A great day today.  The Old Dragon and I managed to get our first really good run out in glorious weather. We managed a 150 mile trip to visit my little brother all along lovely A roads across the Southern downlands. Beautiful scenery was enjoyed from the tops of the ridges at decidedly leisurely cruising speeds all of which reaffirmed my decision to move away from sportsbikes and into cruisers.

On a more spiritual level these are the days I live for.  The woes of the world were forgotten, a beautiful part of the world thoroughly enjoyed, spirit renewed and the whole experience shared with people special to me. Life is good when you can do things like this.

Following my last post and just in case there are some bikers out there that haven’t seen this. Beware of PMS !

I have an apology to make.  I’ve been neglecting my blog and I’m sorry.

In my defence there are a couple of, in my opinion, good reasons for this.  I’m in the middle of my 6th redundancy process and am consequently running around trying to sort my life out.  Secondly, in case you haven’t noticed, the weather has been bloody awful so there haven’t been too many biking experiences to write about.

I recently celebrated my 50th birthday.  The plan was to take a few days off to visit friends and tour the West Country with my wife and brother.  The trip was long in the planning, routes were formulated, examined and revised.  Accomodation was researched and booked.  Packing checklists put together amd arrangements for meetings made.  The long range weather forecast was consulted and it looked like we were on for a chilly but reasonably bright trip.  Expectations were high.

Then the week before our departure the forecast started to deteriorate.   Eventually we arrived at the point where we had to make a decision or risk cancellation fees for the accomodation.  Given that there was a forecast 60% + chance of snow across the moors it seemed prudent to cancel. 

I was gutted.  And all of this the week before Easter !  What’s that all about. Just a few years ago I remember having a BBQ for my birthday and sitting on the patio drinking beer in the blazing sunshine.  What is happening to the weather.

Fortunately there was a plan B so a splendid time was had by all even if we did miss out on visiting friends.  Never mind, we will be down to see you soon DJ Legless…..assuming it doesn’t snow right through the summer of course.

If you have trips planned I hope you have better luck than we did this time around.  Enjoy.

I’m so looking forwards to the better weather this year.  Riding has become my salvation, it’s a place I can go to escape the trials and tribulations of daily life.  A place of peace, a place where nothing but the bike and the trip matter. An activity where I have friends wherever I go, even if I’ve never been there before.

I love my bike.

Those of us who have a vested interest in motorcycling will be very familiar with the EU’s ongoing campaign to drive the biker off the roads of Europe.  Some of you, like myself, will be members of MAG or similar such organisations and involved in protests and lobbying MEP’s to try and stop the erosion of our liberty.  And, I’m sure, those that do will have been as frustrated as I over the almost total lack of support from the popular press and the population at large.

Imagine my amusement then when the EU extended the proposed European Super MOT to cars.  Strangely there was an outcry in the popular press.  Follow these links see:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/motors/4525010/EUs-MoT-war-on-pimping-up-British-cars.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2199311/Millions-modified-classic-cars-banned-roads-meddling-European-Union-try-shake-MOT-rules.html

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/911043-new-european-mot-rules-could-make-classic-cars-illegal-warn-critics

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/9526693/Motorists-face-EU-ban-for-modifying-cars.html

Funny how this all happens as soon as the wider car driving population gets dragged into the battle.  Just for the record, I also drive a car between 30,000 and 40,000 miles each year and whilst it maybe unseemly to say it  ”we told you so !”  Maybe now more people will get off their backsides and make a stand.

Decision made.

Two weeks ago I bought a Suzuki VZ800 M800 K8.  A cruiser, oh yes, a cruiser and I absolutely love it. Life on a bike just got a lot more relaxed and considerably more comfortable.  A sissy bar has made life for the Old Dragon better as well

and, as an added bonus, I’m using less fuel averaging approx 60 mpg.  Best of all, I can see what’s going on around me both in terms of scenery and traffic so I’m safer as well.

If you’ve never ridden a cruiser then you must.  It’s biking at a whole different less frantic pace.  If you ache after 100 miles on your sports bike give cruisers a go.  It might go against the grain, it did for me, but trust me…you’ll never regret it.  For me it gets better and better every time I go out.

‘Oh why oh why is life so difficult’  I catch my self asking this dull Sunday morning.

The cause of this outburst ?  Well, it’s like this.  Come October/November time I’m looking to change my bike.  Having thought about it carefully, done my research and taken into account everything I want a bike to do I had settled on a Yamaha TDM900.  It’s a lovely bike, a nice upright seating position, good pillion accommodation, good fuel consumption, handles well and I can fit the luggage I want for touring.  They’re also available at the right price and have a great reputation with a lively forum to get support from when needed.  I also love the look of the bike.

