Our plans for the day were to visit Trefriw Wollen mills, Conwy Castle and town, Llandudno and Colywn Bay. The Trefriw Wollen Mills can be found on B5106 at the entry to Trefriw. We saw a demonstration of hand spinning. Visiting the spinning and weaving section brought me memories of my aunt's silk looms. The sound of the machines took me to my childhood days when I'd spend my summer holidays at my aunt's place where there was this constant running of weaving/spinning machines that produced a nice repetitive but loud noise. There were posters displayed about different types of wool, their quality, grading and not to mention the 50 or so varieties of sheep in the World.
After spending an hour or so at the wollen mills, we continued on B5106 to Conwy. B5016 is another good road to ride. We entered Conwy and went through the ancient town wall to a parking next to the Castle. There was a dedicated parking bay for motorcycles which is a nice thing to have at such places of interest.
Conwy castle, like Caernarfon, seems to have been well preserved. The town wall surrounding the castle is pretty much intact. We climbed on all the towers and walked along the castle wall. We spent quite a lot of time enjoying the views of the town from the castle towers and wall. After getting out of the castle, we went along one of the main roads to get a full view. From this distance, the castle looked quite magnificent. The weather had improved dramatically with some nice sunshine but with the riding gear it was getting unbearably hot for us.
We had lunch in one of the restaurants and headed to the Tudor House which was built in 1585. Again, this house has been well preserved with a lot of original features. One could see the excess of Tudor lifestyle, be it in accommodating guests or the choice of food or in employing the "latest technology". The house has been lined with solid oak. The roof trusses made of solid oak are simply breathtaking. It is great to see most of these have stood the time. There was also the "modern toilet" found in one of the floors. In one of the rooms there were posters displayed about the treatments for various health problems. Most of them are really funny and we should be happy that we don't have to go through such treatments.
It was time to leave Conwy to Llandudno. Our main interest in Llandudno was the Great Orme. To get to the Great Orme Summit, there is a Marine Drive (one-way) that runs by the mountain-side. This toll road offers fantastic views to the sea and bay. We stopped at various points on the road to enjoy the views. We also saw a group practising rock-climbing.
A road separates from the Marine Drive leading upto the Great Orme. There are a couple of hair pins on this road and it was my first experience tackling it on a litre bike. The views from the Summit are magnificent. As the sky was very bright and clear, we were able to see quite a lot of places, including the Conwy Castle. We could not go to the Great Orme copper Mines as it was closed. We spent quite a bit of time at the top enjoying the views on a sunny evening. We slowly descended from the Summit taking the Marine Drive and rode to Colwyn Bay. We rode along the Colwyn Bay Promenade and Cayley Promenade before stopping at Colwyn Bay beach to have some drinks/ice cream. There were a few people enjoying the evening on water jetskies. It was a great weather to be in the beach and soaking up the glorious views from it.
We returned on A470 to our B&B. This was another flat and fast road. The entire day went very well and with a balmy weather we could not have asked for anything more.
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Motorcycling holiday in North Wales-Day 4
A lovely evening had led to thunderstorms and warnings of flash floods and flooded roads around the mountainous areas. We certainly were not staying back and decided to at least keep riding on the beautiful country roads. The main interests for the day were Barmouth beach (yes in driving rain) and Harlech Castle. We took A470-A496 to get to Barmouth and Harlech.
A470 is another scenic road and a good one for bikes. Within a few miles of our start, we found a slipped lorry being rescued on A470 slowing down the traffic. Fellow road users might have thought us to be lunatics to be riding in such treacherous conditions. I just reminded myself to be very cautious with the front brakes. Approaching Ffestiniog, there is a junction with A496. At this junction, the A470 takes an acute uphill left turn to Dolgellau. It is so acute that I couldn't manage to make that turn and took to A496 and did a U-turn. The only way to get around I think would be taking a very wide turn like a bus. As the rain was very heavy, I was doing about 30/40. The 4x4's that were behind me were so happy to be released approved with a honk while they went past me and they disappeared in no time.
We continued at an ambling pace and by the time we got to Barmouth it was still raining so decided to go to Harlech Castle. Again Harlech castle is more of ruins than a proper castle. It certainly was not in the same league as the castles at Caernarfon and Conwy. The good thing was that it had stopped raining and we were able to spend some time at the castle taking in the views. We returned to Barmouth beach and went for a short walk and that was it.
