Random rides

[Rynglieder]

07/06/2021 Brockhampton

Back in December my Z1000 failed its MOT due to a buckled front wheel that I had been riding round on for several months without noticing. Due to the lockdowns in place during the early part of the year I decided to SORN the bike and keep an eye out for a replacement wheel on Ebay. By the end of April nothing had come up so I took the plunge and ordered a new genuine part – I got a good deal through my sister's contacts in the trade, but it was still a £750.00 thump on the credit card to get it up and running again. The bike was taxed from the first of June and now needed somewhere to go...

I chose a short ride out to the National Trust property at Brockhampton. The Z1000 is a literal pain in the arse after any distance and this property was not too far from home. As a NT member it costs nothing for me to have a walk around and you can usually rely on a decent cup of coffee at your destination.

Brockhampton is not that far from Edvin Laoch church that I had visited on the GSX a few weeks back, but it was still possible to vary the route to reduce repetition. As well as the medieval moated manor there were also the remains of a Norman church to get the camera out for.

It was good to have the Z1000 back on the road, just the job for a little blast.

[O.C.]

The Z1000 looks like a fun bike but not built for comfort 

[Lonewolf]

The properties in the first photo remind me of the small village of Forthampton just outside Tewksbury. A quintessential English village. (Thats a big word for me). 

[O.C.]

The properties in the first photo remind me of the small village of Forthampton just outside Tewksbury. A quintessential English village. (Thats a big word for me). 

Village isn't a big word Steve    

[ray1151]

We were going to Mandello for the Guzzi 100th anniversary celebrations on our 1999 V10 Sport, but thankfully it was cancelled. So instead we went down to the UK owners club meet in North Devon as they had rooms as well as camping this year.
The traffic was terrible and there were heavy showers for all the journey down. But it was still good to get out for a ride and we met a friend down there who we hadn't seen for two years. As we were out and about we went to Blue Anchor Bay in Somerset on the way, really lovely. Pic of cafe at BAB with our heavily modified 1994 1100 carb Sport.

[O.C.]

Good Post and great picture      

[Rynglieder]

Ray, I think everyone's plans have taken a hit this year but at lest we have decent country of our own to explore - it's good to get out.

[Rynglieder]

08/06/2021 Talley Abbey & Dinefwr (c. 235 miles)

A decent sunny day was forecast and I decided to have a good long day out on the bike with a trip into Carmarthenshire in mind. The Z1000 was all well and good for the previous day's ride but something more comfortable was in order for this so it was time to stretch the legs of the GSX. (The GTR had only recently completed the Scotland trip so it was the time of another bike to get some mileage).

The route out takes in some stunning English and Welsh countryside on very useable roads, I was absolutely in my element all morning. The final approach to the village of Talley was a bit fraught, I had foolishly let the Garmin Zumo take me through the last 5-6 miles and of course it picked out a number of narrow lanes with grass growing up the middle, but I should be used to this by now.

At the edge of the village of Talley lie the remains of a medieval abbey to which there is free admission so I had a half hour in the sunshine with the camera and a bit of a rest from the bike.

Having done that I felt the need for a coffee and a public convenience, neither of which was immediately to hand. A quick search on the phone turned up a nearby National Trust property which looked to be the solution to my needs and so my ride out was extended a little further to Dinefwar.

As well as the manor house at Dinewfwr which offered the café and toilets there are the remains of a Norman castle in the estate. I was in no rush to return home so although it was a bit too warm in the bike gear I took the 10-15 minute slog through the estate and up the hill on which it sat. A bit more time was spent capturing some photos before the walk back down.

The run home was via Brecon and Hereford and I'm looking forward to heading down that way again later in the year to have a proper run around the Beacons.

It was well into the early evening before I got home, a long day but a perfect run out.  Regrettably it was slightly spoiled the next morning when my wife noticed the rear tyre of the GSX was completely flat. The traditional check with a bit of washing up liquid and water turned up a pinhole puncture. Ah well, back to two working bikes again...

[O.C.]

Great post and pics... thanks for sharing      

[Rynglieder]

10/06/2021 the Cotswolds (again!) (c.110 miles).

