"Modern, alluring, playful.."

One of the better review videos on YouTube.

Great Weekend

Out early Saturday (well, reasonably) heading up to Fox's Diner a few miles south of Oxford. We used to ride here from Guildford "back in the day" and I remembered it as a good stretch of road with a great bacon sandwich at the end of it.

Back then it would take a couple of hours all-told to get there - Hackney to Guildford, Guildford to Berinsfield via Bracknell and Henley-on-Thames, a 90 mile trip for a snack and a cup of coffee . Obviously, it's an easier ride now, probably only 30 miles.

But it is definitely as nice a stretch of road as I remembered, travelling through some quintessentially English scenery - does it get more picturesque than the bridge over the Thames in Henley? And the doorstop sarnie appears to have gotten better with age!

Another reason for the little outing was a visit to M&P Express, the motorbike accessory shop, conveniently situated right next-door to the best biker cafe in Oxfordshire (at least, the best one I know about so far!). Purchased a hi-vis belt - something I didn't think I'd ever wear, but since I'm commuting again I'll take any protetction i can get - plus a DIY Alphadot kit, to comply with my insurance obligations.

The ride back demonstrated again the significant difference between my little XJ600 and the massive power of my mate's Yamaha R1. Jesus, that bike is insanely fast. But, I'm perfectly happy - in fact, incredibly happy - with what my bike can do, it's more than adequate for my needs.

Other than another brief trip to George White in Slough to buy a lighter weight paddock jacket, and the 12 hours of MotoGP/British & World Superbikes on TV Sunday was a bike free day. ;)

Maidenhead - Berinsfield, Oxon

View Larger Map

Non-bike Friday + Gloves

An insurance hiccup means that today i am not riding to work - in fact not riding at all. Shame because it's looking really nice out.

Not riding on Fridays was always part of the deal anyway. Access to a garage spot close to the office makes driving in really convenient and reducing the number of miles I ride at this point makes a kind of sense.

Looking forward to seeing an old friend tomorrow and taking a short round trip up into Oxfordshire. Get the chance to try out my new gloves that arrived today. A big thanks to Peak Road & Race who have been fantastically helpful throughout the old return/replace process after I underestimated the size of my hands!

I went with the RST gloves from previous experience. I had a pair for the first five years I was riding and whilst they got a little knackered towards the end of their tour-of-duty they were exceptionally comfortable, well-built and great value for money.

These RST Chicane gloves, if anything, are even better. The leather is very supple straight out of the bag, the double thickness reinforced palms and fingers plus the knuckle inserts make the gloves feel very sturdy and the double wrist / cuff enclosure mean they are never going to come off if the worst comes to the worst. Sitting here at my desk they look and feel great, but I'm wondering if they're maybe a little too solid to be considered true "summer" gloves.

RST Chicane Gloves (£34.99)

Reflections on the Round Trip

First thing that hits me as I look back at the 54 mile round trip is how comfortable it all felt. The early start was a great idea, the extra half an hour meant that the roads were even more empty than usual, easing me gently back in to the commuting-by-bike thing. The leafy lanes around Berkshire / Surrey are literally a world away from the chaos, grime and endless filtering past lines of traffic that used to confront me every morning between Tooting and Soho.

Today's grey, overcast morning meant that I would get a chance to see if all the gear was fit for purpose. I was glad I decided to keep the winter linings in both the jacket and trousers and on reflection if I had worn a lightweight jumper as well as just the t-shirt, I'd have been toasty. The helmet is a bit draughty, but nothing that a thicker neckerchief won't fix. As for the gloves, well moto-x gloves certainly aren't optimal kit for a chilly spring morning, but they do the job. Looking forward to getting the RST's tomorrow / Friday though - they are excellent gloves for the money.

As for the ride itself, I'd forgotten how much empty road there is when you're on a bike. Whether it's getting away from the front of the queue at a set of lights or overtaking at the start of a straight, space just opens up. Obviously, this being commuter belt, it doesn't last for long, but for those brief moments when there's nothing between you and the horizon it feels really good.

And importantly, it feels safe. When there's no-one in sight you don't have to worry about somebody doing something stupid (unless you do it yourself!). It's half-term this week, so it might be different next week. Looking forward to finding out!

Route To Work - First Commute!

Got up at 5.40am to get a clear run in. Nice ride - could've done with some thicker gloves but bearable (it won't be if it rains later!). Just over 40 minutes - not that much quicker than by car, but certainly more enjoyable!

