I want to run
I want to ride
I want to tear down the kerbs
That hold me inside
I want to filter past
A touch of vroom
Where the streets have no room
I want to filter, make good pace
See that dust cloud disappear without a trace
I want to take shelter from the packed lane
Where the streets have no room
Where the streets have no room
Where the streets have no room
It’s when a cab driver nonchalantly sticks a hand out of their window, when you really need to stick the anchors on. As you soon learn in London, a Cabbie’s hand out of the window is a profound gesture of biblical nature, for it will truly part the seas of traffic, across all lanes and denominations to allow the Londoner’s saviour, the black cab to perform a U-turn. Come what may, no matter time of day or Sabbath, with no fear of other infidel road users present, the tarmac in front of that cab will be thy blessed and none shall interfere nor blaspheme. Thy shall let that cab perform thy holy U-turn decreed. Upon completion of this latter day miracle the tides of chemical emissions will crash forth, the sea of traffic will return and no enemies shall follow thy holy black cab as they deliver another fair paying city apostle to the promised land.
‐ Christopher. Licensed Taxi 40666.
Amen
For this half term holiday, I had the chance to undertake one last ride for the year, out to North Wales to catch up with family whilst having a blast on the bike. I took Friday off work to ride up but didn’t set off until near lunch as I waited for the rain to abate. The roads remained wet for most of the afternoon and the weather was grey. I took things steady, even though there were much fun and technical bends to negotiate. The route was very similar to the one I undertook last time: London, Aylesbury, Buckingham, Brackley, Banbury, Stratford-upon-Avon, Droitwich, Kidderminster, Bridgenorth, Shrewsbury and finishing in Welshpool. Nightfall hit I passed Bridgenorth, whereupon I was glad I had the Fazer with decent headlights and enjoyed the London’s novelty that is the main beam.
Not a lot beats a hot August for getting out on the bike and enjoying oneself. Which is exactly what I’ve been doing this last couple of weekends, lots of exploration on many an Essex ride out, which invariable entails a stop in Finchingfield. This picturesque village is quite the Mecca for bikers at weekends. With so many great country roads leading to and from it (see routes below), it’s no surprise.
Bosworth’s Tearooms Cafe still rustles up fine food, although did change ownership earlier this year which has led to some menu changes and price increases. Their ice cream kiosk is still very much welcomed on hot days when sweating like a pig in full leathers.
Just home from another long jaunt across the middle of England, from London to Shrewsbury, and back. Catching up with family for the weekend up in Shrewsbury, Welshpool and surrounding areas. I took a slightly different route from last time, running a little further North.
Over the weekend I rode up to Shrewsbury on the bike to see family. Heading North I took boring motorways, but on my return South I took a far more enjoyable and scenic route:
I’ve finally done it, I’ve passed my IAM Skill For Life Course, I’m now officially an ‘advanced rider’.
I started the course back in January, when I signed up with the East London Advanced Motorcyclists (ELAM) group. The course is based upon the Motorcycle roadcraft police rider’s handbook, but is presented through a slightly more digestible ‘How to be a better rider’ book (included with the course). The ELAM group begin the course in a fairly structured manner; starting with a machine control day on an airfield to practice slow manoeuvres, emergency stops and slalom. This is followed by 5 observed ride outs roughly every fortnight, each concentrating on particular areas, e.g. overtaking, bends, motorways, town riding etc. There were also 3 theory night sessions around these rides which covered the ‘system’ – an underlying principle to apply to your riding, various best practices and many legal points.
Most of the time when on a motorcycle in London you are immune to commuting delays, as you can filter past pretty much anything. However, on this day, my commute was delayed by a cruise ship. Bummer.
Here we are at Tower Bridge, waiting for this large Cruise ship to undock from HMS Belfast and make its way down the Thames. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t quite filter past this one. Still, it was a nice day to take stock of the fact I ride past some great icons of British architecture every day.
What iconic landmarks do you commute past on your way to/from work?
Smashed her up pretty bad. Fairing number three trashed!
As the days grow longer and my IAM course progresses, I have been looking for decent routes to hit after work on my commute home to squeeze in some extra practice and take advantage of the lovely weather. I ride home Eastbound on the A13, so have been hunting down quiet, yet interesting roads in close proximity to the areas of Upminster, Bulphan, Tilbury, Horndon-on-the-Hill and Brentwood. This is my route:
Check out full route on Google Maps here.