Guest UKChaz Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Pass heading north to lake.JPG Well, this is a peice I've been meaning to write for some time now (about 2 years!) and now, it seams, I've started! It may take months to complete, edit and get sorted but at least you all wont have to go through that! I returned to biking in 2004 after a few years off, buying a 1989 CBR 600 FJ in red & black off eBay. What I was actually looking for was a VFR which the guy had for sale but I couldn’t afford it at the time. He was very local to me and offered me the old CBR instead. I took her for a spin, loved being back on 2 wheels again and paid him £500 GBP for her. CBR.JPG I had this bike for over a year and she was great both for going to London when required and joining friends on Sunday ride outs. She was the smallest and oldest in the group but I never had any problems keeping up. Maybe that’s because all of us were late 30’s to early 50’s and value our skins! Or maybe the 600 went really well at the sort of speeds you can get to on these crowded UK roads,,,, One of my oldest buddies has a house on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. On a trip over there on the CBR he asked how I was getting on with it. I told him, great, but would prefer something a little bigger both in cc and overall size, just to make cruising late at night back down the motorway a bit less manic. Having ridden an FL many years before I knew what I wanted and said “What I really want is a VFRâ€Â. Now this friend, Simon, I've know now for 26 years and we’re the greatest of friends. He had owned a 1986 VFR nicknamed the “UFO†for 12 years but it hadn’t been ridden for 3 years and was sitting, gathering vegetation in his front garden. His wife hated him riding it as he was most likely to take it for a spin when he was stressed or angry about something. 140 mph does tend to clear the cobwebs out,,,, but she wanted him in one piece, especially since they had just had their first kid after trying for nearly 10 years. He’d tried, reluctantly, to sell it a couple of times but since it was on a “Q†plate it put prospective buyers off and dropped the value of the bike to next to nothing. After I’d said what I really wanted was a VFR he just came out with “You can HAVE mine, I’ll give it to you†Three weeks later I became the rather stunned owner of a 19 year old VFR! By the North Sea, Edinburgh I'll shift my butt one day and get the rest of the pics from this trip up here! My plan was to get it MOT’d (annual road safety check) then get used to it for a couple of weeks, then ride it up to Edinburgh, Scotland for the Comedy Festival there in August (I was working in the Comedy industry at the time) Ahh, the plans of mice and men, especially when bike garages are involved! I booked her in for the re-test at a local shop (I wont say where as they are generally ok most of the time) and said it would need new fork seals (Simon had it tested before I picked it up, this was all it needed to pass). They had a gap 10 days later and we booked it in and they ordered the seals,,, or so I thought. 10 days later I arrived with the bike to find it wasn’t booked in, they didn’t have the seals and wouldn’t be able to do it for two weeks due to staff being away on summer holidays…… I needed the bike to get to Edinburgh. Ok, I could have flown up but I had the plan in my head to ride up and wasn’t going to let it go. I walked out and turned the air outside the shop a rather dirty shade of blue, and at some volume. I then went back in and took the keys back of a rather startled shop assistant and rode off. I managed finally to get it fixed, serviced & tested by a friend of a friend the day before I was due to leave. So instead of having some time to get used to her I’d ridden her twice for about 50 miles total before heading on a 1200 mile round trip…. B*****ds! My thanks to Wayne of the Lavant Cycle Shack for working a minor miracle for me and pulling the right strings to get me road legal. The Trip Thursday Home - Lake District Home to Lakes.JPG (Day 1 approx route, ignore most yellow “stop points†on all maps unless referred to) I planned the trip up to Edinburgh in 2 legs with a stop over night in the Lake District National Park. This meant that I didn’t bust my ass (too much) by doing it in one hit when I wasn’t going to be that ride fit. I’d found a great little bed & breakfast place in Broughton in Furness in the southern most point of the lakes and since I didn’t have to be in Edinburgh till 5pm on the Friday it meant I could enjoy some of the windy roads and beautiful scenery of the area. For anyone interested in stopping there their website is www.thesquarecafe.biz , they are a lovely couple, very relaxed and friendly. I was INCREDIBLY lucky with the weather on the Thursday. There was rain heading down from the north and somehow I managed to miss all but a few drops of it. The nice bit of the first day was