Welcome to thelondonbiker.com - this is the personal home of Matthew Cashmore. I spend a lot of time here writing about motorbikes, tech stuff, cooking, and reviewing gear about motorbikes, tech stuff and well... cooking.

You can find my professional information over at linkedin. You can see my photos on flickr or watch my videos on YouTube. If you really want to know what I'm up to you can also follow me on twitter.

Over the last few years I've also been lucky enough to do some great trips on the motorbike. Journey To Russia in 2008, and Journey To Morocco in 2007, an 18 month stay in Australia and the States and then a run down to Budapest in the summer of 2011. I'm now back in London and planning a run down to the Pyrenees in 2012 and a 6 week run out to Volgograd and back via Iran in 2013.

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Starting the new year with the MCN Motorcycle Show

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Matthew Cashmore

Well I’ve put the shotgun away for the summer and the motorbike has once again been dragged from the warm embrace of the back of the barn – well – it will in time for the MCN Motorcycle Show.

I stopped commuting into London when I moved out of town and had to ride down Euston Road and out to the Old Street roundabout every day. I had four near-death experiences on that stretch of road in as many days and decided it was time to hide the bike away for commuting and concentrate on the adventure bit. But reading through the stats it seems I’m in a minority.

London has more bikers than Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle combined. In fact 12 per cent of the total UK bikers are based in London. Which is hardly surprising when you consider the daily grid lock into and out of town. It also turns out that over the last year we’ve been registering more low-powered bikes (50-125cc) than ever before. There were 17 per cent more new, low engine bikes registered in the UK between December 2010 and December 2011. I just hope they’re not all scooters. (not that I have anything against idiot scooter riders you understand).

Ross Noble will be leading a ride out to the show from the Ace Cafe on Saturday in aid of Riders for HealthWe all know that biking into London is quicker, cheaper and greener than pretty much all other options – so I think it may be time to reconsider that season ticket with Chiltern Railways and get back on the bike. I may even get the gear out in time for the ride from The Ace Cafe on Saturday with Ross Noble and friends in aid of Riders for Health - something you should consider if you’re heading to the show on Saturday.

For me though, the highlight of the show has to be going to see Dougie Lampkin wreck the place – I love the press blurb:

By day he’s the mild-mannered 12-times World Trials Champion, but by night Dougie Lampkin roams the streets in pursuit of an ASBO. This should do it – breaking and entering the ExCeL London where in just a few days he’ll be racing David Knight, John McGuinness, Neil Hodgson, Ian Hutchinson and Chris Walker in our Revolution extreme obstacles enduro challenge, sponsored by Michelin. But will he get past the SAS-trained guard to do the pre-race research he craves?

Nothing else to say really… mild-mannered 12-times World Trails Champion? Surely that’s not possible. Take a look at the video to see what I mean.

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Vote for your 2012 most inspirational Travel Book

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Matthew Cashmore

Well that’s it folks. A couple of weeks ago I asked you to nominate your most inspirational Travel Books for 2012. They didn’t need to be published in 2012, but they did need to inspire you enough to get off your bottom and to actually go out and travel.

I’ve been stunned by the response – so many books have been nominated that I’ve had to narrow them down to the top 20 so that voting will be a little more sensible. The winners of the nomination competition to win a £30 Traveldri-Plus voucher and a Lonely Planet book up to the value of £15 are:

  • 1st Place - Greg Hughes (voucher)
  • 2nd Place – Steve Freeman  (book)

Congratulations to you both. Now, without further ado – get clicking the votes below and help make your favourite travel book the 2012 Inspirational Travel book of the year!

Which title is the most inspirational Travel Book?

View Results

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Categories: 2012 Travel Book List | 3 Comments

Reviews for 2012

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Matthew Cashmore

After being prodded on Twitter, and reminded on Facebook that there’s been an ‘unacceptable lull’ in my reviews I’ve started putting the list together for 2012 reviews. So far I have:

I want to do a lot more than that this year – especially when I head down to the Pyrenees in September – but I’d really like your feedback on what you’d like to see reviewed. So please… take a moment and use the form below to make some suggestions and I’ll get right on it.

I’ve already started to gather recipes to film over on Horizons – but if you’ve got something you’d like to try let me know.

Let me know what you'd like me to review.

*(denotes required field)

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Suggestions so far:

  • Spearmint Rhino (I’m going to say no here)
  • Bike luggage (will do a comparison I think – soft vs hard, different types of hard)
  • Brick lane bagel shop (no idea, but okay why not)
  • Tucano Thermal Aprons
  • France (what the whole country?)
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Categories: cooking, reviews, Reviews, Gear, Reviews, Touring | Leave a comment

2012 Inspirational Travel Literature Nominations

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Matthew Cashmore

I asked a question on twitter and Facebook last week about the travel books that have most inspired you. I was amazed at the response. With that in mind I’ve decided to launch an annual list of the top 10 most inspiring travel books in the world. The idea is to create a list of books that we can read throughout the year – books that will help people get off the couch and make their trips a reality.

So to kick things off here is the 2012 nominations form. I’ll keep nominations open for 10 days (closing at midnight on the 21st January 2012). The titles nominated will then be put up for public voting over another 10 days – we’ll then be able to announce the top 10 most inspiring travel books for 2012. You can nominate any book – it doesn’t need to have been published recently.

To help things along I’m going to put two prizes up for grabs – 1st prize is a Traveldri Plus £30 voucher and 2nd prize is a Lonely Planet book of your choice up to a max value of £15. In order to enter you must provide your details on the form below (which you can also access directly here). Judges (my) decision is final and winners will be selected at random from all nominations received.

