After meeting at Bob's place for a cup of tea we arranged to meet Ray and Bonzo for breakfast just outside Monmouth at the Round Table Cafe that is part of the services on the A40.
We decided that rather than go via boring old motorway we would travel down to Stratford-upon-avon and then the the A46 towards Evesham and then jumped onto the M5 north for a few miles until we turned off onto the M50 (what did I say about boring old motorways?)
After getting to Ross-on-wye we stopped to get petrol as unknown to me Bob's fuel light had been on before we hit the M5, at the petrol station Bob managed to put 19 litres of petrol into his bike, so assuming he had a full tank to begin with he only had 2 litres left!
10 Minutes later and we had arrived at the Round Table Cafe where we met up with Ray and Bonzo and tucked into our very expensive breakfasts (Thanks Bonzo)
Bonzo didn't have much time today and soon had to head back to Cardiff, so after saying our goodbyes (Bob, Ray and Bonzo are meeting up again in a few days as they are all off to France and Spain for 12 days) me and Bob headed back towards the Midlands.
A few more pictures can be found here
Round Table Cafe
MOT Time!
It's that time of year, well to be more accurate, for my Sprint ST it's the first time.
My Sprint ST is now officially over 3 years old and is due an MOT test.
Now I know that a bike that's only 3 years old shouldn't really have any problems but that doesn't stop me worrying about it, as a young lad I hated MOT tests, my bikes would always fail on some minor issues such as bent forks, lack of tread in the tyres or missing headlight bulbs!
I had recently serviced my bike including new brake pads front and back, a new set of tyres and a complete going over with a fine tooth comb but that still didn't stop me worrying about the forthcoming MOT test.
Obviously I needn't have worried though as it passed without any problems, so I have 12 months to go until I start worrying again.
Now I just need shop around for my bike insurance as thats due in 3 weeks time....
Today is Ben's 8th birthday - Happy birthday BB Monster!
Willingham Woods
We started today’s little jaunt with breakfast outside at the lovely Wharf side Cafe that is located at Sutton Cheney Wharf. Here you can sit and watch the narrow boats pass by while munching on a bacon batch or in Bob’s case a nice big fry up!
After we had finished our food we headed up the A447 towards Coalville and then onto the B5324 into Melton Mowbray, from here we carried on though the town and onto the B676 into Bourne. From here we decided to use Bob’s favourite toy (no the other favourite toy) and use his Garmin GPS to get us to Market Rasen where a couple of miles along the A361 you will find Willingham Woods
After following the A15 around Sleaford we finally approached Lincoln and we were rewarded with not only some great views of Lincoln Cathedral but also loads of AWAKS airplanes lined up on the tarmac at RAF Waddington
After Lincoln it was just 16 miles up the A46 to Market Rasen and after a few wrong turns we eventually found the Willingham Woods cafe.
The Willingham Woods cafe is just off the main A631 and is part of a small car park where people park up and go a wandering around the local woods, or if your a biker you can buy a cup of tea and a bacon batch and sit and admire all the other motorcycles parked up. Guess which one we did?
The atmosphere was very relaxed, probably aided by the unusually warm weather we were having but it was very relaxing sitting on our asses on the grass bank watching all the bikes (and ladies) pass us by. After an hour we decided that it was getting late (remember Bob's ASBO?) so we jumped back onto our bikes and decided to take the more direct A46 to Nottingham and then the A42/M42 home.
More pictures can be found here
Red Marley Hill Climb
The Red Marley Hill Climb is classic motorcycle hill climb that takes place near Great Witley in Worcestershire. This was the 1st time I had been to this event and from what I had heard about it I was really looking forward it.
Due to everyone else having other commitments only myself and Bob we decided rather than go the boring direct route we would take a nicer route past Stratford-Upon-Avon, Arrow and south of Worcester so that we could call in to Fromes Hill Cafe for a quick breakfast.
Unfortunately when we arrived at Fromes Hill cafe we found it closed so we decided to head for Great Witley and get a burger instead.