On A496, from Barmouth to Harlech, there is a signpost for waterfalls in Llanbedr. We went on the road that was signposted to the waterfalls. I followed the river and got lost going deep into very narrow farm roads. Suddenly we were in the middle of farms with nothing but sheep around and no more sign of the river. We decided to turn around and return to A496. As we approached the point where another road crossed the river, I spotted the signboard to the waterfalls. So it was me who didn't spot the not-so-visible signboard. We rode along the river and this time we got to the waterfalls - the Nantcol waterfalls. This is a camping site. We parked the bike and headed to the waterfalls.
It took us a while to get to the waterfalls. It wasn't a very difficult terrain but our riding gear wasn't the most convenient/suitable wear for walking up a hill. The waterfalls was very much to our liking. We spent a long time at the waterfalls and I managed to get down to the water. The surrounding valley has big boulders that got deposited when the ice sheets retreated from the near by mountains during the Ice Age. We were quite lucky with the weather as it had not rained for a few hours now and this certainly helped us leisurely enjoying the waterfalls.
We returned to our B&B riding on the scenic A496-A4085-A498-A4086-A5, bringing even heavier rain showers with us. For our dinner we went to a restaurant in town. While crossing the river Llugwy we saw a lamb struggling for its dear life. The farmer was alerted and we saw the dramatic rescue of the lamb from the swollen river. For those 10-15 minutes we were not sure if the lamb was still alive as it went silent for a few minutes before crying out. We went to see the river from the same spot as we did on our first day and couldn't find any of the rocks that we stood on and took photographs. The river was carrying a lot of mud from the mountains and looked very aggressive.
We were very lucky for the most part of the day. The Nantcol Waterfalls made our day. We will cherish those moments that we spent enjoying the waterfalls.
A470 is another scenic road and a good one for bikes. Within a few miles of our start, we found a slipped lorry being rescued on A470 slowing down the traffic. Fellow road users might have thought us to be lunatics to be riding in such treacherous conditions. I just reminded myself to be very cautious with the front brakes. Approaching Ffestiniog, there is a junction with A496. At this junction, the A470 takes an acute uphill left turn to Dolgellau. It is so acute that I couldn't manage to make that turn and took to A496 and did a U-turn. The only way to get around I think would be taking a very wide turn like a bus. As the rain was very heavy, I was doing about 30/40. The 4x4's that were behind me were so happy to be released approved with a honk while they went past me and they disappeared in no time.
We continued at an ambling pace and by the time we got to Barmouth it was still raining so decided to go to Harlech Castle. Again Harlech castle is more of ruins than a proper castle. It certainly was not in the same league as the castles at Caernarfon and Conwy. The good thing was that it had stopped raining and we were able to spend some time at the castle taking in the views. We returned to Barmouth beach and went for a short walk and that was it.
On A496, from Barmouth to Harlech, there is a signpost for waterfalls in Llanbedr. We went on the road that was signposted to the waterfalls. I followed the river and got lost going deep into very narrow farm roads. Suddenly we were in the middle of farms with nothing but sheep around and no more sign of the river. We decided to turn around and return to A496. As we approached the point where another road crossed the river, I spotted the signboard to the waterfalls. So it was me who didn't spot the not-so-visible signboard. We rode along the river and this time we got to the waterfalls - the Nantcol waterfalls. This is a camping site. We parked the bike and headed to the waterfalls.
It took us a while to get to the waterfalls. It wasn't a very difficult terrain but our riding gear wasn't the most convenient/suitable wear for walking up a hill. The waterfalls was very much to our liking. We spent a long time at the waterfalls and I managed to get down to the water. The surrounding valley has big boulders that got deposited when the ice sheets retreated from the near by mountains during the Ice Age. We were quite lucky with the weather as it had not rained for a few hours now and this certainly helped us leisurely enjoying the waterfalls.
We returned to our B&B riding on the scenic A496-A4085-A498-A4086-A5, bringing even heavier rain showers with us. For our dinner we went to a restaurant in town. While crossing the river Llugwy we saw a lamb struggling for its dear life. The farmer was alerted and we saw the dramatic rescue of the lamb from the swollen river. For those 10-15 minutes we were not sure if the lamb was still alive as it went silent for a few minutes before crying out. We went to see the river from the same spot as we did on our first day and couldn't find any of the rocks that we stood on and took photographs. The river was carrying a lot of mud from the mountains and looked very aggressive.
We were very lucky for the most part of the day. The Nantcol Waterfalls made our day. We will cherish those moments that we spent enjoying the waterfalls.
