January Blog

Happy New Year to all you bloggers!!

I am now waiting delivery of our third HM Honda 300 crf. I believe this is one of the best off road bikes I have tested. I anticipate that we will be purchasing two of their 500 versions later this year.

The HM Honda Bike comes with a much higher specification than the standard Honda.The engine is blue printed and includes a bigger bore kit, indicators etc.
Non of the silly metal petrol tanks etc., you find on the other Honda bikes.They are homologated and road legal.

For those of you in the UK that are interested in purchasing these bikes or who would like further information I recommend that you contact Edmonson Racing  tel:   01543 450150.  They will be very happy to help with any further information you require.

To answer the many questions I am always asked about the old chestnuts...
Riding without a current Bike License:     I would like to confirm riding a 125cc off road or on road  bike in Spain  is legal  if you live in Spain and own your own Spanish registered bike.     If you ride a bike that is not owned by you , you will not be able to get insurance.  Its as simple as that.
British or Non Spanish registered bikes:     If you are here on holiday you are allowed to keep your non Spanish vehicle or bike for up to  6 months. It has to have  insurance, MOT and tax.  
If you run a business in Spain using non Spanish registered bikes or cars the business is illegal  and  in breach of Customs and Excise  (The Aduana).    

I have been informed of two Companies currently running on non Spanish Registered bikes they are breaking the law.  They will not be licensed with the Tourist Board. They will not be insured to work in Spain nor will you be insured. Its easy to spot especially UK plates because they are yellow. Spanish plates are white with black text and have to be made of metal. There are no exceptions to this Law.

Now to the best bit riding those bikes with Trailblazers

Liz and Mark are working hard on securing the best deals for you when you ride with us.  Fantastic accommodation choices, riding tours and raids. Its always worth checking out our special offers and sending and email  bookings@trailblazers-pro.com.
They will be happy to help and suggest the best package for you. Just to remind you we work all year round at dates to suit you from 1-10 riders beginner to expert.
 














Look forward to eating some more dirt with you in 2013.

October Blog

We have just finished filming the new Trailblazer Promotional DVD.  Copies will be available at the NEC Bike Show.  We are  on stand H15 3A opposite KTM.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Stuart and the lads for a great time and what a fantastic laugh we had filming. We also took some still shots and the best photo will be used in next month´s  newsletter when we will be offering a gift voucher for the best Caption.   Its worth waiting for.

Gas Gas Bikes

Still waiting!!  The  problem is  getting the bikes on Spanish Plates even though they are made in Spain!  What a nonsense.  In the meantime I have added to the fleet with a CRF 300 HM Honda and KTM 450.    Nice bikes

Old Friends

A very special riding date for me earlier this month with my old road racing mates from Yorkshire.  Its ten years since we were together riding and they are dafter than ever and still see they funny side of life.

Back soon blogging

Graham!

June Blog 

Over the last couple of months I have been busy testing bikes and products as well riding with our customers. Thank you to all of you for keeping me so entertained with your accounts of events! Special mention to David Brinicombe. David and his family and friends have been riding with us many times. David is a credit to the Sport at the age of 71 he is still racing motoX and is an excellent trail bike rider. An inspiration to all riders.

It was nice to meet my old mate Diamond Geezer and the lads from the Assen Moto gp days. It has been interesting how many of our groups have come down to Spain on their road bikes, usually sailing into Santander and do a round robin spending 2 or 3 days off roading down here with us.

The stands I have been testing instead of the fragile KTM stands are absolutely spot on. They are made by Trail Tech www.trailtechproducts.co.uk. Why KTM cannot make a proper stand in the first place is beyond me.

I would also like to thank my friend Mike Findlow (Abdul Knighter) for helping me guide the tours during our very busy period. Also for testing the new Gas Gas bikes with me. The bikes we are buying are Gas Gas EC450F, EC300F, EC250F and EC300 2 stroke. I am delighted with the Gas Gas bikes performance, handling etc. These are very credible bikes to complement our fleet of KTMs. They are achieving top results in the World Enduro Championships. Back soon with more blogging. Regards Graham ….

February Blog

It has  been quite a while since I last updated the blog.  The KTM 300 2 strokes are very popular with the customers.  These bikes are only for experienced riders.   Three of these were our riders from St Petersburg Russia.   Although they wouldn’t admit it I am pretty sure they were working for the KGB!    They liked the new Trailblazer Race shirts and cleaned us out of T-shirts

I am currently testing a smaller off road bike which seems tobe able to do everything the bigger bikes can do and is suitable for smaller and less experienced riders.   I will update in my next blog.

