LB Community Forums / Ride Outs, Meets & Events / Experiences / Ride Reports

Ashdown Forest

7wheel — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:24:38 GMT

One of my favourite places anywhere. It's ancient and got soul.

mystery tour of kent

R6 STU — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:55:42 GMT

Had a good rideout wiv JETSTREAM in Kent had a great day finished up in Whitstable. It was a shame it tipped down with rain many thanks jetstream

Rando Correze 2008 (Massif Central, France)

jimc — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:34:17 GMT

Pictures:
Days 1-3: http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/08-10/
Day 4: http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/11/
Day 5: http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/12/

Some favourites and some Randoneers:

Jef and Kriss plus a noisy nosey dog:
[img]http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/08-10/im/P1020302sm.jpg[/img]

Early morning mist:
[img]http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/08-10/im/P1020303sm.jpg[/img]

The route was barred - no obstacle to the French!
[img]http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/08-10/im/P1020339sm.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/08-10/im/P1020340sm.jpg[/img]

Bruno, Kriss, Jef, Jean-Hugues, Didier, Pirmil:
[img]http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/08-10/im/P1020342sm.jpg[/img]

David and Bernard:
[img]http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/11/im/P1020365sm.jpg[/img]

Chateau d'Anjony:
[img]http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/11/im/P1020413sm.jpg[/img]

Pirmil trying to fix his Burger... :
[img]http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/11/im/P1020424sm.jpg[/img]

Glorious mountains:
[img]http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/11/im/P1020439sm.jpg[/img]

Puy-St-Mary:
[img]http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/11/im/P1020479sm.jpg[/img]

Jean-Hugues mending his boot:
[img]http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/12/im/P1020495sm.jpg[/img]

Lovely lakes:
[img]http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/12/im/P1020513sm.jpg[/img]

Sudden surprise views:
[img]http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/12/im/P1020522sm.jpg[/img]

And Franck about to ride 760 km home:
[img]http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/corr08/12/im/P1020516sm.jpg[/img]

Beachy Head

7wheel — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:43:05 GMT

Had a nice ride-out today.

Went Blackwall Tunnel - A2 - M25 - A226 to Sevenoaks - A21 and got fed up with that and turned off at Lamberhurst. Then happy joy down the back roads to Wadhurst - Stonegate - Burwash Common - Brightling - Catsfield - Bexhill-on-Sea and the best 99 in the business at the kiosk just west of the pavilion. Then Pevensey Bay - along the promenade at Eastbourne - Beachy Head.

Beachy Head is brilliant on a sunny day, really good pub of the same name serving good food at reasonable prices and the road there is good fun too. I hadn't been there for yonks and had forgotten how nice it is, a lovely place with good fresh air and great views.

Came home via Seaford - Lewes - A26 - A22 then over Ashdown Forest through Hartfield and up to see my old dad in Edenbridge, then the usual route home.

About 190 miles in all, cracking weather too. The back roads were well worthwhile and every pub down there was called the "White Hart" lol. I'm :D :D now.

London > Devon > Cornwall

GSR SuperDude — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:40:04 GMT

My gf and I set off at 8.30am last Sat to go to Cornwall for the weekend.

We briefly stopped at Stonehenge and Axminster on our way.

We got really soaked by the end when we got to Penzance as the weather was rubbish.

The B&B we stayed at was lovely, the room was spacious and clean, we had an excellent breakfast and the staff was very friendly.
I would def reccommend it (pm if you want the details).

Dinner at one of the local pubs 'world famous' admiral benbow was a good choice, cosy and friendly and the food produced locally is lovely!

The Sun ride was much nicer as the weather was clement and warm.

We went through Mousehole and hit Land's End (see the pix below) before riding back...country lanes were beautiful and easy to ride A and B roads...

We enjoyed our ride back to London stopping at Callington where we had a lovely Sunday roast at the sleepy hollow farm for just a fiver each... yummy!

A very pleasent and quiet ride to London, not many cars or bikes around for that matter ... and the cars unlike here in london when they saw us just made room for us...marvellous!

As soon as we approached thruxton we saw hundreds of bikes coming from the opposite direction...what a view, beautiful!!

Well, when we finally got back home at around 8pm we managed to clock just over 700miles!

We'll be back in summer for sure ;-)

Be safe out there!

Lake Iseo,Italy to Manky Merstham,surrey

Daytonabruce — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:12:38 GMT

Well,the Italians were singing outside the hotel until half 2.Not good when you're up at half 4.Packed the bike and I'm away by half five.Past a little bit of country life and onto the main route to Milan-nice empty road and the Daytona's roarin' glad to be free of 4000rpm and vibes on the smaller roads.Round Milan and off on the N9 to Como,lots of great scenery as I head up into the hills.Across Lake Maggiore(I think),just the bo**ocks an empty road across a beautiful lake.Breathtaking.

Across the border and heading up into Switzerland.The temperature is perfect;I'm neither hot nor cold and the sky is crystal blue.Straight down the side of the traffic waiting to get gassed in the San Gottard tunnel-which goes on and on and on......It's hotter than hell in there,ya bin warned.Take a fire extinguisher and a gas mask.

Now I'm off into the tunnels giving the Daytona bursts on the throttle to hear the snarl.The scenery,well,you have to see it but...little shacks,big drops, snow caps,rushing byrnes and a happy cow thinking up new ways of chewing to keep him entertained in the winter.Past the big lake at the top of the world and heading toward Basle.

Into Basle making sure not to end up in Karlsruhe.Up the twisty bit out the other side,over the border and now its total boredom to Strasbourg.Gets confusing the other side but luckily on the right road to Metz.Nice hilly,foresty bit and I keep on reminding myself to take a break but don't and what are all those blue uniforms doing standing at the peage?I pull the bike to the side and go round it shaking bits to reduce my average speed and avoid a timed fine.

Pretty boring all the way to Rheims where it starts to hammer down all the way to the tunnel.I go straight thru to the train but by now my brains gone and I'm singing silly stuff with the Kent coppers laughing at me in their nice, dry ,warm, comfy customs post.

Finally,I'm home at 10.30 and God if my ass doesn't hurt;and God if it didn't stop til Thursday.

827 miles in 16 hours after 2 hours sleep.DON'T DO IT!!!but if you do you'll love it.Cheers.

London-Brugge, May 2008

freelunch — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:04:26 GMT

My friend, Dave, was given a Harley for a weekend as a leaving present. He wanted to go someplace exotic that was still a comfortable ride from home, so he chose Brugge. His friend, Grove, also hired a Harley for the trip. They decided to let me come along, anyway, on the FJR. Our partners made six.

We (they) prayed for good weather as none of them had waterproofs. The weather in the run up to the trip had been dazzling for two weeks! The morning we left to catch Le Shuttle, it was cold, cloudy and threatening rain. Sod’s Law.

