Into Africa  

This is the story of an enlightening, yet daunting (and sometimes downright harrowing) journey across fourteen African countries by motorcycle. Sam, a novice biker, decides to break free from the doldrums of everyday life in search of adventure. He finds it!

Into Africa is upfront with adventure, mishaps, dust, heat and the thrill of overlanding. The word-pictures that bring a good travel book to life are all here; Sam’s perceptions of people, places and predicaments have real depth and texture, their associated sights, smells and sounds are evoked with a natural ease.

Whether he’s being shot at, or knocked unconscious in the Namibian desert, this eye-opening tale catapults you into Africa. He lives in a remote village, escapes a bush fire and climbs a mountain. This is a captivating book.

description : Paperback, e-book, enhanced e-book, audio book

Adventure 

Voting for the Irish Motorcyclist of the Year is underway!  

Once again this prestigious award will be decided by bike fans who can choose their favourite rider of the season by voting online.  

The winner of the Enkalon award, in association with Adelaide, will be presented with the famous Joey Dunlop trophy at the Adelaide Motorcycle Awards in Belfast on January 18 next year.  

Previous winner, former British Champion Adrian Coates, is the chairman of the judging panel and assisting the event’s organisers oversee the public vote. He expects the result to be the closest call in many years. Adrian said: “Our riders have excelled on the World, British and Irish stages, both on the short circuits, the roads, and off road. That’s what makes this years vote such an intriguing one. I am encouraging everyone to get involved as we want the winner to be a true reflection of what our motorcycle fans think. They’re a knowledgeable bunch and really know their stuff.”   He continued, ”Every local rider wants to be crowned the best in the country, and to be handed the iconic Joey Dunlop trophy with the famous yellow helmet, on the biggest night for our sport is something very special”  

Last year bike fans logged on in their thousands to cast their vote, and can do so again by visiting the awards website: www.adelaidemotorcycleawards.com

Read the full article on Right To Ride

The Land Rover Defender 110 double cab pick-up, driven in the opening sequence of SKYFALL™ will be on display at the Heritage Motor Centre from the 17th December.

The left-hand drive, Belgium spec, 2.2-litre diesel, 4 wheel drive, 6 speed automatic is seen in the film driven by field agent Eve, played by Naomie Harris.  There were in fact 12 Land Rovers used in the film, all in various stages of damage, and the HMC is delighted to have one of them amongst its collection. The Defender has been on display at both the Paris Motorshow and at Harrods in London.

2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the James Bond film series. SKYFALL™ is the 23rd official Bond film and stars Daniel Craig as 007 for a third time. Jaguar Land Rover provided a staggering 77 vehicles for the film including Land Rover’s full product line-up of; Defender, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Evoque, Discovery and Freelander, as well as Jaguar XJ for use both on-screen and as production support vehicles.

Stephen Laing, Curator for the Heritage Motor Centre stated “We are delighted to have the Land Rover Defender amongst our collection. We have been privileged to have displayed many iconic and famous film & TV vehicles over the years including Batman & Robins Batcycle, James Bond’s Aston Martin Vanquish from ‘Die Another Day’, Lara Croft’s Land Rover Defender from ‘Tomb Raider’, James Bond’s Aston Martin DBS from ‘Quantum of Solace’, and Dr Who's 'Bessie' a Siva Ford tourer built for the 3rd Doctor Who”.

www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk

On Wednesday 28 November, Motorcycle Live will be hosting Dirt Day – an introduction to the world of off-road and adventure riding.

Kawasaki, BMW Motorrad, Yamaha and Honda will each takeover a slot on the Blackhorse Stage in the British Eurosport Entertainment Zone, where special guests – from road racers to well-known adventurers – will talk about their love of dirt riding, offer advice on how to get started and show visitors how to navigate their way around off-road machinery.      

