Valheru Rides!

For anyone who’s ever followed or interacted with me over the last few years, you will have noted that I hardly comment on, or mention other motorcycle vloggers channels or trips. This is not out of some strange protectionist mentality, or a desire to appear segregated from the moto community. Its origins directly lie in how we all view, consume and appreciate different vlogging styles, and not wishing to be seen as dropping a shameless plug for my channel mid way through. For me it also feels like I’m sponging off someone else’s achievements by mentioning someone else’s achievements in the context of obtaining views. If I had a £ for every time I’ve seen that done, I’d have an excessively large motorcycle collection.

The premise.

Nick Sanders MBE is embarking on a motorcycle ride around the full circumference of Europe, Nick is probably best known for ‘Edge of the Sahara’, The Tenere 700 sagas including the Paris-Dakar & London to Sydney, the famous South America Tour….. Honestly what this adventurer & motorcyclist hasn’t done so far, is probably a far shorter list.

How I found it.

So far 3 of the episodes have been released on YouTube and I’ve enjoyed every single one of them. I’m not going to dig deep into them, because frankly I think everyone needs to watch them and strangely, as of writing this, Nicks channel only has 10,600 subscribers, (What the hell??) an absolutely bonkers feat considering his achievements. What I am going to lavish praise on is the fantastic combination of video work and narration, he’s using an Insta360 for the main body of the filming, though much of the view point is from the front of the motorcycle in a great POV styling which so accurately captures some of the absolutely stunning scenery we’ve seen so far. It switches view points occasionally, but only occasionally and I believe the editing has been done to a standard where we’ve managed to capture the essence of the ride, without 30 minutes of downtown Calais. It’s this style of moto vlogging which first made me fall in love with the genre, when both watching, and trying to make my own in this kind of style. I want to be taken on the journey as if I am there, the same as when we ride a motorcycle vs other forms of transport.

The bike.

I couldn’t really ramble on about how much I enjoyed the series so far without mentioning the bike he’s riding on this phenomenal journey. The Royal Enfield Bear 650, he’s even chosen my favourite colour as well! We’re only a mere 3 episodes in as previously mentioned, and while I am quite biased on this, I think he’s definitely picked the right motorcycle for the trip considering his riding style and camping locations so far used. The 650cc parallel twin engine is just at home chugging along through the quintessential French towns, as mountain roads heading into the Picos. I’m really looking forward to seeing it truly tear up some dirt tracks later in the series.

Honestly I’m having to be pretty damn picky to find anything negative to say, but I feel the intro could be slightly shorter, that’s honestly it. But we all have our own style, how we like our work to be presented, and it also speaks for the entertainment value if I wish it would end so that I can continue my enjoyment of watching it.

If you haven’t started watching yet, why not?