In December, 18 year-old gap-year student Ollie Plunket is set to embark on an epic adventure bike ride of a lifetime: a seven month, 24,000 mile, solo ride for charity from the southernmost tip of Argentina to the top of Alaska. Ollie is hoping to raise £100,000 for Fisher House UK, a charity that has grown from a sister organization in America, who will open new home-from-home accommodation in March 2013 for families visiting wounded soldiers in hospital.

“I wanted to fuse both my love of travel and my intention to do something useful with my gap year, and this perfect combination also links to my future career in the armed forces,” Ollie explained. “I hope this makes a real contribution to the welfare of wounded servicemen and their families.”

Extreme ABR, Sjaak Lucassen, is making good progress with plans for his next adventure: a 6,200 mile journey from the northern most tip of the USA, Barrow Point, to the southern most in Key West, Florida. The most demanding section of this journey will be the first 870 miles, where Sjaak intends to battle temperatures down to minus 40 degrees as he travels across the treacherous and trail-less expanse of frozen ocean that is the Beaufort Sea. Sjaak will wear heated clothing underneath his bike suit and pull a sledge attached to his beloved Yamaha R1 motorcycle that has been customized to cope with the freezing temperatures and rough terrain.

Most motorcycle jackets are of the 'three-in-one' variety with a detachable waterproof layer, plus a removable thermal layer, both zipped into an outer shell. Sounds good, eh? This all-in-one design is a marketeer’s dream, but is it the best combination for the user?

In the beginning there were separate layers. The multi-layering principle, for providing protection and warmth, has been around since man realised that two (or three or more) goat skins were sometimes better than one. In simple terms, the outer would provide protection from the elements (wind, rain, snow) and a combination of multiple inner layers would provide insulation for warmth and comfort.

Thank you to all those who entered our recent competition to win the brilliant CamOne Infinity Camera. We have had a huge response from all you ABRs out there.  But there can only be one winner....

We asked you what sort of viewing screen does the CamOne Infinity have?  The correct answer is a TFT screen.

The lucky winner of the CamOne Infintiy is ..................Chris Hagan. Congratulations, Chris! We hope you enjoy your prize!

For all those who didn't win, check out our latest competition here.  You could be one of five lucky winners of a fab windproof gilet by Extreme Racing.

Good luck everyone!

Jofama is a Swedish company who has been manufacturing motorcycle and snowmobile clothing for the Scandinavian countries and Baltic States for many years. It is with this climate of extreme temperatures and the unpredictability of motorcycling conditions in mind, that the company produces motorcycle clothing. The full range will be on exhibit at the NEC Motorcycle Show in Birmingham, in hall three, stand 3B20 for the 2012 show between the 24 November and 2 December.

It's ABR competition time again! This time, 5 lucky ABRs will win an Extreme Racing windproof gilet!

The windproof and polar fleece gilet is fantastic for touring and can be worn underneath jackets and leathers.  There's  less bulk around the elbow making arm movement easier, which helps with finding your wallet when stopping for petrol or food. In addition to the windproof front the gilet is fully polar-fleeced lined, has a front zip and two external pockets.  It's available in both men and women’s sizes ranging from small to XXL.  (For more information, go to www.extremeracing.co.uk).

For a product that is so well known and worn by so many people on a daily basis there is a huge lack of knowledge and confusion as to what Gore-Tex actually is.

Some think it to be the fabric that the jacket is made from, others consider it to be just the outer layer whilst a few think it's something to sprinkle over breakfast cereal.

So without further to do lets cut straight through all the boffin stuff and tell you that Gore-Tex is simply a very thin sheet of tough, durable material. If you think of cling-film after dining out on a Lance Armstrong special you've got it.

In other words, Gore-Tex is not the fabric you see when you look at a textile motorcycle jacket, that's generally speaking a heavy duty nylon or polyester face fabric with a high resistance to abrasions and tears. Cordura would be a well known brand name for an outer face fabric.

Given how competitive an area the insurance market is, it is no surprise that there are so many promotional offers available from insurance providers, as even the most long-established and successful companies must continue to meet the challenges of retaining existing customers and attracting new ones. The terms and conditions attached to these offers vary, as do the real usefulness of the things provided by the offers, making it useful to consider how much you stand to benefit from a promotional offer before you sign a policy based on one. One of the promotional offers currently available is the free DNA+ Protection System with every policy offer which is available from www.carolenash.com/insurance.

Wemoto has launched the perfect ABR stocking filler for this Christmas. New lever sleeves are a simple solution to slippery handlebars, especially in wet, wintery conditions. The sleeves provide grip, padding and insulation from vibration.

The sleeves simply slip over the levers and the foam material has enough give and texture to allow grip and feel, even in heavy rain. Unlike wrapping levers with tape, the foam sleeves are quickly removable, so there is no problem with worn-out tape or sticky residue.

Anticipation for this year’s Motorcycle Live is already running high in the ABR office, so news that BMW is offering up a brand-new 2013 R 1200 GS to be won in conjunction with the show has only served to fuel excitement.

The 2013 model is the GS we’ve all been waiting for. Based around the next-generation boxer twin engine, the new R 1200 has been touted as ‘the most advanced GS ever’, offering 125bhp, improved fuel economy, and, according to BMW, ‘better all-round ability’. Wow.

Thank you to all those who entered our recent competition to win tickets to the Classic Motorbike Show at the NEC Birmingham, this month.

Which TT rider takes part in the show's classic bike trials?  The answer is  Mick Grant.

The 5 lucky winners who will each win a pair of tickets to the show are Lee Sharpe, Mark Paxton, Stuart Dowell, Neil Rushton and Pete Ekins. Congratulations to you all.

For all those who didn't win, check out our latest competition for the chance to win CamOne Infinity Camera here  //www.adventurebikerider.com/component/content/article/754-win-a-camone-infinity-camera.html

Good luck everyone!

It's competition time again! This week, one lucky winner will win a CamOne Infinity Camera, plus three camera mounts worth over £200!

Designed in Germany,the CamOne Infinity from RiderMount uses class-leading Ambarella technology offering full HD @ 1080p video. The camera features an integral 1.5" TFT screen, so you can see what you're videoing, and there's an optional 2.5" remote screen that can be handlebar mounted. Casing features a 1/4" tripod thread for mounting on any 1/4" camera mount.