Steve's Bike Diaries

Sunny Hunny

2009-09-02T23:21:00.003+01:00

A visit to Sunny Hunstanton, with my son, Chris. Didn't take many photos but thought i'd share this one of Chris in the pink leathers ... I really must get them dyed

Saturday 4th July

2009-07-06T08:30:00.004+01:00

A lovely ride out to sunny Hunstanton with a few guys and ladies from "the Snug".

Thanks to Skids for organising and leading the way ...

2009-06-29T21:06:00.004+01:00

The VFR's back on the road again, freshly MOT'd and with a brand new Honda clutch, so ...

This blog probably gives the impression that the only place I go to is Cadwell Park. Well, to prove the point ... I went again on the 21st June

Chatting to Anshuman - it could have been in the pub - a little while ago, it seems that he'd never been to watch bike racing, so I offered to take him. I checked the diary and I had a choice, Snetterton - 17 miles away, and British Superbikes - or Cadwell - 100 miles away to watch club racing. No contest. Club racing wins over BSB and Cadwell wins over Snetterton. Both because I like the closeness and the intimacy. At club racing you can walk around the paddock watching machinery being worked on and get close to the competitors. You also get an amazing range of machinery, especially in the formula libre class, being ridden by all kinds of people, from youngsters (the youngest was 13) to oldsters (72!) and quite a number of women seem to be competing on this day.

My favourite, though, was the 70cc twist-n-go scooter competing against the 125's, and being far from last. Here, at Hall bends, he seemed to be in his element.

Anshuman posing in the sun!

One thing the MOT threw up was that one of the fork seals might need attention. Well, sure enough, it does. It's blown, and is in need of replacement. Urgently. 'Cos I have a rideout on Saturday - around 150 miles - and the ZXR isn't my 1st choice for that sort of distance.

I'll get both seals done while i'm there and let's hope that that's the last problem I have with the bike this year else i'll have no budget left to get out and ride!

Kawasaki ZXR750 J2

2009-06-03T10:59:00.001+01:00

My new bike! Not instead of the VFR, as well as ...

2009-05-26T12:32:00.003+01:00

It's been a while since I last posted - mostly because not a lot has happened since last year. I've been for a few rides with friends and colleagues, and taken part in a couple of rides with the local IAM group (http://www.ngoam.co.uk/), none of which were worth particular mention.

Non-biking life has been busy, with sailing lessons and a bathroom refit occupying me somewhat.
In the last month, though, I've taken part in a couple of Martin Hopp (http://www.hoppridertraining.co.uk/) events.

A few weeks ago I did the Advanced Machine Skills course, covering off slow-speed riding, swerving and emergency braking, with a nod towards look, lean and roll. Oh, and picking up a dropped bike - we've all dropped a bike, this showed the most efficient way of picking the damned thing up. The instructors are a great bunch, and their bike skills are amazing. Even though this is the second time I've attended it was a really useful refresher.

The last week I took part in the Hopp Cadwell Better Riding day (see the Hopp website for more info'). Before that, though, the bike went in for a service.

After the service I went for a ride with some work colleagues and noticed clutch slip at about 9,000rpm in 3rd gear (that'll be 70mph, officer) as I accelerated away from a roundabout on the A47. Knowing that I had the Cadwell day ahead I booked the bike in to have the clutch attended to.

Picking the bike up from the workshop on the Tuesday evening I was advised to take it easy for 50-60 miles, so rode home steadily and parked up.

The next day I loaded the bike up with overnight gear and went to ride away. In gear, clutch out, the bike hardly moved. With a little coaxing I was able to ride to the workshop, 17 miles away, and the clutch seemed to fix itself - withstanding a couple of short, hard blasts of acceleration - so I rode to work all ready and enthused to ride to Louth to stay at Keddleston Hall ready for the day on track on Thursday. Once again, attempting to ride the bike after work, the bike barely moved - struggling to get me out of the underground car-park. Hard revving with the clutch slipping seemed to clear the problem; I managed to get to Louth by frequently gunning the engine to deliberately slip the clutch and clear the problem. Overnight the problem re-appeared, a call to the RAC ultimately resulting in being directed to a local bike-shop (Louth Motorcycle Company - top guys), who had a look - unfortunately unable to fix it. By this time I realised the only way to get the bike to go was to just accept that gunning the bike would (temporarily) fix the problem: down the two straights at Cadwell, for example ...

I arrived at Cadwell having missed the first two sessions. Luckily Martin Hopp remembered me from previous days and allowed me to register, bike noise check and a personal pre-track safety briefing. So, on the 3rd instructed session of the day (that'll be the "lean" session, follows the track familiarisation session and the "look" session, and preceded the "roll" session), I tucked myself behind the instructor to get a sighting lap and re-familiarise myself with the route. 2nd lap, put me in the sights of the instructor and then I was away. Of course, the morning sessions are really quite gentle, so the clutch didn't get worked hard with the result that it slipped, which meant I wasn't getting consistent drive out of bends, making it an "interesting" ride.