After following the signs for Red Marley we came upon a queue of traffic leading up to Great Witley and then we were directed in to the field set aside for bike parking.
The only complaint I have with this event was the bike park, it was located near the entrance (nice) but it was on the side of a hill and the field was very bumpy (bad) but the organisers had thoughtfully placed a stack of wooden cut off’s near the entrance for you to place under your side stand to stop it sinking into the field (good). The problem was that with the incline of the hill and the rough ground it was very hard work just keeping your bike upright in fact I saw 3 riders lose their balance while attempting to park their bikes and each on toppled over and onto the grass, in each case there didn’t seem to be much damage excluding the riders pride.
After successfully parking the bike we then had a little walk up the hill to the entrance and paid our £5 to get in (kids go free!) and I had to almost physically hold Bob back as he wanted a go on the bouncy castle but I managed to convince him that food was more important that him getting a few jumps in...
After a baguette and a coke we settled down on the grass and watched the racing. One of the nice things I noticed (apart from all the lovely ladies) was that because it has a hill climb you could watch the event from almost any where, that is as long as some twats don’t come and stand right in front of you while you and a couple of hundred people are sitting on the ground watching the racing and block your view very thoughtful bunch of twats there were, especially the guys in the cowboy hats how cute (sic)
Highlights of the event included watching some brave soul on a bright yellow scoter attempt the hill and he almost made it to the top, much to the crowd’s enjoyment!
There was some great classic machinery on display and the air was filled with equal amounts of dust and Castrol-R lovely and quite a few riders didn’t quite manage to get up the hill with one or two deciding they would have a better chance by going sideways into the roped off area!
After watching the racing for a few hours, having a wander around the handful of trade stand that were there and spending 30 minutes queuing for the toilet we decided to brave the bike park and start heading home.
The event was extremely well organised, well marshalled and not overly priced and well worth a return trip, only this time I think I will take the car (and the kids) as it’s much easier to park.
More pictures can be found here
Breakfast Blast
Last Saturday morning I met up with Bob and a friend of his Jeff (GSX-R600) at Bob’s house ready to ride down to Ross-on-Wye to meet up with Bonzo and Ray. Due to us leaving Birmingham 30 minutes later than expected we had to abandon the idea of taking the twisty scenic route and instead decided to jump onto the M42/M5 and then the M50 so that we didn’t arrive too late at the services on the A40 near Whitchurch/Symonds Yat.
After we arrived at the services and met up with Bonzo and Ray we then spent the next half hour tucking into our plates of sausage, bacons and beans we decided to have a ride down one of our favourite roads the B4521 between Ross-on-Wye and Abergavenny.
The B4521 is a really great road, full of tight turns and nice scenery and not too busy and once you get to Abergavenny. you could always stop at Abergavenny Bus station, a very popular bikers meeting place, but today we didn’t stop here we carried on along the A40 towards Brecon but turn off along the excellent A479 through Talgarth and then along the A470 until we reached Builth Wells where we stopped in the local car park.
After Builth Wells we headed out onto the A481 though Hundred House until we hit the A44 then we turned right and followed it until we stopped for petrol in Leominster, here we said our goodbyes to Bonzo and Ray as we had to get back to Birmingham early and after filling up our tanks we carried on along the A44 until we hit the M5 at Worcester, then it was just a quick dash up the M5/M42 for home.
In all a short day with only 230 miles covered but it was filled with some excellent food and some excellent roads, shame that we had to take Bonzo with us ;)
Unfortunately I didn’t take my camera (I left it at home charging the batteries as we had a family birthday party that I needed it for) and Bob’s camera decided to play up so we don’t have any pictures of today little ride.
MBI 2007 Awards Announced
The 2nd annual Riders Choice Awards have been announced by MBI.
Voting took place over the last couple of months with over 1,000 people from 88 countries nominating and voting for their favourite motorcycle products.