Motorcycling holiday in North Wales-Day 5
It was raining heavily as we started our final day of our tour around North Wales. With another washout day predicted, we decided to just tour along the coast and try to stay away from the mountains. The main point of interest in today's tour was the RAF museum based in Caernarfon airport which is the only RAF museum in Wales. Again we took to A5-A4086-A498-4086. When we approached A4086/A498 junction, I thought of continuing on A4086 to experience the Llanberis Pass again. With pouring rain and poor visibility at the mountain base, I was quite certain that the weather up in the mountain would be treacherous especially for a bike. After contemplating the idea for a few seconds and checking with my wife, I decided it was too big a risk to take. From Caernarfon we took A499 southbound to get to the Caernarfon airport which was on the coast.
The RAF museum was nothing more than a medium sized shed. Inside the museum, the eye catching display is that of a RAF Mountain Rescue helicopter. There were displays of training jets that were used during the War time. Apart from these real-life displays there were posters related to RAF squadrons' planes and fighter planes' wreckage from the War. I had expected the museum to be bigger than it actually was and considering the £6.50/person fee I felt it was a big rip-off.
After having our lunch at the airport cafe/canteen, we continued our day tour of the coast. We stopped at the beach at Dinal Dinlle. Situated on the Caernarfon Bay this beach was sandy and was a long one too. It was very blustery for us to spend any more than a few minutes. We walked upto the waves touched the water, collected a few pebbles found on the beach and were on our way.
A499 was pretty boring and flat. By now the rain had subsided. As a biker I'm always wary of diesel spills on wet roads. I chose a riding-line close to the median-line to stay away from the diesel spills that I found in the middle of the road for the most part of A499. We took to B4417 heading towards Nefyn. By now the rain had almost stopped and it gave us the opportunity to spend a few minutes at the beach in Nefyn. The Welsh coast, at least, the northern parts has nice sandy beaches throughout. If not for the horrible weather, I think people would be flocking to these nice beaches. In Nefyn, there is a beautiful golf course by the Irish Sea. We parked our bike and went for a long walk on the golf course. As we neared the coast, we could see the waves crashing into the rocks found a few meters from the shore. This was a beautiful sight and I would pick the waves that had the chance to break to the top of the rocks.
We continued on the twisty B4417 following the coast. Our next scheduled stop was Aberdaron. Riding on B4417 was rewarding but as there farms dotted all along this route, I'd to be extra cautious as the roads had mud from the farm vehicles. At some point on B4417, we had to take an unidentified road heading towards Aberdaron. These unidentified roads were interesting to ride but their quality wasn't great. We reached Aberdaron and chose a view point looking at the Cardigan Bay. By now, the sun had come out and we were happy to spend more time enjoying the scenary. We also took to other unidentified roads taking to the nearby coastal villages that were situated on hill top.
Following the coastal roads, we took B4413-A499-A497 to visit the ruins of Criccieth Castle. As it was already 1830 and about 40 miles to our B&B taking the mountainous route, we decided to view it from the shore front. I decided to take the scenic A497-A498-A4086-A5. River Glaslyn (Afon Glaslyn in Welsh) runs along this route and offers nice photographic opportunities at Pont Aberglaslyn. Following the previous day's heavy rain, the river had swollen and was carrying the mountain mud with it. The difference between a clam river and a swollen fast moving river was pretty evident. We had seen the river a couple of days earlier and it appeared to be very calm. We could see what effect continous heavy rain could do to the mountain rivers. After taking photos and spending some time enjoy watching the river, we returned to our B&B. Just as we left Pont Aberglaslyn, I noticed the fuel reserve warning. As we only had to do 17 odd miles to our B&B decided to carry on as it would still leave us with another 8 or 9 mile fuel window.
For our dinner, we went to a restaurant in Betws-Y-Coed to taste some local food. Our tour of the North Wales was almost over. I think we managed to cover quite a lot given the weather. We'd have loved to take a "rover bus pass" that would have enabled us to do some mountain walking. Never mind, there is always next time. I would miss the Llanberis Pass for sure.
The RAF museum was nothing more than a medium sized shed. Inside the museum, the eye catching display is that of a RAF Mountain Rescue helicopter. There were displays of training jets that were used during the War time. Apart from these real-life displays there were posters related to RAF squadrons' planes and fighter planes' wreckage from the War. I had expected the museum to be bigger than it actually was and considering the £6.50/person fee I felt it was a big rip-off.
After having our lunch at the airport cafe/canteen, we continued our day tour of the coast. We stopped at the beach at Dinal Dinlle. Situated on the Caernarfon Bay this beach was sandy and was a long one too. It was very blustery for us to spend any more than a few minutes. We walked upto the waves touched the water, collected a few pebbles found on the beach and were on our way.