A long lunch didn't help, returning to the bike it struggled to get up to 30mph. Expecting to have to pull off the track, I rode down from the paddock to Hall Bends and opened the throttle, sure enough, it slipped but the bike accelerated enough that it wasn't left behind while everyone was on cold tyres. Out of the hairpin, another short, hard blast of throttle, gently around Barn and hit the throttle hard as the bike came upright .. the moment of truth ... the engine spun up for a second, then the clutch bit hurtling the bike forward. So the pattern ran each session, each lap. From Barn all the way to Mansfield, the clutch worked reasonably well following the initial slippage out of Barn, from Mansfield to the Hairpin and Barn, the clutch wasn't worked hard enough so slipped, giving just enough drive for the section to be covered at a good pace.

The bike will be in for the clutch to be sorted over the next week, then i'll be looking for another track event to ride to see what I can do without the clutch slipping! Oh, and a trip to Manchester to watch Oasis, Kasabian and the Enemy (via Snake Pass!!).

ps. No pictures - I have enough of me around Cadwell!

Ely - 29th August

2008-09-01T20:08:00.010+01:00

After popping into work during my holiday I was offered some time in-lieu.. so had Friday afternoon off, and made a random choice to head West (ish). A gentle winding route, down the B1108 to Watton, turning right up the B1077 through Saham Toney towards Swaffham. Turning right at the end of the B1077 then left into beachamwell Road, and left along Cley Road through Cockley Cley, Gooderstone, Oxborough to Stoke Ferry where I turned right onto the A134. At the roundabout after a mile I turned left towards Wissington and, eventually Southery. Meeting the A10, Ely was signposted, so an easy ride down to Ely.

First stop - the riverside. It wasn't the first place I went to Ely, but I do believe that the centre of Ely can give Hampton Court Maze a run for its money.

A slow walk along the embankment led me to a nice coffee shop. This is the view from the patio

Having parked near the quay, I had to go get an ice-cream, too. You may notice that that's my bike .. the ice-cream had been eaten by the time I'd got my camrea out!

I rode up into the city and eventually found this parking space. It was hot and I was wearing leathers so I decided not to walk anywhere but take photos of wha I could see from here.

I feel a children's programme moment coming on.. "Through the arched window" ..

And a little way along was the leaning cathedral of Ely

After which I had a gentle ride to the White Swan in Great Yarmouth. I had to stop in Mildenhall to scrounge an allen key from a garage to tighten up my right mirror. Then, even on the bike, the traffic was horrendous with long queues of stationary traffic - and solid white lines so I had to sit in the queues for some distance. Grrr.

Why can't cats ride motorbikes

2008-08-22T22:15:00.003+01:00

I think this may be the answer ...

Having scrubbed in the tyres really nicely at Cadwell, ready for posing (yes, I know it's vanity but, hey!), the rear tyre gets a puncture, so I replace the tyre. :-(

The piece of metal that did the damage. Curled between the rubber and the tyre casing. I didn't want to risk having the tread shred.

S'pose i'll have to scrub the new one in... :-)

Cadwell

2008-08-06T19:49:00.007+01:00

RiDe magazine / Motorsportvision track day.

100 mile ride there, 113 track-miles (I did six sessions) 100 mile ride back. Rain forecast, but stayed dry once out of the drizzle leading up to Kings Lynn.

I left home at 5.30am, refuelled at Thickthorn services - two miles from home - and arrived at Cadwell Park at 7.20 after a nice, easy ride up, having refuelled again at Horncastle.

Register, bike noise check, briefing. Registration threw up a little surprise when I found that they'd merged the intermediates with the fast group. Eeek.

Three sighting laps on a damp track, dry lines available, and a dry track for the rest of the day. Adjusted tyre pressures down by 3 PSi (the first time I've done this. Not sure how much of a difference it made).

Entry into the Mountain - I was starting to enjoy this part of the track once i realised just how fast you can enter it. I've tended to think of it as really slow but the camber is in your favour and it's really not that tight.

Which sets you up for the Mountain. I'm quite gentle with the throttle until i'm over the "bump" near the crest, and I tend to push my weight forward to get decent drive without too much wheely. This is about the amount of wheely I get 50% of the time - the rest, no wheely.

The first left-hander into Hall bends - you can't quite see the crest of the Mountain at te left of the photo.

The same spot, looking in the direction of the track.

I think this is Barn, although it could be the Hairpin - which would surprise me as I practically get off and walk the bike around that.

Again, not too many clues about where this is. I think it's the first part of Charlies.

