A Random Ride Pics Thread.... Post 'em up!

[VladTepes]

Looks like it would have been a great ride.

the tyre that had been punctured on the previous month's ride out to Talley Abbey still hadn't been sorted (the workshop booking time at my local dealer was still 4-6 weeks).

Wait. what? 
Why would you go to a dealer for a tyre change? 
I'm sure you wouldn't have to wait that long at any tyre place they'd probably do it ride on ride out.
Or to save some $ just take the wheel in and get it changed.

Nice house you have there RL! 

If I had a house like that I'd probably have a 'bike museum' sign out the front because all those rooms would need filling. :D

[Rynglieder]

Wait. what? 
Why would you go to a dealer for a tyre change? 
I'm sure you wouldn't have to wait that long at any tyre place they'd probably do it ride on ride out.
Or to save some $ just take the wheel in and get it changed.

The thing is that I get tyres done at two places;

1] A local small workshop where I get service with 24-48 hours, but he would not offer the Avon that would match the front.
2] A dealership where my sister works and consequently I get a more realistic rate. They would do the Avon for me, but there was a long lead time on workshop booking - you've probably heard but there seems to be shortage of all sorts of labour over here as British businesses have not been training people up and the Europeans have all gone home!

I suppose that I went with option two as I had the luxury of other bikes to ride whilst I was waiting, plus it gives me chance to catch up with baby sis for an hour and get a free cup of tea.

Method in my madness? 

[Hooli]

2] A dealership where my sister works and consequently I get a more realistic rate. They would do the Avon for me, but there was a long lead time on workshop booking - you've probably heard but there seems to be shortage of all sorts of labour over here as British businesses have not been training people up and the Europeans have all gone home!

The issues I've heard everywhere is lack of tyres due to distribution issues. As the ones from the EU aren't getting here Avons sell out faster etc etc.

I was lucky I had a pair sat in the garage waiting for when I needed them.

[Batkwaka]

I caught up with some old school friends in Boyanup and went for a ride together, been a long time for us all to be riding again.
Anyway all excited I edited a video together ended up going for 20 minutes, a bit longer than planned. Also experimented dropping music in but accidentally dropped in a bit of cinematic thriller music at one point.
There's some very nice roads in the S/W of West Australia.

sSTInnUg7LA

[KiwiCol]

Lovely, I enjoyed that, Thx Batty.  Nice roads alright.

[Eric GSX1400K3]

Very nice, Ferguson Valley is also a nice ride

[Rynglieder]

Thanks for sharing @Batkwaka.

Nice to see a diffent landscape even if there was a disappointing lack of clouds and rain 

I'm dying to know how you get along for three days with no obvious luggage though!

[Rynglieder]

23/07/2021 Lake Vyrnwy (c.176 miles)

Time for a proper ride out today and Wales was calling to me again, one for the GTR I thought.

To avoid repetition I took a slightly less direct route out than I usually would, the route from Shrewsbury through Rhos Common was particularly enjoyable riding and I can't recall having travelled that road before which adds to the pleasure.

The day was warm and sunny throughout and I found time to park up at a couple of different spots around the lake for a short walk and my reward of a coffee and a smoke.
I did a complete circuit of the lake and then, being in no rush to go home, road back to near the northern end where I had spotted a sign for Dinas Mawddwy when I had passed previously. I had not realised that a link existed between there and Vyrnwy but it seemed worth exploring.

It's unsurprising that I was not aware of it, it's barely visible on Google Maps being a single track mountain pass - sometimes these roads end up being a bit of a fraught ride with grass growing up the middle, but it turned out OK, practically nothing else was using the road so I had it to myself and the scenery and views from the mountain tops was stunning and is a route I intend to ride again. Annoyingly my Innovv camera decided it did not want to record this leg of the journey, but I have included a grab from Google Street View below to give you an idea.

The extra bit of concentration that was required over that stretch resulted in me feeling the need for a break at Dinas Mawddwy but that was followed by some spirited riding without a further break to get me straight through to home at a decent time.

A really good day out for the GTR even though it did feel a bit heavy on the mountain road.

[Rynglieder]

12/08/2021 The Malverns, Wye Valley & Severn Valley (c. 168 miles)

Although I am more than happy to ride out on my own at my own pace and in my own time it is nice to catch up with old friends and have some company now and again. I gave a shout out to a couple of friends, this time including @Boa  an acquaintance from the GSX owner's forum. Having finally got a new tyre sorted out for the GSX it seemed right to use the day to break it in, so that was the bike that was selected for the day.

A rendezvous was arranged at Hopwood Park Services on the M42 and after introducing Chris to Mike and Steve we got one junction's worth of motorway under us before turning south to Bromsgrove and then Worcester on the A38. I took the guys through Worcester city centre to avoid the interminable roadworks on the bypass and then we began the climb of the Malvern Hills allowing us a stop and the first drink and chat of the day at the kiosk at British Camp on the A449.

From there we descended into Herefordshire where we skirted Ledbury and continued at good pace on the A4449 past Ross on Wye where there was a bit of dual carriageway riding to be done down to Monmouth.

On reaching Monmouth we took the A466 which meanders southwards alongside the River Wye, a good single carriageway road through pleasant wooded valleys. Eventually we reached the riverside village of Tintern where we parked up and headed into the Anchor Inn for lunch and a drink in their garden overlooked by the ruins of Tintern abbey. Suitably refreshed, we continued south to the town of Chepstow to satisfy my desire for a quick view of the castle, a possible subject of a future ride out for myself.