A499 was pretty boring and flat. By now the rain had subsided. As a biker I'm always wary of diesel spills on wet roads. I chose a riding-line close to the median-line to stay away from the diesel spills that I found in the middle of the road for the most part of A499. We took to B4417 heading towards Nefyn. By now the rain had almost stopped and it gave us the opportunity to spend a few minutes at the beach in Nefyn. The Welsh coast, at least, the northern parts has nice sandy beaches throughout. If not for the horrible weather, I think people would be flocking to these nice beaches. In Nefyn, there is a beautiful golf course by the Irish Sea. We parked our bike and went for a long walk on the golf course. As we neared the coast, we could see the waves crashing into the rocks found a few meters from the shore. This was a beautiful sight and I would pick the waves that had the chance to break to the top of the rocks.
We continued on the twisty B4417 following the coast. Our next scheduled stop was Aberdaron. Riding on B4417 was rewarding but as there farms dotted all along this route, I'd to be extra cautious as the roads had mud from the farm vehicles. At some point on B4417, we had to take an unidentified road heading towards Aberdaron. These unidentified roads were interesting to ride but their quality wasn't great. We reached Aberdaron and chose a view point looking at the Cardigan Bay. By now, the sun had come out and we were happy to spend more time enjoying the scenary. We also took to other unidentified roads taking to the nearby coastal villages that were situated on hill top.
Following the coastal roads, we took B4413-A499-A497 to visit the ruins of Criccieth Castle. As it was already 1830 and about 40 miles to our B&B taking the mountainous route, we decided to view it from the shore front. I decided to take the scenic A497-A498-A4086-A5. River Glaslyn (Afon Glaslyn in Welsh) runs along this route and offers nice photographic opportunities at Pont Aberglaslyn. Following the previous day's heavy rain, the river had swollen and was carrying the mountain mud with it. The difference between a clam river and a swollen fast moving river was pretty evident. We had seen the river a couple of days earlier and it appeared to be very calm. We could see what effect continous heavy rain could do to the mountain rivers. After taking photos and spending some time enjoy watching the river, we returned to our B&B. Just as we left Pont Aberglaslyn, I noticed the fuel reserve warning. As we only had to do 17 odd miles to our B&B decided to carry on as it would still leave us with another 8 or 9 mile fuel window.
For our dinner, we went to a restaurant in Betws-Y-Coed to taste some local food. Our tour of the North Wales was almost over. I think we managed to cover quite a lot given the weather. We'd have loved to take a "rover bus pass" that would have enabled us to do some mountain walking. Never mind, there is always next time. I would miss the Llanberis Pass for sure.
Motorcycling holiday in North Wales-Day 6
Our holiday was almost over and we began our return journey to London. The weather forecast for the day was sunny with no showers predicted. We went to Conwy Falls which is located a few miles on A5 southbound from Betws-Y-Coed. Apparently this falls had a Victorian ladder for Salmon fishes to go upstream. The falls itself isn't really impressive and they charge £1/person to enter to view the falls. On A5 we found a lot of sports cars in the northbound direction. I presume it was a weekend run and with the weather being dry, a group might have decided to enjoy themselves on the country roads.
From A5 we took A543 to get to the Denbigh Castle ruins. I thought that the entry would be free as the Castle was in ruins. But to my disbelief they were charging £3/person. We decided to take some photos from the outside and continued our journey home. Our next stop was the "Historic Market Town" of Ruthin. Following A543/A525, we got to this town and could not find anything interesting in the town. The only thing we were enjoying was the ride on the country roads. From Ruthin, there were no further scheduled visits. So we were onto A494 and joined A5 to Llangollen.
We stopped at Llangollen town centre for some drink and snacks. There was a pretty big group of Harley riders ready to start a run somewhere. I just love these out of city places for the fact that there is a group for every sort of activity or interest. Either these group gatherings don't exist in big cities or it's hard to find by.
Once we got past Llangollen on A5, the roads opened up and we started eating up the miles. I was in no mood to stop until we burnt most of the fuel. Nearing Birmingham on M6, I'd an option to refuel at a Services in 3 miles or at the next at 49 miles. The fuel indicator showed that there was enough fuel for about 50 miles but I wasn't so sure because my bike has never given more than 130-140 miles to the tank and going by the fuel indicator I'd be able to do 160+ miles to the tank. Finally I decided to keep chugging along to the next services some 49 miles away. Got to admit that I had an eye on the fuel indicator throughout.
We did manage to get to the Croley Services on M6 with about 15 mile fuel window. After having a late lunch, we reached our home in London just after 1730. A wonderful trip had finally come to an end.
We did a total of close to 1000 miles out of which 500 miles were on the beautiful country roads. I'd the extra pleasure of being able to ride out the twisty/flowing roads. I feel more confident on the bike now that I trusted the bike on the country roads.
