Strictly Come Biking !

 I’ve been having a lot of fun recently with the IAM Advanced rider sessions now with last Sunday’s 10th session a challenging ride into Wales along the Devils Staircase and beyond chosen by Patrick my KAB Observer. Come rain or shine despite some pretty dire wet days out in October Patrick’s been available each week to improve my riding skills as I learn how to ride to the IPSGA system mentioned in the previous post. At the start of this I was really struggling to remember to do rear observation, identify potential hazards, identify and anticipate on warning signs, junctions, straight line roundabouts and position my bike for best visibility at all times. Over the weeks I’ve found my riding style is so much better and improved now. I’ve had a good deal to think about, Patrick being a Blood Biker for Severn Freewheelers and Advanced rider for 20 years has given me a lot of advice, his enthusiasm is infectious, and using his bike mounted video camera filming my ride we often stop at a cafe for a video replay ‘critique’ along with a long list of detailed notes as he replays the ride back to me identifying wrong positioning through bends along with accuracy on overtakes. Each week I end up with a feedback report identifying the focus for our next ride to include a cue to studying up with the IAM and Roadcraft material. It’s been quite a revelation to realise how I must have been riding around in the past oblivious to some of the hazards and ignorant to what was happening not only ahead of me, but also behind. 

 
 

I always thought I was riding ‘defensively’ most of the time to a satisfactory level, but with Patrick’s coaching he has helped me get to another level. While in the car I often listen to podcasts on Adventure ride Radio, and advanced rider training ideas feature quite often with riders who decide to tour and need to acquire some advanced skills, especially after an accident. The old idea of ‘years riding’ equating to ‘you can’t tell me how to ride a bike’ seems foolish to me now. While Patrick was away touring France I was invited to ride behind Dan another Observer who was observing his own associate Rich. I found it fascinating how Rich, having passed his bike test only last year hadn’t slipped into the ‘bad habits’ I had and proved to me despite my experience on long tours away Its obvious that experience on the road could lead to complacency and being ‘set in my ways’ it was hard to get the new style of riding into my ‘muscle memory’. I’m now looking forward to the next challenge in taking the advanced rider test, observed by an examiner who is usually a serving or retired Police motorcyclist. Honestly, I had no idea I would enjoy my ‘Strictly Come Biking’ sessions this much. So glad I signed up! 

Queen Elizabeth II. Thank-You Ma’m. Rest In Peace

 

A sad time for us all as we mourn our beloved Queen and look back on the truly magnificent service she gave our country and commonwealth. The motorcycle community has been paying tribute, I recently read how as a 19 year old she became quite skilled on a motorcycle too. Pictured around 1941 on the cover of Motor Cycle magazine riding a BSA C10 250cc while in the Auxiliary Territory Service (ATS) she became quite skilful at riding around tight turns while attending her vehicle driving and maintenance course at No1 Mechanical Training Centre, Camberley. 

One of the most endearing moments came while watching the Police outriders assist in returning her to London this week. Their precision riding skills with the seemingly simple task of slow riding in formation had me in full admiration as I watched the procession, cool under pressure and smooth skilful riding while keeping in time together, and then gently coming to a halt I realised their actions went mostly unnoticed to all watching at the time. For me, their final act as each rider pulled up gently to a halt, in unison and then slowly bowed their heads as her coffin passed by really did put a lump in my throat. Perfect! What an honour that must have been. Well done. It seems the act of stoic service provided by our Queen of 70 years is reflected well in those who serve too, she served us faultlessly as our Monarch. Thank you Ma’m.

The Ponderosa and Llangollen via IPSGA!

Apart from a week off holiday to visit Lake Garda with Helen, I’ve been out and about most Sundays with Patrick my IAM Roadsmart Observer. Patrick has been keen to setup each weeks session to reinforce my understanding of the Advance Rider IPSGA system (Information, Position, Speed, Gear, Acceleration) and I have to say, I’m really enjoying these sessions now on my 5th one already. I’m finding the sessions quite intense at times, from low speed machine handling and manoeuvres on a coned off car park to performing tight u-turns in a very limited space with a variety of roadcraft essentials covering  positioning for bends and other hazards, motorway observation speed, gearing and acceleration through all sorts of hazard perception and overtake preparation. I’m really starting to feel the benefit now, and Patrick’s attention to detail and keen eye amazes me how he can tell what gear I’m in and what I have or haven’t seen!

