St Georges Day and Easter Holiday Ride.

With this years Motorcycle Tour of Northern Spain finalised and coming up fast, where I'll be riding the wonderful Picos again in the Asturias region of Northern Spain before going down through the Douro Valley in Portugal, I decided to get some new rubber fitted to my GS. Now coming up 4500 miles since taking delivery of her last August, the Michelin Anakee III tyres have been good, but quite noisy and a stiffer ride than the 'Metzeler Tourance Next' I'm used to. The rear was starting to wear a flat spot and with so many twisty bends coming up I started looking at swapping back to the old faithful Metzelers, or maybe an alternative tyre instead. I considered the Michelin Road Pilot 5's (reports have the 4's a bit slippy in the wet so unsure about the later version), or the Bridgestone Battleaxe Adventure A41's. After gauging thoughts on Facebook groups I decided to go with the A41's this time, as they are slightly cheaper and getting good reviews with a good tread depth pattern ideal for a bit of loose-surface lanes, and now fitted as standard to the latest GS's coming out of the factory. Gary at Rybrook Motorrad organised a fitting on Saturday for me, so still time to scrub them in and see how they fair on a good ride out before the big trip. Being Easter and Bank Holiday I have the Tuesday off in lieu of working Good Friday so with the promise of quieter traffic, decided to wait until then to plot a route the night before to chase the Dragon in Wales on a bright and sunny St Georges day.     

 

Some months ago I had been watching the series 'Life on the Road with Brian Johnson'  where the AC/DC front man meets up with fellow 'rock gods' to discuss their lives in Rock bands on the road. The episode that caught my interest more for it's location was where Brian met Robert Plant(Led Zeppelin) on the old Victorian wooden bridge over the River Mawddach near Dolgellau at a place called Penmaenpool. I was intrigued not only by its idyllic river location and surrounding marsh land but also by the wooden toll bridge itself. It's not often we see these bridges these days, made up entirely of wooden struts in the usual ornate 'pier' like design favoured by the Victorians. The chosen route took me out via Ludlow, Knighton and on to Machynlleth before heading up to Dolgellau. I wanted to take the opportunity to test my Navigator VI too before visiting Spain as it's been in the draw since the Alps trip last September. I'm finding Basecamp the Garmin route planning software really easy to use these days too and prefer this now over a Google map on-line alternative, it's more accurate and configurable, but does take a while to get used to.  We had a late start 1.30 pm yet the route there was bang on perfect all the way with no directional hiccups at all. 

 

With a quick pit-stop off in Knighton and arrival at 3.30pm there was ample time to experience the serenity of this peaceful scenic location after paying the very worthy 50p Motorcycle toll fee (both ways). The usual Red Kite's were circling in the sky and people sat outside the George Hotel (St George?), really enjoyed looking out at the marsh land and spotting a few waders and Herons. Good to sit in the sun and and relax a bit while looking out across the bridge and river before plotting the inevitable a route home.

So far the new Bridgestone's seem fine, a slightly softer yet more comfortable and quieter ride than the Anakees since the side walls are less stiff. Gary mentioned that removing the Michelin's due to the stiff side walls needed two people on the tyre machine, and I now see what he means since you can really feel the softer  and slightly detached feel. That said, I am really pleased with how they turn in to bends, it will be interesting to see how they fair on the Picos Mountains and hopefully I'll get 6k+ out of them with a good wear profile.  

 

The route back via Welshpool then around Shrewsbury was not an ideal choice, but I haven't been this way for a while so it turned out to be a nice change. Took a slight detour after a fuel top-up at Morville to take the more interesting road to Kinlet and Button Oak, arriving home around 7.20 pm.

Most enjoyable afternoon run out to a great scenic location. 👍

Battleaxe A41's - scrubbed in now (a few bobbles on the edge to get rid of  😉)

Cold morning ride to Shobdon

Nice little ride today, quite cold though well down to 6 degrees as a I set off from home out toward Tenbury Wells. I really enjoy that run up through Clows Top. As I came past Little Hereford I came across temporary traffic lights and a convoy system, so I pulled up in front of the traffic at the side of a nice looking F 800 ST. I got chatting to it's owner, a friendly chap Andy from Bewdley while we waited in the queue, he was heading in the same direction it seems, toward Shobdon Aerodrome Cafe. Travelling together we arrived just before a large party of Motorcycle club members arrived so we managed to nip in the cafe while the club was parking up to place orders of two small breakfasts ahead of the rush.  