This would go down as one of our best holidays, I suppose. I certainly got to thank my lovely wife for happily accepting to take our bike. In a sense the biking gear helped us to get to a lot of places despite the constant heavy rain showers. The long wait for such a good holiday was worth it after all.
From A5 we took A543 to get to the Denbigh Castle ruins. I thought that the entry would be free as the Castle was in ruins. But to my disbelief they were charging £3/person. We decided to take some photos from the outside and continued our journey home. Our next stop was the "Historic Market Town" of Ruthin. Following A543/A525, we got to this town and could not find anything interesting in the town. The only thing we were enjoying was the ride on the country roads. From Ruthin, there were no further scheduled visits. So we were onto A494 and joined A5 to Llangollen.
We stopped at Llangollen town centre for some drink and snacks. There was a pretty big group of Harley riders ready to start a run somewhere. I just love these out of city places for the fact that there is a group for every sort of activity or interest. Either these group gatherings don't exist in big cities or it's hard to find by.
Once we got past Llangollen on A5, the roads opened up and we started eating up the miles. I was in no mood to stop until we burnt most of the fuel. Nearing Birmingham on M6, I'd an option to refuel at a Services in 3 miles or at the next at 49 miles. The fuel indicator showed that there was enough fuel for about 50 miles but I wasn't so sure because my bike has never given more than 130-140 miles to the tank and going by the fuel indicator I'd be able to do 160+ miles to the tank. Finally I decided to keep chugging along to the next services some 49 miles away. Got to admit that I had an eye on the fuel indicator throughout.
We did manage to get to the Croley Services on M6 with about 15 mile fuel window. After having a late lunch, we reached our home in London just after 1730. A wonderful trip had finally come to an end.
We did a total of close to 1000 miles out of which 500 miles were on the beautiful country roads. I'd the extra pleasure of being able to ride out the twisty/flowing roads. I feel more confident on the bike now that I trusted the bike on the country roads.
This would go down as one of our best holidays, I suppose. I certainly got to thank my lovely wife for happily accepting to take our bike. In a sense the biking gear helped us to get to a lot of places despite the constant heavy rain showers. The long wait for such a good holiday was worth it after all.
Sunday, 28 June 2009
Two-up on a Sunday Morning Ride
It has been a while since I went on a Sunday Morning ride. My shuttle between London and Cork doesn't help my biking either. On the weekends I'm in London, there is so much to catch up that I find myself strapped for time to go out on a leisure ride. During my last visit, the weather wasn't great. So just went for a spin locally. I decided that if the weather holds good then I'm doing a leisure ride of about 100 miles.
The weather on Sunday was good and I was just rearing to go. My wife said she too was interested and would like to join me. To ride two-up with her is always something special for me. Took my bike out and went to my usual Barking Tesco to fill-up and check air. To my bitter surprise, I found that they have installed a pay-and-use air. I decided I was not going to pay 20p to fill air and then headed to the Beckton Sainsburys.
The bike feels very different when the recommended tyre pressures are not maintained. I've been told that even 1 or 2 psi would make a drastic change to the feel of the bike. This is not the first time I have ridden at lower tyre pressures and so am gaining the feel of the bike. The front tyre was 4psi below the ideal and no wonder the bike felt abnormal while turning. After filling up it was time for our leisure ride.
This ride had only one purpose, at least, as far I was concerned - ring the neck of my Yam in the lower gears. I decided to take to the A406-M11-A414-A12-A406. The trouble with "ringing the neck" is that in reality it will never happen without seriously breaking the speed limit. On the 50mph sections I was always on 1st and 2nd just to listen the engine at around 6k. On the 70mph sections again stayed on 1st and 2nd - as ever love the engine note at around 9k. I have to find out a way to record this wonderful sound, perhaps strapping a small point-and-shoot camera to the petrol tank would do.
Getting off M11 at Junction 7 to A414, I practised some braking. On long trips, I downshift to slow down and then am gentle on the brake, but not today. Staying within bottom 3 gears there is no drastic speed reduction during downshift, so had to trust the brake. I didn't feel sponginess while braking, methinks it is more to do with my constant reminder that my bike is getting to a year after service and that needs some check-up.
Anyway with Junction 7 done and dusted, A414 to Maldon greeted with the usual busy Sunday Morning traffic. This section has got some nice flowing right and left handers but you won't be leaning too much if you are within the limits. As I hate to sit behind a slow car on these nice curves, I would drop myself from the car ahead and then carry the corner speed before catching up with the traffic. It is a nice feeling to take the corners in the lower gears when the bike is in its power band wanting to break free.
