10 Tips for riding a motorcycle in Ireland

Here is a link to my article "10 Tips for Riding a Motorcycle in Ireland"
published on the Lemonrock Motorcycle Tours website.

At the Cliffs of Moyer

The BMW rests while we explore on foot.

Sheep rule in Ireland

 

Comparing Solo, Guided and Self-guided riding in Europe - article in Common Tread Blog

Link to article published September 2024

 

Figueres, Spain

Rest day by the pool, Lošinj Island Island Croatia

Dolomites, Italy

View from Aristi, Greece

Sightseeing stop, Paleokarya , Greece

 

Building a custom bike hauler and camper for two

Published in Common Tread Online Motorcycle Blog- December 21, 2023

Trailer build article link

Links to my articles posted on Common Tread Motorcycle Blog

Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily: Highlights of a European bucket-list motorcycle tour 

https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/corsica-sardinia-sicily-highlights-of-a-european-bucket-list-motorcycle-tour

Riding dirt bikes in El Gouna Egypt

  https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/building-a-custom-bike-hauler-and-camper-for-two

Enroute to Maratea

 

Purple mountains with ragged peaks frame my view today,

guardians of the hills and valleys spreading at their feet.

The trees are taller, the pastures greener than we've seen on previous days.

Goats scamper when they hear our moto, their dogs keep careful watch.

Cows graze beside the road sometimes, but never in our path.

And here's another hilltop town, rosy houses clustering on the slopes.

The gray road winds on forever, down one hill, up another,

looping up a mountain side, cresting and down again.

We move in perfect tandem, with the rhythm of the road.

The voice inside my head that keeps me calm sometimes, is silent today.

"It's okay" I told the voice. “I've got this now.

I am moving with the ride.”

 

VIEW FROM THE PILLION - SLOVENIA

 

From my seat, behind the rider

I have a panoramic view.
A landscape rich with fields, neat farms;
trees brimming with red ripening apples,
like Christmas ornaments.
 
Tiny chapels and tall crucifixes
stand guard along the route.
Like a motion picture, the scenery flows by
along the road with sweeping curves.
 
Powering smoothly up a mountain pass
to views of vineyards, carved into hills,
stepping down the sides of valleys;
grapes ready for the picking.
 
Past hamlets with flowerboxes
spilling over with geraniums,
fields dotted with orange pumpkins,
corn bursting with yellow kernels.
 
The blue sky, kissed by the sun,
sprinkled with rain, makes the perfect green.
That’s the colour of the hills and valleys.
That is the green of Slovenia.
 
Leaning into the corners,
I breathe in fresh country smells;
cut grass, manure, chicken coops
and fragrant forest aromas.
And I am refreshed.

First prize winner for the Ladies Biker Poetry Contest in the Toronto International Spring Motorcycle Show, 2023