75 miles from London, a rest while the train did its thing, then a 75-mile run to Brugge made for a pretty leisurely ride. The weather cooperated and we arrived in “the most well-preserved medieval city in Europe”. This is according to “In Bruges”, the film starring Colin Farrell. Jo and I went to see it out of curiosity when we found out we’d be staying there. What a hoot! I haven’t laughed out loud so much in a film in a very long time. Go see it.

[img]http://homepage.mac.com/jerrys_ibook/.Pictures/MC/Br001.jpg[/img]
Not the only reason to visit Brugge, but a pretty good one.

[img]http://homepage.mac.com/jerrys_ibook/.Pictures/MC/Br010.jpg[/img]
Arrival. We parked opposite our hotel. Not strictly legal, but no one bothered us for three nights.

On Friday night, we went into the centre to try to spot the scenes from the film. They made the main square look pretty cosy, when in fact it is pretty spacious. The architecture is beautiful. It’s amazing what you can do with a few bricks.

[img]http://homepage.mac.com/jerrys_ibook/.Pictures/MC/Br020.jpg[/img]
The walk into town down Langestraat. We didn’t have to tackle Flemish. Everybody spoke English. The only time we had to resort to anything else was in the Shuttle terminal in Calais.

[img]http://homepage.mac.com/jerrys_ibook/.Pictures/MC/Br030.jpg[/img]
Not all the buidings were brick.

[img]http://homepage.mac.com/jerrys_ibook/.Pictures/MC/Br050.jpg[/img]
The town is criss-crossed with canals.

We woke Saturday to the sound of pouring rain. The amateur tourers had to buy umbrellas on the walk into town. It didn’t stop until well after lunch and even with umbrellas we got wet. It was a day for indoor pursuits. Guess what the girls chose? A visit to the chip museum – Belgian fries (do not say French fries). We paid five Euros each for admission and still had to pay for fries at the end of the trip. They had pictures of oddly shaped potatoes and lots of really interesting “did you know?” facts about spuds. Oh, did I moan.

But, I have to admit: the Belgian fries we ate in the museum were excellent. And, it had stopped raining when we finally got out.

Sunday, the sun was shining. We saddled up and went for a day trip:

[img]http://homepage.mac.com/jerrys_ibook/.Pictures/MC/Br090.jpg[/img]

We stuck to the B-roads. Once you get off the motorway in Belgium, the speed limits are slow and largely radar-controlled. It was slow going, perfect for Harleys. South of Zomergem, we spotted this estate through the woods:

[img]http://homepage.mac.com/jerrys_ibook/.Pictures/MC/Br060.jpg[/img]

It was real Disneyland stuff, but private and clearly posted as such. There were also plenty of honking geese to alert the owners to trespassers. We took some photos from the gates until the grounds keepers showed up to feed the geese.

We stopped in Sluis, because the working windmill and busy thoroughfare made the town look interesting. The windmill was a restaurant and the town was busy because (I am guessing here) it is the only town in the region that allows Sunday shopping. We all remarked that there seemed to be a disproportionate number of sex shops on the high street.

[img]http://homepage.mac.com/jerrys_ibook/.Pictures/MC/Br080.jpg[/img]
Alison, Lisa, Grove, Dave and Joanna in Sluis.

Monday, we made the trip back home. It was uneventful and the weather held. However, I was glad I’d decided to wear my waterproofs as it was pretty cold. I was grateful for the FJR’s warm grips. I’ve never had the thermostat off the lowest setting, but the grips were nicely warmed. What a luxury.

The Harley riders were unanimous. They might own Harleys if they could have more than one bike. You can’t deny the charisma/character. But, they were not comfortable going faster than 70 mph, they were unimpressed with the power and the girls were cold and very uncomfortable after less than 50 miles.

A41

Jetstream — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:42:50 GMT

Rode to J&S and back, that makes eight!

Nordkapp

Jetstream — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:49:47 GMT

Just back from a lovely 4340 mile jaunt to Nordkapp at the top of Norway, what a jolly wheeze, photos to follow.

Guess where we were today.

Jetstream — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:58:40 GMT

London - Wales - Peaks - London

rockerchic — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:41:32 GMT

Going to try a bit of bike touring next week with George. As usual i've left it all to the last minute and haven't planned anything at all, apart from booking the time of work and realising me and George had both booked different weekends off! :hehe:

Going to head towards Wales on the Thursday, then up to Snowdonia, camping the whole time, although turns out George has never been camping, so it could be interesting. :w00t: Then over to the peaks and back down to be near london by monday morning.

I pretty much know where I want to be heading, but going to just see how it turns out, and I think I know all the things we're going to need. (I hope.)

Anyone got any tips on bike touring (I know its only 4 days, but still!) or anyone know of some good places to visit?

Plus if anyone has any spare luggage they could lend us, like panniers or anything, that would be great.

Suffolk 10 May 2008

freelunch — Sun, 11 May 2008 20:12:44 GMT

We had a family do to attend near Newmarket this weekend. Heading out of London was fine until we hit the A12/A406 roundabout. A lane closure (northbound to the A406) caused a mile-long tailback.

Clear of that, we flew up the M11 to the Bishops Stortford turnoff. Things took an immediate turn for the better. We traveled via Elsenham, Thaxted, Gt Sampford, Hempstead, Clare, Stradishall and Lidgate. On a day when London was jammed and everyone was doing their shopping, on our B-route we hardly saw another motorist. Fantastic.

If next weekend is as sunny as this one was, you should definitely get out to this area. Every plant and tree is in bloom. The rape fields (if you can stand the pungent smell – I don't mind it) are stunning and the countryside looks fantastic.

There were quite a few sports bikes about. The roads are perfect for biking: hills and curves.

I'm sorry I didn't stop and take a photo, but we were on a tight schedule. See it for yourself. Beautiful.

Cheers.

Waverley Abbey Ruins...

Roadrunner — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:54:32 GMT

So, after meeting with Stacy (Tattooist250chic) and Steve (Wright) yesterday, we popped around to see Shane (Smiled) for a brew and a chat. Shortly after which, we found ourselves on a blast around the south Circular en-route to the A3 and some nice twisties, with a stop at the ruins of Waverley Abbey.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/abbeys/waverley_abbey.htm

All was great, nice weather and a chance to get the throttle wide open on the A3, followed by a couple of nice twisties. Stopped at the abbey (Pic's below), had a mooch around, and headed back to the bikes.

Had barely even gotten fifty metres when I realised I had a puncture on the rear tyre :pinch: Thankfully, the others stopped and I had packed a puncture kit. So, after 30 minutes of graft and a nice RAC chap reinflating my tyre to the correct PSI, we headed off towards home.

I think we picked up some sort of mad-monk curse at the abbey though, as Stacy nearly high-sided on a roundabout and I had two very near misses (felt the scythe tapping my shoulder!) on the way home.

