Details.
- Thread starter bazman
- Start date
Into the west - My ramblings
Strontian Big Roadtrip
Right after arriving home, and jumping straight in the shower, which after the ride back is a bit ironic lol? I thought id better write up my Strontian road trip
It’s my mad demented ramblings so forgive the long-windedness lol
Day 1 Friday,
After spending all week planning and purchasing (well I had to have a new nav didn’t I
)
I packed everything up, and strapped everything to the bike, only to find with the rebuilt side stand and bushes, the lean on the side stand was no where near
Where it should be, and vertical was closer than before doh! So I had to spend the next hour rebuilding the old stand set up and bushes
To say I was excited was an understatement, and it paid me back in spades. I slept very badly, read sod all! So I woke up with a headache and feeling very tired
Managed to get brekky & a cup of coffee down. Along with the daily medication and copious amounts of Paracetamol to counter the pounding headache.
As it was dark, and I didn’t want to wake the neighbours I opted to push the (fully laden) bike up the drive to the road before starting it.
Mistake number one, I underestimated how heavy it was, and got myself nipped between the bike and the gatepost..
Luckily I didn’t drop the fecker and managed to wheel it to the road. Nursing a sore chest – Which according to my youngest is turning into a nice bruise lol
Started it up, stabbed “Into the west” on the nav and rolled off on the big road trip.
Now after doing Dent earlier in the year and getting totally slowed on the M6 going up. Due to traffic & the “”Smart”” motorway there constructing, I opted to come back a different route and came back down the A1 (m),
That was a revelation and I was back from Dent in 5 hrs as opposed to the 9 hrs going up (including fuel & rest breaks)
So the carefully planned route was M27, M3, A34, M40, off at Silverstone and across to the A1(m).. Except it wasn’t carefully planned, and I joined the M1.
That was a big mistake, of which I was to pay for big time …
New suspension, loaded panniers, all my cold weather thermal gear & liners for both jacket and trousers and buffeting from the wind & road noise all combined to make me tired, very tired.
I’d managed my planned stop at the top of the A34 with no ill effects, but once I’d dropped of the M40 at Silverstone and joined the M1 the fatigue stepped in.
I was literally having to stop at every other service station for a coffee and a rest, something was wrong, very wrong, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
By the time I’d got to Leeming I was done. I literally felt dead on my feet, and I phoned the other half to let her know I was going to have to come back. (How, I had no idea, but Strontian was off the table so to speak)
After a long chat to the other half, (Always good) we’d worked out a plan, wait a couple of hours (easier said than done when the bloody motorway service stations charge for more than 2 hrs waiting!). Then find a campsite, camp and have a weekend.
away. As good a plan as it was, I was gutted that I wasn’t going to get to Strontian & my must see destination.
A quick consult of the map showed a campsite just under 40 miles away, so after a couple of hours sitting by the bike on a side road, I set off, arriving an hour later.
I unpacked the bike set up the tent and took some pictures
Managed to make it to the pub, scoffed a meal and a pint and made it back to the tent, and was out for the count until 7 am the next morning (about 12 hrs total sleep lol)
Day 2 Saturday
So after having brekky in the local café, I can recommend the Eggs Benedict, I looked at the map, and saw my must see destination from the trip was only 5 hrs up the road … hmm long way 5 hrs, to take some pics and then come back …
But hang on Strontian was only another hour beyond that, so I could do my must see, get to Strontian, and return the next day … I had a plan …..
So with new determination, the tent was packed and on the bike, and I was off by 9:30 am …. A quick refuel (petrol this time. One of many I might add) and I was on my way …
Or not as the case may be ….. 80 miles up the road, and the headache and fatigue was back. .. I was feeling the same as Friday, but I’d had 12 hours sleep, so tiredness wasn’t the answer.
I needed to fix it and fast; otherwise this was going to be another crap day with me being even more disappointed.
Now one of the things I found with having my stroke, is that rapid eye movement gives me a headache, so checking the Speedo, nav, mirrors and horizon were playing a part, but they aren’t done every second,
One of the biggest things I noticed was the buffeting from the front of the bike and the droning / vibration from the front end. This was literally shaking me to sleep
And I was getting hot, I had my under thermal top & my wool over top on under my jacket, so I was quite warm, which also helps to make me tired
So I whipped of my under thermal and just had my woollen long sleeve top on, under the jacket, and I backed off the damping on the front end to make it a bit softer, and to reduce the buffeting I raised the Givi Screen to the Max
It was like a switch had been thrown.