The Riders Choice Star awards winners are:
* A Rider's Dream - To ride the Silk Route, from Istanbul Turkey to Xian, China
* 2006's Best concept motorcycle or scooter - Desmosidici RR
* Best exhibition of 2006 - Intermot
* Best looking new in 2006 motorcycle - Triumph Daytona 675
* Best manufacturer’s website - BMW Motorrad
* Best motorcycle or scooter blog - Scooter in the Sticks
* Best new in 2006 every day motorcycle - BMW F800S
* Best new in 2006 scooter - Piaggio MP3
* Best new in 2006 motorcycle - BMW F800ST
* Object of lust - Ducati Desmosedici RR
* Thumbs up - Ardys Kellerman
* Wish we’d thought of that - Piaggio MP3
* Women riders booster of the year - Ardys Kellerman
The Riders Choice Fallen Star winners (losers) were:
* Thumbs down - Billy Lane
* What were they thinking? - Speed TV Superbikes
* Worst manufacturer’s website - Icon Motorcycle Gear
To see all awards and descriptions, plus runner ups, click here.
Hurry up and place your vote!
Hurry up and head over to the MBI website to place your vote for this years 2007 awards as voting ends soon.
The 2007 MBI awards are YOUR chance to vote, voting is free, easy and will only take a few minutes.
There's no need to register, give your email address and you can if you wish only vote for the sections you want to.
To vote just click the link below.
Motorcycle Bloggers International
Elan Valley
We started the day meeting up with Ray and Bonzo at Fromes Hill Cafe for our usual get together and fry up. This was also the first time we had seen Bonzo's new blackbird so we spent the next 10 minutes looking over his bike trying to find faults, unfortunately we couldn't find much wrong with the bike so had to settle on find faults with the owner instead…
Many hours later we settled on having a ride over to Elan Valley as the scenery is great this time of year and the cake in the visitors centre is also very nice.
We headed into Leominster and then out onto the excellent A44 all the way to Crossgates where we stopped for petrol, after filling up we headed into Elan Valley and stopped at the visitors centre for the promised tea and cake, unfortunately the centre was closed so we decided to have a wander around the dams via the mountain road that would eventually take us back to Rhayader and more opportunity for cake.
It must be said that the scenery around the Elan valley is outstanding, even more so after the heavy snow that had come down the previous week as this helped fill the dams up and they were overflowing with water.
After our gentle ride around the mountain road we headed back to Rhayader and then onto Crossgates where we stopped for our tea and cake at last. Here we said our goodbyes to Ray and Bonzo and me and Bob started 100 mile trip home.
More pictures can be found here
Bonzo's New Bike
In September 2006 Bonzo had his Blackbird stolen, he would have replaced the bike straight away if it wasn’t for the insurance company being a PITA and dragging their heels, but at the end of December 2006 they eventually paid up so Bonzo was on the lookout for another blackbird.
In February 2007 he eventually found a second-hand 2005 Blackbird for sale at motorbiking.co.uk in Bournemouth so off he and Ray went and picked it up and now Bonzo’s a happy man.
Bonzo's new Blackbird is a second-hand 2005 model with less that 5K miles, it's in excellent condition and came with a rear hugger and a very nice silver colours double bubble screen and a P&P Seating Viper seat.
More pictures of Bonzo's bike can be found here
2007 MBI Riders Choice awards
It's that time of the year when you get your chance to vote in the 2007 Motorcycle Bloggers International Riders Choice awards!
There are over 15 different awards ranging from the worst manufacturer's website, Best new in 2006 motorcycle and Best motorcycle or scooter blog.
Voting is free and open to everyone but hurry as voting ends on 12th of March with the winners announced on the 15th of March. To vote just click the link below.
Motorcycle Bloggers International
Fox's Diner
Saturday morning was cold, blooming cold in fact but that didn’t stop me and Bob leaving the warmth and comfort of chateau-la-bob for the mostly dry roads of Oxfordshire.
The plan was to have a ride around the Cotswolds and end of at Fox’s Diner for lunch and surprisingly that’s what almost happened.