Thankfully we all got back in one piece, but it was worth the adventure. And to think we were just going to have a quiet day going around the usual tea-huts!:P

SHANE WONDERING WHERE THEY KEPT THE 12th CENTURY GIXXER'S :P

SHANE FOUND THE GARAGE :w00t:

ME, LOOKING RATHER TUBBY... N.B. GET BACK IN THE GYM ASAP :P

STEVE AND STACY, SITTING IN A TREE... K. I. S. S. I. N. G. :P

THE OFFENDING TYRE :crazy:

Exmoor

JJ — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:18:59 GMT

Last weekend four of us from the X9 Owners club rode down to Minehead to do a Recce for next month’s annual bash.

From Minehead we rode up to and around Exmoor on a route that gave us 100 miles of pure biking bliss.

The roads are just built for riding, more twisties than you can shake a stick at, cliff top roads, spectacular scenery and nearly empty lanes.

We enjoyed it so much that on the Sunday rather than ride straight back to London we went out and did it all again.

By the time I got back via the blizzard on the M25 I'd clocked up 550 miles.

Can’t wait to get back down there in May for the third time around the route.

JJ.

Fantastic foul weather ride on a Fuoco

jimc — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 16:26:11 GMT

Today I had another OR ("Observed Ride") in my IAM Advanced Motorcyle Training. The weather forecast was for a storm with very heavy rain and high blustery winds. This proved to be all too accurate! I had decided to do this run on the Fuoco, the conditions were ideal to make full use of its road-holding and braking abilities. 90 minutes and 65 miles later my Observer and I arrived at our destination - with huge grins on our faces, totally soaked, but warm and buzzing.

We had encountered just about every hazard one could imagine, from roads awash to cagers hardly able to see where the road was, let alone a couple of motorbikes. On one occasion a van sent up a huge sheet of water right over me! But every traffic-light except two were either in our favour or changed to green as we slowed down, and the ride went as smoothly as one could wish.

The Fuoco really proved its worth. There were at least two occasions where I would have been very worried on just two wheels, and my Observer had to tippy-toe for a while, but the Fuoco just stayed planted and held its line. I was able to ignore all manhole covers, wet leaves, potholes and storm debris and just concentrate on getting the best vision ahead as possible in the teeming rain. In some of the wind gusts I could see my Observer swaying about in my mirrors, but again the Fuoco felt rock solid.

Totally exhilarating, topped only by being told that if that had been the actual Advanced Test I'd have passed with flying colours. A "Check test" next then. :)

Suggest A Route To Bournemouth

AndyCr15 — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 09:44:32 GMT

I may be riding down to Bournemouth on Monday (pending the weather) and was wondering if anyone could suggest a nice ride to get there? (Leaving North London)

Thanks.

Isle of Man trip

WoodsterR1&MV — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 17:31:59 GMT

me and 205 blade recently got back from a week in the isle of man some might say that it was probably late in the year to go and the weather would be ****, well i was sort of crossing all my fingers as you can imagine,

Well it must of worked we were there for 8 days and out of 8 we couldn't ride only on 2 days so what a result in the whole time we were there we didn't see on copper well thats a lie we saw 1 but he was totally **** faced, the place is to say the least awesome, we spent the first 4 days camping well why not for a laugh, but after 4 nights i just couldn't take the bloody cockerels giving it the biggin from 2 am onwards they totally pissed me off so we found a B&B for £15 a night in Laxey, what a touch we thought,

Well the course route is totally mad the corners don't give you any get out of jail free space if you over cook them you will be either in to a stone wall or off the mountian all together but as bikers you have to go there, we basically did the whole island as we had 8 days we went to the most southern point too the most northern point

i've attached some pics hope you like

West London -> Foxs Diner (breaky run)

TuonoGrant — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 00:05:12 GMT

It was a cold cloudy start this morning but with the daylight saving change a good opportunity to get out and beat Sunday drivers onto the roads. The plan was a quick breakfast run upto Fox's diner leaving around 7.30 to arrive just on opening time at 9am. I've made this run a few times now but I wanted to put down a circuit taking in the good bits from last runs and trying to add new bits to enhance the route a little more. Its still not perfect but is a nice little run on the Sunday morning if you want to get home before the racing starts or wife starts beating the drums to get home.

The roads were damp and moist but with little to no traffic around it was a nice opportunity to step up the pace a little and practice some of that road positioning and observation.

The route starts by cutting up the back towards Windsor from the A30 around the back of Windsor Park, past Lego Land and then onto the A308 once through Windsor. Head towards Maindenhead and then through towards Marlow past Pinkeys Green. There is a nice little hill that winds down a little gorge and onto the A404. Cut back off the A404 through Marlow and follow some nice twisty roads along the river past Hurley and onto Henley. Take a right here and follow the double lanes and back onto some fast A roads just before Nettlebed. I hooked a left here and followed the back roads back towards Reading before pushing north again towards Wallingford and upto Foxs diner. Got into Fox's around 9.15am.

It was still early in the day and the staff were all fresh eyed and ready for a busy day. Foxs seem to be a little tidier from last time I was there (October) - looks like they have done a little work on the place and the breakfast baps still hit the mark.

On the way back there is a nice set of fast country roads and a shorter route being a little quicker. If you hook a left at Shillingford it opens up to fast A/B bends and twists. Turn right at Stadhampton back and enjoy the 10 miles or so all the way back through Watlington and into Henley. From here cross the River at Henley and follow the signs back towards Maindenhead for some more fast A roads. I hooked back onto the A3024 and this took me back to Windsor where I cut back through my favourite stretch again onto the A30 and home again. Round trip was a little over 120 miles and I got back in just before 11am to meet some sleepy eyed kids watching cartoons on the tele.

Dalston

zoukmachine — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:39:59 GMT

if youve never been off road try riding in Dalston

The Pyrenees, September 2007

freelunch — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 22:33:39 GMT

http://www.jerryrdavis.btinternet.co.uk/index.html

I've posted ride report for our trip to the Pyrenees. We had perfect weather for two weeks, only raining on the last day when we were 60 miles from Calais. (Welcome home!) If I have any regrets, it's that we should have spent more time in the mountains and less in the cities. I hope you enjoy the report.

[img]http://www.jerryrdavis.btinternet.co.uk/07/100_ColSeille550.jpg[/img]

Unexpected Scottish Week

the_bat — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 23:52:41 GMT

A couple of months ago me and my girlfriend have been thinking where to spend our last week of holiday at the end of August. I was pretty surprised that she was brave enough to suggest Scotland. On the motorbike!!!

There were some doubts and problems. First of all, unpredictable weather - obviously you can not see much when it is raining. Another was the complete lack of bike gear for her - praise for Lidl "bikers week" here, their bargain textiles have passed the exam in heavy conditions!!!

After a week of "ebaying" I managed to turn my naked streetbike into a GranTourismo with about 80 litres of luggage displacement, SatNav and a cigarette lighter socket (just in case, smartphone batteries go flat quite fast :-)

When D-Day has finally come we woke up grumpy cause of the rain... Luckily it stopped for good when we passed Luton.