One thing I noticed was the square patch of different colour tarmac has disappeared as you ride around Chris Curve. It took several laps to sort out my line towards the Gooseneck without it.

All in all, a good day.

Photos courtesy of http://www.britishsportphotography.co.uk/

Back tyre. I'm sure it looked more shredded than that.

Front tyre

Southwold after work

2008-07-30T22:39:00.004+01:00

Several of us at work were to go for a ride after work. It was a bit overcast with a good chance of rain so the others decided not to go. I needed a ride, so went to Southwold. Some piccies...

WSB - Nurburgring

2008-06-18T21:43:00.005+01:00

Thursday June 12th... Finish work at 1.30pm and meet up with Peter for a long weekend in Germany: World Superbikes at the Nurburgring. An easy ride down to Dover, stopping en-route at Birchanger (next to Stansted Airport) services off the M11 for a coffee.

We arrived with plenty of time to spare before loading onto the ferry. The people looking after us on the dockside were very helpful - letting us know what was happening, and when we'd be loaded. Well done Norfolk Line (or the port authority, whoever they worked for).

Onto the ferry and here are a few pictures as we sailed away with the sun setting behind us.

The hotel at Ho-he Acht. Well, not actually at Ho-he Acht, but just down the road, as Ho-he Acht is actually the highest point in the Eifel mountains. We found it by a circuitous route, having taken a turning too early as we passed the Nurburgring Racetrack and ended up in Adenau where no-one seems to have heard of this hotel.

The hotel is the Berghotel and I can recommend it as a good budget offering.

This is the view from the front of the hotel

Juan Manuel Fangio - well, a statue of him

A great plaque on the wall, in the shape of the Nordschleiffe, with the names of many famous racers.
#

And finally ... I just had to add a sticker (or two) to the bike

Classic bike track day at Cadwell

2008-06-01T18:30:00.007+01:00

A couple of weeks ago I spotted that there was to a a "Classic Bike track day" at Cadwell, and decided that, if I didn't have anything else to do, it would be a pleasant way to spend a day.

The ride up was uneventful, I took my time and, particularly in Lincolnshire where they're clearly taking a firm view against bikes with a view to speeding (full page advert in RiDE magazine and signage indicating that they're using "Stealth" against bikes (I assume they mean sneaky cameras, although they may have an AWAC radar aircraft for I know)). There was one mobile police camera on the A17 - I spotted it while making a series of overtakes; strictly IAM, of course, @ 60mph.

Having arrived at Cadwell, instead of heading straight for te carpark, I turned right at the entrance and rode anti-clockwise around the perimeter track, in the opposite direction to the track riders. Stopping at Chris Curve, then Park, then a long haul on the bumpy track up to Charlies. There were bikes of the fities right through to the late eighties, each in their own group. Velocettes, BSA's, Tritons, all the way up to a couple of RC30's. Some were obvious classic racers, some you'd see on a normal track-day, and a few road bikes that I would never expect to see on track (how about a CX500!).

Entry to Park Bend

An old BSA heading down Park straight

This guy was a bit quick: and smooth.

En-masse around Charlies 2. The track was drying and the angle of lean they got on some of the older bikes was impressing

Some bikes from the day.

This poor little Velocette. I don't know what capacity it was, but the guy was thrashing the nuts off it.

And this BSA ... check out the exhaust and the state of the tyres

I don't recall seeingt this on the track, but it was good to see one close-up

Again, I don't recall this on track. possibly because of its condition (didn't stop other riders on equally good machinery, mind!)

This is a Sanglas. No - never heard of it before. Apparently made in Spain. It's a single cylinder bike and I thought it really quite nice.

Back in motion

2008-05-24T20:27:00.002+01:00

Bike in for MOT @ Smiffy's Superbikes in Acle. Passed (of course it did), one note to keep an eye on the rear brake pads as they're 2/3rds through, so no worries, there. Ashley checked the battery, sure enough it was knackered. The good news is that the regulator/rectifier's ok. Phew.

In to Norwich, P&P in Roundtree Way to buy a replacement battery: A moment's concern when it appeared that they may not have a suitable battery, but a search through the catalogues revealed that there was a suitable alternative. Phew II.

Now I can't wait to get out and use the bike instead of spending money on it! Next week: Classic racing at Cadwell!

