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It’s time to meet the family

July 10, 2016 by pillionpassionista 1 Comment

pillionpassionista and zorro on k1300s

I began riding pillion over 2 years ago, with my partner of 13 years. Finally, after all this time, we went to visit my family on the back of the bike. I was nervous about it – it felt like introducing a new boyfriend to them. Sure, they’ve known about ‘us’ for some time, but… [Read More]

Filed Under: Ride days

How hot is too hot?

October 5, 2015 by pillionpassionista 1 Comment

glenworth valley campsite oct 2015

Harking back to a previous post (“How cold is too cold?“) this crazy Sydney weather just can’t make up its mind. Here we are at the October long weekend – first weekend in October, only 1 month into Spring – and it should be the perfect time of year for riding. We, along with thousands… [Read More]

Filed Under: No ride, Ride days

A quick sprint between Sydney storms

April 25, 2015 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

hailstorm clouds anzac day 2015 sydney

Here we are on ANZAC Day, 2015, marking the 100 year anniversary of that fateful landing at Gallipoli. One year ago today we cancelled a planned ride to the Blue Mountains due to poor weather and visibility (although we still drove up there by car and Zorro made a motza on the 2-Up floor, which… [Read More]

Filed Under: Ride days Tagged With: autumn, Sydney

An Ode to Autumn

April 19, 2015 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

trees dressed in autumn colour

[A side note from the Pillion Passionista: I know it seems like I’ve lost 2 whole seasons, with no posts published since Winter 2014. Rest assured that we have been riding. And that I have been blogging. Just not as much as I’d hoped, on either account…! There are a bunch of partially-written posts sitting… [Read More]

Filed Under: No ride Tagged With: autumn, Sydney

Well, I can dream about it…

August 17, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

winding road through spectacular scenery

It’s been wet all weekend. Good news for the farmers. Not so good for riders… I’d be quite happy if we had a long El Nino weather pattern (sorry farmers), but the forecasters are saying it looks like it might not stick around. Meanwhile, the new K1300S is sitting neglected in the garage. As it… [Read More]

Filed Under: No ride Tagged With: motivation, travel, winter

Kabuto through the ages

August 9, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

japanese samurai outfit with moustache

We spent this weekend in Melbourne. Unfortunately that meant missing a gorgeous weekend in Sydney, with 21C and sunshine. It would have been ideal for riding… Melbourne in August is pretty chilly, but we had good weather really. It was at least 6 degrees cooler than Sydney, but we did see some sun, and managed… [Read More]

Filed Under: Bike gear, No ride Tagged With: gear, Victoria

The K1300S: A Pillion’s Perspective

August 5, 2014 by pillionpassionista 2 Comments

bmw K1300S

Now that we’re back to being a one-bike household (yes, Zorro’s S1000 has been sold…) and I’ve almost forgotten how that little diamond-cut seat used to feel, it’s time to declare my verdict on the new beast. I call it a beast, because at 254 kgs, the BMW K1300S is 50 kgs heavier than the S1000. It’s… [Read More]

Filed Under: Bike gear Tagged With: BMW, gear, K1300S

First road-trip on the new bike

July 27, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

almost empty road warriors cafe

Finally, Zorro has picked up the new bike (a BMW K1300S) and we’re taking it out together for our first ever weekend ‘road-trip’. Zorro has already put 500kms on the clock, riding solo. And he’s already fallen in love with it. Hopefully I will feel the same… We made last-minute plans to head to the… [Read More]

Filed Under: Ride days Tagged With: NSW, Riding, winter

How cold is too cold?

July 20, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

snow between bathuest and orange, July 2014

Zorro was hoping to get the new bike last week. And he was keen to go on a long ride asap. “Let’s go to Mudgee”, he said. “But it’s the middle of Winter”, I moaned. “Ha, we’ll just rug up,” he says. “Besides, the new bike has heated hand grips.” Yeah, good for the rider…. [Read More]

Filed Under: Bike gear, No ride Tagged With: gear, NSW, winter

Test-riding the new bike

June 29, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

BMW K1300S Anniversary Edition bike

Saturday, June 28: today was the big test. The test ride, that is. Zorro and I took a BMW K1300S for a test ride from Procycles at Hornsby. I hopped off the S1000RR to immediately admire the difference in seat-size of the K1300S sitting in the showroom while Zorro filled out paperwork. The seat certainly… [Read More]

Filed Under: Ride days Tagged With: BMW, Old Road

We’re going to need a bigger bike…

June 15, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

THAT scene from Jaws

Yes, folks, things are getting serious. Zorro has decided to sell his much-loved S1000RR to get a bigger bike. Well, a bike with a bigger pillion seat that is. That’s right: a bike to suit my butt. A bike for me. I’m feeling the weight of this decision. It means I’m Committed. With a capital… [Read More]

Filed Under: No ride Tagged With: BMW

7 things I love being on the back of a bike

May 11, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

empty winding country road

I’ve been reflecting lately on what I enjoy about going riding. Sometimes I ponder it while sitting in front of an empty blog post, but more often when I’m actually on the back of the bike. Here I am partaking in an activity that I’d deliberately avoided for many years. And no longer is it just… [Read More]

Filed Under: No ride Tagged With: motivation

TGIM – Thank God It’s Monday

May 5, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

west head lookout

Bad weather, late boozy nights and a bunch of outstanding chores all combined to prevent us getting out on the road on the weekend. So I was pretty happy that Zorro’s work had decreed the Monday to be a corporate ‘picnic day’. Especially when the day dawned clear and crisp. Autumn is definitely making itself felt in… [Read More]

Filed Under: Ride days Tagged With: Riding, Sydney

Two-up of another kind

April 27, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

Zorro elected as spinner at 2-up

Sadly, the stunning weather from Easter didn’t last through to the following weekend (another long one). ANZAC day dawned wet and our planned ride up to Mt Victoria fell through. We drove the car instead, in convoy with some other bike friends. The winding journey up Bells Line of Road is a favourite with bikers… [Read More]

Filed Under: No ride Tagged With: NSW, Sydney

Two days of two-up

April 22, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

pie-in-the-sky-pie

After so much recent rain, the Easter weekend in Sydney this year was – incredibly – beautifully sunny, warm and dry. Perfect weather for riding. We’d made plans to go for a ride with some friends on the Monday plus had quite a few non-bike activities planned for the break. By Saturday night I found… [Read More]

Filed Under: Ride days Tagged With: Old Road, Riding, Sydney

Just a matter of luck?