Had a lot of fun with Bill from Bike Tours UK and the John Bradbury crowd earlier in the month.  The weather was beautiful,   blue skies but with an ice cold wind.   I was riding with ski gloves.   Sorry you didn’t get a chance to wear the shorts you had packed guys.

I have been busy finding more connecting trails further afield to enhance our portfolio of overnight stopovers.   Liz continues where I leave off sorting out the logistic:  hotels, lunch stops on route.  In our earlier news letter we talked about the combined beach and mountain tour.   A couple of other tours will be up and running by Easter.  One around the Lakes and another way up in the mountains.   I will publish more details re dates and cost in the March Newsletter.

Mijas is very popular with day riders had some fun over the Christmas period people holidaying in the Marbella region sneaking a day away from the family… and yes Ben those puddles were very deep!    It’s a pity they have closed one of the major trails but it still makes for a good day ride out.  If you are in the area  gives us a call.

October Blog

At last its arrived …..  THE RAIN  22^nd October.  We haven’t had any since the end of April.

The dust was becoming a bit of a problem to say the least.  One day later the sun is shining and the rain plus the sun has made for perfect riding conditions.

I have finally made my mind up re the new bikes.  I am going to include , over  the coming months, 4 x KTM,  exc 300 2 strokes .  The reason for this is  I am not convinced that fuel injected 4 strokes are a good idea  i.e. if the battery goes or a wire comes of you are absolutely snookered  in the middle of nowhere.    Also if f I was still living in the UK it’s the bike I would personally have.  So it doesn’t make sense not to have them here.    I will continue to have  KTM  530, 450s 250s and Suzuki drz 400e 4 strokes.  Plus some smaller track only bikes.

Since last month,s newsletter I have had many emails and phone calls  regarding English number plates on bikes here in spain.  Quite simply there are three off road motorcycle operators here in Southern Spain using UK registered bikes. It is easy to check this on web sites because all Spanish registration plates are white background with black text.  They are breaking the law.  You cannot obtain the permission to run this type of business on anything but a Spanish plated bike.There is no exception to this law.    If you live here and have a non Spanish registered bike,  you can use the vehicle for 6 months and then you need to put it onto Spanish Plates.  If you are here visiting on holiday (for less than 6 months)  makes sure you have your correct documents as you would in the UK and there is no problem with  this whatsoever.   The same applies in Morocco.  For those of you going there with your own bikes make sure you have your V5 and all other relevant documentation as they will turn you away at the port of entry if you haven’t.  Hope this has cleared up the Vehicle Registration laws.

Autumn Blog

I didn’t realize it has been so long since I wrote my last blog.  How time flies when you are having fun.  It will soon be Christmas.

The summer has been very interesting  with a lot of varied riding with groups of people from the Middle East who come to Spain in the Summer because its cooler oh yes 40 degrees here and they think its cooler! Also had several groups of women.  Some experienced and some having a go on the training track for the very first time.

There have been a few riding restrictions in the parque natural  due to the intense heat and fire risk  but this is about to be lifted.  I have been riding further afield finding  new trails not in the parque so available  to ride all year round.  This is something I really enjoy doing.

Liz and I have a  meeting this month with the team we are working with on  our Enfield Safari September 2011. talking through the itinerary and logistics.  Will update you further next month with new photos. 

Morocco is full for Autumn 2010.  

Thank you to the guys who have been able to transfer to Spring 2011.

So back to school for the kids and for all you big kids get booking with Trailblazers….   its play time.

Graham 

January 2011

The start of the new year took me to Morocco planning and working on some new routes.    We have some new tours planned  for beginners to off roading   from Marrakech to Essaouira. They are 2/3 day rides operating in the months of December and January only.  All bikes have gps fitted.     I particularly found the heavily wooded forests on the outskirts of Essaouira  interesting riding.  


Back in Spain we have been very lucky with the weather and not had to ride in any rain or get the thermals out.Had a  good  day out this week with ex Paris Dakar competitor Bob Coerse from Holland.  When he comes next time if he thinks I am hanging about for him all day again he has another think coming??!!.


On a down side the Spanish Authorities have decided you cannot work with English registered vehicles for any period of time.  I don’t think this is correct but I am not in a position to take them to the European courts.  We are now running with all Spanish registered bikes.


Looking forward to meeting and riding with new customers this year and catching up with our many returning customers.