Before you risk your precious holiday time with
someone you haven't even been formally introduced to, maybe we
should let David Griffiths tell you a little about us:
"The
office" |
" Remember the movie 'Groundhog Day'? Well, our particular
mid-life crisis involved making sure if that ever happened to
us, we would know exactly where we would want to wake up. When
we found it we had little choice but to move here. All that remained
was to justify our lifestyle to the bank manager... And what better
way than to spend our time saving poor biking souls from bad weather,
overcrowded roads, Gatso cameras and partners with unrealistic
expectations of a sunday rideout to the seaside.
Having spent my working life in business in the UK I had
a chance a few years ago to run away. I immediately grabbed
it with both hands but the constraints of two teenage daughters
with advanced qualifications in retail acquisition meant I couldn't
spend my later years backpacking around the world as I had planned.
I had to find something to do which didn't involve too much effort
or any products designed by the great Mr Gates. A chance
encounter with an australian biker on a ferry from Santander gave
me the answer - motorcycle holidays!
I come from a biking family having started
racing aged 12 and grown up around my fathers Grand Prix team,
sharing my youth with the likes of Kork Ballington, Mick Grant,
Barry Ditchburn, Steve Baker and Chas Mortimer and have ridden
bikes all my life so doing it for a living sounded like my perfect
job. Add to that the thought of a job where every customer just
wanted to relax and have a good time and the die was cast.
A year spent scouting out the best bits of
Europe led me to the south of France for the sunshine, accessibility
and pace of life and to St Remy de Provence as the best little
biking centre in the world - its half way between Spain and
Italy, it has over 80 restauarants and cafes, it has history
and culture, its incredibly beautiful and it has over 300 days
of sunshine each year. Add that to a small range of hills
- the Alpilles - literally on our doorstep with 50 miles of
windy but empty alpine roads and you have biking heaven.
When I found the building of our dreams - a purpose built workshop,
garage and offices I knew I had found home..."
"2002 was our settling in / learning the ropes year during
which I met local motorcycle guru, engineer and Velocette specialist
Julian Rachet - half french and half scottish making a fascinating
mix of scottish pessimism and french pessimism to keep me, well,
grounded. We spotted an opportunity to take on the Ural sidecar
franchise for southern france and set up MotoPro's sister company
selling modern oldies and real classics - Jurassic Motors.
The sidecars quickly became a big part of
our lives and of Moto Pro's holiday fleet offering. We
now offer a full sidecar school catering for all levels of sidecariste
from total beginner (2 day introduction) to advanced and off-roading
course (could take the rest of your life!)
Now capably assisted by Neil and Sarah Thomas
and Chris our pocket philosopher, we offer guided tours, ride-alone
tours, St Remy-based holidays, sidecar driving school and our
new classic bike school - where you can learn how to ride, maintain
and renovate old motorcycles.
Whatever you are looking for - relaxing holiday
with bikes or a pan-european adventure we would love to try
to make it all happen for you - why not give us call?
