I love bikes me!!

Anyone who has spent even just a small amount of time with me will tell you that I love motorbikes. So when I had the chance to travel down to Austin Texas a few months ago for the MotoGP I jumped at it. 

Usually when people travel to Texas they end up in Dallas or Houston, but when I started reading up on Austin I knew it was going to be a good weekend. Described as a "hipster town" and Americas "it" city, this place on the edge of the Southwest has lots to offer.

My first impressions of Texas were nothing at all as I imagined it. I thought it would be quite dry, dusty and sandy, a lot like Arizona, but it's just the opposite. Austin is very hot but it's lush and green. 

Austin has several different distinct areas to it, all of them offering bars and restaurants with live music. There are open air curry houses, places offering nothing but sausage and chips, and a small van selling one of the nastiest philly cheese steaks I've ever eaten.

Austin is cool. 

Anyway, back to bikes.

I started riding about 8 years ago, it was never anything I'd really considered until a good friend of mine let me take his 125 crosser out when I was 24, and I was instantly hooked. The acceleration and the feeling of freedom it gives you just can't be matched by any car I've ever been in. 

If I were to try and describe exactly what it feels like to be on a fast bike I'd have to say, "it's as close to flying as you'll ever get without leaving the ground".

For just a few thousand pounds you can get a machine which is capable of a 0-60 time of around 3 seconds, and a top speed approaching 190mph. Buying a car with similar characteristics would cost in excess of thirty thousand pounds, and you still wouldn't have that feeling of connection that you get on two wheels.

The down side?

Everyone has at least a few horror stories about people they know who've been injured or killed whilst on motorbikes, and this has lead to motorbiker's being affectionately referred to as "high speed organ donors".

I can't and won't try to argue with the statistics, I know they're not good, but I'm hooked. The adrenaline rush that comes from stringing a section of fast sweeping bends together has to be felt to be appreciated. 

It's not about straight line speed, anyone can go fast in a straight line. It's about becoming one with the machine, you use your body to balance the bike during acceleration, cornering, and breaking. 

Riding fast road sections you can't simply be a spectator, you need to get amongst it. It's about commitment and confidence, it's about knowing how much grip is available and how much is not. 

Sitting here writing this I can feel my heart rate quicken, my eyes widen and my palms becoming sweaty. I haven't owned a bike now for about 9 months which is the longest I've been without a bike in 8 years, back home I ride pretty much everyday so at the minute it feels like I've got an itch I can't scratch.

The MotoGP on the sunday was amazing. 

The noise of the bikes was deafening, the smell of the rubber, brakes and exhaust fumes intoxicating. For me the most unbelievable thing about the GP bikes is the corner speed and lean angle. Through the twisty bits they can achieve nearly 60 degrees of lean, and some corners can be taken at over 150mph on full throttle.

Below is my hero, the great Valentino Rossi. I don't think it's possible not to like this guy, he's the greatest bike racer of all time and the most charismatic sportsman alive. He didn't get the result I'd hoped that afternoon in Texas, but me and millions of loyal Rossi fans still hope and dream of a return to the top step of the podium for the DOCTOR.

One of my American friends out here has promised me I can take his motorbike out on track in the next month or two so I can get my fix. Hopefully I'll still be here to tell you all about 2 stroke track days. If not, I've had a good innings.