Finally, after one of the most dismal riding years in for ever, and a year since this pandemic enveloped the UK in a mind bogglingly expensive and hugely restrictive chapter of our lives - I got the chance to get out and about for some...exercise. Mostly exercising the right hand...in the nicest possible way!

UK is still in the grip of the 3rd national lockdown, but as of 08 March 2021, education establishments re-opened and it became permissible for 2 people to meet outdoors. Still a long way to go until the mythical 21 Jun and removal of all covid restrictions.

Travel is still supposed to be restricted for essential journeys only - I had an essential journey across to the eastern side of the UK to do a training course for 12 days and while here, of course had to visit the local supermarkets to buy some essential provisions. Obviously, I won’t go into details of where that essential journey took me...but for those of you who know and love the K100, suffice to say that the bike just wouldn’t follow the most direct route and forced me to take some of those “roads less travelled” both there and back again. Probably an inherent social distancing feature that those clever Germans incorporated into the bikes 30+ years ago?! Naturally, riding in an unfamiliar part of the country, meant I had to follow the GPS...and it successfully got me to the shops and back...but it took hours!!

A couple of grey antiques...on a grey day


The 6.5 - 9 deg C temperature didn’t really reflect the obvious spring-iness of the season


OK, so there wasn’t anywhere to really stop and cafes, bars etc. remain closed...but it was SO good to get out and blow away a few cobwebs

First picture must be RAF Wittering on the side of the A1. Worked on the Harriers for many years, mostly in Germany, but have done some work at Wittering too.
Second picture could be the mill at Downham Market. There was an RAF Downham Market during the war, but it has long gone. One of the runways is now the A10 to the west of the town.
As for the third picture, looking at the daffies, you could be in my wood down here in the south of France where we can go out and ride without restriction.

Hi Paul

Good to see you back out on the road, obviously we can't have your usual detailed travelogue, but pictures tell a thousand words.

Good to read you're able to get out and ride, and since you had a need, and no one's (yet) telling you which roads are off limits, goodonya!

As soon as the winter snow pack melts round here sufficiently to cross the high passes in the Cascade Range I am off to the wide openness of eastern Washington where the scenery is endless, it's drier, often warmer, true big sky country, where the roads are sublime and the lack of a crowd wonderful! I suspect others will have a similar need to escape so I do expect some competition

I don't think I've ever experienced such a dismal year of mileage (2020's lack of) accumulation since I started riding on the road in 1976, save 1982 when I had a bad prang and couldn't afford to put my R75/7 back together.

Each day is rise, eat, dress, ride or drive to work, return home, eat, fall asleep, rise, repeat. Since I'm not spending much it does mean I'm saving lots of fun tickets for when we can get out and let 'er rip.

Went to the dentist six miles away on Tuesday... got 30 miles-worth of lost on the way home.
Had physiotherapy twenty-five miles away on Thursday... got 40 miles-worth of lost on the way home.

That's been it for three months.

Unfortunately (? - depending on your POV) I was on the Royal Enfield both times

Great to see the exercising Paul. Hopefully restrictions will lift as time goes by. Down under we were able to exercise right through, riding bikes. However my exercising has been pruned as the eastern coast of Australia is in what is described as a weather event. After drought, bushfires, covid now we have flooding. Our rain gauge shows 595ml for the past 6 days with our village and many other towns are isolated due to flooding and road closures. I can ride up and down my driveway and to the end of the street and then back home.

After al the rain we are getting, and heaps more to come. Is there an easy conversion to turn a Brick into a Jet Ski?
Regards Martin.

I just went out for a ride yesterday, because I can and the weather is nice. 

BobT wrote:First picture must be RAF Wittering on the side of the A1. Worked on the Harriers for many years, mostly in Germany, but have done some work at Wittering too.
Second picture could be the mill at Downham Market. There was an RAF Downham Market during the war, but it has long gone. One of the runways is now the A10 to the west of the town.
As for the third picture, looking at the daffies, you could be in my wood down here in the south of France where we can go out and ride without restriction.

#1 - Correct (my ‘home’ for a couple of weeks although the course is up at Cottesmore - which gives me the added bonus of a legitimate 15miles each way daily commute)
#2 - Correct (somewhere near the shops...well somewhere near some shops)
#3 - Not correct...I think a detour to deepest darkest France might be pushing my luck just a little too far!

Ringfad wrote:Hi Paul

Good to see you back out on the road, obviously we can't have your usual detailed travelogue, but pictures tell a thousand words.

No Simon kept it short and sweet...thought discretion was wise. Some lovely empty country roads though and a few busier main ones helped flush all that stale fuel out of the system several times over.

Paul,
If you have to come back to the US for some reason the radar is very high here and we can fly very close to the ground. Stay well my friend till we meet again.

BobT wrote:First picture must be RAF Wittering on the side of the A1. Worked on the Harriers for many years, mostly in Germany, but have done some work at Wittering too.
Second picture could be the mill at Downham Market. There was an RAF Downham Market during the war, but it has long gone. One of the runways is now the A10 to the west of the town.
As for the third picture, looking at the daffies, you could be in my wood down here in the south of France where we can go out and ride without restriction.

Damn your good@

BobT wrote:I just went out for a ride yesterday, because I can and the weather is nice. 

Not jealous 

Bonzo wrote:

BobT wrote:I just went out for a ride yesterday, because I can and the weather is nice. 

Not jealous 

Nor should you be. You are welcome down here when all the crap has blown over. I love hosting and guiding other bikes who come down this way, as some of the Irish members of this site will confirm.

Yep! But bring your own T cut. 

I got 3 visits to France in 2019!!! It helps to be only 5 miles from the ferry to Roscoff and Santander.

And Olaf has also spent a large amount of time down here, camping at St Leon.

St Leon was found one day out with BobT and will......looking out over the river and seeing tents pitched, BobT said its a municipal site. 

Its one to die for, on the river bank in a beautiful village. I do the run from Roscoff in the one day as the ferry arrives in at 7am.

Tried a little unsuccessfully to get BobT camping there.........must be the moles.

Why would I camp when I have a very comfortable bed about 15 kms away?

I was trying to work out why my, one of my bikes and my car are in that picture! Then I realised that it was taken outside my house.   Also what is Will doing to his ear?

I think there happened to be an outbreak of flea in ear that day and needed the T cut to fix.

That's the day you got my air box off my RT and I asked you for T cut to polish the top of the engine 'since I had the air box off'.