It had been over 2 years since we had last been to 'Sunny Hunny' so we thought it was about time we headed east and sampled the delights that Hunstanton had to offer, no we are not talking about cockles and mussels (alive, alive-O!)
We decided to stop early in our little run as we were heading past The Long Itch Diner so we stopped to fill up our bellies with a nice Traditional Full English breakfast for the long day's riding ahead (well that was our excuse and we're sticking to it)
After breakfast we climbed aboard our bikes and headed north via some lovely back roads through Lutterworth and then into the market town of Market Harborough and after navigating it's one way system we picked up the B664 into Uppington where we decided on a nice quick blast along the A47 towards Peterborough.
I love the A47 into Peterborough but I didn't love the strong winds and we spent most of the A47 after Peterborough trying not to get blown clean off our bikes and when things started to ease off guess what we found the other side of Guyhim - Traffic! it was chock-a-block with car, caravans and horse boxes, it must have been over 10 miles of almost stationary traffic so instead of enjoying the country side the next few miles were spent attempting to get pass all the cars. In fairness I was quite taken aback by the number of vehicles that moved over to the left side of the road so that we had more room to pass them, It got to the point I wondered if we were being followed by an unseen police car with it's blue lights which was making the cars move out of the way.
Once we arrived at Hunstanton we headed straight for the promenade where bikes can park for £1 so after stumping up a quid we decided that a little walk along the seafront was in order, it was a shame as it was so blooming cold so we decided to only stop longer enough to have a cup of coffee to warm up and look around the other bikes that were parked up before we got back on our bikes and headed home.
Our return journey was very similar with the exception of being forced to stop at the Little Chef on the A47 at Uppingham for more coffee and cherry pancakes!
As always a few more pictures can be found here
Hunstanton
The Long Itch Diner
Today's little jaunt was only going to be a short one as Bob had only just that morning arrived home after playing Captain Jack Sparrow on a narrow boat holiday, he was the curse of the seven seas we think it more a case he was a pain-in-a$$ along the Grand Union Canal.
Chinny also came along for the ride or more likely the promise of fried food, which he duly paid for (Thanks mate!) so we decided that instead of a long ride out to Wales or other places in the land of far far away we decided to to head the 20 or so miles over to the The Long Itch Diner as we had heard that it was a very popular, biker friendly place.
When we arrived at the The Long Itch Diner the first thing we noticed was that the place was busy which is usually a sign of good scoff. so after parking up and checking out the menu we decided to order the Traditional Full English breakfast that consisted of 2 sausages, 2 bacon, a well cooked egg, 2 black pudding, beans, tomato's and for me the highlight of the breakfast was the mushrooms, the breakfast also came with 2 rounds of toast and a proper cup of coffee.
During our mass scoffing session we discovered that all of our bikes were due MOT's within the next few days so we decided to head to Arch Motorcycles over in Leamington Spa and see if they could fit us in for the test.
After arriving at Arch Motorcycles we found out that we had turned up almost with perfect timing and they were just finishing off an MOT and could perform all 3 MOT's so after hanging around talking to the guys at Arch Motorcycles we finally left with 3 new MOT's - Thanks to the guys over at Arch Motorcycles for the friendly banter and of course thanks to Chinny who paid for today's scoff.
A few more pictures can be found here
Round House Cafe
It’s Saturday so that means only 1 thing, You’ve Been Framed is on! Ohh and it’s time to get the bikes out for yet another episode of the amazing adventures of Rig, Bob, Chinny, Ray and the unforgettable Bonzo!
Only as usual Rig couldn’t make it today due to “family commitments” or so he says, we all think he’s turned to the dark side and is out road testing Harley Davidson’s in his leather chaps and tasselled jacket.
As with all good long hard ride’s the key to success is lubrication and that’s even more true when you get Bonzo and Chinny together, they both need loads and loads of lubrication in the form of copious amounts of tea and a full English breakfast or in Bob’s case a plate of Bacon and Beans (go figure!) at the Round House Cafe on the A40 near Monmouth.
After everyone was full to the brim (If my memory serves me correctly Bonzo was close to over flowing) we jumped onto our bikes and went looking for some great roads and of course even more food.
The beauty with meeting up near Monmouth is that you’re starting at the gateway to one of the best bike friendly countries in the world – Wales – it really doesn’t matter where you go in Wales you will find some great roads and some amazing scenery.
After a ride along the A40 through Abergavenny and down a few other interesting roads, including a stop off at the canal basin in Brecon for Bonzo to get some photo's of some ducks we stopped at the West End Cafe in Llandovery for more tea and finally ending up at Builth Wells for a well earned rest before saying goodbye to Ray and Bonzo and heading home.
A few more pictures can be found here
Sunday Jaunt
Due to my eldest son's birthday being on the Saturday I couldn't make the trip to Aberystwyth to eat ice cream and look at students...cough...err, I mean look at classic cars so instead me and Bob set out the following day for a little ride around a few of our favourite roads.
We started the day by heading down the excellent A6006 from Ashby-De-La-Zouch into Melton Mowbray where I persuaded Bob to try a Mc Bacon Roll while I gorged myself on a Double Sausage & Egg McMuffin.
When we left McDonalds we then picked up the incredible B6047 from Melton Mowbray all the way into Market Harborough where after several attempts we eventually found Midland Superbikes that was to be out next port of call. After expertly dodging the burger van parked outside we had a wander around what can only be described as a large warehouse that was packed with hundreds of second hand bikes and then eventually found the spiral staircase that led us up the parts and accessories department where Bob managed to pick up 2 pairs of EBC HH pads for his Blackbird.
Once we had left Market Harborough we decided to let Bob's new Garmin Zumo 550 GPS unit lead the way through the back roads towards Bourne and it was along one of these roads, not far from Rockingham that we came across the 82 arch Welland viaduct
After taking a few photos we then carried on our little jaunt towards Bourne and once we got to Bourne we picked up (not literally as it wouldn’t fit into Bob’s Givi box although that wouldn't normally have stopped Bonzo) the A151/B676 back into Melton Mowbray and then onto our final stop of the day for coffee and scrummy cake at the Alpine Restaurant that is part of the Grange Garden Centre. Well worth stopping at if your passing.
After scoffing our cake we then headed back home via the A6006
A few more pictures can be found here
A couple of updates
Can I firstly apologise for the lack of updates at RigsVille over the last month, due to a shoulder injury I’ve been kept off my bike for the last 6 weeks but I’ve just had the all clear for me to get back on my steed.
In my absence all the other lads have been out enjoying themselves and they have taken great pleasure in telling me what I’ve been missing and what trouble Bonzo’s been getting himself into.
The 1st update was a few photos from when Bob and Chinny met up with Ray and Bonzo over at Fromes Hill Cafe for breakfast.
The 2nd update was another meeting of great minds (and Bonzo can along as well) but this time the meeting place was the Round Table Cafe near Monmouth after which they found a few ducks for Bonzo to play with and they ended up at the West End Cafe in Llandovery for more cake and biscuits.