from home up to Oxford via back roads, the A31 and the A34. The A34 being fast dual carriageway with sweeping bands, up and down hills from Hampshire, through Berkshire and up into Oxfordshire. The rest of the day, till I hit the lakes, was Motorway/Freeway in a lot of traffic… What a joy! On my way up past Manchester passed an old army bike doing about 50/60 mph. I pulled in about 10 miles up the road for fuel and in pulled the guy on the bike and we got chatting, as you do. I regret to say that after 2 years I have completely forgotten his name! In the unlikely event any of you in the UK recognise him please let me/him know! He was on his way to a bike festival in the West of Scotland and had left Cornwall at about 6am that morning doing a steady 50/60 mph. Guy and army bike.JPG The Fairy bottle was (washing up liquid) full of oil as the ol’ girl needed a top up every once in a while! His freaky goggles must have given kids in cars (and adults) something to talk about! goggles.JPG I stopped as I got to the edge of the national Park which is when I got my few spots of rain. The roads were quite wet and I’d obviously just missed quite a downpour Arriving NP.JPG A little further on I had to stop again, the light on the hills was too good to miss…. This was the view over the uppermost part of Morcombe Bay. The tide is out so those are sand flats with a small bit of water still there in the middle. Morcombe Bay.JPG I arrived at the Square Café at around 9pm having taken 10 hours with plenty of stops to cover the approx 320 mile hike up there. I probably added an hour and a half onto the journey just stopping to take pics! After a warm welcome at the B&B I was taken to a local pub for some food and real ale and basked in some great company and the pleasure the run had given me so far. Friday Lakes to Edinburgh Lakes Map.JPG (1st stage day 2 through the N.P.) The following day I had no fixed times or deadlines, the guys I was staying with weren’t going to be in till 5pm. If required I could have covered the remaining 200 miles in about 3 ½ hours by just blasting up the motorway. As it was I had all day to get there so I took a very roundabout route through the Lake District enjoying the landscape and the twists and turns. Most of the following pics were taken on or just off roads where 40 mph would have been suicidal! It was a gentle glide through some of the most stunning countryside and,,, well,, here are the pics… View to Ulpha.JPG Looking up the valley towards Ulpha (Point 3) Road to Ulpha.JPG The road to Ulpha,,, wide and spacious compared to what was to come! Stop by the road.JPG I stopped here because through the trees to the right was: River fall.JPG Which ran into pool.JPG A little further on. Ghost Sheep.JPG I've just remembered that on some of these roads there were sheep,,,, highly entertaining when you come round a corner to find a few of them discussing the weather in the middle of the road. It’s especially when you then have to negotiate the fertilizer they have kindly deposited before hitting the brakes. Being in the right gear and using the engine to break, plus having the quick steering of the 16 inch front wheel,,,,, oh my God I am SO enjoying this bike! Road up to Wrynose.JPG Wrynose Pass, you can just see the road snaking up the hill (about point 4) Wrynose top.JPG I stopped at the top to take in the view and to brace myself for the ride down the other side (left of pic). As the sign says,, 25% decent, so for every four metres forward you go down one. At least I think that’s how it works out,,, either way it was fun! It was pretty much single track with passing places. The following picture really doesn’t give you the real feel of how steep it really was. I waited till there weren’t any cars in shot but almost wish I hadn’t for this piece as it would have given a better perspective. Wrynose pass, decent.JPG (Heading north, north east down the other side of Wrynose Pass) Hill Fort.JPG A pic of what might have been an old hill fort, centre pic, the cone shaped hill with the more modern stone walls. I then passed through Ambleside and up the Kirkstone Pass (about point 5). Very kindly someone had put a pub at the top so I stopped for lunch. The pic is looking back down the pass to where I’d come from. I guess I took about 3 ½ hours to do the 23 miles to get here and even though it was all on “roads†my old off road skills came in very handy. I’d have needed mountain rescue for a couple of the potholes I avoided! While I was there I met an old couple who put me to shame. He had just turned 70, she was early 60’s. Both were recovering from heart problems they had had over the previous years and had decided to get back to what they loved most. Cycling! They were off to cycle Hadrian’s Wall which runs east / west across the border between England and Scotland,,, the Romans put up to keep the warlike Scots out of England. They were doing this as a warm up before doing