 

Despite these hot training sessions sometimes hitting the 30’s with this summers sweltering record breaking temperatures that found me paying out for a new ‘mesh’ ventilated jacket just to get by, I’m really surprised to discover how complacent my rides must have become. It seems that my riding experience acquired over the years was insufficient. We tend to think miles and years equate to better riding skills, but only if you apply them in the first place and don’t get lazy. I’m now convinced, like most things we learn that our riding skills and roadcraft need a reboot from time to time, if only to sharpen up and break bad habits. I’m also surprised to find as a side-effect, these sessions have renewed my enthusiasm for motorcycling too.

 

 

With all of the training sessions I was looking forward to getting out for a longer ‘practice’ ride into Wales now the weather had returned to a typical British summer and the Azores ‘high’ had dropped at last. While Patrick was busy on Blood Bike duties this weekend, myself and Mark arranged a ride into North Wales for the Saturday. The usual run in these parts include lakes Vrynwy and Bala via the mountain road, but I fancied a change today instead, heading up to the Horseshoe Pass via Bala to visit the Ponderosa Cafe. Neither of us had ridden up here before, so it was well overdue meeting in Cleobury Mortimer to plot our ad-hoc route on the Navigator/Garmin to take us out through Montgomery and on to Castle Caereinion along the B4385. A nice road running through some stunning Welsh countryside just across the border with Shropshire. 

After a quick stop to check on our general direction, we settled on a slight modification taking us to the A490 at Bryngwyn and then along the B4396 following the amazing river valley to Penybontfawr and on past the top end of Bala lake before making our way up the A494 to our adjusted waypoint at Ruthin. What a ride this had turned out to be, with glorious traffic free roads until the horseshoe pass, we had covered quite a bit of ground admiring the scenery some of which revealed parched and dried out fields with a mix of glades and valleys. The pass itself had been reduced to a 40mph speed limit, but admiring the view was certainly consolation and we managed to make the very busy Ponderosa Cafe in time for lunch, a brew and excellent steak and ale pie with gravy and chips. 

Thankfully Mark was happy to lead for most of the way, it was good to have him ride in front today and after the cafe he led us further down the pass into Llangollen where I finally got to visit the famous Pontcysyllte canal aqueduct.We parked the bikes just outside town at one end of the valley and walked the narrow towpath length of the aqueduct. I’m not too keen on heights, and this was quite high up but the valley and fields below revealing the railway viaduct were well worth the sights. Amazing how the aqueduct has a narrow steel edging on one side with a sheer drop, obviously saving money on railings where they weren’t really needed. I didn’t realise it was another a Thomas Telford construction either (the famous bridge builder) and came in at a cost of £47,000!

 

After a decent walk up and down the towpath, crossing over where we could to see the lift bridge at one end, we left Llangollen in the direction of Welshpool, cutting back into Shropshire again via Craven Arms getting home for around 7.20pm. Looking out from Clee Hill toward the Malvern Hills in the evening sunshine topped the days ride off a treat. Amazing views across dry, wheat coloured countryside and we said our farewells at the garage in Cleobury. It was good to get out and practice the new Motorcycling skills, without impacting Mark’s ride too much. We kept to a steady pace for most of the day, having a bit of fun along the way, with some new roads neither of us had ridden before. Excellent!

 

Old dog .. new ticks

Finally managed to get my bike serviced with new tyres after last months puncture woes, so out for a long awaited run with Mark last Sunday. The Metzeler Tourance Next 2 seem good so far, a bit stiffer and sportier than the old Next I’d just had taken off, it will be interesting to see how they wear. With a meet with Mark at Dom’s bike stop (I was late, he beat me there this time ha ha), followed by a nice little run down to Newtown, Crossgates with an aborted ‘Mach loop’ due to stormy weather we came back over to Knighton where we stopped at ‘Shotgun’ Carl’s cafe to listen to many a tale too numerous to mention here. Hilarious chap hailing from Brum’, my ears are still ringing and those home cooked chips are divine. We must make a return visit soon. 

