Lucy & I have been planning some tarmac road adventures for the next year, so we went shopping for some road bikes. After a lot of looking we actually found two bikes that fitted our needs in Penrith at Barry Uttings shop Penrith Motorcycles.
I've bought maybe 3 bikes from Barry now and one thing is certain when you buy a bike from him, it will be right, no hassles, no fuss and if he knows anything about it he will tell you. Fair and honest which is a very valuable thing in any business these days...
So the bikes we've bought are;
A Triumph Tiger 955i for me & a BMW F650 GS for Lucy.
I've liked the Tigers for years and the sound of that triple engine is just fab... Most of my mates tell me they are ugly, but I guess its like anything, if you like it bugger the rest of em!
I've now put 300 miles on it since Friday morning and have just started to get the lean, the braking and the acceleration. Still plenty of time to learn the rest!
I've also taken a couple of hours to add auxiliary lights as the main use for this bike will be motorway riding and the more lights the better with the standard of driving generally in the UK!
Lucy's beemer has been lowered and so she gets her feet flat on the ground which inspires confidence, she also likes the riding position as its close to a dirt bike style.
At first she was pretty nervous as we traversed a busy A road in wet conditions, but now she has settled down a bit and is starting to relax on the bike and lean it over a bit. This bike is all about building her skills and confidence on the busy highways of the UK and its perfect for that.
Now its a matter of time on the bikes, preferably in all weathers too...
We have plans to go to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man plus all the usual jollies around the north of England where the roads are generally pretty good.
Our ride today took us anti clockwise from Silloth on the coast, an area of wetland nature reserves, the start of Hadrian's Wall trail and lots of farms... As we crossed through Wigton to Caldbeck, the landscape changed dramatically, big hills with snow capped tops took over and the roads became smaller with less traffic...
We dropped through the back streets of Keswick and down the ever beautiful Borrowdale valley crossing Honister Pass into Buttermere, where a recent addition to the valley caught our eye... the burger bar at Gatesgarth Farm, top hot chocolate and bacon butties made for a late lunch before returning to the coast for a final blast...
Stunningly blue skies, dry roads and cold clear air above the snowy tops gave us views up in to Scotland amd across the Lakes, but dinner with the family beckoned so time to go home for some roast lamb and rhubarb pie!!.. mmm
Bring on the next adventure!!
