Adventure Motorcycling feature in MCN this week
 

Nice article in MCN this week about REAL LIFE adventures! Featuring Austin (Mondo Enduro etc), Nick Sanders, Simon Gandolfi, Maciek Swinarski (Motosyberia), Simon and Lisa Thomas, Paul Parkinson (and little ol' me).
On the news stands now.
Happy Christmas everyone!
Lois

Hi Lois, i read it at lunch time, very interesting. It would be good if more mags/papers etc featured more in depth articles like this one. Hi to Austin have a great Christmas.
Jim

Does this mean that I can throw a whole days budget (in Asia) at MCN and find something worth reading???
OK i'll be back here tomorrow moaning i'm sure ;)

Cheers
Pete

positive
 

read the mcn, thought it was a good positive feature for just getting on the bike and going. think i'll be heading to morocco at the very least..........anybody going that way june,july 2011 ?.

happy christmas to all.

denny

I'm planning a 3 week trip to Marrocco leaving the UK on the 18th June, returning on the 10th july.

PM me for more details.

Most of us are going to be riding Ex milatry MT motorcycles but all are welcome!

pm sent.

denny.

CRIKEY !!

MCN publishing something of any substance !! I barely believe it !!

Lets hope the tides are changing for good.

Merry Christmas to you all... :thumbup1:

Thanks for that Lois, picked up a copy yesterday.:thumbup1:
.....And a Verry Merry Christmas to you and Austin. Ho, Ho, Ho.beerchug

I also brought it yesterday, £1.99 for just a couple of pages of any use, we are better off reading HUBB and ADV or even the Beano.

Still, my next MCN won't be purchased untill th TT.

It's good to see something of interest in MCN. I rarely buy it now. The electric bike article was useful as well.

Motor Cycle News
 

I still buy MCN, but it it is only out of habit. Most of the articles are about the latest obese, agressive plastic rocket that flies at over twice the UK legal speed limit. The testers don't really seem interested in long distance practicality or comfort. Full of adverts too. I expect it will soon follow the other weekly motorcycling newspaper. Good to see an article about long distance touring. Perhaps more depth next time.
PS
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics is quite good for technical articles on older bikes.

Some great articles in MCN. However, I was tempted to book a trip with Globe Busters, but then I read Austins statement which said " signing up for an organised pre-booked 'adventure tour' is both completely dishonest and pointless in equal measure". What does he mean by this statement? Why on earth is it dishonest?

I had a bit of truck with some of the comments like that, sure I wouldn't go on a paid tour but I imagine they are great for people with money and no time, not to mention allowing people to make a living from thrashing about in the sand, which is hard to do. One man's adventure is another mans tedium so live and let live. Inverted elitism is still elitism....

Although MCN does have a strong road bike bias I still prefer it to the Guardian!

I have a tremendous respect for Austin and what he has achieved but strongly disagree with this statement too. Not everyone is able to to take advantage of 12 months (or even 3 months) off work and away from family and other commitments. My wife and I had a longing to tour parts of India by bike and if we'd flown over for a 2 or 3 week break and then spent time trying to find a bike and deciding where to go we would have wasted most of our holiday. As it is we booked a tour with an organization who made sure we made the most of our limited time over there. They knew the best routes, what to see and where to stay. I know it's not true adventure touring (which we will do one day soon) but I don't think it's fair to knock it. Different circumstances suit different solutions.

The impression I get from Austin is this, that anyone booking on a commercial trip is basically kidding themselves in that they are actually on an organised holiday. Am I right, here? Austin?

One mans "Hard Core, Adventure, Extreme Tour" is anothers day trip to Scarbourough. Selling a trip that twelve other riders did in the same pre-booked hotels the week before is dishonest as an adventure in the classical sense of the word, but in a roller coaster ride way (safe yet still maybe scary for the rider) is maybe less so. They are pointless if you want to learn the ropes but the border crossing is a case of a hired flunky taking your documents away while another chases the beggers and a third dishes out coffee from the support vehicle. If you have a puncture and "Abdul the support mechanic" brings you another bike, I too would be tempted to call it a holiday and therefore "dishonest and pointless" as an adventure. Now if you want a holiday, why not go. I enjoy Fish and chips by the sea once in a while, I just don't tell my mates in the pub about the terrible risk of getting Cod instead of Haddock.

My 65 year old parents are going to Morocco with their camper van group in May. It's a holiday, they'll play bingo most nights :funmeterno:. It's maybe a little more adventurous than the Italian lakes, but I don't think they'll be buying sand mats, tinned water and thing made from a sharpened CD that combines the functions of camel skinner and heliograph! I get the impression this might not fit with some MCN riders ideas of what to expect from a "Adventure Trip" to the Dark Continent.

I only met Mr. Vince once for about a minute. He didn't strike me as someone to mince his words. This is usually but not always a good thing.

Somethat back on track, I was given a subscription to RIDE. It's ages since I had a glossy mag. I'm sort of looking forwards to the plonk through the letter box. Wonder how long that feeling will last? Will it still be "600 supersports four way shoot outs"? I'm sort of excited!

Andy

Andy I have a subscription to ride. And I now find they have taken another year out of my bank with out telling me. Once this year's has run, I'll not be getting it again, Just a glorified Argos catalogue selling kit that's over priced. And then you';; find a load of re-prints of features printed in the magazine only a few month's back. Out of a 100 page's you may find a dozen that's worth reading.

Any way if it was a free present. Best of luck.
John933

This has been hashed about many times. I believe that the "Adventure" title depends on what you personally have done before.
It might be your first 100 mile trip on your FS1E.
For some, taking a three day trip into France is a challenge and for others six months away is the norm.
Do what you want to do. Push your personal boundaries. Experience New things.
Adventure ?
Travel ?
Holiday ?
All three please !!!!

[quote=Big Yellow Tractor;317472]This has been hashed about many times. I believe that the "Adventure" title depends on what you personally have done before.
It might be your first 100 mile trip on your FS1E.
For some, taking a three day trip into France is a challenge and for others six months away is the norm.
Do what you want to do. Push your personal boundaries. Experience New things.
Adventure ?
Travel ?
Holiday ?
All three please !!!![/quot]


:thumbup1: Too right B.Y.T.