Andy was just recovering from the broken leg he endured just before Christmas while riding his trail bike in Wales and this was one of his first rides of the year. Sounds like he was having a lot of fun out riding the trails near 'break neck falls' - the waterfall I visited a couple of years ago. Apparently there are some legal trails out there through the forest,  and sadly he hit a rut and broken his ankle. Amazingly, he managed to ride the bike back to the van before heading to hospital later. Anyway, good to see he's out riding again. We both got chatting to a guy who was riding an original Norton Dominator wearing just a Brando style leather jacket and was thinking how cold he must be in classic biker gear.

During our breakfast myself and Andy exchanged phone numbers.  It turns out he is on the same ferry as me leaving Portsmouth to Santander Spain riding down the same day so we'll keep our eye out on the boat and maybe have a beer together. 

Later on, for a ride I decided to follow Andy who had a Ride Mag' route loaded on his Garmin for a quick loop around Presteigne - good ride, Andy and the ST was batting along quite nicely. Good mornings ride ! 

A Ride into Wales at last!

Today, (Sunday) with sunshine predicted a long awaited ride into Wales was most definitely order of the day. Out toward Much Wenlock first, then on to Church Stretton on this bright and breezy morning with a temperature at about 8 degrees, stopping for fuel before Wenlock Edge to change my optimistic summer gloves back to warmer ones. I had contacted Mark earlier in the week he was suffering with the 'lurgy' too much for a ride, but he sent word while I was out he was now feeling better and fancied a razz out this afternoon. I called him back and we agreed to meet if we could find each other later at a suitable meet point on the road.

At Church Stretton I decided to take a left down through Little Stretton rather than up and over the Mynd for a change, enjoying the scenery lit with bright sunshine then down the A49 for that slightly boring road before turning right just before Craven Arms out toward Bishops Castle and Knighton. I stopped briefly at the lay-by near the Norman built Clun Castle (pictured above) and picked up messages on my phone - none from Mark so assumed he's on the road somewhere South West of Worcester. 

 

After leaving Clun I rode on to Newtown via that excellent fast-flowing road, eventually coming in along the new by-pass in the direction of Llandrindod Wells. Just outside Newtown I found the left turn road up to Dolfor Hill, the old cut-thru I used to take as a Systems Engineer in the 90's on the way to Knighton. No traffic up here and love that twisty climb with the scary left hander before it tops out with magnificent views across the valley. I pulled into Knighton and parked up at a great little Cafe (JD's opposite the War memorial) and ordered a Ham and Cheese Toastie with a cuppa. Two trail bikes were parked nearby and got chatting to one of the riders. It turns out he does off-road tours around Shropshire and the Marches. I know from reading Adventure Bike Rider there are some great trails near Offas Dyke so I asked for a card. I fancy a day out here on the rougher stuff - little did I know my wish would come true sooner than I thought!

  

At the Cafe I saw a message from Mark saying he was now in Ludlow. We were able to arrange a meet and he headed down to meet me at the Cafe. We caught up over a brew as you do, then decided to both head off back toward Anchor and Bishops Castle. Mark had seen some lanes he fancied having a crack at, so off we went and took some farm track green lanes that warned us with a notice 'Not suitable for motors'. After a brief discussion, we agreed to go for it and see how far we could get.

The road quickly turned all gnarly and full of long muddy sections. We had to stop to open and close livestock gates but this was great fun, stood on the pegs and steering with my knees, I had flipped to Enduro mode - not sure why but I guess I wanted to see if it helped since the throttle response changes to suit loose surfaces and I did feel comfortable and in control of the bike. That said, Mark wasn't having trouble on his Versys, so I guess I chose to imagine the GS Enduro setting helped, and didn't make all that much of a difference in the end. 