On this section, I spotted a police car at the end of a left-hander. Before taking the corner, I dropped myself from the car ahead to carry the 50mph corner speed in first gear. I felt so good going through the corner, and after seeing the police car (and the police man), I can see why they are there. Anyone who is lured to speed through the corner will be caught after they have taken it and they can't see the police car while they go through the corner. As I don't take chances, okay most of the times, I may not have got their attention except for the 1st gear scream of the engine.
There are a couple of roundabouts on this section of A414 heading to Maldon where they meet 30mph sections. These roundabouts let you practice downshifts and braking and if they are clear can practice cornering as well. With about 3 miles to Chelmsford there are two roundabouts within a space of a mile or so that lets you whack the throttle and bring it down. With a clear road ahead, behind and in the rounadbout, it was time to improve my corner speed carry through. As I rode through the roundabout with more than my usual speed, I had a chance to practise left-right-left flip through counter-steer.
The feeling you get while leaning the bike had to be experienced first hand as words cannot describe it. And I'm not talking about knee-scrapping stuff, just more than gentle lean that would make you wonder how on earth these tyres grip the road to let you do what you always felt physics-defying. Exiting the roundabout, opened the throttle as quickly as I'd and within about 3-4 seconds I was over 70 in the 1st and 10k revvs, and the bike is still accelerating has it has another 30% power left in it. The acceleration was truly exhilirating. The purpose of my day's ride had been fulfilled.
I decided to return on the same route as I've never done A414 Chelmsford-Harlow. Unforuntately few miles down A414 from Chelmsford there was a traffic stoppage due to some plant movement and I turned around back to Chelmsford to take the A12 to return home. Throughout the trip, I stayed within the bottom gears and only very briefly i ventured to the fourth when I was stuck behind a gaggle of cars on the A414.
I had done about 85miles non-stop and by the time I was back home, the fuel meter was about to hit reserve. It's drunk about a litre for every 8 miles and that is not bad, because on long-haul trips it drinks a litre for every 8.5. Do I really care about the fuel economy when the machine gives me a lot of joy and fun?
Oh, forgot to mention my wife anywhere (Sorry dear, hope you wouldn't mind me enjoying the lust for this machine once in a while). Our next two-up ride is going to be a very special one and I can't wait. Do come back to read that entry.
The weather on Sunday was good and I was just rearing to go. My wife said she too was interested and would like to join me. To ride two-up with her is always something special for me. Took my bike out and went to my usual Barking Tesco to fill-up and check air. To my bitter surprise, I found that they have installed a pay-and-use air. I decided I was not going to pay 20p to fill air and then headed to the Beckton Sainsburys.
The bike feels very different when the recommended tyre pressures are not maintained. I've been told that even 1 or 2 psi would make a drastic change to the feel of the bike. This is not the first time I have ridden at lower tyre pressures and so am gaining the feel of the bike. The front tyre was 4psi below the ideal and no wonder the bike felt abnormal while turning. After filling up it was time for our leisure ride.
This ride had only one purpose, at least, as far I was concerned - ring the neck of my Yam in the lower gears. I decided to take to the A406-M11-A414-A12-A406. The trouble with "ringing the neck" is that in reality it will never happen without seriously breaking the speed limit. On the 50mph sections I was always on 1st and 2nd just to listen the engine at around 6k. On the 70mph sections again stayed on 1st and 2nd - as ever love the engine note at around 9k. I have to find out a way to record this wonderful sound, perhaps strapping a small point-and-shoot camera to the petrol tank would do.
Getting off M11 at Junction 7 to A414, I practised some braking. On long trips, I downshift to slow down and then am gentle on the brake, but not today. Staying within bottom 3 gears there is no drastic speed reduction during downshift, so had to trust the brake. I didn't feel sponginess while braking, methinks it is more to do with my constant reminder that my bike is getting to a year after service and that needs some check-up.
Anyway with Junction 7 done and dusted, A414 to Maldon greeted with the usual busy Sunday Morning traffic. This section has got some nice flowing right and left handers but you won't be leaning too much if you are within the limits. As I hate to sit behind a slow car on these nice curves, I would drop myself from the car ahead and then carry the corner speed before catching up with the traffic. It is a nice feeling to take the corners in the lower gears when the bike is in its power band wanting to break free.
On this section, I spotted a police car at the end of a left-hander. Before taking the corner, I dropped myself from the car ahead to carry the 50mph corner speed in first gear. I felt so good going through the corner, and after seeing the police car (and the police man), I can see why they are there. Anyone who is lured to speed through the corner will be caught after they have taken it and they can't see the police car while they go through the corner. As I don't take chances, okay most of the times, I may not have got their attention except for the 1st gear scream of the engine.