 

So recently, I decided to set myself a new Motorcycling challenge and signed up for the ‘IAM Advanced Rider Training’. I’ve been in two minds over the years, I always enjoyed the BikeSafe courses attended as an introduction to Advanced Motorcycling run by the Police some years ago, and back in the early ‘80’s doing the RAC Star Rider courses. What I didn’t fancy was rolling out of bed early on a Sunday morning and riding miles away to meet an instructor / observer down in Worcester or some other such place. Much to my surprise I found a very active group nearby that meet every Sunday less than a mile away - Kidderminster Advanced Bikers (KAB). On several occasions while touring with Steve he suggested  I might like to try IAM course since he had qualified some years ago. I can only hope his suggestion was nothing to do with my riding when following behind! Anyway, after our Brittany trip I thought yeah, let’s give it a go. I went out for a ‘taster’ session to see what’s involved and meet the rest of the group. I paired up with Derek, one of the chief observers and we headed on down to a meet cafe in Herefordshire. On the way Derek pulled in front and pulled me over to impart his critique on my riding. I’m pleased to say, not too bad as it seems, the assessment was I need sharpening up on certain skills, raise my awareness of hazards. Also tidy the machine handling up a bit too, along with sort out my positioning. 

 

How not to ride .. Road Rash on the Megadrive with Paul. Happy days (and nights).

For the price of a rear tyre I signed up with IAM, and last Sunday went out with Patrick my assigned Observer, who I’ll stay with for the rest of the course. I must say Patrick introduced me to a fascinating insight into Advanced Riding techniques. He took me in hand and methodically broke down my riding style, skill level and put together the beginnings of a plan to get me up to Advanced level. We ended up in Newtown, Wales for his critique, and then paired up with Intercom for his bike to bike narrative and discussion while riding behind. The return ride with his advice proved to be more relaxed than the ride down. He slowed me up a bit, got me thinking about all sorts of  stuff and proved to me the opportunity to think 10 seconds ahead, pointing out all sorts of hazards way, way in advance. Human Factors come into play too, along with the IPSGA framework (Information, Position, Speed, Gear, Acceleration), it’s clear I have a lot to think about in the coming weeks. I really enjoyed my first real session and did find it a lot of fun. I know it’s going to be a real challenge though, and my head was spinning at the end of the ride but I am looking forward to getting deeper into improving my roadcraft. Watch this space!

Jubilee Rides

The week of the Jubilee celebrations I decided to get on my GS and head on up to North Yorkshire for a few days. Helen had booked a Cottage in Thornton le Dale for a break away with her Dad, the kids would show up too at some point making their own way leaving me to plan a steady ride up on the Tuesday with Helen taking my clothes up with her allowing me to tour without panniers for a change. I prefer to avoid the motorway as much as possible so planned a loose route after taking the M6/M69 out to Leicestershire. A wonderful country ride skirting around Melton Mowbray to my first stop at the entrance to Belvoir Castle for a mug of tea and biscuit. I couldn’t see much of the castle but the vast scenes of wide open countryside made up for it, with some nice twisty sections as the road to the castle grounds rise up. I was unsure which way to go next, the weather was quite mild with a threat of rain, my intention to cross the Humber bridge into Yorkshire later, but first I had this long yearning idea to visit Lincoln Cathedral. 

Always impressive only ever seeing it from a distance in the past, I mentioned my idea to the guy in the castle car park cafe who confirmed the city offered nearby Motorcyle parking, so on I went heading out near Grantham. As I approached Lincoln along some of those typical Lincolnshire flat straight roads surrounded by farmland, the sky turned dark leaden and I could see a great lightning storm with thunderbolts up ahead. It wasn’t long before I hit the deluge and a real storm it was too with rivers of water splashing over my boots. I briefly considered stopping for shelter, but investment in quality Goretex riding gear right down to boots and gloves made my mind up to continue on and let the kit do it’s job. I can’t say I was too happy about the thought of being struck by lightning though, I couldn’t recall if I’d ever heard of any stories of lightning striking bikers yet continued on with gritted teeth very much doubting these wet tyres would insulate me if my luck ran out.