  

   

After riding almost peg deep in giant puddles the view across the ridge was well worth the adventure before we  came back out onto the main road into Knighton where I nipped in front to lead us back toward Kington using the valley road out and on to Shobdon. Another wonderful days ride and good fun with Mark as ever. We parted ways north of Cleobury Mortimer. I can't wait for the next one, and agreed we both fancy a bit of trail riding so may contact Shropshire Trail Bike Tours in the future. 👍

Ride while you can .. Clee Hill

An impromptu ride today for an hour or so, a 'toss up' between watching the Six Nations Rugby - Scotland v Wales or jump on my GS and make the most of the dry weather after all of the recent rain with more rain forecast for Sunday. 

The bike ride option won, so a couple of hours before the England vs Italy match I took off in the direction of Bridgnorth again, a few other bikers had the same idea with riders out near Quatt and the cafe. I was surprised to see quite a few Sports bikes out despite the cold. 

This time, I took  the left turn after the by-pass toward Kinlet near the Punch Bowl in the direction of Highley. I love this road ideal for a GS, a bit gnarly and bumpy in parts and quite a bit of mud and gravel in the road but great to get out and thread through the lanes near Deuxhill and Billingsley. I chose the right turn signposted to Cleobury Mortimer taking the back road up the side of Clee Hill via Cleeton St Mary and popping out a bit later in Cleobury town via one of side roads.

I rarely get to stop this side of Clee Hill (one of the six Shropshire summits) , so decided to pull over to take in the view, grab a photo and shuffle the play-list on my phone before turning right just after Cleobury toward Pensax. Yet another great motorcycle road with a fast ride across the high ridge down to Great Whitley with good views of distant Worcestershire countryside below. No real traffic to contend with either this afternoon, and sadly the trees showing no signs of buds just yet, winter is still well and truly with us despite the mild weather a week or so ago.

 

I really enjoyed this short ride today and I'm finally starting to feel like I belong in the saddle again at last after the Winter layup, I was playing a bit with the suspension modes on my GS too, switching between Dynamic and Auto settings and good to feel the system react to the road conditions. What a great bike, so for a change at Dunley I took the narrow lane up to Heightington and out through Bliss Gate. Haven't been up here for a while and reminds of my early Sunday morning 'razz' with Dean Peplow as a teenager on my 2 stroke Suzuki. It bought a smile to my face as I came up the hidden dip section as the road 'crowns' up for us to try and jump all of those years ago. 

Feeling the cold by now, I switched the heated grips on to warm my hands. It wasn't long before my hands were feeling the benefit too, I'm convinced BMW heated grips seem to get hotter the faster you ride - kind of regulated it seems. Anyway, back down through Bewdley and home just before the England/Italy match, parking up in my garage with a grin. Not long now before a good ride into Wales 👍

A quick blast around the block ..

Out for a couple of hours today, grey skies and a few rain spots out near Wigmore and Mortimers Cross, but tomorrow predicts rain so my only chance this weekend. A few bikes out, and Quatt cafe busy as usual. 

What I want to know is how Google knows I'm on my bike? 😲

As good as Spring ...

My first real rides of 2019, I couldn't resist a ride to work Friday and today, after waiting until midday for the fog to clear, I decided to get a couple of hours in the saddle before Sunday lunch. Down through Button Oak and Cleobury, over Clee Hill then down to Tenbury Wells before heading into Herefordshire on the Bromyard road. Glorious sunshine, quiet roads. 

Instead of heading to Stamford Bridge this time I took a left and back toward Tenbury again and starting to feel a bit more relaxed 😎 at last, with that blast down the hill to get the 'ton' (shh), flicking through the bends at the bottom before Tenbury where Helen dialled me up to say 'times up, dishing up' so back home via Bewdley. 

Good fun, looking forward to a full day's ride in to Wales soon, and our ride to Spain and Portugal in a few months. Fantastic !

Motorcycle Live with a Sunny Sunday Bonus ride

Last Saturday myself and Will (my Son) visited Motorcycle Live at the NEC. We haven't been for a few years, yet always a good day out on a dreary wet November. One of the first stands to impress us was Harley-Davidson. This time with a rolling road amusing ourselves watching people actually ride a fixed bike going up and down through the gears, making some real Harley noise with huge fan at the front to get the wind effect in your hair too. I do still quite like the Street Glide (as pictured above) and I got to try the latest incarnation of Sportsters that still look a lot of fun. I did enjoy owning one over 10 years ago but they do feel like a moped to me now compared to the GS. 