That flat feeling

2008-05-23T12:39:00.000+01:00

The VFR is known as a reliable bike with only one major weakness. The Regulator Rectifier. This result in a flat battery or for the battery to boil, depending on what's actually wrong with the RR. Replacement RR's are, allegedly, more reliable than the original fitment on the 1998 bike (there's a definitive article on the Bikers oracle VFR website) and, having had my original replaced a couple of years' ago, I thought I should be ok for a while, yet. So, yesterday morning, I pulled the bike out of the garage and hit the starter. The starter barely turned the bike over. It was fine when I put the bike in the garage a couple of weeks ago. Is this a symptom of the dreaded RR problem? The battery has been flat on a couple of occasions recently - I assumed it was because i'd left the heated grips on or it was causing some sort of drain on the battery but I've removed the fuse so it can't be that. Looks like the battery's given up the host. My multimeter isn't accurate enough to indicate whether the RR's bust, although the reading looks about right (just under 15volts - or amps, I forget which - charge). So, tomorrow, into the workshop for MOT and battery / RR check. The MOT should be no problem as the bike's only done a couple of hundred miles since the major work earlier in the year. I'm just glad this happened now, and not en-route to Germany in three weeks time (more on that later).

Cadders Hill - Lyng - Motocross

2008-05-05T22:24:00.000+01:00

My first time watching Motocross since I was a boy, and it was called "Scrambling" in those days. A lovely way to spend a day, especially since the weather was so kind.

To give an idea, this is a long, tight left bend which seemed to have a preferred line that the rider in front is taking. However, as the following rider, and subsequent picture shows, it wasn't the only line.

And following this ...

They have to ride off the edge of the earth (well, that's what it looks like from where I was standing).

It was all go - and, yes, I really was that close to the action.

Close racing. And some spills, though surprisingly few.

What a difference

2008-03-23T17:27:00.000Z

I've had new tyres fitted to the bike. Same sort as before, Pirelli Diablo's. Oh, what a difference. Now the bike handles properly (was a bag of nails with the old, worn tyres), where it would fall in to a bend and needed countersteer to hold the line, a gentle nudge now turns it and it holds a neutral line with no effort.

Incidentally, the puncture repair I had done in France appears to have been illegal. It was 6mm plug, maximum is a 3mm plug on motorbikes. To think, I've done two track-days with that in! Ooops

Sunny Hunny - sunset

2008-02-10T20:57:00.000Z

Sunset on the East coast ...

Reassembly

2007-12-21T18:40:00.000Z

The VFR's starting to go back together.

The head bearings have been replaced, and fork oil refreshed, front forks and wheel refitted.

The crankcase cover is off, the plastic envelope where the pillion should sit contains the gasket ready to fit the eBay bought replacements cover. The valve clearances are being checked while the bike's in pieces (part of the 32k service).

You can't see it but rear shock in place. The linkages have all been regreased and one of the linkage bolts replaced due to wear.

It's starting to look a little like a bike from this angle. The brakes aren't on thee yet - they're being cleaned up.

By the end of this, and with new tyres, the bike should handle like new.

A box of bits

2007-12-03T20:45:00.000Z

The bike's pretty well stripped now. The rear shock is missing - you can't see that from here, just take my word for it.

This where the front wheel should be ... forks have gone, too

But there are new head bearings in here (I hope)

Stripped for action

2007-11-18T22:53:00.000Z

The front fairing is in for repair. The side fairings are off and have been cleaned up (lots of elbow grease). The top fairing is with Just Plastics to be welded around the indicator where it split - i'll have to buy a tin of black spray paint from Halfords and paint the local area to make it look ok.

Next is the head bearings replaced (explains wobbly handling on track days - or maybe that's just my riding!), new oil in the front-forks, maybe new, progressive springs, and the rear shock being rebuilt.

This is how the bike looks now.

Cadwell & Hottrax

2007-10-29T20:23:00.001Z

18th October: a text. "We'll be at Cadwell doing a trackday on Saturday. It'd be lovely if you could pop over and see us.". Well, it would have been rude not to.

I checked the Hottrax website and darn, they only had spaces in the fast group. Hmmm. All the same, no harm in riding over in time to register and hoping for a cancellation in the Novice group. "The Novice group?". Yes, well. Riding 100 miles to get there, doing 100 miles+ on track then riding 100 miles back was going to be tiring, so the Novice group will do me fine. Thank you!

5am on the 20th October I set out. Weather forecast was for a dry day. Promising! Wrapped up warm against five degree temperatures, best M&S thermals and winter gloves and I'll be fine. A brisk ride to Kings Lynn, then the A17 to ... well, until the two degrees of freezing fog determined I stopped for a cuppa and a defrost. All very well but i'd passed Farm Lodge and it was still only 6.35am with no chance of anywhere being open. Except the Moorings Cafe at Fosdyke Bridge - opens at 6.30am. Lovely. Here I was warmly greeted and a cup of coffee purchased. Tempted by the smell of freshly cooked breakfasts I very nearly succumbed to just sitting and eating while the outside temperature was so low. But I was risking being late and I didn't want to have to press on with the roads being a bit cold and slippery.

A17 to the A16 to Kirton, head for Coningsby, Horncastle then towards Louth. Boring roads until Scambelsby but then you're at Cadwell, where the track beckons.

