Hawkati Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Here's something i did earlier, for personal reasons - i'd be delighted if you'd care to look here too for the reasons why - www.justgiving.com/James-Serjeant2 This was in conjuction with a diverse bunch of other bike monkeys from the Performance Bikes magazine forum and there were a few guidelines, the most significant being 1) No motorways 2) Bikes to cost no more than £300. Mine was a VFR750FG which has lain in a garden for 3 years festering & rotting....report on that elsewhere in the newbie section. meanwhile, here's a bit of a road report.... Due to computer being A Complete Bastard i've not been able to upload pics yet, but be assured that there will be pic whorage aplenty soon... "See – it's binding" shouts Dave while jumping up & down on the rear brake. I bite my tongue while Dovvi gently chews my boot. Dovvi is a wolf who i've known since he was a cub. We love each other, which is more than I can say about Dave right now. Dave is mad as a box of frogs but his word is law so the bike gets slung back in the van & I zoop home & by fair means (and foul) the problem is solved. At 4pm Thursday with a fresh MOT, tax & insurance, the viffer rolls out of the driveway and I head oop narth. Dovvi pic For sheer familiarity I aim the well trodden routes – up the A361 to Daventry, then A5 to Hinckley & beyond, gradually cracking the pace on as I become familiar with the beestie. It's civilised compared to the 996, sounding like a rasping sewing machine & gutless...but it'll do. Riding position is weird – i'm so used to a racing crouch that the upright position is distinctly uncomfortable. This will savagely catch up with me a week after the event. Peak pic On into the Peak district as it's near dusk – up the A54 – sister to the cat&fiddle to Buxton, then north again up through Holmfirth. Everything's turned yellow as I realise i'm tracing the route for the Tour de Yorks that's about to take place. On through Halifax & Skipton on the A65 i'm aiming to hit the motorway near Kendal and piledrive up to Glasgow then camp wherever so I can leisurely do Scotland the following day. Dark now & riding through a veritable infestation of midges – one gets into the corner of my eye so I stop rapidly, haul up visor, off with glove, rub eye.....and discover brake fluid has saturated my glove. Arrrgh! I don't think Lucosade Sport has ever been used as an eyewash before but it's neccesary there & then. All plans of significant further travel are cancelled and I wind towards Windermere and, finding a convenient field I park up & tent it. Between my right eye & a veritable hay fever onslaught I barely sleep at all, but the day breaks luvverly, i'm 200 yards from a garage ( fuel for me & bike) and i've never ridden through the Lake District in daylight before so the next coupkle of hours are taken gently and I stop seemingly every ¼ mile to take acres of pics of utterly gorgeous scenery. One road is called "The Struggle" - leading up to the Kirkstone pass it's steep, winding, has random sheep and rocks from shattered dry stone walls lying in the road. Nice. Lake pics On beyond Ullswater I hit the motorway at Penrith & nail it for Glasgow. The brand spanking new £7.50 budget busting speedo cable didn't work from the off and so guesswork is involved – pick a company repmobile as an outrider, follow 50 yards back & gun it. Mere seconds later I arrive in Glasgow and find a double whammy of a newsagents & Ducati Glasgow. Newsagents is absolutely rammed with cans & Irn Bru (I celebrate my half scotness by drinking one) and the Duc shop is full of gorgeous tat & bling. Ohlins, Termis, spangly rearsets & luvverly leathers. Nice to the power of yummy! Enough of that – onwards & upwards – on to the A82 which is going to feast my eyeballs for a lifetime with awesome vistas of lakes & mountains. I live for this – the world is my church and nature is my religion so this, leading up to Glen Coe, is like breakdancing on the altar. I am in Lord of the Rings & Skyrim combined – a world so alien to the rolling hills of the Cotswolds and so inspiring my jaw is dragging on the ground as a I ride. There is snow on the peaks – it's Midsummer and there's Snow. Wonderful glen coe & snow pics On to Fort William and i'm torn between needing to make progress & cruising to enjoy the sights – I settle for dashes for several miles, then stop, breathe, pic and onwards again. Pitstop for fuel & food and I meet another furry beestie & his owner. Good chat & much fluffy fuss. Loch Ness, and disappointingly there's no monsters unless I look in the mirrors. Huskie pic, Ness pic. Inverness is all a bit rush hour & towny so I get out of there asap, learning that the viffer is fatter than the 996 and a smidge more care needs to be taken filtering. Overall the bike's been fine – not getting too hot, spongy suspension absorbing some grimly rough roads and can wind on smartly – the tyres are the revelation – ancient Conti front & Metzler rears...gripping far better than I dared imagine as I sling the bike around the twisties. Up the A9, neck cricking from looking right towards the sea (an old friend) and stopping briefly at the bridge over Cambuscurrie Bay I am accosted by an utter gent in the shape of Rich 7/12 of this parish. We chat for a bit then crack on since time's getting short. Drizzle descends and we discover the delights of shiny smooth tarmac, especially on the last leg - the A99. We're on a gentle mission now since the briefing is taking place imminently. Arrival! In comic fashion we take the wrong turning at the bitter end, ride down a farm track and realise there's an audience/baying hyena pack the other side of a field. About turn and PB rationale kicks in as we wheelspin up the lane again creating dust clouds, then my bike does the World's Most Pathetic Wheelie as we hit tarmac and a minute later we're at Mission Control. Arrival pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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