On my Autumn tour I wanted to ride directly north via the Tokyo expressway. That runs underground extensively where a traditional GPS has no signal but some phone navigation apps work underground using cell tower signals so it seemed an opportunity to revisit phone based navigation half a day for […]
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Despite crashing into a fence when first learning to ride I went on to have a casual approach to protective gear. I think that came from living in sub tropics where it was very hot. Mesh jackets, ventilated gloves, rider jeans and similar items best suited the climate. When reviewing […]
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2020 has been the year I updated things in lieu of travelling. I wish it was other way around – I’d prefer to be riding places but besides my somewhat regular camera swapping the rest of my gear is 10-20 years old. My Dryrider summer jacket was over 20 years. […]
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I was testing a different brand of visor treatments on this years Autumn cold weather ride. Previously for anti fog I tried that oddly named cat crap wax but as I reported on the old blog years back even if buffed perfectly like the fanboys say is needed the visor […]
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I posted the conclusion to my Full Circle Japan autumn tour already but want to follow up with few things from my trip notes I excluded to reduce the word count. (Links are all internal, I have no affiliations, not selling anything. No seriously) Riding Tohoku in Autumn is possible […]
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Camera Talk Why would I change cameras to something with lower specifications? Why change cameras at all now that phones are so good? My Canon G1X M3 had a lousy EVF. My sight changed and I am now wearing 2.00 & 2.25X glasses. The dioptric adjuster on most cameras goes […]
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With less riding and more idle time this year I took a closer look at my touring gear and noticed a few things could do with being replaced. My Alpinestars Andes jacket is just five years old but in poor condition. Stitching is coming apart, the velcro no longer holds […]
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Day nineteen of my Japan autumn tour I am in Amakusa region of Kumamoto prefecture with option to ride or rest. I decide to take a small ferry to Goshoura island then make my way to the top of the mountain there. However on the way I noticed there was […]
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My Autumn motorcycle tour of Japan continues after a rest day in Fukui. I set off under grey skies that seem at times to touch the ground. It’s not fog or rain either but rather a gloom that descends here in winter. With views obscured my eye is drawn to […]
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I ride to the top of Honshu in the first stage of my big Autumn tour but find it a little late in the year to be in the north so decided to retreat south then try to return to my original route in a few days time. Nice day […]
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Knowing I will face plenty of rain on my autumn tour I decided to examine all my gear and update a couple of items. My Autumn/Spring season primary glove for ten years has been the Held Rainstar. It is incredible to think those gloves were still in good shape externally […]
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Japan is famous for its cherry blossoms, less known is it has a spectacular Autumn display of coloured leaves. Even more than the cherry blossoms timing is difficult as things can happen quickly. Most years I try to do a ride south with mixed success. I saw magnificent displays of […]
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