We planned to head down the A429 into Stow on the Wold and then to A424 into Burford and a quick blast along the A40 then turn off onto more local roads like the B4044, A4074 and end up at Dorchester On Thames for lunch at Fox’s Diner.
Well I did say that we almost stayed on plan except that I was in front and totally forgot about turning off at Stow and kept on going all the way past Bourton on the Water and only remembered when we hit the junction with the A40. No worries I thought so we just headed along the A40 into Burford and then keep going. And keep going is what I did until we reached Oxford. Opps I forgot again to turn off the A40 near Eynsham.
Due to my poor navigation ability we decided to resort to the old favourite - GPS. Bob entered the details into his trusty (or should that be rusty) Garmin GPS and off we went, pass the turning for the A34 and into Oxford city centre!
The GPS was set for shortest route, not fastest so in it’s wisdom it took us straight through the centre of Oxford where we had great fun battling with loads and loads of bloody pushbikes.
We eventually survived Oxford and made it to Fox’s Diner just in the nick of time as we were both starving!
Fox’s Diner is obviously a very popular biker’s cafe, it was packed with bikers with everything from Trikes, Sports bikes, a very dirty Honda Blackbird, and a very nice and clean Triumph! Outside there’s loads of easy bike parking, no gravel covered hills here and there’s loads of outside tables, inside it’s also very nice and according to Bob the breakfast was good as well.
After we had eaten we went outside for a chat and to look at the bikes in the car park, also next to Fox’s Diner is MPS Express which is useful to nip in and have a wander around.
More pictures of the trip can be found here
Motorcycle Bloggers International
RigsVille is very proud to announce that we have been accepted as members of
Motorcycle Bloggers International
Motorcycle Bloggers International is an informal association of people who ride motorbikes and write about it. Members come from all walks of life and cultures. But they have two things in common: they enjoy riding and writing about it.
This is a very prestigious event for RigsVille and we hope to be able to make a very valuable contribution to MBI.
Each year MBI invites bikers from all around the world to participate in the MBI Riders Choice awards, this is where people can nominate many motorcycle related categories including products, people, organisations and many more - check out the 2006 awards or you can even take part in this years awards by placing your own nominations
Christmas Presents
Like most bikers, the majority of the items on my Christmas list to Santa contained motorcycle related stuff, mine included a new GPS to replace my excellent but non waterproof Garmin I3 (no chance but it was worth a try) some DVD's, a PS2 game and a new set of EDZ thermals
One of the other things on my list was a set of Philips Blue Vision H4 headlight bulbs - I have always liked these bulbs as not only do they give a view of the road on dark nights but they also have a distinctive blue filter that creates the distinctive blue light that matches the blue of the bike.
My wife bought the bulbs from Power Bulbs who are a great company that I have dealt with before on a number of occasions.
Come Christmas morning and I'm sitting in the living room with my wife and 2 children, all of us eagerly opening presents and I open my gift that contains the Philips bulbs.
Wow!
Great!
Just what I wanted!
I thank my wife and Children and pass the gift to my wife to examine, only then does she notice that there is something missing!
When my wife ordered the bulbs from the Power Bulbs website she noticed a big banner advert saying:
"Buy any pair of headlight or indicator bulbs, and receive a FREE pair of Philips Blue Vision W5W sidelight bulbs. More details."
The free bulbs were missing from the box (she had not checked when they were delivered as there was a label asking you to check that the bulbs were the correct fitting before opening, so she didn't)
OK they were only a pair of sidelight bulbs, not a major problem but she thought that it they would look good in the middle eye of the Triumph's headlights, So there I am at 9am on Christmas morning sending an email to Power Bulbs asking if there is a problem with the order as the free bulbs were missing.......
3 hours later!!!!! I got a reply from Power Bulbs thanking me for my enquiry and informing me that the free bulbs were included within the order, they are inside the box that contains the bulbs (You couldn't see them as the cardboard packaging was obscuring them)
So not only am I an idiot for not looking correctly but Power Bulbs provided an response time that many other 'customer focused' company's would find hard to beat but they did so on Christmas day!