In to registration and, "Have you any places spare in the Novice group?" to the woman with the lists. "Only Intermediates", she replied.

A silent "Damn!" and I hear my voice asking if they take credit cards.

Of course they do!

A quick dash up to get the bike noise tested, back to the paddock and on to the cafe, grab a bacon sandwich and sit down and listen to the briefing. A couple of minor differences to previous times at Cadwell. "Wet track at Hall Bends / Hairpin / Barn ... take it easy ... watch for Coppice ... may be a little slippery ... Novice and Inters, three sighting laps then you're on your own ... no dangerous overtaking ... etc.".

I stopped behind with H. to listen to the Novice's briefing. Thorough, but too much information for a complete newbie. A Martin Hopp type first session would be really useful first on such a complex track.

Fast group already out ... it's a bit of a dash to get ready and into the paddock ready for my first session. I arrive towards the back of the assembled throng. My teeth chattering: may be the cold - or maybe the realisation that I could see only three other standard road bikes (with hindsight, maybe more, but at that moment ...).

"(censored)" was my first thought. My second thought was exactly the same. Oh boy, had I screwed up. Two other guys on road bikes also slinking at the back ... a quick word ... yup, they thought the same as me.

No time to get worried. Engines started, the procession moving off in sub-groups of about ten riders, and i'm almost last onto the track. Gingerly, so, three sighting laps. Good - let the tyres warm, a vague drying line through Hall Bends after the fast group and .. whoa!

I thought this was a sighting lap. Where did the bike in front of me go between the Hairpin and Coppice? I'm not that slow around Barn! Luckily the engine's still warm from the ride up, so open that throttle and let's see if I can close the gap. Roll off a little for Coppice, see the track's dry and take a big sweeping approach up to Charlies, let the hill ease the speed off and into Charlies 1, let the bike drift out ready for the second apex and ease it in.

Still sighting lap, but this pace is pretty quick on cold tyres.

Did I say cold tyres? I'm on cold tyres .. most of the other bike's tyres have been moddle-coddled in tyre warmers.

Nail the throttle again along Park straight, drift out to the right and feel the compression in the dip. Up to the blind brow. This isn't my favourite bend. So roll off the throttle early to get a good view of braking and turn in points, a little counter-steer and the bike rolls into the bend nice and easily - one gear too high so lift the bike on the short straight bit and snick it down ready for Chris curve - and turn. Now, progressive with the throttle, the bike fater and faster while leant over - look for the patch of pink (ish) tarmac and just to the left still on the throttle, lift the bike, roll off the throttle and set up for Gooseneck "easy" right then flip the bike to the left into the downhill to Mansfield.

Brake. Progressively, settle the suspension and let it lift and take an easy turn into Mansfield judging my line through the apex and looking for the chicane. Gently walking the bike through the chicane and hard up to the Mountain, brake, turn in to the left of the track, leave my turn in late for the right and accelerate. The bike goes light, the front lifts the front flaps in the air and I do a wheely on the Mountain for only the second time (this is still the sighting lap, isn't it?). A dry line through Hall Bends, Right, left, right... almost straight, over the rise and brake for the hairpin where it's still looking a bit slippery.

And so onto the second sighting lap.. Red flag. Oh boy! We managed five or six laps that session, but it gave me chance to remember the track and understand where I was going to be overtaken. And I was going to be overtaken that day. Lots!

There was a photographer there so some pics from him.

Copyright www.BritishSportPhotography.com

Enjoy.

This the righthander entry to Hall Bends. On the first session - I know that because my mirrors are out. I folded them in for subsequent session. Offline on Hall bends was wet so caution and an accurate line was needed.

I need more clues to be certain where this is on the track. I think it's Barn ...

Definitely Barn ... looking through the late apex ready to wind on the throttle

Mansfield. I like this bend.

I like this close-up of me on the bike - i'm pretty sure it's mid-bend at Mansfield. I'm not sure if that look is concentration, fear or wind.

The Mountain. No wheely - I wheelied perhaps 30% of the time. Typically, the photographer didn't get those ... :-)

Round up

2007-10-17T21:23:00.001+01:00

Despite the lack of blog entries I haven't been off the bike. I just haven't taken my camera with me.

Most notable events since the last entry were

The ride with the Bikersoracle VFR site. I rode down and met up with the about a dozen people at Finchingfield then rode up to Wells next-the-sea, stopping at thetford to pick up more riders. A good, well organised ride. Only the second time with the drop-off method of group riding, which works well with a biggish group, although most seemed to be happy with a similar pace, and not disconcerted by being overtaken within the group.

A day at British Superbikes with Janet. An easy ride down to Brands Hatch - A11, M11, M25, A20... Yawn. And back. An excellent day's racing in between. Posh Nosh burgers and (yumm) fresh doughnuts.