their favourite trip of all,,, Lands End (Cornwall) to John a Groats (Scotland) which is the longest route you can travel here in the UK. :rolleyes: I wish I’d taken a proper pic of them, hindsight is a pain in the butt! You can just see the lady in pink and white in the pic just above of the front left mirror. Pub for lunch.JPG Once I was suitably refreshed I headed off back down the other side of the hill and went past that bit of water you can see in the distance (centre) Pass heading north to lake.JPG I wish I had a way of fixing all these next shots into a panorama pic, but I haven’t so you’ll have to use your imagination! They go from left to right. Lake 1.JPG Lake 2.JPG Lake 3.JPG Lake 4.JPG Lake 5.JPG By then it was well into the afternoon so I weaved my way out of the area, the traffic is horrendous during the holidays, back onto the motorway and,,, made progress towards Edinburgh. At one point a couple of cars, a Skoda Octavia and some turbo charged Renault, came past me. The were playing nicely on an empty bit of well maintained 3 lane motorway so I tagged along at the rear for a bit,,,, then all of a sudden I was in front of them. While I’m pretty sure about what happened I’m damned sure they had no idea! Having cleared the air I sat back again and they carried on past me, the Renault driver saluting me as he went with a big grin and a wave. I came off the motorway (M74) and took the A702 to Edinburgh. The motorway might have been quicker but it was driving me nuts! I rolled into Edinburgh about 5pm as planned and was welcomed by the wonderful Michael and Ray who were generously letting me use their spare room while at the Festival. Good food, great wine, wonderful Scotch Whisky and a most welcome bed at the end of another good day. The bike hadn’t missed a beat and I was loving it. Now I just had a few days of semi work to get through before the trip home. Lakes to Edinburgh.JPG Sat/Sun/Mon At the Edinburgh Fringe Festival If you’ve never been to The Edinburgh Festival and you get the chance to go to this DO IT. The fringe started as a small part of the main Edinburgh Festival and has now pretty much taken it over. It’s primarily made up of comedy and theatre and runs for just over 3 weeks in August every year. The rest of the festival includes a book festival, TV festival and film festivals all in their own right,,, I think there are a few other bits to it too. Then there’s the Tatoo (marching Scots bands, etc) and the fireworks (30 – 40 minutes of fireworks one year I was there) and the incredible Scots hospitality. It’s a fantastic city even when the festival isn’t on and the riding country within easy reach is some of the most stunning in the UK. There’s also the joy of much less traffic allowing you to get into a nice flow which isn’t always easy in the UK. My thanks to Ray (left) & Michael (right) for their wonderful hospitality as always. :thumbsup: We went out for a ride on the Sunday together to a pub for lunch, Ray on his Honda CBR 600 Hornet, Michael on his R6 Yamaha. Ray & Michael.JPG They insisted on taking a pic of me, bearded, scruffy helmet hair and all! Nice bit of a caste in the background though, the shots one redeeming quality. Me.JPG (Scary i know, my wife has to wake up to that. I've gradually trained her to not screem, though i do miss the handy alarm call) The only hassle I had with the bike was self inflicted. I was lent a disc lock (I hate them so much) for parking in Edinburgh and I did the classic “pulling away†without taking it off….. Another session of turning the air blue plus I broke the hinge on the left hand side of my helmet. No damage to the bike other than a small addition to the scuffs on the indicators and LH mirror. Oh, and my ego was a bit bruised too, it was about 11pm in a crowded street outside a theatre venue. My thanks to the kilted Scotsman who braved my inwardly directed anger and offered to help. – Has anyone ever done a check on here to see how many of us have ever done that with a disc lock? I trekked out of Edinburgh the next day to the one shop in the area prepared to rob the part off a helmet they had in stock and order in the part to replace it. The shop was a small independent place called Forth Gear and they were great. None of the bike shops in Edinburgh, that stocked my brand of lid, were prepared to do what these guys did. The bridge in the background is the railway bridge over the “Firth of Forth†the shop was just to the left of the first pic. FG.JPG Fife Bridge.JPG Tuesday Edinburgh - Home Edinburgh Home.JPG (Route home, once again ignore yellow stop points, putting them in was the only way I could get the map system to plot the route I took) I really wish I’d had a day or two extra to get out and enjoy the Highlands of Scotland but just didn’t have the time. After 3 days at the festival and seeing all my comic buddies, laughing my socks off, staying up far too late and drinking way too much (hey it’s a