Late 'Autumnal' rides ..

A busy time since the tour around the Lakes and Dales, I haven't ridden my bike that much this summer. Myself and Helen chose to tour the West Coast of the USA California along the Pacific Coast Highway, out to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park and Las Vegas over a wonderful three week car journey instead (see the blog here). On our return, low on funds with a low appetite for any form of long distant travelling meant I was forced to stick to enjoyable local weekend rides instead to include Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire, the Welsh Marches and just across the border into Powys.

Somewhere out near Machynlleth

Those Bridgestone Battleax A41 tyres I had fitted earlier this year are now just about shot with my 2018 GS having now covered over 8.5 K Miles in 12 months. Also, my Bluetooth helmet Intercom System (Schuberth SC1.2) stopped working too having been subject to a downpour while riding over to the BMW dealer to get my loose left grip combined control unit tightened so I have been quite happy to give the two wheeled adventure a rest for a while. 

Thankfully, the issues were all fixed under warranty to include a replacement comm's unit supplied by Moto Central, but alas no chance to ride for weeks on end due to several weekends of rain. Instead, along with Hayley and William I headed for the Tamworth Snowdome for ski lessons in the hope I can resurrect 40 year old skills and the two of them can have some fun too. All good so far no broken legs, and we all completed level 3 ski so maybe I now have an alternative adrenaline fix option for up-coming Winter months. 

Avro Anson one of three left

So, here we are now in October just a few weeks away from mothballing the bike with a break in the rain I met up with Mark yesterday at Clows Top for a sunny ride out to Shobdon Aerodrome. A bite to eat and catch up while watching the flying activities that include this visiting D-Day liveried plane neither of us recognised at first but Mark later identified as an Avro Anson. Originally built for transportation and later used to train Lancaster Bomber Pilots in WWII its seems.

After light sustenance, it was a make it up as we go affair, riding out to Kington, then Knighton on some great twisties back to Ludlow and the puddled back-road to Bridgnorth and Kinlet down through Button Oak and Bewdley. Good fun, with me getting in a bit of a mess going around corners feeling a bit rusty and those A41's getting a bit twitchy in the wet sections now. All good though but sadly one of the last rides of the year. Where did that summer go ?