My camera ran out of battery so just the one pic.

Seton racing at Snetterton

2007-09-16T19:22:00.000+01:00

Our welcome from Seton. What a nice bunch of people.

Our greeting from Plonko Racing ...

A thoroughly nice guy, despite the dodgy shorts.

Plonko Racing in action

MZ Racing. If you haven't seen it, go on, go watch. It's much quicker than you'd think. This bike's for sale ... It was tempting before I checked the bank balance.

Seton Tuning ... one-two in each race.

Grantham classic vehicle show

2007-09-14T21:58:00.000+01:00

Well, the weather looked good, A random selection from the pages of MCN's events page saw me heading for Grantham. The classic vehicle show ... Well, the ride there was good, the show was not so impressive but sitting on the grass with a hot cuppa and a burger was fine.

The few vehicles on show were all beautifully restored / maintained and manicured, with a couple being rare, I would guess. Check out the camper!

Peter and I went to Wittering airfield to take part in an Aardvarks trackday. We were put in the fast group which was a little intimidating for me at first. It became good fun once I got over my initial apprehension. This is Peter on the last bend (no pics of me since I had the camera). This was a long-long opening bend and I think the 400 was powering as hard as it could - and still not enough to keep it nailed on its side. I'd followed Peter through this bend a few times and he was leant over more than this at the apex. Still, not bad, eh!

A quick ride to the seaside...

2007-07-02T21:27:00.000+01:00

The view from the harbour wall at Wells Next the Sea

or is this a beter version?

Fishing or crabs off the harbour wall - them, not me

A very poor phto of a miserable looking Steve. I really wasn't unhappy ... trying to figure just when the camera's self-timer was about to finish its countdown.

France 2007 Day 6

2007-06-24T21:18:00.001+01:00

Turn a corner and ...

The Chateau at Montmort, 25 Km from Sezanne

At Reims (pronounces Rhees) ... Parking on the road "Interdit".. On the path.. C'est bon.

The cathedral at Reims

My first and only traffic jam - just outside Lille.

Oostend (or Ostend as I know it)

More Oostend

On the ferry... Met a german chap, Frank, on his way to the IOM. Was about to ride all the way there from Dover via Stansted, where he was picking up his girlfriend. I wonder how he got on?

France 2007 Day 5

2007-06-24T21:17:00.000+01:00

This is where I stayed the previous night ... Just
outside Auxerre so life was not without its little luxuries ...

I must return ...

Then, finding a puncture in your tyre when you wake up isn't fun ... The owner of the house went on the internet and found a bike shop called Spirit of Bike. They were first class - look them up if you're in Auxerre and have a look around the shop.

Auxerre ... A beautiful place

Given an unusual array of ice cream flavours .... Yes, I'd pick the Violette. It tasted ... Yuck, to be honest.

And so to Sezanne ... The edge of Champagne country.

The hotel

It's an armourer ... The window to the right was stuffed full of rifles and shotguns.

Is there NO escape from work?

Sezanne was a lovely village ... a little ramshackle in places but then you encountered quaint houses like this

France 2007 Day 4

2007-06-24T20:54:00.000+01:00

I didn't stop long in Clermont ferand but I took this picture of a giant wind-vane assembled on a roundabout.

This was the first roundabout on my way in to St Pourcain. I guess the Tour de France will pass this way. Anyway ... despite this part being a little tatty, it turned out to be a very pleasant town as the subsequent photo shows.

The map showed a viewpoint at Vaux so I decided to stop and have a break. I couldn't find the village .. all there was was road! Devoid of traffic, so I sat and snacked while I was there.

I may have spoiled the view by standing in the way of it.

Waitrose / Sainsbury.. eat your heart out. This is a store resaurant .. The Leclerk in Moulin. And the food was good, too.

Moulin town centre...

One ... from the back ... you'll notice the white spires (I didn't... DOH!)

The other, from the front... You'll notice the spires aren't white. I didn't at the time.

Twin twin-peaks (I couldn't resist the play on words). This is Moulin, obviously has two churches from this distance.

The river, and bridge ... it's a red bridge at Moulin... a sort of "Moulin Rouge Pont" ... Come on, keep up.

Do I have to tell you where I am?

Can you tell what it is yet?

So, how out of context is this? It's in Guerigny ... Just North of Nevers.

I just thought it looked good - it's at a place called Chateuneuf-Val de Bargis - so I just took the photo.

Of course, I didn't see the full name on the sign so I thought it might be the Chateuneuf du Pap. I rode about thirty miles to find it wasn't. DOH!

More out of context ... An Irish Kebab house in France. WHAT? This was at a place called Varzy if you want to try it. Reputedly the best Irish Kebab house in the region.