Christmas Day FFS!
Many thanks to Power Bulbs for not only a great product at a great price (£19.45 including free postage) but thanks for proving 1st class customer service.
Roman Roads
As per our usual Saturday morning ritual we started the day with a fantastic breakfast at the Touchdown Cafe, Wellesbourne before deciding to spend the day exploring the tranquil and picturesque roads of the Cotswolds.
We got as far as Halford where our paths crossed the Fosse Way and we took one look at the big black clouds and decided to turn around and head up the infamous Fosse Way.
The Fosse Way was a Roman road that linked Exeter to Lincoln and being an old Roman road it’s a very straight, and bumpy road but it has very little traffic and few speed cameras, in fact the section that we rode didn’t have any speed cameras…that we saw)
We continued north up the Fosse way until it crossed another old famous Roman road Watling Street, otherwise known as the A5, it’s rumoured that near this point (where the Fosse Way and Watling Street cross one another) The battle of Watling Street took place in around 60ad between the Britons (under the command of Queen Boudica) and the Romans.
Once onto the Watling Street we headed south east towards Market Harborough, once past we then picked up one of my favourite roads the B6047 to Melton Mowbray and our next stop for coffee and a warm by the open fire at the excellent Alpine Restaurant that is part of the Grange Garden Centre in Ashfordby.
We next headed west onto the excellent A6006 through Wymeswold and Rempstone until we crossed the A6 and then continued along the B5324 until we got to Ashby-de-la-Zouch, then it was just a few motorway miles home.
The great thing about today’s little ride was that we covered 2 of my favourite places to eat and 3 of my all time favourite roads, even if they were all covered in crap!
Sorry for the lack of photos but we were too busy riding our bikes!
NEC Bike Show 2006
I must admit that I wasn't overly looking forward to this years NEC Bike Show, I'm not sure why but the last few years shows have just been more of the same and were getting boring but due to work commitments myself and a few of the others couldn't make it to the show mid-week so we decided to brave to crowds and visit the show on Saturday the unexpected bonus to this was that my eldest son Scott could also come along.
We arrived at the NEC around 9:50 and after waiting in the ticket queue for 10 minutes eventually paid our £15 for our tickets, by then the show was open but not being ones to rush around and we decided that food was more important that bikes and so we headed into Weatherspoons for breakfast and coffee.
One we had gotten into the show it was nice to see that things had not changed and that there was many young ladies in tight fitting clothes, Scotty was in heaven and so was Bob.
The show contained it usual stands displaying motorcycles, motorcycle accessories, magazines, books, DVDs and Credit Cards? but Scotty was happy as he clambered aboard any and every bike he could and he was over the mood when he found a BMW F650 Dakar and the KTM stand.
I must admit that I really enjoyed this years show, why? I'm not sure maybe it's because I didn't spend any money on any Bike Show 'bargains' or maybe it was just down the fact that we spent the day talking bikes, looking at bikes (and girls!) and eating!
More pictures of the trip can be found here
Sherwood Forest
After reading about the lads at JangleJangle going to Sherwood Forest and playing at being Robin Hood we decided to have a little ride over that way for a change as Bob wanted to audition for the role of the sheriff of Nottingham.
As with most of our trips the day starts with a excellent breakfast and today was no exception as we decided to call into the Salt Box Cafe near Derby. After finding a table as the place was packed as a bunch of guys and gals from the Christian Motorcyclists Association had also stopped here for a break while on one of their runs. Bob demolished a Tattie Breakfast in his usual gusto.
After being suitably fed and watered we headed onto the A515 into Ashbourne and then onto the A517 towards Belper. Once at Belper we went through Heage to get onto the A38 which we took north until we crossed the M1 then carried on the A38 to Mansfield, from there is was just a short ride to Edwinstowe and the Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre. (note that if you visit in a car then there is a £3 parking charge but if your on a bike it's free!)