First of our stays was Keswick, Cumbria. We booked some B&Bs a week before and they were pretty good. After a short Lakeland break we came back on the M6, passed Glasgow and found ourselves on the Loch Lomond shores.

Next day we followed A82 from Tarbet to Fort William, then A830 to Mallaig. Apart of a stunning Highland scenery we could see well known to Harry Potter fans railway, silver sands of Morar and famous Monument. In my opinion if you want to visit Scotland this route is a must!

In Mallaig we boarded a ferry to Isle of Skye. Unfortunately heavy rain forced us to choose the shortest way to Portree where we slept.

Loch Ness was our next day destination. Monster did not appear but we had a chance to see famous Highland Games in the Drumnadrochit village. From there we went to Inverness, then visited a couple of distilleries and finally Aberdeen - back to civilization :-P.

Having over 500 miles to home we decided to take a break in Yorkshire and finally after passing a couple of delays and accidents on M1 we came back to London...

Oooops, I did not intend to make that report a novel :-) Sorry...
Anyway - Highlands are well known biker destination and if you have a chance - go there!

1500 MILES AROUND THE COUNTRY

DERWENT WATER, CUMBRIA

LOCH LOMOND

A82 TO FORT WILLIAM

LB MILITARY ARM ;-)

NESSIE... AND TWO OTHER MONSTERS!

MOST IMPORTANT DESTINATION

ABERDEEN UNI

My wales Ride ..

taks — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 18:58:21 GMT

Thanks to every one who recommended route to wales...has been a gorgeous two days of riding...some stunning views and hitting top speeds on open roads...marvellous....
..two days...500 miles has taken its toll though...am absoltuly broken right now... still..every mile was worth it ...:)..attaching some pics ... :w00t:

Summer 2008

Oli — Tue, 22 May 2007 11:41:27 GMT

My restriction will be up, I'll have a shiney new 0% Finance (that gives me a touch of wood) SV650s and I'm hitting the mean streets of the UK with a friend who's riding over from Germany.

I'm not sure about how to post photos/pics but here's a link to the route and a rough guide to the timings:

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=507657927&size=o

The milage and timings are for a guide only, but as seasoned pro's does it all sound feasible?

day 1 13th August: Kinross camp 440 miles (8:15) Hostel?

day 2 14th August:John O’Groats camp 260 miles (6 hours)

day 3 15th: Fort William YOUTH HOSTEL 185 miles (5 hours

day 4 16th : Lake District (Windermere) camp 260 miles (6:40 hours)

day 5 17th: Snowdon camp 160 miles (4:15 hours)

day 6 18th: via Swansea to Bath HOSTEL 253 miles (6 hours)

day 7 19th: Lands End via Barnstaple and King Arthur’s Castle camp 217 miles (5:30 hours)

day 8 20th:Kingsbridge FAMILY 130miles (3:30 hours)

day 9 21st: Beaulieu via Dorset Camp 150 miles (3:30)

day 10 22nd: Orpington via Southampton, Brighton, Pevensey, Hastings, Rye 180 miles (4:30 hours)

Thanks,

O

The Bradwell Burnham Ring

Afro — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 14:09:23 GMT

Sharp corners...Maximum concentration required....Its a must do route :D

[url=http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=A132%2FBurnham+Rd+%4051.628710,+0.562210&daddr=B1010%2FMaldon+Rd+%4051.635970,+0.814270+to:bradwell+waterside+to:51.663186,0.82037+to:B1018%2FCold+Norton+Rd+%4051.670230,+0.689690+to:B1010%2FLower+Burnham+Rd+%4051.656670,+0.684890&mrcr=2,3&mrsp=3&sz=13&mra=dpe&sll=51.657862,0.806465&sspn=0.079655,0.159645&ie=UTF8&ll=51.675749,0.715828&spn=0.159248,0.4319&z=12&om=1]Google Map of route[/url]

Ride out yesterday with Rideout South West

leggy pete — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 12:29:42 GMT

Left my place in Yeovil at 8.30am to meet with mate Andy in Chard, then we shot over to GT Motorcycles in Plymouth via A30 A303 M5 to meet 16 other bikes. Then we bimbeld over Dartmouth moors which the sights are impressive and sheep and ponies just roming by the road side, we stopped for lunch for an hour then off again. Me and Andy left the others when we got back to the A30 which is a great road ( when i get to know it ) and back to Andys where his wife had a roast for us :D. When i got in about 8pm i clocked up 260miles not bad for one day, who says rear sets are uncomfortable.

Midgie Mashers Flypast with Ducati Up North

Francesco — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:43:33 GMT

Over last bank holiday weekend I went up to Scotland for the Midgie Masher weekend with the guys and lasses of Ducati Up North which I met during the World Ducati Week in Misano at the end of June.

http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/

This year Midgie Masher was a two days ride out from Edinburgh to Applecross passing by Inverness and then back to Glasgow on the following day (however others and I got back to Edinburgh from Fort Williams). The ride was almost 600 miles of twisty roads all around Scotland, passing through the highlands and several passes. Lots of very nice sceneries at least when I could leave my eyes from the road :).

It was my first trip to Scotland and it was a very nice experience where I met many nice people; I wish I could stay a bit more...

... here are some pictures...

Midgie Masher Map

[IMG]http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd225/frarex/Midgie%20Masher%202007/Map-Scotland.jpg[/IMG]

On the way to Edinburgh - Me at Devil's Bridge

[IMG]http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd225/frarex/Midgie%20Masher%202007/DSCN0671.jpg[/IMG]

Pitlochry - Scottish hospitality

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Pitlochry - countryside

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Pitlochry - Refreshment stop

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On the way to Applecross

[IMG]http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd225/frarex/Midgie%20Masher%202007/DSCN0683.jpg[/IMG]

Small twisty road on the way to Applecross

[IMG]http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd225/frarex/Midgie%20Masher%202007/DSCN0687.jpg[/IMG]

Project imola bike

[IMG]http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd225/frarex/Midgie%20Masher%202007/DSCN0688.jpg[/IMG]

Applecross - Campsite arrival

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Applecross - Wigwam

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Applecross - Pillion

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Applecross - Dinner at the campsite restaurant

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Applecross - Dinner at the campsite restaurant

[IMG]http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd225/frarex/Midgie%20Masher%202007/DSCN0711.jpg[/IMG]

Around applecross

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Applecross - funny animal

[IMG]http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd225/frarex/Midgie%20Masher%202007/DSCN0735.jpg[/IMG]

Scottish Highlands - way back from Apple Cross... The Cow Pass

[IMG]http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd225/frarex/Midgie%20Masher%202007/DSCN0738.jpg[/IMG]

Chard to Minehead

leggy pete — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 23:49:31 GMT

Me and a mate Andy T rode from Chard to Minehead via Exmoor, and all i can say is awesome the bends were un real only used first and second one of the best rides ever !!