Actually Varzy proved to be a pretty little village away from the main road.

The next few photo's are of Clemecy... No context needed at this point.

France 2007 Day 3

2007-06-24T20:27:00.001+01:00

I set off. My aim to reach Clermont Ferand. The weather was a little better but I needed to get away from the Campanile hotel... While the staff were helpful and friendly the place was dingy and I needed to find somewhere to lift my spirits. Clermont Ferand is well known and I hoped to find something there.

The weather got steadily worse with temperatures dropping. My chosen route was to be through a tunnel where I hoped to shelter and gain some temporary respite. It was not to be. The tunnel was closed for roadworks and I had to go over the mountain pass. I watched the temperature gauge slowly descend to 3 degrees. I was wearing sodden summer gloves and my feet were soaked through. I took one photograph all day. This at Le Loiran. 4,000 feet above sea level and still at 3 degrees C. And I needed a pee (duly taken into a deserted ski resort gravel bed).

A little while later I saw a cafe with bikes outside. I stopped for a coffee - possibly the best decision of the week. There I befriended a scottish couple, Phil and Shona. What a great couple they were. I asked if I could follow them to Clermont, which the were happy for me to do. As we descended off the mountain the sun came out and the roads dried. I didn't. I was still soaked through.. but at least I was warmer. Phil found some good roads and we enjoyed a brisk ride.

We booked in to an Etap hotel (who have, I have since discovered, charged me for two nights. Refund pending), freshened up and went for a stroll and had a pleasant meal at a local restaurant. Phil. If you read this, get in touch. I still owe you some money for the meal.

The next photo's are from day 4 when, at last, you'll notice that the sun has come out. They're here to show the possible consequences of riding while exhausted. I was fortunate that there was nothing coming the other way as I slid down the road...

PS. If anyone has a spare RH crankcase cover for a 1998 Honda VFR800Fi

France 2007 Day 2

2007-06-24T18:52:00.000+01:00

Bellac - to get to this part of the town needed careful navigation through the small, narrow back-streets. Or, in my case, a random sequence of turns.

Streets such as this one..

And why don't we have places with names like this?

Mind ... I think they'd be better off washing their dishes instead of fly-tipping. I think this may be Limoges ...

in the middle of nowhere ... a community hall / hut where I stopped to grab a bite to eat. You'll notice that the weather is somewhat inclement and had been, on and off, for the last two hours. It was about to get worse.

I prepared for temperatures down to 15 degrees centigrade and mostly showers. During the next three hours the temperature went down to around 9 degrees and the rain was, as they say, persistent. You'll also notice the trees bending from the wind. Neither my gloves nor my boots were more than shower proof - my Frank Thomas Aqua pack even leaked, leaving me with damp leathers. Slowly, cver-so-slowly I became cold, miserable and exhausted. With predictable results.

So, I made it to Aurillac about 5.30pm: tired and, frankly, pissed off ...

I found a Campanile hotel booked myself in and sat in a hot bath to rejuvenate myself. An hour later, feeling little better but, at least, warm, (although the rain was still lashing down) I walked to the restaurant and grabbed a bite to eat. There I found the staff helpful and, heaven sent, able to converse in English. A real fillip.

France 2007 Day 1

2007-06-24T16:47:00.000+01:00

The church at La Somme

Can anyone tell me what this is? This particular one was just outside Sees but they seemed to be all over* France in various shapes and sizes. Very odd.

Adele sent me this explaination...

"Your mystery shed is a Duck baiting pit, or 'Theatre de Canard'. Very rare these days actually, your route must have been quite unusual to take in many at all. The ducks are rounded up from the open side and set too in the pond, afficianados leaning on the rail and enjoying a calvados traditionally (more likely a beer these days) whilst placing their bets."

*I saw, perhaps, half a dozen so drew the conclusion that they were more common than perhaps they are.

The river at Le Mans

Montreuil-Bellay .. A beautiful town.

And so on to Poitier for a night's sleep

Grafham Water

2007-04-29T22:34:00.000+01:00

I spotted this as I rode up the Kimbolton Road out of Bedford and Grafham Water. It appears to be Kimbolton Castle - and magificent it looks.

Here's the rub. It's a school!

A litle further down the road is Grafham Water

Here's the bike in the car park

And here's me ...

I managed to wedge the camera up on the back of the bike (see where it's parked above) and used the time delay. I must remember to remove my neck-tube in future.

It was quite breezy - lots of people messing about in boats. It did look fun

Grafham Water has a number of places where you can stop and park-up. This is another spot.

Really quite picturesque!

Ely Cathedral ... From afar. It looked so good as I approached that I did a u-turn (feet up - show-off!) and returned to a suitable vantage point. Shame the photo doesn't do it justice.