::NOMINATIONS CLOSED::

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Categories: 2012 Travel Book List | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments

2013 – this looks fun right?

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Matthew Cashmore

Comments and thoughts?


View 2013 in a larger map

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Tortillas to Totems

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Matthew Cashmore
Tortillas to Totems Cover

Tortillas to Totems by Sam Minicom

I’ve been reading Sam’s books for quite a few years now. First there was Into Africa - a journey through the heart of, you guessed it, Africa, by a man who had only just figured out what a motorbike was for (travel of course). Next up was Under Asian Skies which took us right across Asia with Sam and the people he met along the way. The next book out of the already quite impressive stable was Distant Suns which was based on the diaries of Sam’s partner and travel buddy Birgit Schuenemann. Finally we have his latest book – Tortillas to Totems- and what a corker it is.

As regular readers of this blog will know, I don’t often write book reviews. Not because I don’t devour every single adventure motorcycle book out there – but because for the most part… um… they’re not very good. I’ve made some exceptions to that rule – first with Lois Pryce and her book – Red Tape and White Knuckles and eventually I will for Paddy Tyson and his books – but the stand-out daddy of them all is Sam Manicom.

Tortillas to Totems is easily Sam’s best book so far. The writing style is engaging and steady – that horribly addictive style that leaves you realising you’ve been reading for 10 hours straight and just can’t put the book down. The stories he tells don’t just transport you there – they encourage you to get on your bike and ride. For me – that’s the best thing a travel book can do. If you only want to read one of Sam’s books – start with this one, then head back to Into Africa and read the rest – just be prepared to leave a few days clear before you start!

You can buy Sam’s book over at amazon.co.uk (where you can also find his books in kindle format) and also learn more about Sam and his adventures over at his website.

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2012 will see me heading out to the Black Sea.

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Matthew Cashmore

I’ve been playing with where I should go next… google maps you know. Anyway Top Gear did a run out to Albania earlier this year and that got me to thinking… Italy, Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia all sort of form a nice circle from the Adriatic to the Black Sea and back. Which is nice.

Take a look at the map below and let me have your thoughts on the route. No real planning in there so far – just the roads that google maps tracked as I drew the lines. The idea is to get the bike run out to Trieste in North Italy and then run the circle over two weeks. The red line into Bosnia and Herzegovina is only there if I have time on the way back.


View Albania 2012 in a larger map

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Dreaded time of year…

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Matthew Cashmore

…. the time has come to renew the bike insurance. Hate it. Once again I’ve spent hours going through quotes and trying to figure out which policy is best – I think the thing that winds me up the most (other than making a bunch of phone calls and filling out blasted web forms) is figuring out which policy has which benefits. Does it have breakdown cover? Will it actually cover my bike for everything I need? and on and on and on…..

The reason I’m writing this post is because I’ve found a new insurance company and they’re actually pretty good – I’d even go as far as to say they rock. MCE Insurance seem to cover pretty much everything (even quad insurance should I decide I need a quad…. well I need a quad it’s more a case of persuading Mrs Cashmore I need a quad) – the breakdown cover is supplied by RAC and the online forms (for once) were easy and quick to fill out. Right, enough gushing, I just thought I’d point them out and you can take things from here.

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Budapest – The City

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Matthew Cashmore
Budapest CityToby 2 ready for the offFully loaded and ready to goWaiting to boardNot long to goBikes last
Bikes lastWaiting to boardA whole carrage to myself!I'll be in France in no timeNot the brighest start to the dayOverloaded bike
A typical organised camp CashmoreDecathlon - home of cheap camping gearAustria - I had about an hour of dry roads - then rain all day.Replacement sleeping mat and sleeping bag + coversBudapest CityBudapest City
Budapest CityBudapest CityBudapest CityBudapest CityBudapest CityBudapest City

Budapest, a set on Flickr.

It’s been a blast getting this far – I’m holed up in a hotel for the day whilst a tummy irritation sorts itself out so I’ve taken the opportunity to get all the photos of the journey so far together – here they all are!

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Wet, so very very wet.

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Matthew Cashmore

I’ve given up and booked into a hotel this evening. I’ve done this for two reasons. The first is that I  forgot my sleeping bag and mat – yeap not just my docs. I managed to swing by Decathlon in France on the way into Germany and bought a €20 bag and a €10 sleeping mat – I can confirm the mat feels like it cost less than €10 to make – every slightly bony part of my body hurts today. Fortunately I don’t have many bony bits.

However, that wouldn’t be reason enough to wimp out of camping this evening on its own – the second reason is that I have been rained on all day. It’s managed to work its way through two layers of waterproof gear, through my top and soaked my thermals right through to the skin. Theres nothing worse than camping in the rain when you’re already soaked through. I’ve found a nice little hotel for €50 just this side of the Hungry border – about 400km west of Budapest.

The run out of France was dull. Belgium was dull, Germany was dull up to about 200km west of Austria. Austria is stunning – what I could see of it through the rain and clouds. It’s fair to say any seven day adventure has to blast through northern France, Belgium and a lot of Germany before it starts getting fun and interesting. But boy was it worth it. Despite the horrid horrid weather I’m still smiling and can’t wait to get out into Hungry tomorrow.

Oh, whilst I remember, Siemens know how to have a work party – hire out an entire camp site, issue everyone with camp fire song books and sit around a very large fire singing into the small hours. I can’t imagine many British companies managing to pull that off without 25% of people off in the bushes doing things with another 25% of people and the rest totally bladdered.

Before I go – a quick photo for Stace

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Categories: budapest, travel | 1 Comment