Touring, Benelux and Germany

On the road again. I just had my motorbike for a week that I am already gone touring with mates in Europe. Starting on Wednesday evening from London, toward Belgium, then Strasbourg, the Black Forest in Germany, Amsterdam in Holland and finally back in London on Monday evening.


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Pit Stop for fuel, for both the motorbike and the riders. McDonalds is not the best option, but it was the only place open there this day. It was a public holiday so most shops and cafes were closed.

I like this sign. It means : "Welcome to motorbike riders, this road has bends. Enjoy the ride. Go right to start, watch the road as the first bend is left".
Rain Rain, go away !!! Lucky weekend, we got rain for 20 min, then sunshine for the rest of the weekend.
Allan is pausing for the picture. I am sure this photo could be the front cover of a motorbike magazine. Thank you to my little IXUS 80 IS and its wicked options.

Pension Williams, a very welcoming hotel, bikers friendly, english owner (so you get the english breakkie and the tea), calm area in the middle of the black forest.

Afternoon tea and pastries for the exhaustered bikers. A nice 4 hours ride in the black forest really empties your stomach. Food, food, food !!!

During one of our stop along the road in the Black Forest, a guy just pulled over to the side of the road next to us. He was selling strawberries ... 2 euros the box. They were huge and delicious. 100 times better than the one you can buy at Tesco.

It can't get any better than that!

Wooohooo ! Champagne !!!! It is time to celebrate. Indeed, I have just accepted the job offer from the company Sophis (french software company in the finance industry). They offered me the salary I asked, plus bonus, pension, private healthcare and 25 days holidays ... starting on the 1st of June. In addition to that, my motorbike is running like a bullet and smoothly. And to finish on a high note, I have been going out with Sambo, a fantastic french woman, for the past 3-4 weeks.

Really ... what more could I ask for? :-D

New motorbike in store ...

Hey hey, I could not resist the temptation! I saw the babe that caught my eye. I was walking down the haisle ... nice good looking body ... slick ... sporty ... but not exactly what I first planned. Yes I am talking about motorbike. I was thinking of buying a Honda VFR 800 VTEC, but just a bit too big and heavy for my liking. Instead, I went for the good Honda CBR 600 RR (not the F this time).
Sexy, sexy!!!!!



I paid for the deposit this morning and will pick it up next week once they have serviced it and once I have paid the remaining balance. I have to wait for a few days for the money to be transferred from Oz to UK.

Can't wait to take her for a ride ... Grrrrr! I like it!

I found a job !!

Good news! After 2 months in London looking for a job, I finally got one (which is not bad considering the financial crisis). I haven't signed the contract yet, neither negociated the salary or the start date, but they called me this Friday to tell me they were working on an offer for me. The company is called Sophis, a french company with offices all around the world (might involve a few overseas trips ... wicked!). Thank you to my friend Risto who work for them and forwarded my CV to their HR.

It has been 6.5 months since I last worked. I know it will be hard to get back into it. But I have a motivation ... a motorbike! I have started looking, calling and emailing people to view bikes this weekend or next week. It is going to be a Honda VFR 800 VTEC :-) Now, my mission is to find the best deal!