I’ve just been out for my first proper ride of the year - up to Saffron Walden, coffee and cake, then back via High Beech. Freakin’ cold afternoon but at last it was nice to rag ol’ 7 on some emptish roads.
Anyone else popped their 2010 cherry today?
(All you gnarly all-weather types will look on all smug like, and fair enough but I’ve done my all weather riding back when I was younger and had little choice).
Been riding throughout (not including snow) but zipped down to some local twisties today in the glorious sunshine - a long series of s bends and right and left hand hairpin bends going through a conifer wood. Made me realise how rusty, slow and clueless I still am in the bends, after this amount of years there is no excuse and I have to sharpen up my act!
Lot’s of nice trees to bash into if I don’t make it round the bends and a few road death shrines to add a bit of perspective.
Forgot how hypnotic riding through a long series of fast, tight bends can be. Proper head trip. Reminded me what biking is all about (e.g. not hacking my way up the motorway in a straight line and in and out of central London which is what I am quite good at on a bike).
Death to squared off tyres!
Got a nice little practise course mapped out which i’m gonna be doing regularly to sharpen things up a bit.
Thumper2 is pretty much ready for the road again…so wont be long now! just need the temps to go up a bit and we be scraping sliders again:D WOOP! WOOP!
Did a hundred mile warm up a few weeks ago, but nothing proper until yesterday. Went to Hastings, ate fish and chips from TheBlue Dolphin (very, very good), then Rye, then Hastings then home.
Was so cold. But great fun. Except for roundabouts on the way home. Tiredness + roundabouts will be the death of me. I’m rubbish at them.
EDIT: Though I shouldn’t be posting here as I have beeen riding all through winter
Lawks! I popped mine on 1st Jan and had another go on the 2nd and pretty much every snow-free weekend thereafter. Can’t believe there are LBers who haven’t ridden since last year tbh (damaged or bikeless peeps excepted).
I’ve popped my 2010 cherry, my stupid drop of the year at 3 mph on snow cherry, my embarassing drop in front of the old bill cherry (which coincidentally coincided with popping my pick up my dropped bike only to drop it straight over onto the other side again cherry, my run out of petrol and not have enough on reserve to get to the petrol station cherry, my replace the exhaust cos the last one rusted off cherry, my rebuild the gear shift unit cherry, my pay £20 to fill her tank for the first time ever in my life and still shocked about it cos that’s just unbelievable robbery with the government’s full and open endorsement cherry, and I’ve only done about 40 miles this year…
I went to Cassoday last Sunday…maybe 200 miles round trip through the Flint Hills…it was cold…but felt good to be out again.
Already looking forward to several ride outs planned for this season…to the Ozark Mountains in Missouri…and to the Pig Trail in Arkansas…should be a great time!