 

 

The GPS took me up the hill to the Cathedral quarter, and as I got off the bike I realised the Goretex had worked very well, just a little damp on the collar and cuffs as I walked further up the hill and found a nice little cafe for a brew and warm up. Unfortunately my choice of words let me down and raised the eyebrow of the young girl on the counter when I asked her where the toilets were, and if I could have a serviette to wipe my helmet - doh, at least she saw the funny side! I did select a nice slice of Jubilee cake from her though, resplendent with a printed picture of our Ma’m on top. Seventy years in the same job .. wow I thought, I can’t even last ten without getting bored or frustrated, well done! I paid the £9.00 to enter the Cathedral after first trying my luck sweetening up the woman at the desk for a brief freebie walk around, but she wasn’t having any of it. A bit disappointing when you consider I was able to walk into Rennes Cathedral, Northern France last month for no charge at all, I guess the charge does contribute to regular maintenance costs though. 

 

I spent quite some time walking around the cloisters outside and studying the medieval stained glass images on the north transept. Those roof arches are vast and It turns out there was a spire at one time too. The exterior carvings were fascinating and quite amusing in parts. They do tell a story and quite controversial by todays standards, I’ll leave you to work out what it’s all about but I marvelled at the size and completeness of the figures. They weren’t original, and quite new and as I understand the weather worn originals are now inside the Cathedral. I did wonder how they are carved, they must be done in sections but couldn’t see a join between them. What happens if the stone mason / sculptor makes a mistake? A slip of the chisel do they have to start all over again? Argh! 

 

 

Late afternoon after I left Lincoln and crossed the Humber bridge coming in to Yorkshire, the sun came out and it warmed up quite nicely. I do enjoy riding that road from Beverley to Malton, specifically the B1248 that cuts across country and at one point as you get close to Malton the lane opens out with stunning views high up of North Yorkshire moors in the distance with the Howardian Hills to the West. At Beverley I did a ride around by the Abbey, the GPS will try and divert you around via the bypass but head in to town is far more interesting. The Yorkshire capital of food is Malton, but today the Macaroon shop will have to wait (as featured on Hairy Bikers) I wanted to get to the cottage in Thornton Le Dale where Helen, Hayley and Gordon were waiting with a table booked at the very friendly New Inn for fish and chips and a pint or two of real ale followed by an evening walk in the local park to wind down before bed.

 

In the morning I left the bike in the yard and we all took a short drive to Pickering to pick up our steam train ride on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway to Whitby. My late brother in law Chris loved spending holidays in North Yorkshire and I have fond memories meeting him up here in Whitby for drinks and spending time in Filey with him when the kids were young. It was good to show his Dad his old haunts around Whitby with a visit to his favourite restaurant Trenchers for Whitby Cod and Chips. Yesterday, they had met up with Wendy, and her family with his Grandchildren to scatter his ashes at Robin Hood Bay, with a few drinks as a much overdue tribute, restricted last year because of past Covid rules. Today was nice to relax a bit and wander around with a fun Jubilee atmosphere admiring all of the bunting up at the station. A good day and even though the train back to Pickering was delayed we found much amusement chatting to folk while drinking a round or three at the ‘Waiting Room’ real ale pub. A little gem of a place I spotted early on but failed to communicate my finding well enough it seems, just as well I thought we may have missed the last train back.

 

Back in Thornton le Dale we all took a walk up to see the famous ‘Mathewsons’ family auction house from the TV series featured on the Yesterday channel .. ‘Bangers and Cash’. We are all fans of the show, about the local family auction business who specialise in auctioning classic cars and bikes to include ‘barn finds’. It’s quite an amusing show and reveals some old none existent marques and models from years ago including Ford RS, Jaguars, Triumphs and some classic motorcycles too. Quite a mix on the forecourt with an unusual ‘mini’ looking Jag I’d never seen before and round the back I spied an old Honda 175 leaning on its side. Out of interest a similar model with the same gold and white paint is up on e-bay recently for nearly £4k. That bike would make a great restoration project.