There are a couple of roundabouts on this section of A414 heading to Maldon where they meet 30mph sections. These roundabouts let you practice downshifts and braking and if they are clear can practice cornering as well. With about 3 miles to Chelmsford there are two roundabouts within a space of a mile or so that lets you whack the throttle and bring it down. With a clear road ahead, behind and in the rounadbout, it was time to improve my corner speed carry through. As I rode through the roundabout with more than my usual speed, I had a chance to practise left-right-left flip through counter-steer.
The feeling you get while leaning the bike had to be experienced first hand as words cannot describe it. And I'm not talking about knee-scrapping stuff, just more than gentle lean that would make you wonder how on earth these tyres grip the road to let you do what you always felt physics-defying. Exiting the roundabout, opened the throttle as quickly as I'd and within about 3-4 seconds I was over 70 in the 1st and 10k revvs, and the bike is still accelerating has it has another 30% power left in it. The acceleration was truly exhilirating. The purpose of my day's ride had been fulfilled.
I decided to return on the same route as I've never done A414 Chelmsford-Harlow. Unforuntately few miles down A414 from Chelmsford there was a traffic stoppage due to some plant movement and I turned around back to Chelmsford to take the A12 to return home. Throughout the trip, I stayed within the bottom gears and only very briefly i ventured to the fourth when I was stuck behind a gaggle of cars on the A414.
I had done about 85miles non-stop and by the time I was back home, the fuel meter was about to hit reserve. It's drunk about a litre for every 8 miles and that is not bad, because on long-haul trips it drinks a litre for every 8.5. Do I really care about the fuel economy when the machine gives me a lot of joy and fun?
Oh, forgot to mention my wife anywhere (Sorry dear, hope you wouldn't mind me enjoying the lust for this machine once in a while). Our next two-up ride is going to be a very special one and I can't wait. Do come back to read that entry.
Sunday, 14 June 2009
Life in May
It's been a while since I'd updated the blog on my life. After taking up the work in Cork, I've been shuttling between Cork and London 3 weekends a month and that is taking up any of my spare time. When I'm home in London my priority is my family (and my bike) and certainly not blogging.
Life in May was fantastic. I'd been to a caravan park (Some pictures) for the first time. I have to say it is quite different to all my trips so far. I'd to join my wife and my friend's family who had to check-in at the caravan park on a Friday evening. After waking up early to catch up with the Indian election results, I was already running late by 2 hours. The weather prediction wasn't good - with heavy rain showers predicted for the entire weekend. After fuelling at my usual Barking Tesco garage, I set out on 130 mile trip to Great Yarmouth through A406, M11, A11 and A47. Apart from the nagging crosswinds I was fine on my own. On A11 I was pretty much on my own on the road. Having stretched my legs and arms at a road-side parking bay after an hour, I reached Great Yarmouth beach in just about 2 hours.
There was a display of iconic American cars and vintage british motorcycles. To see and hear the lovely V8 Mustangs of yesteryears is captivating. There is no completeness of the American cars without the Impalas and the Plymouths. There was also a Dodge Viper - one of my favourites.
We all spent some time in the beach and a mini pleasure park. By evening we all returned to the caravan park. I'd been very much looking forward to this trip, one reason being I can spend any available time with my friend's toddler boy and girl. They bring loads of energy. When we booked the caravan holiday, I assumed that we would get one of those "big" caravans displayed on the brochure. When we reached our caravan, I thought that "those nice caravans on brochure" are just for getting people to book-in. The caravan was a little bit bigger than a bunker but we were there to spend time away from the caravan anyway. The evening was spent in an entertainment hall for kids. The caravan park idea is more geared towards people with kids and aimed towards entertaining kids rather than adults or that is what I felt.
The next morning, we all had been to the swimming pool and spent a couple of hours at the pool. This was my first swim in ages - can't remember when was the last time I'd been swimming - perhaps during my visit to the Andamans in 2006. The afternoon was spent chatting and re-living our past and a look at our future plans. As this trip was meant for the kids, I was just happy to be there with them. Before we departed the caravan park, I took some pictures of my friend's kids on my bike and the boy tested the bike past its rev limiter at over 13k revs, on a stand of course. Earlier he would not like the noise of the engine but on this day he just seemed to love the music of the engine at it's max.
I liked the ride on the country roads on my return. After a long time, had a chance to lean the bike. But got to admit that I still have not got the confidence to trust the bike. In my supervised training with the Essex police, I was told numerous times to trust the bike - methinks it is time to do a track time to build confidence in the bike while leaning. On A47, having got stuck behind a caravan trailer for a long time, decided to pass and get-in lane. As I accelerated past the trailer, the traffic ahead started slowing and it was time to grab the front. The thing I love in these big sport machines are their acceleration and braking. This was the second time, I think, I'd a chance to test the front brakes.
