Hello from the uk
 

Hello from the UK.
I've finally got my motorcycle license And am looking for inspiration for future travels.

Hi and welcome to the forum,

If you need any inspiration check out the ride tales section for some great travel stories.

Mark

Hello from a fellow newbie to the site, but an older rider ... have you got a bike yet? Or what sort of thing do you want to get?

Early-on every ride feels like an adventure :mchappy: you can quickly level up your skills by just riding to begin with - try and find a local newbie friendly ride-out, or join the TRF for off-road seat time. If you can, grab any extra training around - Hopp Rider Training, Essex Firebike, etc, to really get to know how to handle a bike.

Also try and go on a Biker Down course if you can, that ones super handy.

For years I just rode around badly, with bad habits. When my other half passed her test we went to loads of training together - I went as moral support but quickly found out that I needed to work on myself, lol

What are your interests? Advice will be different depending on what you like to do.

For winding roads in good condition without much traffic - Norway, Iceland, Ecuador.

For unsurfaced routes with great scenery - Argentina, Australia.

Give us a bit more of a focus and you'll get more suggestions.

Easiest and friendliest way is for you to attend a Horizons meeting, approach the older attendees and pick their brains. Most still have them :smiliex: and they are full of a lifetime of knowledge.
Welcome BTW!:Beach:

p.s
Rogue potato... what a great name! And congratulations on your passing your test. Try to stay upright!

Firstly, welcome along and well done on passing your test.

As Mark has said - have a read of the ride tails section. Also there are similar sections on other sites such as UKGSER - here is a link link.

Book wise there are lots to choose from so the ones I like include:

Ted Simon - the inspiration behind many, many travellers with his book Jupiter's Travels
Sam Manicom - did an 8 year trip aropund the world starting just 2 months after passing his test. His books are Into Africa, Under Asian Skies, Distant Suns and Tortillas to Totems. All a good read
Graham Field - a different style of travel book and a good read. In Search of Greener Grass, Different Natures and Ureka
Elsbeth Beard . Lone Rider. One of the first British ladies to ride around the world.

There are also Adventure Rider Radio podcasts which come out each week plus Adventure Rider Radio RAW which comes out once a month.

A warm welcome to HUBB.

Far off lands might beckon but I'd strongly advise some 'adventure motorbiking' in the UK first to gain experience of riding and also what sort of gear you need. As @Turbofurball writes, every ride is an adventure when you begin. Start local and then try some locations further afield. For me the focus of biking is definitely to get to see interesting places, so I tend to bumble along at relaxed speeds and enjoying the scenery.

Heading into October and November isn't the best time to introduce yourself to motorbike camping which is no fun when you have a tent full of wet motorbike gear. And it's a long time dark in the winter months, so I'd recommend the great network of independent hostels and bunkhouses at https://independenthostels.co.uk/ where you can get warm and enjoy the company of similar minded folk.

You've not completed your location info, but South Wales including the Pembrokeshire coast and Brecon Beacons is worth at least a couple of weekends. The Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and Pennines the same. My favourites in the UK are the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and the NC500 but that's best done in May-June-July for the late nights, see https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...scotland-77073

And in another endorsement of @Turbofurball's comments, once you've got miles under your belt I strongly advise joining a local group of Advanced Motorcyclists with the intention of passing either IAM or ROSPA qualifications. The main focus of these groups is on hazard awareness and road positioning and I firmly believe that without this training I wouldn't be here by now. :angel:

It also makes biking even more enjoyable, especially the joys of countersteering...

I look forward to hearing of your adventures.

Lots of good ideas up there and many more to come I'm sure. The great thing about adventure riding is you've got almost the whole world to choose from if you want. But cost and time are the barriers to most people (think £50/day on the road covering fuel, food, activities and accommodation - some days more, some less but that's a fair average). So plan out what you want to do. And remember, adventures start at home and even on these little islands there are a lot of places to go.

With international travel being somewhat curtailed in recent months I got my travel kicks this year from the Round Britain Rally - about 5,000 miles which took me to every county in GB. I saw some lovely places and it took me through the North Coast 500 in Scotland which is simply a stunning ride.

Next year, covid and political unrest permitting, I'm planning to head east through Asia to Russia, Mongolia and the Silk Roads. My blog is www.facebook.com/motosunburn and if you read back through that you'll see my stories of my 2019 tour down to Croatia.

There are other travellers on facebook and you can often find them on the HU page there: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehubb

A couple of bloggers that are well worth a read: On Her Bike and Anatoly Chernyavsky.

Lastly, before you ask, the best bike to take travelling is the one you've got. You don't need a big BMW - in fact most people are better off without them anyway. People have toured on everything from Groms to Goldwings. Any bike that you can bear to sit on for several days in a row and which isn't about to fall to pieces will do the job. Unless you're planning to do serious off road work you don't need an off road bike. But do learn to take care of it yourself so you can do basic maintenance and minor repairs on the road :)