 

 

The following morning I left the cottage early to ride a solo adventure I had in mind through parts of the Dalby Forest and along the Howardian Hills passing through that wonderful road around Castle Howard. The weather was warming up nicely no rain forecast today and the sublime scenery had me grinning inside my helmet listening to some old rock tune I can’t remember via Apple Music. I took the road through Malton town then on to Helmesley, a favourite biker destination I’d been to several times before and it was there I pulled into a local service station to fill up, not really noticing the price per litre was over £1.78. After filling up the guy asked if I’d like a receipt, he must have seen my disgust at being done over at the pumps and said in a broad Yorkshire accent “bye-eck mate you should frame that, it’s the most expensive fill up you’ve had I bet”. I had to laugh… begrudgingly (northern git).

 

My plan from Helmesley was to ride that rollercoaster of a road up to Stokesley again and then cut back towards Whitby meeting up at a pub we had seen near Sleights, but I didn’t complete the run to the pub. After a cracking ride on the B1257 I pulled into the viewpoint at Clay Bank to admire the scenery and got chatting to a few bikers who’d met up, one coming from York on a Triumph, the other from Newcastle riding the new Kawasaki Z900RS. I do like this modern take on this original cafe racer, he was having a lot of fun with it grinning from ear to ear, I’d sure have one as a second bike, I love the retro look of them and always loved the original ‘Z’s’ of the early ‘80’s ‘Mad Max’ style with the cockpit fairing, looks awesome.

 

Unfortunately, the days fun on the bike ended there. As I pulled out of Clay Bank the tyre sensors alerted me on the dash that my rear tyre pressure was down from 2.9 to 2.0 bar. Also, for some reason as bad timing would have it my Quad Lock charge cable to my phone had failed and I had hardly any battery life left. I limped the bike up to the first service station in Stokesley and pulled up at the airline right next to a brand new GSA with German plates and spotted a screw embedded in the centre of the tyre. Fortunately, I managed to get a new iPhone cable at the garage and as always carry a charged portable power bank in my top box. Always the way the one time you really need a phone it’s dead, a lesson learned on a past trip in France over ten years ago when I lost my fellow riders and the phone died. The GSA guy (British) appeared from the shop and we mulled over my options, he suggesting I call BMW Assist or some other rescue service. 

 

Being a public holiday in the UK I didn’t hold much hope for a tyre fix and sure enough after a few calls all of the tyre places and BMW dealers nearby proved they were closed for the day. I waved farewell to the GSA rider who was heading south back to get a ferry from Poole (eventually riding on to Munich), just as I got a call from a recovery guy who said he was a good three hours away and could only recover my bike locally. Faced with not getting my bike to a sensible location I decided to have a go at plugging the tyre using the kit I’d bought some years ago. I couldn’t remember how to use it and the paper instructions had become partly unreadable, but thankfully YouTube came to my rescue now my phone was up again and on the second attempt I’d successfully removed the screw and plugged the tyre. Fortunately, Helen called during this time and met me at the service station to follow me back to the cottage where a nice cold Cider was waiting and feeling of deep relief I’d averted sitting by the side of the road for hours.

We all had an evening meal in the New Inn where we caught a glimpse of the Evil Knievel charity ride, a group of forty or so bikers dressed in the white stars and stripe jump suit and matching helmet pass through from Wales with Mathewsons on their route. My thoughts were all about tomorrows ride home though, and if the tyre plug would let go. I needn’t have worried, my pencil gauge showed 2.8 bar as I set off for home in the morning avoiding motorways all the way back without issue keeping my eye on the tyre pressure sensor reading, thankfully it never dropped below 2.8 bar.

A great little trip that didn’t end as planned, just proves that if it can happen it just might. I’ve often been tempted to avoid carrying tools and ride minimalist and on this one I foolishly left my multi-tool at home thinking I wouldn’t need it. How wrong I was as I struggled to remove that screw from the tyre, but at least I had taken the mini compressor, plug kit and power bank with me. Lesson learned!