Unity Ride report and thanks

STEM — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 14:04:09 GMT

After–Ride Report.

Despite it raining for the entire week preceding this year’s ride, 465 Bikers turned out for the Unity Ride, which was absolutely amazing. The rain did however miraculously stop for the ride itself, allowing us to enjoy our 2 hr trip through the capital to the Ace café.
We have been inundated with letters of support, for both the manner it which the ride was undertaken and pleasure that it gave to both the Unity Riders and the general public. The ride went ahead without incident and the local authorities, Police and Excel have not received a single complaint, which is exactly what we aimed to achieve. This year we had members of the Metropolitan Police, the London Bikers, MAG, BMF, London Bikers, Fire Brigade, SERV (Blood Runners) and Ambulance Service all join us. Not only on the day but also involved in the organisation of the event. We aim in the future to expand our invites and will reassess our organisational structure to involve even more members of the motorcycle community. We will also encourage this years Unity Riders to organise their own satellite ride-ins.

Funding the ride.

Costs.
Training, Promotion, Venue
and Equipment.................................£2,731

Income.
Pre-registration £1,940
On The Day £1,390
Total..............................................£3,330

Personal Sponsorship………...............….£2,731

Amount to Charities……………...............£3,330
(we still have some funds pending)

Our thanks to the July 7th Support group and Mr Wundowa, who received the wreath at Memorial gardens, the 12 Police officers, 42 USRs, the satellite co-ordinators (Grandma, Tallguy, Biggus, Andyblade, JimC, Yeti, Gids, Annie, Spider, Chris Pine, Weaver, RO, Westie, Pierced Princess, and of cause Mr Rizla ), The Techy Boys (Trouty & Fruitskin), the 18 parking and road marshals that assisted on the day, the 8 Unity Helpers and 12 Unity Kids, the Cabbies (Bobby and Patrick) and finally all the 465 Unity Riders that braved the weather and joined us for The Unity Ride 2007.

See you all in 2008 for Unity III

Ride out to Franschoek ~ South Africa

ScorpZX10R — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:09:05 GMT

oops, posted twice, cant delete it either :/

Ride out to Franschoek ~ South Africa

ScorpZX10R — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:08:56 GMT

Hi

I'm new to this forum and would like to say hi and let people know whats happening south of the equator...
Here's a couple of pics of a ride out we had a few weeks ago.

http://www.thinkbike.co.za/talk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12871

Ta
Scorp

Richmond to Bournemouth...

Redster — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:33:48 GMT

...on one of the best weather saturdays all year.

Small report;

I dont know about anyone else, but I find motorway riding really incredibly dull. So whenever I have to go down south to see the family, I find 'alternatives'. The A32 aint bad, guildford, farnham, alton, winchester, but ive done it loads so thought this time I would go the other side of the M3, A30, bracknell, harney whitney, basingstoke, onto the A303, Stockbridge, Romsey, M27.

Lovely ride it was too, the B3057 from A303 through stockbridge to Romsey is a fine route. Sun was shining, very little traffic, twisties and nationals, lovely.

Sweet little pub in stockbridge for tea and scone, then onto romsey. Encountered a road closure on the romsey ring road so had to explore to find a way around - lots of tight roads and junctions, but eventually success and a pat on the back for myself and I was off towards the M27.

TRAFFIC HELL! Seems everyone and thier dog wanted to hit bournemouth beaches, and traffic was qued up from the M3 junction ALL the way to B'mouth - thats about 30 miles of ques.

Foolishly I ventured onto the M27 and it wasnt untill I hit the slip road I saw the traffic.

Next came about an hour of intense filtering. Now I filter alot in london but this was a different story. 30 miles or so and was very wary of the dangers. All went well, tho, let fast filtering bikes through and stopped to ask a biker on the sside of the road if they were ok or needed help - they were just resting and eventually arrived in B'mouth after 2 hours and 40 minutes of riding.

was on fumes when I arrived, got 161 miles out of a 19.5 litre tank tho, was well impressed. My chicken strips have almost completely disapeared on the right of the rear wheel too

R

Memorial Ride 2007 Report

RedOne — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:09:29 GMT

Apologies for the long post but Sam asked Weaver to do a report so here ya go - any mistakes are all hers!:

The second Memorial Ride took place on 5th August, 2007. In case anyone does not know, the first ride last year took place to remember and raise money for a tree to plant in memory of Ali (aka Full Throttle on LB forum). Sam (Snap on LB and TLB), one of Ali’s close friends, decided that we should do this every year in memory of Ali and all fallen riders and to raise money for a charity of our choice each year – preferably bike related. This year we were raising money for National Association for Riders with a Disability. Sadly this ride was also to remember BJ Hansen, a TLB member who died as a result of a bike accident in June this year, aged 42.

The ride started at the Silver Ball Café on the A10 and went down to Southend. Some people met at The Ace café, though Dan (Yogibear) arrived late and saw they had already gone - though we noticed that he actually got to the Silver Ball before the rest of them! “Honest officer – the others were just really really slow”!!!!

Anil got to the Café but unfortunately could not go to Southend having decided to fill a pothole in the car park at the SB with himself and his bike and broken off his gear lever. Simon managed to botch a repair enough to get Anil home however. Anil I have a nasty feeling your faring took a beating too – hope it is not too bad?

There were quite a few of us there so it took a while for everyone to get their breakfasts but eventually we were all fed. Weaver and Sam demanded money with menaces and insisted that people bought a t-shirt too!! We have a logo on the shirts which will be used for the website when it is sorted out and for future rides. The logo was is a really professional design job by Terry – exceptionally good considering all he got was a couple of words in an e-mail re an idea – “black ribbon and a couple of bikes please Terry”. Wonderful job Terry – thank you so much.

Anyway when the troops were fed Sam wanted to say a few words about Ali and to read some words written about BJ by Grandma. He was brilliant despite the fact that Weaver’s phone went off in the middle of him trying to tell us about BJ – Andrea was late – again!!! I did not know BJ but I understood he had a wonderful sense of humour so am guessing he would have seen the funny side.

Sam now put off his stroke forgot the rider briefing and unfortunately so did the rest of us supposed organisers so the start was a bit chaotic! In the midst of it Andrea arrived – she had in fact been almost at the Silver Ball some time before but seeing a group of riders going down the A10, amongst whom she thought she saw Weaver and Snap, she took off after them – luckily realising after a short while it was the wrong people.

As before we were leaving in three groups. It seems some of the advanced group had not fuelled up so zoomed off to the garage. Others saw them go and thought the group was starting so zoomed off too. Stem was left wondering if they realised he was still there – as he was the leader he was rather useful to them. He actually left with Yogibear just before Mr. Rizla who had replaced YB as tail gunner to test radio communications with Stem – they didn’t work by the way! Stem managed to make progress to catch and get in front of his group – however those in the garage were left somehow behind – oops!