The fatigue was gone, the ride was smooth and the road from Lockerbie to Glasgow was a revelation. Coming over the crests with those huge wind turbines lazily turning is a site to behold
Glasgow turned into Dumbarton, & fuel called…
Fuelled, coffee & a visit to the bathroom (complete with queue) I was on my way.
Now this is where for me the trip became a huge grin factor, up past Loch Lomond, with roads just set up for sweeping in and out of corners , I forgot I had fully loaded panniers the road was brilliant, I was a riding god
Sadly all good things must come to an end so I thought, and I left Loch Lomond and headed towards Tyndrum & Glencoe with my must see destination rapidly approaching.
Words at this point fail me, the roads and the scenery are jaw droppingly awesome, Ihmo, from tight sweeping bends with massive drop offs, to mountains, yes mountains that go on for ever and have such depth and textures I can’t find enough words
to describe how breathtakingly beautiful they are. They literally make your eyes pop!
Must slow down here, as my must see destination was coming up on the left, and I have to confess I spent far longer than I should here just soaking up the atmosphere, and taking pictures (loads of them lol)
For a film buff like me, the chance to see this location was too good to be true, and to miss, given I was on the doorstep so to speak
Then sadly it was turn left at the end of the road and on to Strontian!!
The Glencoe road is superb, and if you ever get the chance to ride it I don’t think you will be disappointed
Another first for me, the ferry at Corran, It’s quite something to be going across a Loch on a boat, aren’t they usually loaded with gold bullion and mysteriously sink half way across??
From there it was the relatively short hop to Strontian, with more achingly beautiful scenery from the ferry to the campsite,
Apart from the mobile sacrificial units that populate the adjacent fields the road is quite something to ride in the early evening.
Finally some 36hr after leaving home I was in the Wild West
As usual I passed the rest of the group watching the world and sunset go by from the local hostelry
Rode past the campsite a couple of times lol before finally finding it
Tent up, a quick cup of coffee (that was an experience as well) Note to self!! The notch on the gas canister is to insert it fully, otherwise you only get half to no gas pressure, and it takes almost an hour to boil a kettle
There’s me thinking it was the altitude making the stove pressure weak lol
You’ve all seen piccys from the baarby, and it was brilliant, good company and some brilliant craic
Met some brilliant people, Our multicultural friend was a hoot
Thank god I don’t drink much, how some were still standing at the end of the evening is beyond me, and fresh as daisy’s the next morning
Day 3 Sunday
All good things must come to an end, and I was packed and ready to go quite early,
The weather forecast said rain in Strontian from 10:00, so I wanted to be well on the way long before then.
After gingerly riding across the loose chippings that adorn the campsite (I’d decided that my accidental power sliding on opposite lock entrance, although looking cool was liable to end up with me dropping the bike if I repeated it on the way out)
The road back to the Corran ferry is just as good in the morning, but by now the mobile sacrificial units had got my details from the night beforehand were planning an en masse event to prevent me leaving ..
Yes there defiant little buggers, who certainly know how to play Chicken!
Standing waiting for the ferry you certainly realise the sense of scale of the mountain behind the pub!
And it was with some sadness I left Strontian.
Not for long though
I still had the Glencoe road to play with.
Slightly colder and more tourists to encounter , it was even better going back, I was tempted to back to Glen Etive, and take some more pics with the low clouds in abundance, but the threat of rain pushed me on.
A trio of bikes passed me and the cars I was following as we went back toward Glencoe and seeing the road was empty I followed suite. I have to say the GS gets a second wind on when you wind it up, and once again I was grinning as I swept through Glencoe back to Tyndrum & Lock Lomond.
Sadly all good things come to an end, and coming back down the side of Loch Lomond it got dark, very dark, to the point I wondered if I had my visor down. Nope the visor was well and truly up, it was the light that was down.
A couple on VFR’s passed me and disappeared on into the distance making progress
And then from nowhere the first big fat lazy raindrop splattered my visor like a big fly at speed. Soon followed by another and another as the heavens opened and the road ahead became a swimming pool.
