This just in (no, OK, we admit it got lost down the back of the mustard leatherette Sideburn settee for a while) from James in France.

Hello Sideburn,
Thought I'd share some photos taken at a local hillclimbing event held annually deep in the Pyreneen Mountains. Most competitors were going with the dragster/enduro aesthetic with a touch of nitrous oxide to help them along, whilst silencers seem out of favour with this lot...

In the post below Hubert Bastie mentioned the very few items that his racing father kept after he stopped competing. One of the items was a Husqvarna race shirt. Hubert wore the shirt to race in the the DTRA and in French motocross on his own vintage Husqvarna two-stroke. Lad above, Dad below, same shirt over 30 years apart. G

Sideburn's French ambassador, Hubert Bastie sent tells this great story about his family background...

Many of us, DTRA riders, are from a family of racers. The same for me.

My dad was born in 1950 in Paris. He rode Husqvarna, Ossa and Bultacos from 1973 to 1983. But I never saw him riding, not e even once (but last year he competed in a Super veteran race, after 33 years of not racing). Why? Because he just stopped everything when my brother came to the world.

What did he leave us from his racing years? Tons of bikes? Cool riding gear? Did he take us ride as youngsters? NO! Nothing!

He was just ok to help me to buy a trials bike, a Gas Gas 125, at 16, but I'd been focussed on a 1985 YZ since I was 12! For him motocross is baaaad and dangerous. That's so strange for a man who finished the seventh at first edition of Le Touquet, who won races in the French Enduro Championship.

Here is what he left:
3 helmets in the Garage, that became nice bird's nest.
One single Husqvarna Jersey.
Some trophies And a used Trelleborg tyre and tooooons of pictures...

It's been a heavy week in flat track world, so let the teenage France Gall sing you one of my all-=ime top ten 7in singles, and, hopefully, lighten the mood. This song was written by Serge Gainsbourg and Anglicised and covered by April March, and featured in Quentin Tarantino's otherwise strangely forgettable Deathproof.
The original title translates as Don't chase the girls.
Enjoy. G

Joining Travis and John Harrison as new blog contributors, is Frenchman Hubert Bastie. Hubert is a nurse/paramedic, a racer, a wildman, a DTRA and Dirt Quake regular (Super Mario, Marge Simpson, Ninja Turtle), even though he lives and works in Paris, France. He loves two-strokes and competes in various different types of amateur competition, and also rides on the road. Here's what he says about a recent race...

Today marks the start of the 2016 Wheels and Waves festival in Biarritz (GI's there already). Here's a little advice for those camping. Of course, these tips can be used for any camping situation. Don't forget your pyjamas. MP
As taken from Camping and Camp Crafts (1959) by Gordon Lynn, illustrated by Ernest Kurt Barth.

We stock magazines and books from other indie publishers, from time to time, that are hard to find outside their home countries (like Canada's Motorcycho).

One of those magazines is French-made All You Need Is Ride. We have issue 5, it's all in English and full of great content. Adrien interviewed us for the latest issue, and had the illustration of us made (below).

We asked the founder and editor Adrien a few questions.

Click to buy All You Need Is Ride #5 

What is your name, age and where do you live ? My name is Adrien -- 34 -- I live in south of France, between Lyon and Marseille.

What made you start AYNIR?
I do the fanzine only by passion. I started with no means - only "ma bite et mon couteau" (my cock and my knife)... It was time to do this, I don't want to have a lot of regrets when I'll be old.

How long does it take to make?
I'm totally free of the publishing date... I can work on the fanzine one month or six ! I send it to the printer when I think that the issue is ready.

What is the hardest bit of making the magazine?
I think that it's the money to printing... I don't have ads for the moment but luckily my readers follow me. And I want to say thank you!

What is the best part of making your own magazines?
All other things ! Do this is so interesting - I'm a graphic designer. I love the paper. Meeting people, authors, photographers and talking with them is so cool! And visiting events for the fanzine - I just arrive at the Pure & Crafted Festival at Berlin - fantastic... Then, the best parts of making my own fanzine is all other things.

What is your favourite bike event?
My favourites are Wheels and Waves and Dirt Quake... Because I can feel freedom through them. Next year, I want to go to Glemseck with my motorcycle... But I go to some little events, the pleasure is great too.

How do you choose what goes in and what doesn't?
As I said, I do the fanzine only by passion. All that on the pages is what I like. No borders and no limits.

What bike or bikes do you own?
I have a Honda 500 XLS tracker - I was with it to the Dirt Quake II - and a Kawasaki 400 GPZ racer... And I work on a new tracker, but it's a secret for the moment.

What is your hopes and plans for the future of your magazine?
Just develop the fanzine in France and all over the world... I hope to do a big event next year if I have time... And always have fun on a motorcycle... All we need is ride!

Photo of Adrien by David Marvier
Illustration by Sebastien « Beekei » Gerodias

Click to buy All You Need Is Ride #5 

Wheels And Waves starts today and runs until Sunday. Enjoy the sun. BP

More people having fun, and looking super-stylish, up a mountain.
The motorcycle is a Belgian FN -
Via A Piece of Chic.
Photos: Vianney Tisseau & Rémi Dargegen for www.classicdriver.com. G

The mystery BM' has been traced to the Activa Garage, Dirty Sunday event in Eauze, France, held last September. It looks like a great event.
Check out the DIY studded Fat Boy tyre on this Harley chop. Serge Nuques, 'Knight of Groland', in his element. More info (and scroll down for a full set of Patrick Douki's photos) on the Classic Racer Facebook page.
And here's a video from their first event in 2013. BP

Brigitte Bardot in a catsuit? How does that Gainsbourg bloke do it? This is from 1968, and BB will have been 33 or 34. Blop indeed. Rumours that the video will be re-enacted in its entirety on the Sideburn stand at the Verona Motor Bike Expo are still unconfirmed (and dependent on Gary getting hold of a flesh-tone catsuit). MP

I love these photos by Jean-Francois 'Jeff' Muguet of me and my Suzuki at the Cafe Racer Festival, Montlhery from earlier this year. Good memories of a really nice event.
I write regular updates on this bike for Performance Bikes magazine. G

I'd like to see François go head-to-head with Colin Furze's pulse jet he fired up at Dirt Quake III. BP

La Ruche Moderne (LRM) is a multi-purpose building. It has a bar and canteen area, with a BSA desert sled parked in the middle. The canteen hosts corporate events and parties, with enough room for a band to play and a wall for films to be projected onto.
At the back is a small display for Vincent and his wife's men's underwear brand - Hemen Biarritz.
Mrs Inman is stood in the middle, helping give scale. The car in the top left corner helps too.
Also at the back is Vincent's wife's collection of Polaroid cameras. They all still work, he says.
 Above the rusty bar is a store area for Vincent's hoard of old stuff...
 Ancient mini-bikes...
Prehistoric skateboards...
1960 and 1970s Schwinn and Raleigh choppers
 Next to the canteen is a long workshop and bike storage area and garage.
Old Harley, JD, I think.           Old Indian
 Vincent and Ronald.
Read more about this great fella and his bike, in a previous guise, in Sideburn 16 (see below). G