My return route then took us north along the A48 with constant glimpses of the broad stretch of the River Severn all the way to the outskirts of Gloucester. From there it was a curvy stretch of A38 back to Worcester. Although a little out of my own way home I lead the guys up to Alcester as it seemed a convenient point to for everyone to break up and from there make their own way home.

The weather had been reasonable, there was a good variety of roads and landscapes involved and the odd monument passed, I'd had a good time and hopefully my fellow riders had too.

[Will14]

23/07/2021 Lake Vyrnwy (c.176 miles)

Time for a proper ride out today and Wales was calling to me again, one for the GTR I thought.

To avoid repetition I took a slightly less direct route out than I usually would, the route from Shrewsbury through Rhos Common was particularly enjoyable riding and I can't recall having travelled that road before which adds to the pleasure.

The day was warm and sunny throughout and I found time to park up at a couple of different spots around the lake for a short walk and my reward of a coffee and a smoke.
I did a complete circuit of the lake and then, being in no rush to go home, road back to near the northern end where I had spotted a sign for Dinas Mawddwy when I had passed previously. I had not realised that a link existed between there and Vyrnwy but it seemed worth exploring.

It's unsurprising that I was not aware of it, it's barely visible on Google Maps being a single track mountain pass - sometimes these roads end up being a bit of a fraught ride with grass growing up the middle, but it turned out OK, practically nothing else was using the road so I had it to myself and the scenery and views from the mountain tops was stunning and is a route I intend to ride again. Annoyingly my Innovv camera decided it did not want to record this leg of the journey, but I have included a grab from Google Street View below to give you an idea.

The extra bit of concentration that was required over that stretch resulted in me feeling the need for a break at Dinas Mawddwy but that was followed by some spirited riding without a further break to get me straight through to home at a decent time.

A really good day out for the GTR even though it did feel a bit heavy on the mountain road.

@Rynglieder Great write up and pictures as always, I can remember riding over the B4391 from Bala which is above the lake on a ride out from the old Org days & almost every grid & manhole cover had been removed by the pikeys over the mountain which made for interesting riding, I think we ended up in Welshpool for ice cream before heading North towards Wrexham & home. I'm also fairly sure that @Hooli was there who diverted to Vyrnwy rather than heading straight for home - not sure how I remember these things but good memories     

[Hooli]

Strange, I remember the ride & so forth but not the missing manholes...

This was the small collection of 14s that went.

[Will14]

Strange, I remember the ride & so forth but not the missing manholes...

This was the small collection of 14s that went.

@Hooli have you got a date on that picture?

I remember the missing manholes very clearly as I nearly lost my front wheel down one of them, not to far after climbing out of Bala & seem to remember a cattle grid on a bend that was a bit on the slippery side as well 

[Rynglieder]

@Hooli @Will14

Great to see that picture of so many 14's together, we should make a determined effort to get a forum UK ride out or some regional mini-meets sorted for next spring.

[Rynglieder]

16/09/2021 The Wirral (c. 197 miles)

A road I had not ridden this year was the A41 which takes me from the West Midlands, through Shropshire, Cheshire and onto the Wirral. The Z1300 was still indisposed (now in a local workshop for a major service and set-up), the Z1000 too uncomfortable over this distance and the last one to take a turn was the GSX so the GTR was the natural choice for the day. The A41 is quite an enjoyable road to ride once I have broken out of Wolverhampton, single carriageway flowing bends in the main rather than twisties and other than skirting Chester fairly free of major towns until the Wirral Peninsular.

Wolverhampton was cleared within half an hour and from there it was straightforward cruising until I reached the Raven Café just south of Whitchurch where I took the time for a mug of tea and fifteen minutes off the bike.

Back on the A41 I rounded Chester and continued on to Birkenhead. First proper stop was at Birkenhead priory where I took an hour for a walk round the ruins with the camera. That done I continued onward to New Brighton where the bike was parked up whilst I took some photos of the outside of Fort Perch Rock and New Brighton lighthouse.

The final box to tick on the day's planned schedule was the Leasowe lighthouse, now land-bound as the shifting coastline had built up in front of it. Unfortunately I had chosen the wrong costal road car park and was left with a 10 minute walk along the sea wall wearing bike gear in strong sunshine before I reached it. On return to the car park I dropped into a café where the bike was parked where I was served with a cup of lukewarm tea without the requested sugar – I shan't be going back there.

The return loop started with a run down the spine of the Wirral peninsular which is somewhat speed limited and stop-start progress but eventually I returned to Chester. As time was running out yet again I took what I knew to be a quicker route home, passing Wrexham and then joining the A5.

Nothing to complain about on today's ride out and the GTR was the perfect choice.

[Hooli]

Strange, I remember the ride & so forth but not the missing manholes...

This was the small collection of 14s that went.

@Hooli have you got a date on that picture?

I remember the missing manholes very clearly as I nearly lost my front wheel down one of them, not to far after climbing out of Bala & seem to remember a cattle grid on a bend that was a bit on the slippery side as well 

@Will14 it was 1st March 2009 according to the folder name I've got the pics in. I'll dig some more of it out later if you want, I'm meant to be working now though.