From making progress to no progress, the road down the side of Loch Lomond became a nightmare, every bend greasy & slick with leaves and seeds blown from the trees,
I passed Mr & Mrs VFR sheltering in the forecourt of a pub, wimps I thought it’s only a passing shower. It was, for the next 24 fucking miles! Every bend I loved on the way up, I hated with a passion on the way down,
Every corner had a motorist only to keen to stamp on his or her brakes last minute, just in case a coach or other car got within a country mile. Instead of progress, I was stood still with the earth turning below me,
Everything was getting wet and cold; I needed to take drastic action, so I made the decision to press the button.
I went to Defcon 1, for the first time I turned on the heated grips!
Oh lord, it was a revelation, steam started to rise from my hands. I was in control, be gone H2&O and your micro climate, I had the power of electricity and resistance.
Eventually I reached the end of Loch Lomond, and however tempting the Green Welly looked, I wanted to press on. I knew if I stopped I could be trapped by the weather (And the desire to stay warm and dry)
Dumbarton called, and I needed to refuel, luckily the Garage there had a Greggs & a Subway franchise, and the loos were empty so I could strip off the wet gear and get a dry T shirt on.
The coffee was shite *Bucks , but the hot toasted Italian foot long with Chicken, Bacon, Cheese & Olives with some Honey and mustard dressing was bloody lovely. And I have to say, restored some of the love I had lost for Scotland Courtesy of messrs H2 & O. Even the Poileas who stopped for a chat agreed it wasn’t the best day for it lol.
Fuelled, rearmed and redressed I left Dumbarton and headed southbound… Glasgow passed with a wet wave, everything looking muted and drab as the M74 wended its way downwards …
For the next 90 minutes it was a game of two sides, the wind and rain battling with the sunshine and warmth, sadly the result was inevitable, and my so called waterproof textile technical fibres & Hipora lined boots were trounced
With a resounding drubbing the half time score H2&O -10 Hippora & Technical fibres – 0
I was wet, very wet; the only dry part of me was my thighs and torso. Lockerbie services saw me pouring water out of my boots, and letting my Jacket drip into huge puddles in the middle of Costa
The smiling couple who spoke to me, bedecked in there matching Klim outfits, happily telling me of the way they were going Northbound! To Scotlandshire !!! Well they were going to get eaten alive!!!
I didn’t have the heart to tell them the Kraken had been unleashed. And all that lay ahead wasn’t a bit of drizzle or scattered showers.. I buried myself in my giant Americano and willed my boots to dry …
They didn’t, and I was still wet.. The good news was that H2&O played badly in the second half, and body heat, electricity and resistance, made a come back to end the game 1-0 down.
4pm and I rolled onto Dent to find my camping spot had been taken by teenagers!!! Mind you not just normal spotty teenagers, but hardcore DOE teenagers, who had spent the day in thunder and lightening (very very frightening
Up the top of one of the peaks sheltering in a hut, where some bastard had crapped and left the remnants as a souvenir..
They were worried they would make too much noise, and asked if I wanted to move, I declined, noise? Poor sods, they hadn’t heard me snore lol..
Back to the matters in hand. The tent!, which had served me admirably for the previous 2 nights was showing signs of distress, and was starting to leak like an infected Ebola patient, with drops appearing at random over its outer & inner surface..
Trouble was everything was wet, so ignoring all the safety rules I lit the stove in the porch area and made a coffee.
The relief was good but short lived, I didn’t keel over and die of carbon monoxide poisoning, but couldn’t keep the stove on all night as the whistling of the kettle would have ensured that
30 or so spotty oiks would be pissed off to the point of growing a pair and coming over for a non friendly chat about the weather.
After a hearty meal, alcohol and earplugs, I called it a day and crawled into my damp sleeping bag and closed my eyes..
Well I heard midnight, 2am, 4am and 6am from the church clock.. This was going to be a long long day. So I peeled myself out of the sleeping bag and opened the tent
Day 4 Monday
Rain, more feckin rain. As if the last 24hrs hadn’t been bad enough, it was going for an encore. On the plus side thought my snoring must have worked because half spotty oiks tents had gone …
In all fairness, they were a nice lot, and there early starts show how determined they were to complete this part of the DOE award… It was barely light and they were trekking up the side of a mountain. Respect to them all
Now I had a dilemma, the tent, was fucked, right royally, its only use now was as a monument to buying cheap, I wanted to ditch it in the big garbage bin, but it was full, and it upset the packing regime I’d developed getting all my stuff on the bike
So for the next hour I lovingly rolled and folded wet nylon and stuffed it into its neat carry pack knowing that once I got home it would be going in the bin. That’ll learn ya, ya cheap ebay purchase lol
I had my final cup of hot, properly hot coffee and loaded the bike, pressed go on the nav, and read the time eta 3.01pm 6 hrs from now
Filled the bike at Dent garage, turned onto the M6, I’d made my decision M6 shit or bust… and set off for home.