  

Will' took a shine to the Indian models (pictured right) and I found the latest Triumph Scrambler series they are doing based on the Bonny engine a great option. I must say, if I was going for a second bike to potter around on the Triumphs would be a definite option. 

While around the back of the halls looking at the smaller stands for tour companies and the like I discovered Duncan Gough who has published some great looking books on touring Spain with hand-drawn maps of his experiences. What a smashing chap. He had some great advice for touring all over Spain including the Pyranees, Picos, Sierra Nevada .. you name it he's been there. Very friendly and approachable, I was so impressed I decided to buy a couple of his books. Check out his website here, and go visit him if you are visiting the show this year.  

Old Katana

New Katana

Thinking back to the early '80's and the famous road bikes of those times I recall the original Suzuki Katana. I remember the 550 variant back in '82/'83 and one or two mates had one. Always in silver with that unusual styling  and two-tone seat they were quite a radical diversion from most bikes of the day. You either loved them or hated them. Recently, Suzuki have decided to bring back the Katana in 1000cc guise and keep some of the original design and style cues as a modern twist on that iconic machine. I quite like it, with the irony of a one time futuristic looking motorcycle now sitting in the 'retro' genre that is popular nowadays. More about the Katana and it's history here.

After a quick mooch around the rest of the Suzuki stand and a look at the latest V-Strom's, we headed over to the BMW Motorrad stand. Will' likes the R1250R, and the latest RR HP4 too.

 

Afterwards, we both went over to see the new R 1250 GS and as a 'Wolves' fan I thought I'd prefer the new Black and Gold scheme over the Blue and White 'Albion' looking HP4 variant. I wasn't so keen on the black bars or black rear grab rail on either though, and the gold looked a bit too yellow for my liking. I did like the base model in blue but if only it came with the blacked out engine! So, for now I'm happy to keep my 1200 Exclusive in Iced Chocolate Metallic, and the rest of the spec' is pretty much identical to mine too with the TFT and the wonderful Dynamic mode. The temptation to get the slightly quicker engine has subsided ... for now 😉. 

We stayed to watch the Off-Road Skills demo and BMW Training, teaching us how to park the big RT as well as lifting it up after being dropped. The off-road skills rider jumped the big GS over an off-road 'gap' too, and was good without much of a run at it either, designed to demonstrate the additional torque claims of 20% more over the 1200. We quite enjoyed how the guy balanced the GS without side-stand using an opposite lock and ran around the bike without it toppling proving how well balanced the GS is as he manoeuvred it within a very tight turn radius by standing on the pegs on one side only, and lowering the bike down as he went around cones.   

The TT stand was a good place to hang out as usual watching one of the races on the big screen, and was great for us both to see the Senior Trophy in the glass case with all of those famous winners Joey Dunlop, Mike Hailwood, John McGuinness and Ian 'Hutchy' Hutchinson to name a few.

 

Toward the end of the day, while wandering about I passed a familiar face in the crowd who we just about recognised each other, none other than Alan who I met on the Motorrad Mountains:Alps tour back in September. Alan, a big BMW S1000 RR fan, turned up on the tour with his own RR. Good fun riding with him (see my video featuring Alan up front on 'Stelvio Ride Out' here). Good to catch up, and I hope we ride together again some day.   

So, after a great day with Will' at the show and a superb late Autumn weather forecast for Sunday after seeing all of those bikes I had a yearning to get out on my bike. Mine is not packed away for the Winter just yet, I took off toward Bridgnorth then on to Ironbridge for a wonderful run out to Jackfield in Shropshire stopping off at the Boat and the bridge across the Severn to the Canal on the other side to admire the autumn views in bright sunshine. 

  

  

Nice little spot, I must remember to come back in the summer and have a drink outside the pub. A good little ride today in great weather for this time of year, I ended up back down in Herefordshire almost as far as Tenbury Wells before I finally turned toward home. 👍