable if you are responsible and understand the risks involved. You must be confident that your child is mature enough to know how to react to the motorbike’s movement, whether this is braking, cornering or especially acceleration. They will need to stay still and not jerk around.

You must also be aware that children’s attention spans are short and it’s safest they are only taken on short journeys. Also, there is a danger the child may fall asleep so regular toilet and snack breaks are needed.

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