The day will begin with Kawasaki British Superbike rider Chris ‘The Stalker’ Walker taking to the stage to chat about his off-road school, StalkerMX. He will be joined by World MX2 rider Tommy Searle, as well as seven-times Dakar contender Mick Extance, who will launch his new Kawasaki Experience and enduro rider Martin Chappell, who will introduce his Trail and Off-road Experience.       

This will be followed by a Q&A session with a whole host of BMW Motorrad’s worldwide adventure riders including Long Way Round’s Charley Boorman, Dakar rally racer Si Pavey, female thrill-seeker Squash Falconer and the globe-busting riding duo Julia and Kevin Sanders.      

Honda World Superbike star and off-road enthusiast Jonathan Rea will take to the stage to talk about his passion for motocross and how it led him to set up his own MX team – JAR Honda. Three-time world motocross champion and Buildbase Honda Team Manager, Dave Thorpe, will also be present to introduce the new Dave Thorpe Honda Off Road Centre in Wales.      

Finally, Yamaha will welcome two special guests: long-distance adventure motorcyclist Nick Sanders and former MX GP rider Barry Johnson – both of whom are running live features at Motorcycle Live 2012.      

Sanders, whose career spans 30 years and has included seven round-the-world trips, will be entertaining show goers with the FREE Nick Sanders Motorcycle Cinema. The feature is back for 2012 with a brand new short film depicting the charismatic traveller’s mad journeys across deserts and faraway places, with clips from his record-breaking Pan American journey The Incredible Ride along with his first record ride Fastest Man, a classic from 15 years ago.      

If you’re up for trying dirt riding on the day – or any other day of the show – head to the Yamaha Off-Road Experience for a FREE taster session under the watchful eye of qualified instructors, led by Barry Johnson. The specially-designed indoor motocross circuit caters for all levels of experience from those who have just the basics of clutch control through to experienced road riders. Kids can also have a go on the KTM Red Bull Pro Nationals Motocross Experience, which gives children aged five to 12 years old the chance to get dirty and try out off-road riding.      

Motorcycle Live 2012 runs from Saturday 24 November to Sunday 2 December at The NEC, Birmingham. The all-inclusive ticket gives access to five exhibition halls crammed with all the latest bikes, clothing and accessories and seven FREE opportunities to ride a bike**, plus non-stop entertainment from some of the biggest names in biking on the Blackhorse Stage in the British Eurosport Entertainment Zone. Also featuring the BSH/Streetfighters Custom Xtreme Zone, the Yamaha Escape Zone, the Classic Zone in association with Coventry Transport Museum and FREE entry into the Ramp’d Up Freestyle Motocross Arena**.      

Advance tickets for Motorcycle Live 2012 cost just £16 per adult, £10 for seniors and £6 per child*.

To book your tickets, call 0844 581 2345 or visit www.motorcyclelive.co.uk

The latest Department for Transport road casualty statistics released today show a decrease in casualties for vulnerable road users.  

There has been in a fall in vulnerable road user casualties when April-June 2011 is compared to April-June 2012; however there has been a significant rise over the year.  

• The number of cyclists killed or seriously injured rose 9 per cent from 2,950 in 2010/11 to 3,210 in 2011/12. This is 27 per cent more than the average between 2005-2009.
• The number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured rose 5 per cent from 5,207 in 2010/11 to 5,450 in 2011/12
• The number of pedestrians killed or seriously injured rose 5 per cent from 5,701 in 2010/11  to 5,970 in 2011/12  

IAM director of policy and research Neil Greig said: “In the six months before these results there were increases in the numbers killed and seriously injured.  This drop has not made up for that.  We need to do much more to turn this quarter’s figures into a trend. Upgrading roads, targeted safety campaigns and measures to improve road user awareness among new drivers are needed too. The drop in road casualties is really good news but the Department for Transport admits that it is likely to be linked to this year’s wet weather. We shouldn’t rely on a few months of dodgy weather to get cyclists and motorcyclists casualties down.”

www.iam.org.uk