Then I go out for a nice little ride down to Lulworth Cove with the Old Dragon.  As usual there were a bunch of bikers I have never met before all of who were also my best mates.  We

got talking to a great couple from Portsmouth who had turned up on a Suzuki Intruder.  They had recently traded in the Hayabusa for the cruiser and, aside from missing the power, were thoroughly enjoying biking at a slower pace.  It has been my privilege to ride a Victory Hammer, Vegas and Cross Country as well as a Harley Davidson Sportster 1200 Custom all of which I have thoroughly enjoyed so talking to my new best mates got me thinking again.

I would love to have 2 bikes.  The TDM900 for regular use, touring etc with a cruiser for those sunny Sundays but, like most people there are 2 major issues.  I don’t have the cash and I don’t have a large enough garage to store both in.  So there we go, there’s the dilemma.  I really want both but can only have one, but which one !  Could I make the cruiser work for touring ?  There’s no doubt the bike will do it but hard luggage is a non-starter.  Herself wouldn’t mind either but shows more interest in cruisers than the other.

I’ve a nasty feeling this debate could rattle on for a while yet !

Looking back over the last two years since my biking rebirth there are a few things that occur to me.

First off, and as a result of reflecting on the Welsh Road Trip, I can confirm that it is true that you can tour on any motorcycle.  However, some are better at it than others.  Jessica, a Suzuki GSX600F of 1999 vintage, is a sports bike, or at least was in her day.  The seating position means legs are fairly well bent and weight is thrown forwards onto the wrists due to the clip-on handle bars.  By comparison to todays sports bikes it’s all fairly relaxed and the description of sports tourer would probably be most appropriate.  Anyway, Jessica can easily carry all the camping equipment and clothing I need for a 2 week trip and, so long as the speeds stay around 80mph, will be perfectly comfortable…but let the speed drop and it isn’t long before muscles are screaming for mercy.

It’s a well known fact that the Adventure bike market is the biggest in the UK next to the scooter market, and the reason is that we’re all getting older, less flexible and less tolerant of dis-comfort.  Obviously I resemble that description and, after far too long below 80mph on our recent trip, have started to look around for a new bike.  What strikes me straight away is that there are many manufacturers who have produced suitable machinery but also a ridiculous level of snobbery.  I guess it’s a consequence of the biking demographic and a considerable dollop of delusion that leads many to believe the only possible solution is the BMW GS range.  Having given the matter much thought I can see the appeal but can’t yet see the rationale behind the massive popularity.  After all, how many of us will actually take these machines off road ?  Very few I would suggest, so why the need for the big diameter, narrow tyre’d front wheel that ruins the road manners of the bike.  If we put all the vanity aside then the choice is whittled down considerably and we come are left with the likes of the Triumph Tiger 1050,  Ducati Multi-Strada and even the ageing Yamaha TDM900.  Not being particularly flush in these difficult times I’m going to look for a nice example of the Yamaha.  All of these bikes are built around a comfortable upright riding position with large torquey engines that will allow many many miles to be covered in great comfort…exactly what I’m looking for !  Watch this space but I predict a shiny Yamaha TDM900 will make an appearance in the region of my garage before the end of the year, unless I win the lottery in which case it’ll be a Tiger 1050 !  Yamaha it is then.

Secondly, getting older has been a good thing.  In my mis-spent youth I hurtled around on a bike utterly convinced of my immortality and invincibility.  A few decades and a few hundred thousand miles later I know better.  If you’ve followed my blog you’ll know that it was one of my greatest fears on returning to biking.  I feared that the hooligan tendencies would be irresistible leading me to the inevitable site of my accident.  Fortunately this hasn’t been the case and I am genuinely older and wiser.  Whilst still not slow by any means, I do see situations developing and anticipate required actions far better than I would have done back in the day.  With any luck that will carry on just like that for many years to come.

And today I will be mainly wondering where the summer weather went !

Having spent Saturday running around after No.1 son to get him back from Uni for the summer, the Old Dragon and I thought it would be nice to spend some time out on Jessica on Sunday afternoon.  Although the forecast wasn’t great the day started nice, bright and warm.  Splendid I hear you say and funnily enough so did we.  Arrangements were made with Little Bro to meet at H Café just outside of Oxford and we were set to go.  As the weather is want to do the sky darkened as we were about to leave giving us cause for concern, but it soon passed.  Nay, nothing so obvious, not for this summers weather.  It waited for us to actually get 3 miles down the road before it rained.  Then, just as we were considering turning around, it stopped and the skies brightened again, so on we go.  All goes well until, sat at a table outside H Café complete with mug of tea with Little Bro, the day decides to tease us once again.  Discretion getting the better part of valour we all decided that 45 minutes of riding through torrential rain wasn’t really what we wanted from the day and set off for home hoping to get there quickly and avoid a soaking…..then it brightened up again…then it rained again…and stopped…and started again.  What’s going on !

Can we have a little more consistency with the weather please.  Being a bit of a lightweight it would be greatly appreciated if I could be sure if I was going to have a fun, dry ride or stay at home and watch the box.  It’s not much to ask…is it ?

