What's your dream bike garage?

Come on, we've all thought about it: "What would I do if I won the lottery..." is a question which is both exciting and thought provoking but also a bit of a kick in the balls - the fact it's not really going to happen.

Sweep skepticism aside for a moment and have a bit of fun. What would you fill your garage with? Sports or adventure? Old or new? Japanese or European?

Would it look like this? (picture courtesy of www.gezagear.com)

Personally, I think I would have a bike which was there purely for road trips. Although I've never ridden one, I would love a Royal Enfield Classic T5 in battle green; slow, reliable and timeless, the bike would be loaded up with a few ammo boxes as panniers and a high level exhaust. With my love for V twins and classic sportsbikes, a Ducati 916 would be sat under a blanket - ready for those sunny days. I would have some heavily modified Victory Hammer with pipes that make your ears bleed and a back tyre wider than the Vicar of Dibley. A do-it-all bike, most likely a KTM 990SMT, a few more classics and a few more mad ones. And of course, I'd buy all of my old bikes back again - who wouldn't?

...or this? (courtesy of www.bikeexif.com)

As daft as that paragraph may seem, I think it's a good thing to have a dream bike garage of your own. Although it is reasonably unrealistic for most, it does give us good targets to reach for. Yes, you may never own a Ducati 916, r1200Gs and a Suzuki Kettle all at the same time - but maybe you could own one of them. Perhaps this dream bike garage makes us realise what bikes we really desire or maybe which types of bikes we crave for.

But if someone were to ask you "If you could have any single bike in the world what would you have?" that beautiful, two stroke triple Gt750 might not be top of your list anymore. The more 'real-world', modern, all rounder BMW may be the answer. Of course it might not be but it makes you think about what bike you actually want... or think you should have.

You may wish to own a 2014 'big bang' R1 and I can tell you; if you really want one, you'll have one, one day. Whether that's next year on finance, or in twenty years time when they're less than £1500. If you really want one, it's easily possible. You may have to skint yourself out, you may have to wait a couple of decades, but it will roll onto your driveway one day. Just keep the dreams alive.

Although, I will wish my best of luck to the poor git that dreams of an Nr750...

Riding Solo

It's a bit lonely really, riding solo.

Don't get me wrong, motorcycling can be amazing regardless of the amount of people with you. But sometimes riding alone a lot can restrict the amount of fun you have, or for me at least anyway. For the past year or so, I have began to ride my bike alone much more frequently.

Personal commitments and full time jobs have now plagued our summer days, as the whole of S.L.A.P starts to... well, grow up. We can no longer be the sixteen year old's that scive college and go out for a blast on the bikes, coming back just in time for a few beers around a roaring fire. We've entered the real world.

The past few months have been particularly agonizing for me. Donnell crashed his Mt-03 back in June, causing him to be off the road. Alex has been hitchhiking around Europe. Jamie and Andy are both busy at their full time jobs, too exhausted to do much when they get home. I too, work full time and have moved out. This makes motorbike time very minimal.

The Mt03 crash aftermath

There isn't time to do anything anymore. I feel like time is just flying by and I'm stood still watching it pass. I occasionally go for a 20 minute blast to the local cafe and back but that's about it. What happened to the 'spur of the moment' day trips to Wales?

I find myself reminiscing about a time where I would be crouched over my tank, elbows tucked in, peering into my mirror to see if my mate was about to be overtake me. I remember the bursts of adrenaline when I would throw my little 125 into a sun soaked bend, just trying to creep an inch closer to Donnell's Rs. I miss the laughs you'd have when you pull over to take a few photos, the pissing around at traffic lights when there was nothing else to do.

Riding alone just isn't the same.

As amazing as my France trip was, on the journey home I felt like a piece was missing. In 500 of the 700 miles I did on my own that day, I had taken in so many memories and experiences but it felt like I had no one to experience these things with. I didn't have someone pulling up next to me, laughing about what had just happened.

A great trip but lonely at times

Although, riding alone isn't all that bad. Being alone can force you to go out there and speak to new people, it can get rid of the 'sticking with what you know' philosophy. For example, if you're in the middle of Italy with a group of people, you'll naturally stick together and stay quite reclusive. However, if you're on your own you are being forced to go out and meet people otherwise you'd have nobody to talk to.

Perhaps I'm just whinging, lots of people ride on their own all the time and they're fine. So I guess it's something I'll have to get used to and accept...

... but that long ribbon of tarmac can feel a bit lonely when it's just you on it.