Spring 2026: New Bikes, New Horizons

 It’s spring in the UK and it feels like a long time since I last rode in the sun. (Thank gawd for heated kit)

The winter hasn’t been wasted, though. Sarah and I did a trials day up at BUMPY in Leeds, and that quickly turned into something more. We bought a trials bike and spent most weekends giving competitive trials a go. It’s a humbling experience. There’s always that older rider (most of them) on what appears a prehistoric bike, looking like a diet of twenty pints a day for the last twenty years sculpted their physique, yet somehow float over obstacles with the finesse of a ballerina. Completely embarrassing, but brilliant fun and great for improving skills.

Below - gulp!

Quick trip to the Alps..

..and some off-roading in the Dales. 

When not doing the above with friends and family, we were thinking about travel bikes. Something reliable, capable of covering long distances with minimal tools and fuss. We eventually settled on the Honda CB500X and ended up buying two.

I’m in the process of updating the bikes section of the blog with what i've done to them so far. I need it for the service history and parts spec before they leave the country.

Today was the maiden voyage, the shake down. We rode from Nottingham to Norfolk, a 300-mile round trip, and camped at a beautiful old pub, The Goat Inn, dating back to 1543. It was a great night, although pretty cold, with the tail end of a storm rolling through. 

It gave us a good chance to test the new camping kit, which performed well overall.

One lesson learned: don’t have three pints before bed when you’re camping. I spent more time climbing out of the tent than actually sleeping and didn’t manage to use the sleeping bag properly. My matt was cold and my head hurt.

You live and learn. Probably.

Another lesson i learned on the shake down trip is to communucate more. Assume less, talk more. With this level of emotional intelligence and understanding i could qualify as an agony aunt, perhaps I'll write to The Sun. ..."Dear Dan" 

The bikes themselves are proving to be fantastic for travel. You do have to get over your ego a bit, I’ll admit that took me a while, down sizing from 1300c to 700cc then to 500cc

 The engine isn’t going to rip your arms off or pull you out of corners like a steam train. But that’s not really what travelling is about.

Most of the time, you’re cruising, flowing through corners, skimming along the road like a bird and for that, the CB500X is perfect.

We tested the range today, in mixed riding we’re estimating around 290 miles to pushing. I’ve lowered the pegs, lifted the seat, added highway pegs, and fitted a small top box for easy access to food, which we’re calling "the kitchen.” So far i'm enjoying the setup and hope its ideal for taking abroad. Sarah needs hers lowering and thats the next job.

The 2026 trip we’re planning, i've called '321' (not dusty bin, showing my age?) 

3 years, 2 Bikes, 1 Trip. This year, the idea is to take the bikes in three stages to the edge of Europe and leave them over winter. 

 A little differnt from the Fireblade days, I appear to be moving more into Blue rinse territory. 

 Next year maybe we’ll head into Central Asia, just dipping a toe in. Or maybe we’ll push further… perhaps even north, the 'stans and Mongolia is out there somewhere. (Cliche? Who cares.)

 It’s exciting. Maybe one day we’ll ride around the world.

But for now, the focus is the 321 trip, perhaps also with  Jason and maybe a celebration in North Africa with Barrie. Let's see how it unfolds...