April 13, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

black cat symbol of bad luck

Zorro has been overseas this week, and the weather in Sydney has turned cool and wet anyway. Not my idea of motorcycle weather. So far we have been lucky to not get rain while we’ve been out riding, and I know that luck will eventually run out. Speaking of luck running out… I know everyone… [Read More]

Filed Under: No ride Tagged With: luck

Escape to Mangrove Mountain

March 30, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

Old Road Photographer shot 300314

Sunday was another perfect day for a ride with friends – also two-up. We again did the “run up the Old Road” for brekky at Road Warriors and then continued on. The Route: At the Calga intersection we turned right and did the loop around through Somersby and Peats Ridge, then up to Mangrove Mountain. This… [Read More]

Filed Under: Ride days Tagged With: Old Road, Riding, Sydney

Two-way talk when Two-up

March 23, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

big shark behind you

Zorro and I aren’t always the best at good, clear communications. We are good at blaming each other for misunderstanding. When we’re on the bike and competing with the noise of the engine, wind and tyres – and through impenetrable helmets – communications can be, well, interesting… We started out with the best intentions and the aim of… [Read More]

Filed Under: Bike gear Tagged With: gear

Mixing it up with a multistrada

March 16, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

banana bread

We were invited to stay down the coast at Coledale with some friends for the weekend. This was my first ‘overnight’ ride and I was fretting about how much (or little!) I could pack into the very small panniers on the S1000. As luck would have it, a friend offered us the use of his Ducati… [Read More]

Filed Under: Ride days Tagged With: NSW, Riding, summer, Sydney

Too hot for you?

March 9, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

BMW S1000RR on tow truck

It’s been a very “Indian Summer” in Sydney and March has been easily as warm as February. We didn’t decide ’til mid-morning to head out for a ride, and by then it was already edging 26C. Not being too sure if we’d get too hot, I suggested we head up the northern beaches for a… [Read More]

Filed Under: Bike gear, Ride days Tagged With: gear, Riding, summer, Sydney

Getting my gear on

March 2, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

Pillionpassionista in her new gear astride the S1000RR

Now that I’ve been out a whole 2 times, Zorro is convinced this is gonna be a regular new pastime for us. Being super safety conscious, he suggested it was time to get geared up correctly. I have my Kabuto helmet (see my first post) but the rest isn’t proper bike gear. Yay, time for some retail… [Read More]

Filed Under: Bike gear Tagged With: gear

A quick rap up ‘the old road’

February 23, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

bikes parked at the hawkesbury river

Any Sydney motorbike rider who’s ever headed North of the Harbour Bridge would know about “the old road”. It’s how the locals refer to the Old Pacific Highway, which many moons ago was the Pacific Highway – the only route up to Gosford and Newcastle. Much of it is single lane as it winds around… [Read More]

Filed Under: Ride days Tagged With: Riding, Sydney

A different kind of riding

February 19, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

pushbikes on Lord Howe Island

No motorbike riding this week. Instead we were holidaying on beautiful but tiny Lord Howe Island, about 500 kms off the coast of NSW. There are only about 20 cars on the island, and the speed limit is 25kph. Not that it prevented one of the young local family lads from wrapping himself around a… [Read More]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: cycling

Our first ride – West Head views on a Sunday

February 9, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

lion island seen from west head

The time has come for our first ride together. Riding attire: I’m all kitted up. Kind of. I’ve got my brand spanking new helmet and teamed it up with a pair of jeans (ok, so they’re Armani), a leather jacket (admittedly, it’s only a dress jacket, but it zips up the front and sits hip-length),… [Read More]

Filed Under: Ride days Tagged With: NSW, Riding, Sydney

Where it all began – with the Head

February 2, 2014 by pillionpassionista Leave a Comment

Kabuto-Aeroblade-3-Helmet-Pearl-White

My other half has been motorbike-mad for some years now, and hankering for me to share some of his passion. He reads bike mags. He has bike mates. He goes riding most weekends with some or all of them. And me…? I’ve stayed home. Worried a little (can’t help it!). But generally happy to have… [Read More]

Filed Under: Bike gear Tagged With: gear, motivation

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Who is the Pillion Passionista?

Who am I? Probably not who you imagine. Nothing like the cliched 'bikie chick', certainly.

I grew up in the middle-class leafy north shore of Sydney, worked in the corporate world for many years, and left my mid-life crisis behind me some miles back.

When I tired of playing second fiddle to my beloved partner's beloved motorbike, I decided I wanted to be a part of his weekend road trips.

Not fancying the idea of learning how to ride, I took the easy rider option and hopped on the back.

Follow along as the pillionpassionista discovers the joy of being on the back of a motorcycle, one weekend at a time.

She rides with her partner "Zorro" in Sydney, Australia - the greatest city in the world (at least when the sun is shining and the roads aren't jammed).

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