Travel

Of Fear and Loathing

Vintage photograph of a dude on a yellow folding Brompton bicycle

House of The Rising Sun plays on the radio while I’m sitting in Eat, a down-to-earth yet trendy cafe in downtown North Vegas, wondering what to make of their signature dish: Shrimp and Grits. I ordered it because I have no…

A Day on The Interstate

Interior shot of Ford Mustang and my knees

The day begins much like those before it with jet lagged cursing at the is-it-morning-yet alarm clock. Jump out of bed, throw things in bag, throw bag in car, throw car at at pre-dawn San Francisco. Get my bearings as…

Vegas or Bust

A red Mustang lurks in a hotel garage

10:50 on a Sunday morning and I’m not out enjoying my new bike on the first dry day since I took delivery nearly two weeks ago. I’m at the airport. Not in the shiny A380 I first thought was waiting…

Just another Motorcycle Trip

Motorcycle parked at the start of a rutted trail in rural England

It’s been ages since I had a good long ride (actress to bishop) so as the kids head back to school I’m heading south with everything an expedition needs: bike, tent, and a keen novice. That’s right folks, there’s somebody mad enough to come with me on a three week camping trip that optimistically aims to take in France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain before looping back to Blighty for a shower and detox.

Summer Solstice 2013

Long shot of silhouetted people walking across a field at night toward a light rig

A chanting barging smiling waving cider smoking laughing falling cheering stumbling whistling noodles hare hare krishna cider mandolin heaving rozzers chips dips spliffs lager lager lager shouting photos dancing mega mega lightning chanting shouting parking strip-search cider friends cider men in robes smoking cider cider kind of morning.

Lap of Britain in a VW California

Black and white photo from the centre of a long, straight road as it snakes off towards the horizon

Nothing is as big a turn off – on any level – as a caravan. Their sad, beige contents are usually flimsy, they smell of chemical toilets, and they make your car handle like a combine harvester. You’re unwelcome everywhere you go, except for authorised caravan sites where you can mingle with your balding peers and bicker about the latest outrage in the news.

Why anybody would voluntarily do this is beyond me, but a camper van – now that’s an entirely different proposition. For a start you’ve got a vehicle which drives like a car, reverses like a car, and fits in a regular parking space. There’s leather, alloy wheels, a rack for your surfboard and a towing hitch for the trailer with your dirt bikes. Could this be the ideal mix of camping adventure and home comforts? We rent a VW California and take it for a lap of Britain to find out.

New York, New York

A line of yellow taxis waits as people cross on a zebra

This place isn’t just larger than life, it’s larger than everything. Whoever built it didn’t read the rule book because they had no intention of playing by the rules. Keep up.

LGKS – it’s a wrap

Old building in the hills, looks like a ranger station

Well, that’s that then, back to normal. The bike’s had its post-trip service, my riding gear has been washed, and … and … what? Happy to be ‘home’ in the UK? Not really. I stopped for a burger at Ryka’s…