I love a good road trip and this year a lot of my trips seem to have been based on some kind of car journey, from road-tripping the north of Scotland for a week to exploring Greece by car for the day. However I also took another road trip on a motorbike this year and it was an absolute highlight of my year. We only ventured as far as Devon but found plenty to do there and some brilliant roads to drive around, including through Dartmoor National Park.
There were only a few moments when I was grabbing my brother for dear life and putting on my imaginary breaks to slow me down. To begin with I found myself willing him to break much earlier than we were but I soon came to realise this was because I was used to driving a car. Everything about the way you drive and break is different on a bike and can take some getting used to, it certainly did for me.
The video above was recorded on my Go Pro Camera as we rode around Dorest and Devon, using the pole attachment for the camera I was able to get some brilliant shots from my view point as a passenger. I then switched to the handle bar mount and captured more footage using this. I throughly enjoyed myself on the back of my brother’s bike despite being dressed in a not so stylish outfit!
Here are 4 reasons why you should try motorbiking
And by motorbiking I do not mean a little 50cc scooter, I mean a proper motorbike!
1. It makes you feel alive
There is just something about being out in the elements, wind ripping through your body as you hold on tight, that makes me feel alive. Admittedly it isn’t just on a motorbike I get this feeling, sitting in the back of an open truck in Thailand, gave me the same magical feeling. However the whole time my head was tucked safely in that helmet I had a huge smile plastered on my face, as I got lost in my thoughts. Motorbiking can be lonely, but to me there was something blissful about being able to enjoy the moment to myself inside that helmet.
2. It is cheaper than a car
So many aspects of biking are cheaper than having a car, for starters you don’t have to pay for parking, fares such as on ferries are reduced, fuel lasts a lot longer on a bike than in a car. They can also be cheaper to buy and insure but that all depends on the model, make, age etc. Bikes are also normally cheaper to rent than cars and in some countries such as Vietnam, bikes are the main mode of transport.
3. You can skip traffic queues
I love being able to do this, I even find myself doing this on my bicycle too, I mean who wants to waste precious time in a traffic queue. With a bike you don’t have to plan around rush hour and where there will be traffic, meaning you have more time for exploring and enjoying the adventure.
Trust me, this felt cool.
4. It feels cool
I might have looked ridiculous, but man did I feel cool. It might have been the way you got to cruise past people in a traffic jam, the ease of parking or probably the fact I wasn’t actually driving that made the whole thing so effortless and easy. This only added to the cool factor in my eyes.
As thrilling as our road trip in Devon was I found the baggage (hats, books, protective clothing etc.) you end up carting around with you becomes annoying, especially if you rode to a place and then wanted to go off hiking for example. It is certainly a fun activity for a few days but I’m not fully convinced on swapping my car for a bike yet.
Have you ever been on a proper motorbike? Did you love it as much as me?
Tags: Devon Motorbiking Roadtrip United Kingdom Video