Having missed out on the last ride to the Cotswolds due to his Covid vaccine reaction, I caught up with Steve at a motorway service area situated between us and we set out to cover a bit more of the Cotswold countryside. For my own sanity I picked a route that would take in some different roads to those that I had ridden recently with Mike and on my own. I also made a mental note to avoid Chipping Campden this time, it's a very nice place but a third visit would almost certainly leave me exposed to being charged Council Tax there.

I decided to take the Z1000 out again and "save" the GTR for a longer run that I had in mind and so I set out for the very attractive village of Broadway with Steve in my wake on his Honda VFR. Taking the A46 would have been a faster route but it is not the most interesting of roads so we crossed the Avon at Bidford and rode the more pleasant route via Honeybourne. Broadway was busy but we still managed to find a table at a café where we caught up on how life had treated us since we last met during our ride out to the Elan Valley late last summer.
Back on the road again we pushed on to Stow-on-the Wold but this time I looped toward the west where we stopped off at Bourton on the Water for a late lunch and short walk.

More Cotswold countryside was put under our wheels before crossing the Severn at Tewksbury and riding north for a while to reach Upton on Severn where we made our third stop of the day at bench overlooking the river.
Circumnavigating Worcester on our ride home was a bit of a nightmare, the roadworks on its outer ring road seem to have been going on forever and we would probably have been quicker straight through the city, however it was eventually cleared and we split for our respective homes just north of Bromsgrove.

It was good to have a ride out and catch up with an old friend again but I think I may leave the Cotswolds alone for a month or two now.

[Rusty]

Some lovely photos in your Flikr account ... only looked at a few but nicely done   

[Rynglieder]

Some lovely photos in your Flikr account ... only looked at a few but nicely done   

Thanks, there are rather a lot now I have the time on my hands. (And at my age I need reminders of where I have been!)

[Rynglieder]

15/06/2021 Newstead Abbey (c. 160 miles)

Another sunny and free day – I love being retired. It was time to break out the GTR as I had a suspicion that some motorway work may become involved today.

I was aiming for a destination to the north-east of home and as usual Birmingham was in my way. I decided to break through it by using the M5 & M6, basically my old commute to work. Nothing has changed – by the time I reached west Bromwich the matrix signs were advising of long delays on the motorway and in my opinion the GTR is too porky for filtering. And so I diverted through Walsall and up to Litchfield, an hour of suburban crawl before I could start to use the throttle.

Once in the Staffordshire countryside I was at least moving, but the speed limits seem to have dropped in this area compared to how I remember them. There didn't seem to be any option but to sit in the lines of traffic at 40mph or risk your licence when you came to a straight bit.

Eventually Ashbourne was reached so I took the opportunity to stop at Costa for a take-away coffee and a small cigar. After this break things cheered up a bit and the remainder of the run through Derbyshire and into Nottinghamshire was not too bad.

The bike was parked up at Newstead abbey and I enjoyed a couple of hours in the sunshine around its grounds with the camera. After a final coffee I walked back to the bike where a couple of peacocks seemed to take exception to its colour and looked to be sizing it up for a fight.

Due to my late start from home and the delays at the beginning of the run the day was running away from me and I left the Zumo to pick the fastest route home. This turned out to be the exceptionally tedious A38 dual carriageway followed by being dropped back into the rush hour traffic on the motorways around Birmingham.

Whilst it had been a pleasure to visit Newstead it had not been a particularly great day / route for the bike, a bit of a disappointment as a ride-out.

The will be others...

[O.C.]

your day obviously improved,  thanksfor sharing,  and again brilliant pictures   
   

[Rynglieder]

13/07/23021 Weston Park (c. 50 miles)

According to my rather vague and flexible rota It was supposed to be a day out on the GSX today but the tyre that had been punctured on the previous month's ride out to Talley Abbey still hadn't been sorted (the workshop booking time at my local dealer was still 4-6 weeks).

Not wishing to pass up on another sunny day the Z1000 was called out again to deputise. I can't face a long ride on that machine these days so I decided on a short loop that would give me a stop at Weston Park in Staffordshire.

Not a National trust property this time, so I had to put my hand in my pocket at the gate to get in with my camera and then again for my coffee before the ride home.

The bit of B Road riding on the way out was good fun on the little Zed, the return via Wolverhampton perhaps slightly less so, but it got a bit of oil around the engine and staved off any barbed comments from the wife about the number of bikes I have and how often they get used...