About 20 minutes later Weaver moved off leading the intermediate group – the two gentlemen behind her Bluebhoy (on a yellow bike???) and someone whose name I apologise for forgetting, were very patient whilst she weaved all over the place due to concentrating on sorting out communications with RedOne at the rear end! Once sorted the group made good progress – though were however a bit surprised to find they had acquired a few extra riders in the group – those at the garage who realised after we had gone past that they better get moving! Still it’s better than losing people!

The inters had a mostly uneventful ride down to Southend, though did have stop and regroup at one point when a certain young man decided to go the wrong way up the A130 followed by a couple of others. RO rode off after them to round them up and they were soon back on there way. Filtering into Southend was an absolute nightmare with all the traffic but eventually the inters got there to be greeted by Spider and pals who was waiting on the side of Marine Parade. Just as well as when she parked Weaver couldn’t get her leg over her tail pack to get off and needed Spider to give her a push! The advanced group gave us a cheer – possibly to make sure we realised that this year they had got there first?

The chilled group apparently left about another 20 minutes after the inters and still managed to arrive about 20/30 minutes after them despite stopping for 10 minutes for a drink. In fact given the timings it seems that the best progress to Southend was made in this order 1) Chilled, 2) Intermediates 3) Advanced. Hmmmmm change of names for next year perhaps?

The pub on the parade did a roaring trade as it was very hot and we were very thirsty, though shame on them for making Sue and her Mum sit outside because they had the baby with them. Sue is Ian’s young lady – they came down by car but could not stay long as after 40 minutes Ian (of Chingford Chippy fame) finally gave up trying to find a parking place and came back to collect them.

The advanced group stayed outside – apparently Riz and Spider are sun worshippers and went topless – the sight of all that flesh was too much for the rest of us (and that was just the heads) and we retreated indoors to grab what seats were available in the shade.

Gradually during the afternoon. one by one or in twos or groups, riders dispersed to make their various routes home. Grimbusa, Debz and co were doing twisties round Essex, whilst Trisckie got hot and sweaty with her beast! She insists that this was her motorbike not Guzz. :!

I think most people had a good time and we raised at least £300 for NABD – full amount will be posted when we have it all in – we are still selling t-shirts!

A huge thank you to everyone for coming on the ride – particularly to Sam for his organisation, Terry for the logo, Stem, Mr. Rizla, RedOne, JimC and BMBob for their leading and tailing. Thanks to Guzz’s friends from the Enfield Club for coming along and to the forum newbies who were brave enough to join in. A special thanks to Ali’s Mum who gave a very generous donation when she knew what we were doing. Thanks too to Pat, Stem’s better ‘arf and to Ginger were also not there but sent us a generous donation.

Due to the traffic problems and the crowds at Southend, we shall almost certainly be going somewhere different next year – research ongoing! We shall definitely however be having another Memorial Ride so please put 3rd August, 2008 in your diaries now.

Couple of links to the TLB Gallery for some pics:

http://www.thelondonbikers.com/cgi-bin/LBforum/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST&f=2&t=5756&st=0&&#entry103934

http://www.thelondonbikers.com/cgi-bin/LBforum/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=2;t=5751

Sandy Crevice

Jonny Zed — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 15:04:42 GMT

Last Saturday the missus n me decided it was about time we got down to Clacton for the day. We used to go there most weekends in the good old days when our summers lasted more than three days, and as it seemed there was going to be a break from the recent Biblical style floods, we thought we’d grab the chance to get some sand between our toes.

For the un-initiated, Clacton is along the East coast not far from Colchester and actually boasts an award-winning beach, mostly sandy and mercifully free of used condoms and hypodermic needles!

If you’re a lover of ‘kiss me quick’ hats and inflatable ‘killer whales’ then The Pier is the place for you with an array vomit inducing and probably ferociously unsafe ‘fairground’ rides. At the end of The Pier sits the ‘Jolly Roger’ café . . . with my hand on my heart I can honestly say it’s the most un-piratey place I’ve ever visited in my entire life . . . I’ve seen slaughter houses with more ‘yo ho ho’ about them!

That notwithstanding it’s all a bit of a lark for a good old British day out. Granted it’s not a place you’d want to spend your annual fortnight but geographically it’s near enough to make a daytrip there a good option.

As the Met Office had been no help at all in giving us any kind of accurate forecast in the five days building up to our excursion – unless predicting that every conceivable type of weather condition from Sahara Sunshine to Rainforest precipitation, might prevail on the day, counts – we acted on the only course of weather calculation left open to us . . . we opened the bedroom curtains Saturday morning and said

“Yup, the Suns out . . . Tally Ho . . . Chocks away . . . Last one in the sea’s a homo”

A few texts later and our mini posse were all informed of the meeting point and time. ie “our house, half ten”

And so it was with songs in our hearts and shorts in our rucksacks that myself, Karen (gridgirl) Hayden, Debbie, Terry & Karen headed north up the A10, Great Cambridge Road.

I really don’t like leading a group very much, but as the only person who kinda knew the way it seemed a little churlish to argue the point.

“A10 for a few miles then right onto the A120 . . . nice relaxed speeds, no rush . . . everyone ok with that?”

‘Relaxed speeds’ to H & Terry obviously mean something slightly different, in as much as they have to be measured in terms of ‘ballistics’ and I think the Millennium Falcon would have had trouble keeping pace!

Consequently when we turned off onto the aforementioned A120, Messrs H & T were nowhere to be seen. A quick call from Karen established that they’d got halfway to Cambridge and somewhat abashed, they would turn around and come and join us. Echoes of the Tortoise and the Hare?

The A120 is a fab road . . . Ranging from dual carriageways dropping down to 30 mph residential roads thro small villages. Twists, turns, hills and dales make this a great road to ride in the sunshine. After that a few miles on the A12, and then picking up the A133 all the way into Clacton. As a kid I was always so excited at that first sight of the sea and 30 odd years later nothings changed . . . it’s still a vast expanse of water . . . just kidding . . . I mean of course that I still get that buzz when I get that first glimpse of the Ocean and a whiff of the old ‘briney’ . . . whether it’s the Atlantic Ocean or in this case the North Sea.

Six motorcycles, riding in a row, along Clacton seafront must be something of a rarity, given the amount of slack jawed looks we achieved from the fish n chip saturated day-trippers as they dragged along their candy floss drenched children.

There are a few residential streets running off of the sea front so getting bikes parked isn’t a problem, which is handy as there doesn’t seem to be any allocated parking of the two wheeled variety. Naturally, once everyone had parked up and secured their machines, the car parked between my bike & Karens, moved.

20 minutes later and everyone had run back to their bikes, unsecured them, ridden them 20 yards down the road and re-secured them. Six bikes all sitting pretty, all in a row.

First stop. The Marchello Inn for a well deserved pint. It’s right on the sea front and does reasonable ‘pub food’. I doubt Gordon Ramsay would go out of his way to eat there but for a hungry biker it’s not half bad.

