Watch this clip about a bunch of old Taiwanese men who decide to set their ailments aside and take a motorcycle tour. This is the spirit of motorcycle touring in a nutshell. Great video!

Stuart Jenkinson, a retired teacher and motorcycle touring legend in the UK, has decided to auction off his 1955 Vincent Black Prince. Jenkinson, now 83, wants to auction it to a caring owner who can take it from the 721,703 miles it currently has to 750,000 and beyond. From the BBC article;

The bike will be auctioned at the International Motorcycle Show in Staffordshire on 24 April 2011 and has attracted a pre-sale estimate of £35,000 - £40,000.

Go ahead, give Vinnylonglegs a new owner. I'm sure the Battlefield biker readers have £40,000 to spare!

Triumph has announce its 2011 Adventure Tours in conjunction with Edelweiss Bike Travel. Three of the tours start at Triumph's Hinckley, Leicestershire factory.

The 2011 Carlisle, Pennsylvania Bike Fest is scheudled for 22-24 July 2011. The organisers promise that the:

Performance Triumph Swindon and Cheltenham is holding a launch party for the Triumph Tiger 800 and 800 XC. It is from 19:00-21:00 on Thursday, the 20th of January 2011. I'm heading over to the Swindon branch to get a good look at these new bikes. Check back here soon for some new photos.

Check out some of my reviews of motorcycle gear.

I've had a few of my previous years' tour clients email me recently to ask what tours I would be doing this summer (2011). Unfortunately, I won't be doing any this summer. It is looking increasingly likely that after 23 years in Europe, I will be moving back to the USA this summer.


Therefore, I decided that I could not commit to any tours this summer. I will probably put on a few again in 2012 once we get settled in the US as we'll be coming back to Europe regularly.


Stay tuned and good riding this summer.

Rides associated with the Seven Years' War;

This is a picture I took on 21 February 2007 on Omaha Beach just under the infamous German bunker WN62. The men who rest silently on the plateau above must be proud that one of the bloodiest battlefields of World War II is now the playground of French parents and children. Note the little boy running through the ditch with nothing more on his mind than catching his brother. How many American soldiers died in that ditch? All I can say is that this picture is as they would have hoped.