Stu's Two Wheeled Journey

Stu's Two Wheeled Journey Early retired, I’m on a new journey fueled by my passion for travel and motorcycles.

From the scenic routes of the English countryside to the bustling streets of far-off cities, I'm here to share my adventures and insights from the road.

Look what I did to my CB750 carbs! In for a penny in for a pound 😁🔧
11/10/2025

Look what I did to my CB750 carbs! In for a penny in for a pound 😁🔧

Great view of the lake.
26/09/2025

Great view of the lake.

26/09/2025

Great trip up through wales Yesterday. Great roads and great scenery.

Well I think Camping in mid Sept is a little bit too late for me. I found a lovely little campsite in South Wales to st...
26/09/2025

Well I think Camping in mid Sept is a little bit too late for me.

I found a lovely little campsite in South Wales to start my trip but I was very cold in the night. When dawn broke I got out of my cold sleeping bag to step outside into an even colder morning. Fortunately when setting up in the dark last night my calculations as to which would be a good sunny spot in the morning has paid off…….

First coffee inside me and now plenty of sun all around the tent and I am about to see if some bacon rolls, that staple camping breakfast, makes the cold night fade into a distant memory…..

Yes it’s starting to 😊

10/09/2025

18 months off the road. Good service and she started first time and is sounding good. Just need a new battery to get her back on the road.

Here are some of my favourite images from my August trip through France to Switzerland and back. Although less spectacul...
05/09/2025

Here are some of my favourite images from my August trip through France to Switzerland and back. Although less spectacular, the quiet roads and peaceful vibe of northern France is so nice and such a great escape. Can’t wait for the next one.

What a beautifully colourful town.I visited this lovely town in the Bourgogne close to my camp site on a non-travel day....
13/08/2025

What a beautifully colourful town.

I visited this lovely town in the Bourgogne close to my camp site on a non-travel day. Great for some picture postcard photography.

Spoilt by commercialism. So, this was my final visit on this trip to a location my mum and dad, and my uncle John and au...
13/08/2025

Spoilt by commercialism.

So, this was my final visit on this trip to a location my mum and dad, and my uncle John and auntie Jean visited on their motorcycle trip in 1959.
It is Neuchâtel in Switzerland on the north bank of the Neuchâtel lake. There are three photographs from 1959 at this location and I have included all three first rather than “then- now, then-now” etc. I think the three photos depict what was a beautiful little working harbour where lovely sailing boats moored up.
People would obviously want to visit it as my mum and dad did and maybe when they did it would be nice to get a little snack.
But… fast forward 66 years and the place is just obliterated with restaurants and food outlets and bars so much so that you can no longer see what people are visiting.
It is a nice place to visit, but what made it originally attractive has gone.
It was still great to visit the spots dad took his pics from, but such a shame it has changed so much.
And, for anyone who has read this far (comment if you have) in the last but one picture I asked a couple to stand in the same place as my uncle John and auntie Jean did so I could recreate the photograph my dad took.
And the last picture was the best shot I could get avoiding all of the commercial clutter.

Almost unchanged in 66 yearsIt took a convoluted ride to reach the location of this 1959 picture in Besancon, France. I ...
13/08/2025

Almost unchanged in 66 years

It took a convoluted ride to reach the location of this 1959 picture in Besancon, France. I definitely rode down some roads/paths I shouldn’t have. I found the spot but hadn’t “seen the scene” until I turned round. And there it was, the view I knew so well from all of those childhood family slide shows, virtually unchanged.
It was pretty surreal seeing this view almost exactly as it is in dad’s photograph.
I again set my camera zoom to 50mm [equivalent] and lined up the various features. From this I found that the picture was taken not from the top of the steps as I thought, but from a few yards further away at a location under the shade of a tree. It was lovely to take that same shade from the heat of the sun my dad did all those years ago.
As you can see from the two photos the scene is almost unchanged. The same buildings can be identified in the background and the trees are all there, just bigger.
It was so nice to see this scene for real that is so familiar to me.

Now that is a view! And a great spot for some lunch.Looking down onto the Neuchatel Lake, Switzerland, from the twisty r...
13/08/2025

Now that is a view! And a great spot for some lunch.

Looking down onto the Neuchatel Lake, Switzerland, from the twisty road that runs down from the north west.

This is another photograph taken by my dad in 1959. This is the Place d’Armes in Vitry-le-François and shows beautiful g...
13/08/2025

This is another photograph taken by my dad in 1959.

This is the Place d’Armes in Vitry-le-François and shows beautiful gardens around the statue. On my visit this week I found the flower gardens had gone and it was a very different square.
By lining up the stature with the rooftops behind and knowing that my dad used a 50mm lens I managed to locate the exact point he took the photo. Unfortunately, that view was blocked by a fairground ride, but I did manage to get some nice pictures that show the square is still a worthwhile place to visit.
Flower gardens are now located around the perimeter so still give a bright and colourful feel, but I think it is a shame the original gardens have gone.

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