Derbi says goodbye….

Hi all, today’s blog post about the life of a scooter named Derbi will be my last…..

For both Anthony and I, the last 2 years have been an amazing experience, we’ve travelled over 20,000 Km together, ridden and photographed lots of cool roads and shared some awesome days and nights out on the road.

We have also shared great rides with Vicki, (aka Scooter Girl), and I will greatly miss her amazing smile.  She is, (and always will be…), Derbi’s Greatest Celibrity Pillion Passenger.

But for Anthony and Vicki, two wheeled adventures will continue, not on a scooter, but on a Suzuki V-Strom 650 motorbike, yes folks, he’s crossed over to the other side and is loving the new challenges that await….

There will be a new blog with stories of his adventures at – Two Wheeler

Sharing my stories with you has been an absolute pleasure, thanks to all who have commented and followed the “My Life As A Scooter” journey. I may meet some of you again one day, but for now, and for the final time…….stay safe, have fun, keep the rubber side down, and enjoy the ride.

Cheers

Derbi.

Wet, Wet, Wednesday

Hi all,

Hope your ride today was a good one…..but if you were anywhere between the NSW-QLD border and Port Macquarie, it was pretty miserable.   Initially we went to Maclean, and the further away from Yamba we got, the worse the weather was.  We then headed back to Yamba mid morning, and it was really wet most of the way…..so wet that Anthony’s “waterproof” gloves started leaking.  Then for the short ride home, it started again.

Then there was the guy in the SUV who decided to move close to the centre line and hit the massive puddle that generated what was close to a massive wave that ended up hitting us head on….well done cruiser man!

The weather is expected to be a bit ugly for a few days, so we’ll see what we get in the morning.

So what’s been happening in the two wheeled world?

The Roman Emperor, Mr Max Biaggi is on fire in the World Superbike championship, pulling two wins in the weekends round in Utah.   Anthony always thought Max was a complete Tool when he raced in MotoGP, but his admiration for him has grown, and in such a short time, Max has managed to make the Aprilia RSV4 Factory the bike to be on!  Go Max….

One website we enjoy checking out each week is Killboy’s Blog.  Filled with awesome photos from the “Tail of The Dragon” at Deals Gap in the USA….the bike pics are awesome…check it out.

This week’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger of the week is a British actress on her way to stardom.  She’s starred in “Quantum of Solace”, “Clash of the Titans” and most recently  “Prince of Persia”.  She’s 24, she’s the daughter of a cleaner and a welder, She is Gemma Arterton.

The week is coming to an end…

Hi All,

It’s been a good week out on the road, and Anthony is very happy with the new thermal gear to keep him warm!!… Thumbs up for that!

Today we had a short trip, but it was still good to be out in the fresh air having a ride!

So what’s been happening out there in the two wheeled world?  One of the most eagerly awaited bikes (well, awaited by Anthony…) is the soon to be released Honda CB1100F.  Set to be arrive at the end of the month, this bike with its 1140cc inline four-cylinder engine and dual overhead cams is classic perfection.  Combining vintage looks with modern features, this is one bike that is sure to be popular……(and yes, Anthony would love to have one in the garage!)

In racing news….Moto GP heads to Le Mans in France this weekend to compete in the Monster Energy GP.  Hopefully Casey Stoner can recover from his not so great start to the year and gain some more points this weekend.   As for the top Yamaha riders, currently only 4 points separates Lorenzo (position 1) and Rossi (position 2)….who will come out in the lead?

World Superbikes head to the USA in 8 days to the Miller Motorsports park for the next round.  Can Mad Max and the Aprilia team gain the top spot from Suzuki’s Leon Haslam?  Will Haga be able to gain ground…he is alreay 101 points behind Biaggi.

Another new bike that Anthony is impressed with is the Suzuki GSX-R 1000 with its 999cc, four-cylinder, liquid-cooled, DOHC engine, featuring Suzuki’s Dual Throttle Valve (SDTV) fuel-injection system…sounds cool, but the bike looks awesome, particularly in its 25th anniversary colours…

So that’s it for us today, hopefully you’ve had a good one, stay safe, ride with a smile and get out there!!

Cheers

Derbi.

Its getting colder….

Hi all, It’s been cold on the road this week and to try and make things more comfortable, Anthony has some new thermal gear coming, and it should be arriving today, thanks to the excellent service from Bikebiz.

So we’ll update you on how it performs later in the week!

There have been plenty of bikes out this week, everything from chrome-covered cruisers to BMW 1200GS Adventurers, to Hayabusa’s and R1’s…..Everyone out enjoying the road!    The orange & chrome V-rod spotted on sunday was very cool!

This weeks winner of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger of the week is a model, and a bike racer.   She’s a competitor in the Australian 125cc championship, she is Stacey McMahon

Short tuesday blog post…..

Hi everyone,

This week’s Grafton rides have been cold…..and foggy!!  Anthony loaded up with an extra layer today to keep him warm, but for me it was simply a case of suck it up and deal with it!  But that’s ok, because I’m a scooter and not able to add additional layers.