Route to Work - Maidenhead to Guildford

View Larger Map

Rain stops play

Lying in bed listening to the rain. Have to be realistic - I'm not ready to do my first commute in the wet, so it's going to have to wait for another day.

Hopefully it will clear up later and i'll be able to head out this evening.

Back On The Road

They say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. But, in my case, some will probably say, it's also made me dumber.

Three years ago today I almost died. I’ll never know how close I came to shuffling off, but you would think that surviving a high speed accident, on a motorbike, on the M1, on a Bank Holiday Monday would definitely count as a “close shave”.*

You would have also thought that an incident like that and the following year’s worth of recuperation, setbacks and slow recovery would have taught me a lesson.
“I’m never riding again, it’s just not worth it.” A rational response and for a while I believed I meant it. But as the memories faded and my wounds healed, the words started to ring a little hollow.

Sure, at first, I didn’t really think I would get back on a bike, but I couldn’t deny that they still held a massive fascination for me and that a big part of the old me felt like it was absent.

But until recently a new life outside London, my fantastic girlfriend, a great new job and most significantly a beautiful new family member had served to distract me from what I was missing.

Whilst I can’t really identify a specific time when I knew I would get back on a bike, for a number of reasons - both practical and emotional - it became a concrete desire over the last couple of months. A few weeks of intensive Internet research, the obligatory magazine purchases, some serious discussions, soul searching and deep thinking led me to make a decision. One that I am determined I am not going to regret.

So now, after a very fine bank holiday weekend, there’s a shiny, new, Yamaha XJ6N sitting in the front garden. And with 200 miles on the clock after 3 great days of short, local rides, it's almost fully run-in. Tomorrow is the first commute, so we'll have to see what that throws at me, but whatever, I'm really looking forward to it. Roll on 6.30am!

That's me. Back to biking!

Day Three - Box Hill

My beautiful bike!

Bikers in their natural habitat, grazing for burgers.

My XJ6 and K's TT600

-- Post From My iPhone

Day Two

And what an awesome day! Perfect biking weather, bright sunshine, not too hot.

Ride to Egham and back (See Map 1 below), via Drift Road, Windsor Great Park and Virginia Water. This is most of the route we used to drive to get to the Chertsey office and it's actually really nice to drive. As a bike ride, it's beautiful.

Drift Road (B) is an undulating two mile straight followed by some great twisty, leafy corners as you skirt Windsor Great Park. There's a weird "longabout" as you cross the A322 Ascot - Windsor(C) road followed by more great, wooded Surrey countryside. Down the side of Virginia Water with it's bizarre archeological treasures, visible from the road (D), and across the A30 into more twistys around Callow Hill (E). Finally into Egham for coffee and pancakes!

I reflect on how much fun that short trip was and how natural most of it felt. I'm certainly rusty, and I'm not sure how far to trust the new back tyres (Dunlop something or others) so corner speeds are LOW. In fact, even straight speeds are low! A combination of rustiness and the psychology of riding an unfaired bike - certainly not a bad thing.

Refreshed, I take the same route back to Maidenhead, but pass on through and head up to Brian Gray Powerbiking in High Wycombe who are having an "Open Day". Arrive in time to watch special guest James Toseland bang out a pretty good (even though I hate the song) version of "Mustang Sally" on the piano. I wonder if he ever regrets mentioning the fact that he can play? Decline the offer of queueing for an autograph and head inside to check out the merchandise. They have a fantastic range of clothing, helmets, boots etc and a lot of Alpinestars stuff (have I mentioned how much I love that brand? I will...), but don't have the two things I was specifcally looking for, so I head home.

As I get to Marlow I decide to take a detour and end up adding another 20 miles to the clock by heading home via Henley On Thames (see Map 2). Another fanastic stretch of road. Get the chance to try some quick overtaking manouvers on the Sunday Drivers who insist on pootling along at 35 in a 60. The bike is nice and punchy, even though I'm running it in and have to limit myself to 6,000rpm.

Arrive home in a very good mood. Nice to feel the familiar sensation of HEAT and the urge to rip off the helmet and leathers as soon as I stop moving. Despite a little stiffness around the knees and hips, I've really enjoyed the couple of hours out and about and can't wait for tomorrow.

Map 1 Maidenhead - Egham

View Larger Map

Map 2 - High Wycombe - Marlow - Henley on Thames - Home

View Larger Map

The Route Home - first long(ish) ride for 3 years

Apart from some messing around when I got back to Maidenhead this is the route I took back from the dealership in Newbury (Pro-Bike - a fantastic bunch of guys, more about them to follow).

Just over 30 miles - seemed a lot further!


View Larger Map