The weather improved as the day progressed and the Armageddon-esque clouds that had threatened so ominously, gradually dissipated and it turned into a great afternoon of fun n frolics on the sand (I might add at this point I was the only person with big enough cajhoonas to actually go in for a swim) and a lovely late afternoon stroll along the beach.

Inevitably we felt the near magnetic pull of the pier and ended up having a mooch about there for the last hour or so. It was at about that time that I discovered that walking around in leather bike trousers with a fine layer of salt & sand dusting my thighs and slowly but surely removing the top ten layers of skin, is not the greatest sensation in the world.

Back to the bikes. . . “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6” . . . they’re all there so it’s a good start to the 80 mile journey home. The roads were fairly quiet on the way out of Clacton and at times along the A120 we seemed to be the only people using it!

Needless to say we didn’t for one moment abuse the miles of empty tarmac stretching out into the sunset . . .

One thing I do need to ask the more seasoned veteran riders among you though is this;

Is there a universally recognised hand signal for “Please pull in at the next services as my bladder is close to bursting point” or does pointing in the general direction of ones crotch suffice???

Killing flies

DeKerf — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 21:07:00 GMT

Hi all, just been out for a proper hoon on my new bike 07 R1. Let me explain: it's been a long time getting here, I'm a couple of weeks short of that mile(mill?)stone of a life - my 50th.

My biking started on mopeds a long, long time ago, mopeds, RD's, GT's,RGV's 400rr, ducati's, Gsxrs an finally R1's.

I'm not as fast as some of the mates I used to go out with, but then again, most of them hung up their leathers a while back and the early morning runs on a Sunday fell by the wayside of marriages, mortgages and kids.

I'm not rich, most of the bike I'm now riding is on interest free credit cards, and will be for some time................

So, back to tonight: I thought my kast R1 was the dogs but the new bike is in a league apart, reminds me of the RC30 I had, really together, only more so and 5 times as fast! Went out 0n the A24/A29 and did a big circuit, for about an hour, finishing at my local for a steadying pint and a smoke.

Everything gelled tonight, gaps in the traffic, clear straights, empty bends and nice lines into the roundabouts: Thought I was reet over until I checked the rear and still have a bit of unused tyre left - modern bikes are so damn good, I was turning in too early and had to force myself to look for the opening of bends, non believers won't have a clue of what I'm on about nights like this are heaven for us, just bike and road, oh yeah, and a load of dead flies.................

And in the Beginning...

Gruntmon — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 13:36:58 GMT

... God created Scotland. And Lo! It was good. Bikers rejoiced and worhshipped the Lord of Tarmac.

Sacrifices were made to Gixx0r and Zixx0r, Kings amongst Motorbikes. The heavens abated and the riding was good. 1000 and 100 goodly miles of blessed turns, Loch-side roads and mountain scenery.

And on the 6th day, the Bikers rested, having screamed their nuts off on some of the best roads I think I'll ever see. If I hunt high and low, I doubt I'll find much better or more plentiful. Amen.

From West sussex to Devon

westZed — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:06:44 GMT

Well i just arrived back this afternoon, after collecting my beautiful Tiger 955i from Destination Triumph in Washington on Sunday i headed out at midday on the A29 Onwards towards the A27, M27, A31, A35,M5, AND A381 towards Exeter. What a great ride and oppertunity this gave me to get used to the trumpet and feel how she handled. I was really impressed by the performance, comfort and sound of the bike, although shes a 955, it doesnt feel stupidly fast, and i love the low down torque she has.

I headed along the motorway at a fair rate of knots, the weather protection pretty good, although the screen is gonna have to be changed as it caused me a lot of neck ache as i got buffeted from the winds. Tank range on fuel is fantastic, 24 litres, only topped up twice. Tyres (metzler tourances) hold up well quite grippy, lights very bright too, so all in all very very pleased.

However the tiger is going back in to Triumph next week as the head bearings need replacing, and the idle is too low, its covered under the warranty so once thats done i shall be planning a few more trips!.

i Managed to get to Exeter by 4pm, had a quick stop off for fuel before heading to Dads, Spent most of the time chillin out and testing the bike. Ah well back now, off to bed soon, 746 miles in total, not bad for 3 days...

westie

Soggy Riding

Oli — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:58:58 GMT

After having the chain adjusted at FWR in Kennington (Free as promised on the phone, they're lovely, go buy stuff from them) I pointed the bike Westwards towards Cornwall and opened the throttle. The weather was soggy but nothing major that got through any of my clothing. I negotiated the A4 out to the 316 and eventually onto the M3. My brother had told me how uncomfortable this weekend would be, 600 miles in a day and a half, he always takes the car if he's heading too far now.

This being the first "long" trip on this, and indeed any, bike I had printed out the route for the first leg to Kingsbridge in Devon (despite knowing the way) so I could plan petrol stations and breaks. I figured it would take a while to get out of town so the first one was at Fleet, just 40miles in, then another on the A303 for fuel, followed by another just after Exeter for more petrol.

As I hit the A316, my back started to Spasm, painfully; I thought that was it, turn around and go right home. I persevered and it went away after a few minutes; never to return again. It took just over an hour to get from Southwark to Fleet, pretty much as expected. Pulled up and had a stretch, then got right back on.

It started to drizzle a bit at this point, and this pretty much set the tone for the rest of the ride down. I was impressed with the bike on the M3, and made full use of the fairing, partly because I was tucking in to take the weight off my wrists, and it allowed me to stretch out my back; but also because it kept the worst of the weather off. Although without the airflow through the lower vents on the helmet, my visor and glasses soon began to mist up; though this was easily resolved by peeking over the top every now and again.

By this stage I had settled into the groove, the restricted engine seems to like a steady 6k rpm, which in 6th gear was between 85 and 90mph (indicated), this speed was also perfectly comfortable without too much windblast, even when sat up. I really do like having a screen.

I pulled off onto the A303, my favourite road, ever. It disappointed me this time though, instead of a steady stream of long sweeping curves and great vista it was full of Caravans and traffic heading South West for the weekend, and completely ground to a halt in places. I'd been worried because it's Glastonbury weekend and thought that all the middle class kids would be heading down there to rough it with the hippies, but I saw very little evidence of this. I suppose the moral is don't head South West on a Friday afternoon in the summer.

Pretty soon I decided to get out of this for a moment, and pulled into Solstice services, just past Stonehenge (as you'd probably already worked out). I rolled into the car park and put the stand down with the bike in gear. It cut out, as it's designed to do. However, it wouldn't start again. The starter button didn't do anything, it didn't even turn the engine over, just a loud silence. I checked the electrics, everything else worked, the horn was loud, all lights were fine. I checked the kill switch, I even double checked the immobiliser (having learnt my lesson last time). Still nothing. I began to worry at this stage. I'd had the foresight to bring my breakdown number this time, but really didn't want to have to use it. I began to form the idea that water had worked into the ignition system. A quick phone call to the lovely *spidermonkey* at BAT revealed the same opinion, so I went and bought some WD40 from the petrol station. On a whim I tried firing her up again before using the WD40, spluttered into life first time. I gave it a few squirts in anything that looked like a connection or switch anyway just to be on the safe side. I then rode back over to the petrol station to fill up. This had all taken about 45 minutes by this stage and I was losing time, I had a deadline to arrive in Kingsbridge to meet my Uncle for a drink. So headed off again.

