Is it fun biking in Britain?

Polyphasic sleeping. Good for the heart, good for the body and great for the
early morning blasts.


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Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

Odd you should mention that after what I saw yesterday.

New road layouts (like all over the country, no doubt) made by the
application of white painted "no-go" area's to keep us all in single file.
Now I can *just* about live with that as I can happily ignore them on the
bike, but yesterday I noticed that some of these new lines had been paint
over and into potholes. Not that the potholes had formed before the
painting, oh no, the painter had to paint into the holes, thus making them
permanent wheel breakers.

Fuckers.

--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

They know better than to **** with Boltonians. If they did, they'd send the
ghost of Fred Dibney to sort them out by boring them to death.

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Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

This thread has got me thinking back now... I think this is perhaps as
good a time to ride in the UK as any. OK there are GATSO's - but they
are easy to spot and on the bright side there are far fewer actual
traffic cops.

Weatherwise - well it's always a gamble isn't it. I started road
riding on a moped in 1978 - June - and I remember getting soaked most
of that year. Waterproofs these days do what they say - much better
than the old council roadmenders trousers ever did.

Bikes are (pretty much) reliable these days - no points etc to go
wrong every time you go out. Tyres are in a different universe to the
old Avon RoadRunners - and tubless so often don't go down even when
punctured.

Roads - yes, they are busier, but they are also in better nick - much
better signage, lighting and the edges are usually picked out with a
white line. That would have been lovely in the days of 6 Volt 25 Watt
headlights but didn't exist.

No, trust me, this is the golden age of biking.

 

*Dibnah*, you thinners-addled oaf!

 

Italy might have some stunning scenery and some cracking roads, but
it's damn dangerous on a bike there. The Italians have no regards for
anyone's safety, and regularly ignore road signs, give ways, traffic
lights, lane discipline, etc, etc.

And of course speed limits, but then we're not exactly choirboys in
this respect ..

Paul.

 

<shrug>

I've always really enjoyed driving and riding in Italy. Everyone
pretty much does exactly what I do.

Mind you, I've never been south of Rome.

 

I wouldn't go that far. In the 60's there were no speed limits on what few
motorways there were and no limit on the "de-restricted" roads (now NSL).
They were plentiful and sparsely populated too and on top of that, Brunstrom
was just a **** but not a Plod **** so trips to Wales were fucking good fun.
I won't even consider going to Wales for a blast anymore and it's only an
hour away from where I live.

We used to have Plod follow us if we went out as a bunch of twats, but they
got bored if we did nothing wrong leaving us to get on with doing wrong.
These days though, they'll pull you just so they can pore over your bike to
find something they can nick you for. Doing 40mph along roads which can
easily handle speeds double that and *did* for years, is a piss take and
it's going to get worse.

Fortunately, there are still area's where we can go for a proper thrashing
and some of us even go on the bikes.

--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

Heh, I was going to mention the same, some of the roads are in an
awful condition, and the cobbles in Rome (and in the town centres of
most villages/towns) can be very slick after rain.

Heh, there's a lot of bad tempered driving and peoples patience short
with minor infractions such as dawdling in front of a red light.

But should someone see a friend and pull up in the middle of a narrow
street for a chat, the traffic just backs up, and all is calm, since
he's legitimately stopped to chat to his mate.

Yeah, true. I spent so long driving in a cage (which was dangerous
enough in itself) with the erratic driving thereabouts, I just didn't
fancy being TWO.

Paul.

 

Brilliant place.

 

I hadn't woken up from my last glue sniffing sesh.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

The 80s had all you describe and no Gatsos; the early 90s had only a few
Gatsos.

Golden Age is passing, if not already passed.

 

Realism has its price.

But far, far fewer cunts in bushes than the Gatsos that replaced them.
I really didn't mind all that much being speedgunned and pulled, it was
an occasional risk of the game.

And bike and tyres of the 80s were much much better than those of the
70s, let alone the 60s. The roads of the 80s were as described above, in
many, if not most, parts of the country.

Of course, I'd just love to take a 90s or 00s bike back to the 70s -
what a blast that would be.

 

Your 'Busa would have creamed any race series you care to name.

 

"And it's Neal Champion, a mysterious late entry, on his Champion
Special. Reports that Barry Sheene was caught trying to pick the lock of
the Champion Team's strangely futuristic shite old van are being
strenuously denied by the Sheene camp. A spokesman for the Sheene team
said, 'It wasn't us and you can't prove a thing.'

Nevertheless, speculation surrounds the origins of this private entry -
some people say it was totally handbuilt in a lockup in Cheltenham, but
others swear they have seen a Suzuki badge on it before it was hurriedly
covered up with orange paint and burly men dressed in black leather
slammed the garage doors."

 

<VVBG>

Silly sod.

 

And the award for mind-bogglingly shit subthread of the month goes to...

 

Certainly better than bringing a 60's bike out onto todays roads.

We look at the 60's and (some of us) remember lusting after Bonnie's and the
like, but having seen them out and about on a sunny Sunday, I can't for the
life of me fathom what the attraction is. Apart from the sound of the
original "sort of" silenced 650's, which the latest renditions don't emulate
at all, they're best left in garages.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

**** me, the Zed thou would too. Pass me a time machine please.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

But fucking off silently isn't on. Gotta have a whinge.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19