Somewhere round Preston the rain finally gave up the Ghost, and the first of the Blue skies started to peek through,
Sadly somewhere around Birmingham my Sena ran out of battery, and was left to sing to my self and criticise every other driver for every minor road fault I observed.
The miles rolled on and just before Silverstone I needed to refuel.
The end was in sight, and following my momentary lapse in the average speed area on the A27 (I blame the bottle of fanta lol) I rolled up the drive at 3:30 pm
Just as the heavens opened FFS
And then to give me a final kick lol, when I checked my oil there wasn’t any lol,, so looks like I did the whole trip with potentially low oil levels
The good bits
The scenery was stunning,
The roads amazing
The company was great,
The food was hearty & deffo home cooked,,,, I wanted loads more Chilli !!
The Nav VI was good and the screen brilliant
The bad bits
The dodgy connection on my Din connector, which meant nothing got power and went flat!
The suspension not being set up correctly
The leaky Tent
The weather
Would I go again?
Hell yes, but I’d set off earlier and make the trip longer
Strontian Big Roadtrip
Right after arriving home, and jumping straight in the shower, which after the ride back is a bit ironic lol? I thought id better write up my Strontian road trip
It’s my mad demented ramblings so forgive the long-windedness lol
Day 1 Friday,
After spending all week planning and purchasing (well I had to have a new nav didn’t I
) I packed everything up, and strapped everything to the bike, only to find with the rebuilt side stand and bushes, the lean on the side stand was no where near
Where it should be, and vertical was closer than before doh! So I had to spend the next hour rebuilding the old stand set up and bushes
To say I was excited was an understatement, and it paid me back in spades. I slept very badly, read sod all! So I woke up with a headache and feeling very tired
Managed to get brekky & a cup of coffee down. Along with the daily medication and copious amounts of Paracetamol to counter the pounding headache.
As it was dark, and I didn’t want to wake the neighbours I opted to push the (fully laden) bike up the drive to the road before starting it.
Mistake number one, I underestimated how heavy it was, and got myself nipped between the bike and the gatepost..
Luckily I didn’t drop the fecker and managed to wheel it to the road. Nursing a sore chest – Which according to my youngest is turning into a nice bruise lol
Started it up, stabbed “Into the west” on the nav and rolled off on the big road trip.
Now after doing Dent earlier in the year and getting totally slowed on the M6 going up. Due to traffic & the “”Smart”” motorway there constructing, I opted to come back a different route and came back down the A1 (m),
That was a revelation and I was back from Dent in 5 hrs as opposed to the 9 hrs going up (including fuel & rest breaks)
So the carefully planned route was M27, M3, A34, M40, off at Silverstone and across to the A1(m).. Except it wasn’t carefully planned, and I joined the M1.
That was a big mistake, of which I was to pay for big time …
New suspension, loaded panniers, all my cold weather thermal gear & liners for both jacket and trousers and buffeting from the wind & road noise all combined to make me tired, very tired.
I’d managed my planned stop at the top of the A34 with no ill effects, but once I’d dropped of the M40 at Silverstone and joined the M1 the fatigue stepped in.
I was literally having to stop at every other service station for a coffee and a rest, something was wrong, very wrong, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
By the time I’d got to Leeming I was done. I literally felt dead on my feet, and I phoned the other half to let her know I was going to have to come back. (How, I had no idea, but Strontian was off the table so to speak)
After a long chat to the other half, (Always good) we’d worked out a plan, wait a couple of hours (easier said than done when the bloody motorway service stations charge for more than 2 hrs waiting!). Then find a campsite, camp and have a weekend.
away. As good a plan as it was, I was gutted that I wasn’t going to get to Strontian & my must see destination.
A quick consult of the map showed a campsite just under 40 miles away, so after a couple of hours sitting by the bike on a side road, I set off, arriving an hour later.