Before we returned to London, we went to Cambridge town and went for a couple of historic sites. After a demanding return journey mainly due to the heavy crosswinds, had a dinner and was back to Cork earlier the next day morning.
On 30th,I'd been to the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway. First time in my life I got to see the big ocean yachts going around the world. They had a in-harbour race but the yachts were at least a mile from the shore making it impossible to take any proper photos or video. After watching the first part of the race from a cliff I got to the shore front to watch the race from the big display screens. Before the yacht race there was a wonderful display of the Red Arrows. Again, this was the first time I saw the Red Arrows up very close on their magnificent display. The acrobatics of these iconic jets were scintillating.
There are so many birthdays/wedding anniversaries in April/May/June that there is no big gap without having get together. I think I'd at least 4 lunches/dinners in May to celebrate the aforementioned events.
Certainly life is going great without many complaints.
Life in May was fantastic. I'd been to a caravan park (Some pictures) for the first time. I have to say it is quite different to all my trips so far. I'd to join my wife and my friend's family who had to check-in at the caravan park on a Friday evening. After waking up early to catch up with the Indian election results, I was already running late by 2 hours. The weather prediction wasn't good - with heavy rain showers predicted for the entire weekend. After fuelling at my usual Barking Tesco garage, I set out on 130 mile trip to Great Yarmouth through A406, M11, A11 and A47. Apart from the nagging crosswinds I was fine on my own. On A11 I was pretty much on my own on the road. Having stretched my legs and arms at a road-side parking bay after an hour, I reached Great Yarmouth beach in just about 2 hours.
There was a display of iconic American cars and vintage british motorcycles. To see and hear the lovely V8 Mustangs of yesteryears is captivating. There is no completeness of the American cars without the Impalas and the Plymouths. There was also a Dodge Viper - one of my favourites.
We all spent some time in the beach and a mini pleasure park. By evening we all returned to the caravan park. I'd been very much looking forward to this trip, one reason being I can spend any available time with my friend's toddler boy and girl. They bring loads of energy. When we booked the caravan holiday, I assumed that we would get one of those "big" caravans displayed on the brochure. When we reached our caravan, I thought that "those nice caravans on brochure" are just for getting people to book-in. The caravan was a little bit bigger than a bunker but we were there to spend time away from the caravan anyway. The evening was spent in an entertainment hall for kids. The caravan park idea is more geared towards people with kids and aimed towards entertaining kids rather than adults or that is what I felt.
The next morning, we all had been to the swimming pool and spent a couple of hours at the pool. This was my first swim in ages - can't remember when was the last time I'd been swimming - perhaps during my visit to the Andamans in 2006. The afternoon was spent chatting and re-living our past and a look at our future plans. As this trip was meant for the kids, I was just happy to be there with them. Before we departed the caravan park, I took some pictures of my friend's kids on my bike and the boy tested the bike past its rev limiter at over 13k revs, on a stand of course. Earlier he would not like the noise of the engine but on this day he just seemed to love the music of the engine at it's max.
I liked the ride on the country roads on my return. After a long time, had a chance to lean the bike. But got to admit that I still have not got the confidence to trust the bike. In my supervised training with the Essex police, I was told numerous times to trust the bike - methinks it is time to do a track time to build confidence in the bike while leaning. On A47, having got stuck behind a caravan trailer for a long time, decided to pass and get-in lane. As I accelerated past the trailer, the traffic ahead started slowing and it was time to grab the front. The thing I love in these big sport machines are their acceleration and braking. This was the second time, I think, I'd a chance to test the front brakes.
Before we returned to London, we went to Cambridge town and went for a couple of historic sites. After a demanding return journey mainly due to the heavy crosswinds, had a dinner and was back to Cork earlier the next day morning.
On 30th,I'd been to the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway. First time in my life I got to see the big ocean yachts going around the world. They had a in-harbour race but the yachts were at least a mile from the shore making it impossible to take any proper photos or video. After watching the first part of the race from a cliff I got to the shore front to watch the race from the big display screens. Before the yacht race there was a wonderful display of the Red Arrows. Again, this was the first time I saw the Red Arrows up very close on their magnificent display. The acrobatics of these iconic jets were scintillating.
There are so many birthdays/wedding anniversaries in April/May/June that there is no big gap without having get together. I think I'd at least 4 lunches/dinners in May to celebrate the aforementioned events.
Certainly life is going great without many complaints.
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