A clean bike is a ...

2007-04-15T20:47:00.000+01:00

Well, last week I gave the bike a pretty thorough cleaning in anticipation of my excursion to foreign climes (well, France, Germany and maybe through in a couple of other nearby EU countries for good measure). The bike needs some maintenance first, though. The head bearings were starting to feel a bit "clicky" so may need replacing, a 24,000 mile service is due and i'd like the brakes to be checked. The chain's making an odd noise when I wheel it (backwards) into the garage after a hard ride, so that may need some attention. Finally, a new rear tyre is needed.

Boring bit. Pirelli Corsas on the Viffer have been great. The Bridgestones used to cause weave once as they approached the end of their life. Not the Pirelli's. More of the same, please Mr Pirelli (well, Paul at Hevingham Tyres, to be more accurate).

A day out - 1/4/2007

2007-03-31T15:08:00.000+01:00

On Friday I checked the weather forecast ... It promised a dry day. I checked that we had no alternative arrangements. We had none so I did a quick search on the internet for a suitable event or destination.

Mallory Park was flagged ... as was WSB at Donnington. No contest, really. 50,000 people watching superstars, or a few hundred watching keen amateurs trying their hardest just for the fun of it. Mallory Park it was then.

A scan of the map suggested that direct route out of Norfolk and onto Sleaford would leave me with some interesting roads from Sleaford, through Bourne, Melton Mowbray, Loughborough and then a short hop to Hinckley.

The aim was to be out of the house by 9am ... That was shortly to be revised to be a 10am start.

I'm not really that familar with the Lincolnshire roads and when I got to the Junction that pointed to Grantham it started to dawn on me that i'd been enjoying the ride (lots of overtakes!!!) so much that i'd missed the Sleaford turning. Turning left towards Grantham seemed the obvious thing to do ... and lookout for a signpost for Bourne. A couple of miles down the road and there it was ... an easy bear-left and perfectly pleasant B road stretched out ahead of me. I followed this for a while when it came to an abrupt end ... I had been warned about a mile earlier .. "Road Closed" it said ... The car ahead turned right, following the diversion signs, so I followed. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

I began to realise I was thirsty and a little peckish so stopped at the village stores (you'll note that the tiem on my camera is a little off - Norwich to Rippingale is not possible in four minutes. Well , not on a VFR800 ...)

Having decided that the route should be reasonably random ... when I say decided, it was very much a sub-conscious decision. I forgot to pack a map. So, several detours later, I found myself in a village in Leicestershire .. or maybe Northamptonshire ... asking for directions to Melton Mowbray.

Now, it's an interesting point about asking for directions. one lesson I should have learnt by now is never, ever, ask two elderly males for directions. Much discussion ensued in a dialect that I, with my earplugs in and crash helmet on, struggled to follow. The occaisonal phrase penetrated ... generally along the lines of "ah, but down tha' road there be dragons ... best avoid tha' way" or somesuch. Several hours later, so it seemed, I was given the instruction to continue along the road I was travelling and I would arrive at Stamford, a right turn there would see me on my way to Oakham (with a multitude of other lesser-known villages in between) from where I could find my way to Melton Mowbray ... Well, sure enough I found Stamford (which the aforementioned gentlemen described a route to avoid - which I did), and headed off to Oakham ... and magnificent views across Rutland Water. At Okham, I realised that at the rate I was heading eastwards I would reach Mallory Park at about midnight, so I followed a sign to the A47 and sought a more direct route.

I arrived at Mallory Park at 1.35, admired the very well maintained VFR750 that I parked next to, paid my £12 entry and watched the end of a race from near the hairpin. Lunch was announced.

I grabbed a bite to eat and wandered around the track and found a grassy knoll on which to sit, well away from the crowds (basically, anywhere but the pits was well away from crowds!). lay down and, with only the buzzing from the motocross track to disturb the peace, did absolutely nothing for the next twenty minutes. Bliss.

The next race started, then stopped (red flag), restarted and finished. Repeat for the next couple of races. A nearby spectator - ten yards away - told me it had been like that all day. Every race being red flagged.

At the Esses

Leaving the Esses

On all sorts of machinery ...

And some were slower (that's not a criticism ... All credit due for getting out on track and taking part)

Then came the sidecar race.

I've never stopped to watch one before. They're excellent entertainment. The passengers are as mad as your hat ... and, to my trained eye, many appeared to be women. This race went without incident.

I took my time, circling the track - seeing the abomination that it the chicane at Gerrards (the club racers don't use it - they don't need slowing down!) and moving on to watch the off-roaders practice session. I must go see more of that. Very entertaining - especially the joker who decided that he'd smother me in dirt as I tried to take his picture.

Gerrards ... and a hint of the chicane

And, finally. I wonder why they call this fantasy island ...