I unpacked the bike set up the tent and took some pictures
Managed to make it to the pub, scoffed a meal and a pint and made it back to the tent, and was out for the count until 7 am the next morning (about 12 hrs total sleep lol)
Day 2 Saturday
So after having brekky in the local café, I can recommend the Eggs Benedict, I looked at the map, and saw my must see destination from the trip was only 5 hrs up the road … hmm long way 5 hrs, to take some pics and then come back …
But hang on Strontian was only another hour beyond that, so I could do my must see, get to Strontian, and return the next day … I had a plan …..
So with new determination, the tent was packed and on the bike, and I was off by 9:30 am …. A quick refuel (petrol this time. One of many I might add
) and I was on my way …Or not as the case may be ….. 80 miles up the road, and the headache and fatigue was back. .. I was feeling the same as Friday, but I’d had 12 hours sleep, so tiredness wasn’t the answer.
I needed to fix it and fast; otherwise this was going to be another crap day with me being even more disappointed.
Now one of the things I found with having my stroke, is that rapid eye movement gives me a headache, so checking the Speedo, nav, mirrors and horizon were playing a part, but they aren’t done every second,
One of the biggest things I noticed was the buffeting from the front of the bike and the droning / vibration from the front end. This was literally shaking me to sleep
And I was getting hot, I had my under thermal top & my wool over top on under my jacket, so I was quite warm, which also helps to make me tired
So I whipped of my under thermal and just had my woollen long sleeve top on, under the jacket, and I backed off the damping on the front end to make it a bit softer, and to reduce the buffeting I raised the Givi Screen to the Max
It was like a switch had been thrown.
The fatigue was gone, the ride was smooth and the road from Lockerbie to Glasgow was a revelation. Coming over the crests with those huge wind turbines lazily turning is a site to behold
Glasgow turned into Dumbarton, & fuel called…
Fuelled, coffee & a visit to the bathroom (complete with queue) I was on my way.
Now this is where for me the trip became a huge grin factor, up past Loch Lomond, with roads just set up for sweeping in and out of corners , I forgot I had fully loaded panniers the road was brilliant, I was a riding god
Sadly all good things must come to an end so I thought, and I left Loch Lomond and headed towards Tyndrum & Glencoe with my must see destination rapidly approaching.
Words at this point fail me, the roads and the scenery are jaw droppingly awesome, Ihmo, from tight sweeping bends with massive drop offs, to mountains, yes mountains that go on for ever and have such depth and textures I can’t find enough words
to describe how breathtakingly beautiful they are. They literally make your eyes pop!
Must slow down here, as my must see destination was coming up on the left, and I have to confess I spent far longer than I should here just soaking up the atmosphere, and taking pictures (loads of them lol)
For a film buff like me, the chance to see this location was too good to be true, and to miss, given I was on the doorstep so to speak
Then sadly it was turn left at the end of the road and on to Strontian!!
The Glencoe road is superb, and if you ever get the chance to ride it I don’t think you will be disappointed
Another first for me, the ferry at Corran, It’s quite something to be going across a Loch on a boat, aren’t they usually loaded with gold bullion and mysteriously sink half way across??
From there it was the relatively short hop to Strontian, with more achingly beautiful scenery from the ferry to the campsite,
Apart from the mobile sacrificial units that populate the adjacent fields the road is quite something to ride in the early evening.
Finally some 36hr after leaving home I was in the Wild West
As usual I passed the rest of the group watching the world and sunset go by from the local hostelry
Rode past the campsite a couple of times lol before finally finding it
Tent up, a quick cup of coffee (that was an experience as well) Note to self!! The notch on the gas canister is to insert it fully, otherwise you only get half to no gas pressure, and it takes almost an hour to boil a kettle
There’s me thinking it was the altitude making the stove pressure weak lol
You’ve all seen piccys from the baarby, and it was brilliant, good company and some brilliant craic
Met some brilliant people, Our multicultural friend was a hoot
Thank god I don’t drink much, how some were still standing at the end of the evening is beyond me, and fresh as daisy’s the next morning
Day 3 Sunday
All good things must come to an end, and I was packed and ready to go quite early,
The weather forecast said rain in Strontian from 10:00, so I wanted to be well on the way long before then.
After gingerly riding across the loose chippings that adorn the campsite (I’d decided that my accidental power sliding on opposite lock entrance, although looking cool was liable to end up with me dropping the bike if I repeated it on the way out)
The road back to the Corran ferry is just as good in the morning, but by now the mobile sacrificial units had got my details from the night beforehand were planning an en masse event to prevent me leaving ..