The journey continued much as before, though the slower I was going the more stress it put on my poor wrists, so I was keen to get back up to speed, the 303 denied me this though, and it turned into a procession of vehicles, with the odd opportunity to blast by a few. The rain hadn't let up, though neither had my waterproofs, so the only real problem was vision. The Maxxis Rear Tyre was supreme, once it's up to temperature it'll cope with anything I chose to throw at it, even in the wet.

Another quick splash and dash and I was on the A30, which was much clearer and I made good time to Exeter. I'd decided to avoid the Exeter services, as I don't think I've ever actually passed them, I've always stopped, so I waited for the A38 at Kenwood before my final fuel stop. I was surprised at the economy, I was getting 60 - 70mpg at speed, presumably because it was low revs and constant, rather than the stop start usual to my daily ride in London.

Soon I was on the twisty, high hedged B roads of South Devon for the last 15 miles into Kingsbridge. The sun came out and it was instantly how riding was meant to be. Fun, fast, grippy and exhilarating.

I arrived just before 7, a total of five and a half hours after setting out, not great time for 213 miles on fast roads. No real discomfort despite the heavy backpack and hunched up position, I did need to stretch the knee out quite often, much to the probable bemusement of other motorists as a bike passed them with the rider apparently ****ing his leg.

The next morning saw me up at 6 and ready to head off further west, first to Saltash, then on to Liskeard. Again, awesome fun between Kingsbridge and the A38, then onto the fast flowing Devon Expressway all the way to Plymouth and the Tamar Bridge. I wish I could have stopped and had a closer look at Brunell's railway bridge alongside, but I had a meeting with the Mayor of Saltash at 9, and I wasn't going to be late. Saltash is immediately the otherside of the river to Plymouth and I was soon parked up at my destination.

An hour or so later and it was raining. Hard. I pulled the gear back on, heart a bit heavy. I knew that however wet I got now was likely to last all the way until I got back to London in the evening. As I hit the A38 again for the short hop to Liskeard it became torrential, rivers running across the road and my right Frank Thomas Aquasprint (guaranteed bone dry) full of water. The left one was ok though, i'll change them. It got so bad that I couldn't see anything, I had no choice but to pull over, but with no shelter for miles around it just made me wetter. At least I wasn't riding blind anymore. A brief respite in the deluge and I was back on the bike, desperate to cover the last three miles before it started again.

Upon arrival I was drenched, but not inside the gear too much. I can't praise Richa Monsoon trousers enough, even my cheap Spada jacket held up, and only let in a little water through the zip. My wallet in the pocket was not so fortunate though, and everything had to hit the radiators for a while. I was very disappointed with the boots though. The right one must be faulty, as the left held up fine. My crap summer gloves are still wet.

I spent a few hours in Liskeard before heading back down the A38 towards Kingsbridge. It rained solidly, again until the turn off for Kingsbridge, which has it's own weather. It's on a peninsula hanging off the bottom of Devon so is often missed by the main weather systems and bright and sunny when all else is drenched.

When I got to my uncle's couldn't face riding straight off, so I mooched for an hour or so before heading off at Quarter to Six.

When I left it was glorious sunshine and I stopped at a place called California Cross for a fill up. I then hit the road, determined not to pull over until the bike was in need of more fuel.

This riding was great, the roads were dry and riding towards London on a Saturday afternoon is a much better idea than heading South West on a Friday afternoon, there was barely any other traffic.

As the bike went further and further on the one tank I whooped inside the helmet - at the first sign with London less than 100 miles away; as I passed Stonehenge, all little milestones that the bike just ate up, frugally sipping at it's go go juice.

2 hours later and I was nearing the M3. I'd averaged 70mph, including the 20 minutes of slow twisty roads to get out of Kingsbridge and the villages along the A303. The fuel light still hadn't come on. I'd done 145miles on the tank and began to worry that the light wasn't working. I was also desperate for a pee and a stretch after two solid hours in the saddle. When I filled up, the bike only took 12 litres to full, I had enough for at least another 40 miles. My bladder had let me down before the petrol ran out. I'd managed 65mpg, running on magic seemingly, from hard and fast riding, and home was only 70 miles away now. I was looking at the possibility of being home within 4 hours of setting off. I'd not ached during this whole part of the trip, bar the knee which is a special case and always aches. I seemed to lose the groove on the second part, and the aches set in, a niggle here, an ouchie there; nothing serious though.

It started to rain when I hit the M3, but as before, just some light drizzle, before I knew it I was on the M25. Riding along in puzzlement as each of the flashing overheard signs lit up to display "Animals in Road -Slow", all the way from Junction 13 to Junction 6. I didn't see a herd of wild Boars or even a horse, so I guess they were faulty. I was soon on the also-traffic-free A25 heading to Westerham, Biggin Hill and home. It had only taken me three and three quarter hours to cover the 220 miles.

The bike was filthy, the exhaust encrusted in a layer of grime so thick that you could see it around the end of the pipe; and the rear tyre was squared off from 600 miles of hard riding. I just couldn't be bothered to wash it though. I was sore and tired; I resolved to find a jet wash in the morning and treat it to a full rub down and spa treatment.

I've covered 1200 miles in 2 weeks since buying the bike. I might have to back off some so I don't have to fork out for new tyres every month. The Chain and Sprockets already need doing! My brothers warning about the discomfort was unfounded. The SV didn't give me sore buttocks or anything making me wish I as somewhere else the whole weekend, his TT must have seat made of steel. I'd rather have been on the bike, though maybe in the dry.

Recommendations: London-Oxford?

diaphon2 — Thu, 17 May 2007 17:40:54 GMT

I know it's not a very exciting route, but I am incredibly bored of taking the motorway to Oxford. I don't mind a slower route, I just need to find a more interesting one. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Here as well

Oli — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 15:50:12 GMT

I posted this in the Sports Bikes forum, but it should probably be here.

http://sv650sblogger.blogspot.com/

It's not very good, but let me know, trying to fill a gap in the market, I couldn't find any "extended" stuff devoted to the SV when I was buying one.

Round Trip South of London

jjlondon — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 23:48:57 GMT

Went to see DTM in Brands Hatch last Sunday but left early because the other races were fairly dull and used the time for a little round trip towards Box Hill and then back up to London.

http://lnk.nu/maps.google.co.uk/eqz

Highlight was a little pub on the left hand side in Ockley (10mi south of Box Hill), its about 500yrds before a cricket ground on the same side. The cool thing is that it has an outside pool table which is actually reasonable level.