job, someone has to do it!) I headed back home. This time I went down the east side of the country in a bid to avoid the wet weather coming in from the west. I was concentrating on getting home so unfortunately didn’t take any pics. I can’t rave enough about the A68 from Edinburgh down to Corbridge, just to the west of Newcastle. Loads of signs all over it though, saying it’s an accident area and warning of police cameras and unmarked cars (meaning it was a really great road!). Since it was a drab Tuesday morning I managed to enjoy the road without attracting any unwanted attention. :unsure: It’s a perfect biking road with some wonderful sweeping bends, a few U-turns and,,, oh yeah, seven blind hills in a row on one stretch! A side profile of that stretch would look like a steep set of sign waves from one of those heart monitors in a hospital! I almost turned round to go over the hills again,,,, but a long day’s ride ahead meant I’d have to leave it for another time. My weather luck held once again and I only had a few drops of rain on my visor and that was it, I missed it all again! Staying dry when out on your bike in the UK is always an achievement! It took me 11 hours with stops to do the 520 miles home and that included filtering through 3 lanes of crawling traffic on the A1M for 7 miles as a FWD had spun out and lost its trailer and all its contents across the southbound carriageway. It was a great trip and the UFO and I got to know each other well. She behaved herself in every way, forgave me when I went into a couple of corners a shade too fast and didn’t goad me on too much when I had clear roads ahead of me,,,,,,,,,,,,, honest! And so to present day,,, The UFO has just come back on the road after a bit of a refurb. All her panels had some sort of crack or scuffs to them from previous owners scrapes. I picked up a ‘spares or repair’ bike off eBay and swapped loads of bits over and now have boxes of bits that will hopefully keep her going for years. She’s gone from being my preferred Pearl White (still the best colour IMHO) to Blue and Silver,,,,, which I have to say does look good too. My only reservation with the colour is visibility to other road users as it’s a very dark blue, nose on she might as well be black. She had her first proper run since October last year on Sunday (18th Feb) up to Box Hill (famous Southern England biker meeting point) and she’s as sweet as ever. I treated her/me/my wife to a new custom built seat and it’s one of the best things I've ever done to any bike. OK, so anything was going to be better than 20 year old Honda foam, but this seat is SO COMFY! New suit.JPG Almost two years on now and we’ve clocked up over 8,000 miles together, and she’s still only done just over 31K. I look forward to seeing the miles rack up on her as the years go by and even if I get another, more modern bike sometime I’ll still keep her. She was a gift from the best of friends and will be with me till she or I can go no further. She does everything well,,, what more can I ask? New Suit 2.JPG Well, there we go. My first proper post on the web. I’ll probably have gone back through this, edited some bits and added others. I’m guessing the pics are going to have to be compressed for the web too. You’ll be able to tell how long that took me as I've grassed myself up with the Feb ’07 date above. I hope you enjoyed looking though this, I certainly enjoyed the trip and putting this piece together. It surprised a whole bunch of people that I’d biked all the way up to Scotland and I was asked, prior to the following year’s festival, if I was going to go up on the bike again. My reply was, “Maybe next year as my butt has only just recovered!†Now I have that new seat though,,,,,, ooohhh bliss,,, where next???? Ireland in April/May with my wife looks on the cards. If it happens I’ll take a camera and if you’ve all enjoyed seeing a bit of my side of the pond I’ll write that trip up too. My best to you all Chaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Nicely done Chaz, thanks for sharing that! You've got some really nice riding country out there, you make me miss Europe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer scotinexcile Posted March 21, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted March 21, 2007 That piece of castle" is Dirleton Castle just down teh East Coast about 15 minles from Edinburgh and about 8 miles from where I grew up. We were there last month when my wife and I were visiting Good luck with the bike, I never could stay dry when I rode over there even the best Gortex wont keep you dry !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer keithbob Posted March 22, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted March 22, 2007 Great writeup Chaz, and a good story about the bike. Old Honda V-4s just grow on ya. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V4 Rosso Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Thanks for taking the time to write this excellent trip report, I really enjoyed reading it :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Cheers guys, glad you enjoyed it. scotinexile - it's a small world! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted March 22, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted March 22, 2007 You've got some really nice riding country out there, you make me miss Europe... Well Seb, that settles the honeymoon destination then eh? :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer didit Posted March 25, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted March 25, 2007 Great write up and some amazing country side. I took the liberty of welding your pics together for the panorama you were looking for. If you would like, PM me and I'll email you a copy of the larger size for your album. Looks amazing! UKchaz panorama pic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobie1dog Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Wow, great trip, great looking bike, now I want to go to Europe someday. Thanks for posting the write-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dan Posted March 25, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted March 25, 2007 Chaz, Just yesterday I said to my wife that one of my dreams was to ride a VFR in the UK so the timing of your trip report could not have been better. I don't know if you would consider it a dream trip but I would. I cannot wait until the day when I can do what you did. Thank you SO VERY MUCH for posting that. I felt the longing grow in me as I read it. Ahh, to pursue our dreams... to live them. Best, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer FlaminV4 Posted March 26, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted March 26, 2007 Great write up!! I have been to many places around the med and nothern Europe when I was in the military but would like to go back to some of these great places and tour on my VFR. The roads and scenery would be very joyous to ride and someday, I will make it to your homeland and do nothing but ride!! Thanks again for the great narration of your trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Loved this trip report. Have always wanted to visit those parts of UK. Thanks so much for posting it ! Dad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Very nice ride report & pics!! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvis Posted March 28, 2007 Share Posted March 28, 2007 Hats off, Chaz - lovely write up! Thanks for sharing your story and pics - I too like other hidebound yankee Vifferisti dream of crossing the pond and touring the UK - especially the Scottish highlands, and since I'm apparently comprised of at least 50% scot blood, well I pine for a trip up there something fierce. And to do it on a V4 - heaven. Long may you ride ~ Cheers :angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfrurknee Posted March 30, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted March 30, 2007 Great write up, Chaz. I will be anxiously waiting for that Ireland report. Ernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee 2002 Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 Just yesterday I said to my wife that one of my dreams was to ride a VFR in the UK so the timing of your trip report could not have been better. Think seriously about that.... They drive on the "wrong" side of the road over there. Even stepping off the curb to cross the street is a hazard for those of us familiar to "looking left". Driving, and I guess riding, in that environment is a good way to get yourself killed,... or worse. As for me, I'll stick with taxis and trains and busses when visiting former colonies of the Commonwealth. You really have to have you head screwed on straight all the time. You can never let habit or instictive reaction rear it's head in that situation. It's a great way to ruin the otherwise positive experience of visiting such a pretty country... in my experience. Great write-up Chaz. Makes me think of how much of the world I would like to see but will never get to. I appreciate you sharing. It was just like opening an issue of National Geographic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Crikey! I get up to my ears in it over here in the UK and don't sign on here for a week and all these great comments are up here! Plus the report has been moved to featured ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer GutsyGibbon Posted April 4, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted April 4, 2007 Thanks for sharing those lovely pics, with a great writeup. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldblueviffer Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 Good write up and a great bike too. I think i may have ridden a few of those roads myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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