Yes there defiant little buggers, who certainly know how to play Chicken!
Standing waiting for the ferry you certainly realise the sense of scale of the mountain behind the pub!
And it was with some sadness I left Strontian.
Not for long though
I still had the Glencoe road to play with. Slightly colder and more tourists to encounter , it was even better going back, I was tempted to back to Glen Etive, and take some more pics with the low clouds in abundance, but the threat of rain pushed me on.
A trio of bikes passed me and the cars I was following as we went back toward Glencoe and seeing the road was empty I followed suite. I have to say the GS gets a second wind on when you wind it up, and once again I was grinning as I swept through Glencoe back to Tyndrum & Lock Lomond.
Sadly all good things come to an end, and coming back down the side of Loch Lomond it got dark, very dark, to the point I wondered if I had my visor down. Nope the visor was well and truly up, it was the light that was down.
A couple on VFR’s passed me and disappeared on into the distance making progress
And then from nowhere the first big fat lazy raindrop splattered my visor like a big fly at speed. Soon followed by another and another as the heavens opened and the road ahead became a swimming pool.
From making progress to no progress, the road down the side of Loch Lomond became a nightmare, every bend greasy & slick with leaves and seeds blown from the trees,
I passed Mr & Mrs VFR sheltering in the forecourt of a pub, wimps I thought it’s only a passing shower. It was, for the next 24 fucking miles! Every bend I loved on the way up, I hated with a passion on the way down,
Every corner had a motorist only to keen to stamp on his or her brakes last minute, just in case a coach or other car got within a country mile. Instead of progress, I was stood still with the earth turning below me,
Everything was getting wet and cold; I needed to take drastic action, so I made the decision to press the button.
I went to Defcon 1, for the first time I turned on the heated grips!
Oh lord, it was a revelation, steam started to rise from my hands. I was in control, be gone H2&O and your micro climate, I had the power of electricity and resistance.
Eventually I reached the end of Loch Lomond, and however tempting the Green Welly looked, I wanted to press on. I knew if I stopped I could be trapped by the weather
(And the desire to stay warm and dry) Dumbarton called, and I needed to refuel, luckily the Garage there had a Greggs & a Subway franchise, and the loos were empty so I could strip off the wet gear and get a dry T shirt on.
The coffee was shite *Bucks , but the hot toasted Italian foot long with Chicken, Bacon, Cheese & Olives with some Honey and mustard dressing was bloody lovely. And I have to say, restored some of the love I had lost for Scotland Courtesy of messrs H2 & O. Even the Poileas who stopped for a chat agreed it wasn’t the best day for it lol.
Fuelled, rearmed and redressed I left Dumbarton and headed southbound… Glasgow passed with a wet wave, everything looking muted and drab as the M74 wended its way downwards …
For the next 90 minutes it was a game of two sides, the wind and rain battling with the sunshine and warmth, sadly the result was inevitable, and my so called waterproof textile technical fibres & Hipora lined boots were trounced
With a resounding drubbing the half time score H2&O -10 Hippora & Technical fibres – 0
I was wet, very wet; the only dry part of me was my thighs and torso. Lockerbie services saw me pouring water out of my boots, and letting my Jacket drip into huge puddles in the middle of Costa
The smiling couple who spoke to me, bedecked in there matching Klim outfits, happily telling me of the way they were going Northbound! To Scotlandshire !!! Well they were going to get eaten alive!!!
I didn’t have the heart to tell them the Kraken had been unleashed. And all that lay ahead wasn’t a bit of drizzle or scattered showers.. I buried myself in my giant Americano and willed my boots to dry …
They didn’t, and I was still wet.. The good news was that H2&O played badly in the second half, and body heat, electricity and resistance, made a come back to end the game 1-0 down.
4pm and I rolled onto Dent to find my camping spot had been taken by teenagers!!! Mind you not just normal spotty teenagers, but hardcore DOE teenagers, who had spent the day in thunder and lightening (very very frightening
Up the top of one of the peaks sheltering in a hut, where some bastard had crapped and left the remnants as a souvenir..
They were worried they would make too much noise, and asked if I wanted to move, I declined, noise? Poor sods, they hadn’t heard me snore lol..
Back to the matters in hand. The tent!, which had served me admirably for the previous 2 nights was showing signs of distress, and was starting to leak like an infected Ebola patient, with drops appearing at random over its outer & inner surface..
