- Happy Birthday - June 18, 2026
- Lumix S9 - May 27, 2026
- South Korea Motorcycle Tour – continued - May 22, 2026
Motorcycle Paradise blog turns twenty years old.
I published some ‘home pages’ prior (what personal web sites used to be called) however the name Motorcycle Paradise debuted June/July 2006, according what archives have survived.
My return to web publishing was via Google Blogger which allowed anyone to make a web site with no knowledge of HTML language unlike what I needed to use previously which was very time consuming. This coincided with my shift back to photography after ten years shooting video.
During that decade I sold my Canon EOS 650 SLR and started shooting on VHS-C format then Video 8. Editing was all tape to tape with fades/wipes/titles produced on an Amiga computer which was time consuming but still at a time when I had uber energy. I later moved to Mini DV tape, early digital recoding that could be exported to PC but even having a high end computer it struggled and editing was no easier.
I stopped making video not because of the time involved but because it was something that entertained other people but which I personally never viewed again thus a poor way to archive my travels.
Not long after launching the blog I became the owner of a MV Agusta Brutale 750 and was taking photos with a Lumix DMC-FX01 camera. That modest sensor provided the images you are viewing that stand up pretty well for being 20 years old – as does the design of that beautiful bike.
I started posting regular Sunday ride reports which continued for seven years. At the time there were many riders doing the same. Blog Rolls became popular and we added each other. I looked forward to reading weekend rides from around Australia.
Motorcycle forums were still popular and rides as well as bike nights appeared in them with nice photos. It was really a shame when forums moved to Facebook Groups only to wind up mere shadows of their former selves or fold up altogether.
That MV Agusta Brutale had a stylish but very uncomfortable seat (hence the Airhawk you can see). Regardless I had more fun on that bike than any other I owned in Australia. It handled superbly and had a playful nature. I enjoyed riding it in the QLD/NSW border ranges, Northern Rivers and Scenic Rim, a region moto journalist ‘The Bear’ called a paradise for motorcycles which inspired me to name this blog Motorcycle Paradise.
Of course twenty years ago were more carefree days. Prior to the strong anti motorcycle campaigns launched by later QLD governments which fostered police entrapment and harassment of riders. This made me to ride locally less and encouraged me to try overseas touring which sparked my passion to ride the world. So thank you motorcycle hating politicians.
I’ve pondered should I base myself here again. But after riding new roads in different countries for 13 years I feel I would tire too quickly of the same collection of local routes and I have no need to live near a big city now I am retired. Life in the countryside is so much more friendly, no way I can achieve that quality of life anywhere near these old stomping grounds.
However I do see myself riding more in my home country. My global moto touring feels like it’s at a point where the plane tilts forward slightly as the engines spool down and the captain announces we have started our descent. I still have overseas rides planned for this year and the next but have very little in mind after that so feel I am on a glide path towards some sort of landing.
I don’t think I’ll own anything like this MV Agusta again or even the Moto Guzzi V100 which I’ve previously admitted lusting over even if I had it stored in Brisbane for FIFO rides. I would still want something focused on long distance touring.
Of course you can tour on anything, I took this MV Agusta to Phillip Island to watch Stoner Vs Rossi in 2007. Nice bike on the few twisty bits but most of the 6000+km ride was getting blasted by wind on long stretches of highway.
People tell me I need an ADV bike. For when the tarmac ends. But a small bit of benign gravel can be ridden on anything, even that MV Agusta. ADV tyres which handle well on tarmac are basically touring tyres with slightly wider grooves and to me offer bugger all extra grip on dirt. But anyway I’m not interested in gravel road touring.
But now I have started to digress.
Here’s to 20 years of motorcycle travel blogging. Hope I stay in remission to be sharing more and can hit the 25 and maybe even 30 year milestones.