So how has the two-wheeled experience been for the rest of you?   We were lucky enough to leave the office after a storm rolled through Grafton, and thankfully the road was mostly dry by the time we left.

Tomorrow we are off on a shorter trip to Maclean, but it’s still a chance to get out on the road and ride.  Any chance to put the rubber side down is always good, so enjoy your rides and we’ll see you out there…

Cheers

Derbi

For more info on this week’s winners of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion’s of the week checkout  www.rideicon.com Today we present the Angels of Icon….

Out and about

Hi everyone,

The weather has been a bit cooler out on the road this week, especially the Grafton trip which brought fog, cold, bugs and rain….

The trip home is getting darker each day, but its all good.

As an alternative to our normal highway commute, we should try the alternate route which goes from Yamba to Maclean, out over the bridge to the Bluff Point Ferry and across the river to Lawrence, then follow Lawrence Road to Alumi Creek and then Grafton.

That route looks something like this….

The road before arriving in Grafton, (the last part of the trip) looks something like this….

Wednesday we were out on the road again for the trip to Maclean, which also requires some travelling along Yamba Road, which Anthony knows like the back of his hand…..but it has some great turns on it.

You don’t want to do anything silly when these guys are around….!

Thursday and today we had our short trip to the tiny office by the water…….its just Anthony and the Pelicans, but despite that, we go home at lunch time, which is another chance for a ride, and any chance to get out on the road is a good one!!!

We hope you’ve had a great two-wheeled week, get out there, stay safe and have a good one…..

For this week’s winner of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger of the week we are following a Star Wars theme…..(no it’s not Princess Leia in her gold bikini….) but recently we came across the website of a graphic artist named Feng Zhu.  He has created some Star Wars designs in the style of old war-time posters….(they are so much better than pics of Uncle Sam saying “We Want You For The US Army)……  anyway, back to the story…..

Imagine you are the Imperial Empire, and you are trying to recruit new troops……how do you do it?

How do you make young people want to sign up to become Imperial Troops….?

Perhaps you could try something like this…..

Or this…..

Or maybe this…..

seeya out there,

Cheers

Derbi.

Quiet easter weekend….

Hi all,

Hopefully you have enjoyed your Easter weekend.

On Sunday Anthony was checking out some two-wheeled action on TV, watching the “Top Fuel Bike” category of ANDRA Pro Series Drag racing.  Watching these guys hang on to their massively powerful Nitromethane powered bikes, reaching speeds of over 330 kmh in 6-7 seconds is incredible.

Here’s one of the semi-final runs……

We didn’t have to go to Grafton last week, but will be back there this week and we will be out on the highway for that ride on Tuesday.  Hopefully the weather will be fine, and now that Daylight Saving is over its going to be getting darker for the trip home, which means the Bugs will be back once more (something we haven’t missed at all!)

So we’ll have more stories this week I’m sure, so get out there, have a great and safe week and we’ll see you on the road,

Cheers,

Derbi.

This weeks winner of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger of the week is new to two wheels, but she is known to many around the country, and was adored by children….(and some of their fathers) while she graced Australia’s TV screens as part of children’s entertainment group Hi-5.

She is the new ambassador for Hyosung motorcycles, and has just taken delivery of a white GT250.  She is Charli Delaney

Its tuesday, and it was fun!!!

Hi everyone,

Welcome to another week on two wheels.  This morning’s ride was great….the temperature was perfect, there were no Grey Nomads in their Land Cruisers or Patrols towing their Jayco’s out of town…..and it was great to be out on the road.

And coming home was awesome too, Anthony had a long day of training at work today, and so his brain was pretty fried by the time he walked out the back door of the office, but as soon as that helmet was on and the iPod was cranking, all was right with the world and off we went.  And it was a great ride home.

Each corner was taken with precision and determination.  Yes, the road is not a race-track, but each day there is a chance to make the most of each turn and enjoy the road.   Anthony’s ability is increasing all the time, and to be able to help him with that is so great.

Also over the weekend Vicki had a wedding that she shot in Yamba, and one of the groomsmen was a motorcycle drag racer – but not just any drag racer, he’s a world land speed record holder and recorded a record speed at the Bonneville Salt Flats during Speed Week 2009…….yep this guy got his Suzuki up to a speed of 212.404mph (339.84 kmh) – and he is one of only 4 people on the planet to have broken the 200mph barrier on a 750cc bike in the past 60 years.  Well done to Greg Watters.

So that’s it so far for this week….i’m sure we’ll have more stories to tell soon.  Stay safe, keep the rubber side down and have fun!!

Cheers

Derbi.

This week’s winner(s) of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger of the Week are a group of  four women and part of one of the most popular products out there in the world of motor-sport….

We have previously featured girls who are at the very pinnacle of their profession (the girls of the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team) but this week we have another group of girls who’s team is one of the sponsors of the Mercedes Petronas team ……yes the team that 7-time world champion Michael Schumacher is now a member of.