Trouble was everything was wet, so ignoring all the safety rules I lit the stove in the porch area and made a coffee.
The relief was good but short lived, I didn’t keel over and die of carbon monoxide poisoning, but couldn’t keep the stove on all night as the whistling of the kettle would have ensured that
30 or so spotty oiks would be pissed off to the point of growing a pair and coming over for a non friendly chat about the weather.
After a hearty meal, alcohol and earplugs, I called it a day and crawled into my damp sleeping bag and closed my eyes..
Well I heard midnight, 2am, 4am and 6am from the church clock.. This was going to be a long long day. So I peeled myself out of the sleeping bag and opened the tent
Day 4 Monday
Rain, more feckin rain. As if the last 24hrs hadn’t been bad enough, it was going for an encore. On the plus side thought my snoring must have worked because half spotty oiks tents had gone …
In all fairness, they were a nice lot, and there early starts show how determined they were to complete this part of the DOE award… It was barely light and they were trekking up the side of a mountain. Respect to them all
Now I had a dilemma, the tent, was fucked, right royally, its only use now was as a monument to buying cheap, I wanted to ditch it in the big garbage bin, but it was full, and it upset the packing regime I’d developed getting all my stuff on the bike
So for the next hour I lovingly rolled and folded wet nylon and stuffed it into its neat carry pack knowing that once I got home it would be going in the bin. That’ll learn ya, ya cheap ebay purchase lol
I had my final cup of hot, properly hot coffee and loaded the bike, pressed go on the nav, and read the time eta 3.01pm 6 hrs from now
Filled the bike at Dent garage, turned onto the M6, I’d made my decision M6 shit or bust… and set off for home.
Somewhere round Preston the rain finally gave up the Ghost, and the first of the Blue skies started to peek through,
Sadly somewhere around Birmingham my Sena ran out of battery, and was left to sing to my self and criticise every other driver for every minor road fault I observed.
The miles rolled on and just before Silverstone I needed to refuel.
The end was in sight, and following my momentary lapse in the average speed area on the A27 (I blame the bottle of fanta lol) I rolled up the drive at 3:30 pm
Just as the heavens opened FFS
And then to give me a final kick lol, when I checked my oil there wasn’t any lol,, so looks like I did the whole trip with potentially low oil levels
The good bits
The scenery was stunning,
The roads amazing
The company was great,
The food was hearty & deffo home cooked,,,, I wanted loads more Chilli !!
The Nav VI was good and the screen brilliant
The bad bits
The dodgy connection on my Din connector, which meant nothing got power and went flat!
The suspension not being set up correctly
The leaky Tent
The weather
Would I go again?
Hell yes, but I’d set off earlier and make the trip longer
Excellent fella, what a trip, good for you not chucking the towel in
You said on arrival it had been a bit of an epic but that sounds rough! Like the Bond photo!
Good effort, certainly most hours and miles done. My two hours getting home Sunday in a mix of passing showers and sun was rather easy.
Good effort, certainly most hours and miles done. My two hours getting home Sunday in a mix of passing showers and sun was rather easy.
Ah. The long ride home to rainy Liverpool.
Boring motorway ride in heavy rain.
But it was worth it. No effort no joy.
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
Boring motorway ride in heavy rain.
But it was worth it. No effort no joy.
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
That's a far better and more epic ride report than all of the usual Black Forest rambles posted here
See you at Dent next May.
Now thats going to be tough
As much as Dent is an event, which is good in it's own right , I think Strontian is an adventure... Dent possibly, Strontian Definatly
Well done Santa ,,,,
That's a fair old haul for a wee camp out .
Yes , but must have been worth all that effort for the scintillating company and conversation....and Herman was there as well
Yes , but must have been worth all that effort for the scintillating company and conversation....and Herman was there as well
Definatly worth it
Yes , but must have been worth all that effort for the scintillating company and conversation....and Herman was there as well
He did miss your 2hr. cookout on the Friday night though
He did miss your 2hr. cookout on the Friday night though
Happy to repeat that for Santa next time we meet
Happy to repeat that for Santa next time we meet
If bazman reorganises it for next year, i will make every effort to be there, to take you up on the offer
Remember the stores situation teh next timeHappy to repeat that for Santa next time we meet
Ha ----- no loss what a friend getsIOU one steak
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