After playing dodge the leaf litter in the car park we parked the bikes and had a stroll around the visitor centre, which is quite a large area consisting of toilets, exhibition hall complete with the obligatory shop, restaurant and other bits and pieces. Once we had walked around the exhibition, played sword fights with wooden swords in the gift show (and nearly getting thrown out) we decided to go and find this big tree that everyone seems to talk about (Major Oak) Unfortunately after walking 100 yards we came across a sign telling us it was a 20 minute walk and Bob was unable to walk that far due to his gammy leg so we decided the best course wasn't into the forest but the restaurant instead.
Once we had warmed up with a nice cup of coffee, had a letch at a load of foreign ladies in tight jeans it was time to head home as it was starting to get dark (Bob's ASBO prevents him from going out at night)
For the trip home, due to the dark skies, we decided to jump onto the M1/M42 and head south.
Sorry for the quality of the pictures, Bob had forgotten the memory card for his camera and mine was playing up.
More pictures of the trip can be found here
Cardiff
Due to some f%%ker stealing Bonzo's Blackbird me and Bob decided to head down to Cardiff and say hello and to say wind him up about not having a bike and say hello to Ray.
We didn't really have much of an eventful ride there or back as we decided to just stick to the faster roads and rode down the M42, M5, M50, A40, A449 and M4 to get there.
One thing that I did notice in retrospect is that I didn't at any point of the journey feel unconformable or have bum ache I just rode the new ST there and back without incident or comment.
On previous trips like this after a 100 miles or so on my old ST my bum and wrists would start to ache, not much but after 200 miles the ache would gradually start getting worse and worse.
On the new ST I didn't notice any of this, thus proving that the Gel Seat and Skyking Bar Risers were doing their job.
Rig's 2004 Sprint ST
After I sold my 1999 Triumph Sprint ST I was looking around for another bike I decided that I really like Triumph's Sprint ST so I got myself another one!
I still cannot decide if I like the new 1050 Sprint ST so I decided to stay with what know and I bought a second-hand 2004 Sprint ST.
I have only covered 200 miles on the bike and my first impressions are that the new engine (Triumph updated the Sprint ST in 2002 with amongst other things) is much smoother and the gearbox is 100% better.
Modifications :
Triumph Panniers
Triumph Top box
Triumph Heated Grips
Triumph Carbon Look Heel Guard
Triumph Front Mudguard Extender
Triumph Luggage Rack / Grab Rail
Triumph Gel Seat
Scottoiler
Blueflame Dual Port Performance Exhaust
Powerbronze Colour Matched Hugger
Powerbronze Iridium Double-Bubble Screen
R&G Crash Protectors
Skyking Bar Risers
Marc's Yamaha Thunderace
I acquired my bike July 05 when I decided that my Yamaha 350f2 was not giving me the same wow factor as it once did. I was intending to get myself a Gixer 600 or something similar until a mate of mine from Chase Super bikes gave me a buzz to let us know that they had got their hands on a mint Thunderace, it wasn't a bike I had ever thought of owning but what the hell I thought and gave it a test ride anyway.
Once I'd give it a blast I was hooked, I found it hard to remove the huge grin from my face so the deal had to be done with the f2 going the other way.
It’s got 20k and has been left totally original. It’s been serviced and fitted with a new set of Pirelli dragons which made a hell of an improvement.
For such a heavy bike it handles well and it's got plenty of power to get you out of trouble (or in my case put you in it).
It’s a much underrated machine and perfect for everyday use as well as the weekend blast.
Happy biking!
Marc
Today is not a good day
Today is a sad day for me, I’ve sold the best bike I have not only ever ridden but owned, Today I sold my Sprint ST, Today I feel like a traitor, Today is not a good day.
I can take solace in that I believe the bikes new owner, Ian, will cherish, pamper and more importantly have a blooming good time riding it as much as I have done.
So after 45034 miles of great joy and fulfilment it was a very sad moment when as I watched the best bike in the world depart from my life, as I stood there and listened to the sweet sound of the bike slowly growing fainter with each passing second I will admit to a small tear in my eye.
Goodbye my friend I will miss you.
Today is not a good day.