Wow, what a trip.  I’ll admit this was my first motorcycle road trip and I had high hopes and wasn’t disappointed.

 Russ and I set off  mid morning Friday morning heading for lunch at Symonds Yat.  The Saracens Head is a wonderful place to wile away a hour and the food wasn’t bad either.  Sat beside the River Wye the pub where it runs through steep sided valley and it is beautiful.  If you haven’t been already you really should.  From here we set off across the Breacon Beacons heading for our day 1 camp site at Newgale.  at about 230 miles in and sat next to the sea with a pub a few minutes walk away it made the ideal place to end our first day of the road trip.  Situated just North of Milford Sound and South of St Davids we were at the South Western tip of Wales and in great shape for the next couple of days adventuring.  During the day we had met some real characters as well between filling stations and supermarkets.  Strangely they were all on bikes !

Saturday morning, having struck camp, started out with a search for breakfast.  This proved to be surprisingly difficult but eventually we found a great shack in Fishguard serving superb  breakfast rolls and acceptable tea.  Fortified and huinger satisfied we set off up the coast to Aberyswyth.  Great roads, lovely scenary and not too much traffic made it a pleasant trip….other than the prodigious heat.  Now I hate to whinge especially when we were being so lucky with the weather after recent weeks but bloody hell it was hot.  The air temperature gauge on Russ’ VFR was showing a consistent 27 degrees C which, with a complete set of bike gear even with vents open, was very nearly unbearable unless speeds above 60mph were maintained.  Regular stops to take on fluid were essentail if not entirely welcome with the consequent stops required to off load fluid !  From Aberyswyth we headed inland to Devil’s Bridge.  Another stop, more fluid and a moment to appreciate some great scenary then onwards to find our camp site at Cemmaes.  Now that should have beem a simple task but could we find it ?  Could we hell.  We found the village OK but that was as far as we got so, eventually, we decided to head up the A470 in the direction of Dolgellau to see what we could find.  Fortune smiled on us and just short of Dolgellou we found a fantastic little camp site, a very warm welcome for bikers and a bunch of trail riders from Birmingham.  The site at Dinas Mawddwy was brilliant, basic but brilliant and the company friendly and helpful, a real find and highly recommended if you’re looking for a campsite in the area.

We were both now suffering from the affect of the heat which made both of feel worse than we should have given the great time we were having.  However, that aside, day 3 started with the usual search for breakfast.  A Little Chef on the A470 at Delgellau served the purpose nicely before we set off around the Snowdonia National Park.  This was a particularly poingant part of the trip for us having spent many childhood holidays at a farm on the slopes of Snowdon.

 From Beddgelert we travelled around Snowdon, spotting the old farm house along the way, to Caernarfon,  down through Llanberis and on to the Ponderosa Café for lunch.  The scenary and roads around here are just tunning.  It’s an absolute biking must, not fast or furious just miles and miles of sweeping bends and stunning views.  The Ponderosa and Horseshoe pass were must do’s on my list of places to go and proved to be particularly amusing.  Whilst we were eating lunch a very large group of scooters from the Wrexham Scooter Club arrived.  I’d forgotten how good 2 stroke smelled.  The downside of this event being the horror the scooterists mode of dress invoked.  Maybe it’s because I’m getting old and, hopefully wiser, but seeing riders and passengers, many of them kids, riding motorcycles in T-shirts and shorts caused me great dis-comfort.  I may have been dehydrated and dripping in sweat as a result of wearing a full set of safety gear but rather that than the potential for massive scaring and skin grafts.  Some guys view of sensible clothing also added a degree of amusement.  Picture this: a Suzuki Van Van, large rider wearing motorcycle boots, good gloves, proper helmet and a back protector….strapped on over a T-shirt and shorts !!!  What’s that all about ?  The Horseshoe Pass isn’t as spectacular as I had hoped for but it was very pretty and worth doing.

Anyway, from here it gets a little less interesting.  We had planned to camp another night before the blast home on Monday but having found our camp site and given the lack of shade and 34 degree C temperature we took the decision to find how far we could get on the way home in the cool evening before looking for somewhere to camp for the evening.  As it turned out as far as we got was all the way home making it a 350 mile day.  That in it’s own right was a bit of a surprise, I didn’t think I had it in me to do a 350 mile day on the bike just yet.

At the end of the day Russ and I had a great time, met some fantastic characters, saw some spectacular views and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  I have some excellant memories of this little trip and it has well and truely built the desire to do more and longer trips.  Hopefully next time the Old Dragon will come along with us.  However, the first order of business is to find a more suitable steed for touring.  I have a fancy for a Yamaha TDM900 which should prove a better choice than Jessica.  The next trip is now under investigation and it looks like we have 3 possible destinations: Scotland, the Lake District or Yorkshire.  Watch this space, I don’t think it’ll be long before we head off again.