Anthony is a fan of the product they represent and the people they sponsor – whether its Schuey’s team, Chad Reed’s Kawasaki Supercross team, Ken Block’s WRC car…….or anything else that they are a part of.

These girls represent a great product and so today we present the girls from Monster Energy….

Sunday afternoon…

It’s the day of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix today, and this afternoon I’m sure Anthony will be checking it out on TV.  Hopefully Mark Webber will do great for Australia, and starting from the front row is a great place to start!  Anthony is also hoping that 7-time World Champion Michael Schumacher will also put in a great effort!  It should be a great race.

….but before it starts he’s given me a clean up, and after doing that, he decided to take a few pics…..

I think I look pretty good…

Hopefully it will be a great week out on the road….and we’ll have more updates on how the rides go in a few days.

but before I go, just wanted to share a funny pic that we came across during the week….

Cheers,

Derbi

The week that was……

Hi everyone,

This week I’m going to try and give some insight into each day of the week and what we get up too, and the rides we have…….

So lets start with Monday, and here we go….

MONDAY

The morning started around 7:45am as we headed off to Grafton. The trip today was a good one, there wasn’t a lot of traffic and often Monday trips are slow for the first 10km until we get out to the highway…..(Caravaner’s leaving town often drive at 70km/h or less, but today there were none!)

The free-flowing traffic continued the whole way and it was a fun ride to work. Once we reached Grafton we were incredibly lucky to spend only 5 minutes from the Gwyder Highway/Bent St Round-a-bout to get to the other side of the bridge. It’s only 1.5 km from that point, Google maps says it takes 2 minutes, but last week (and on many occasions) it takes 20 minutes to travel that distance…….Once again the NSW RTA has put forward their “4 ways to get traffic in and out of Grafton easier and quicker proposal” but only time will tell if any of the “solutions” are put in place. So until then, we deal with the traffic and the “two lanes of peak hour traffic onto a one lane bridge” problem….

And the trip home was good too….Anthony was really looking forward to getting out of work today and today the trip home only took about 50 minutes….which included the bridge!

So that’s it for today and tomorrow we deal with a new day and a new ride…….

TUESDAY

Today we had a bit of a wet ride. There was a massive storm last night at about 1:30 – 2:00 and so the road was still wet, but by the time we got close to the Cowper turnoff, it was looking like it was going to rain……very soon. So Anthony pulled over and put on the wets and off we wet….and thankfully he got the wet weather gear on in time as the rain came down almost straight away.

But despite the wet weathcr, it was still a fun ride. The bridge run took about 10 minutes today, but it was a good morning out on the road.

Coming home tonight was dry, a bit cool and a great opportunity to open up the throttle and enjoy the road.

WEDNESDAY

It was a shorter trip today, but still good. Weather was a bit warmer than it has been and Anthony had worked up a sweat by the time we reached the office. To amuse himself this morning, Anthony decided to take each corner in the best possible way that he could – taking into consideration safety, keeping enough room from other road users etc…..but the task was to enter and exit each corner in the most efficient and safest way possible…..No the road isn’t a race track, but that doesn’t mean that riding on the road can’t be enjoyable. So getting the most out of every turn was the morning’s priority.

The trip home was different……it had been a long day so getting home as soon as possible was the priority….and the other road users decided that they would all drive at least 10 kmh slower than the speed limits…..so frustration started to set in after the first part of the trip…..but we plodded along and arrived home.

Three down, two to go…..

THURSDAY

Today I didn’t go anywhere. It was Road Safety Day for the kids at school and they had to take their bikes, so Anthony and Vicki rode their bikes with them and then went to work. So I’m in the garage, looking forward to Friday!

Derbi’s weekly celebrity pillion passenger is featured below, and because its my blog, I can have more than one….and I have no idea who she is, but its Thursday, and today we feature a girl who we will call “brunette tatto0ed girl”

FRIDAY

Today we started with a short ride to the office, then after an hour had to go to one of the other offices, so we were out on the road again – we had a truck almost back over us at one point, the traffic ahead of us stopped, Anthony figured that perhaps there was a car up ahead turning into a carpark, or something….no, it was a tradie in the ute in front of us, stopping to talk to a mate outside the pub, so he puts it into reverse with us right behind him – and thankfully he stopped after a few blasts of the horn……….then we headed back to town and then home for lunch.

After lunch it was back to work with another ride.

And then after work we delivered some info to a client, headed past the shops for some stuff and it was then time for home…..

It was a great week on two wheels once again……

Have a great weekend everyone,

cheers

Derbi.

This week’s official winner of Derbi’s Celebrity Pillion Passenger, is an Indian actress and professional model. She starred in Slumdog Millionaire and in 2009 she became (one of the many) faces of L’Oreal…..But the big news this week is that she will star alongside Daniel Craig in the next (23rd) Bond film. She has been featured on Askmen.com’s most desirable women list, she lives in the call-centre capital of the world….she is Freida Pinto.