20th April 2017
Ardennes, Belgium…27/28th March 17
The weather forecast was looking good for the week ahead; needed to stock up with cheap tobacco (saving £13 per 50gm pack) so why not nip over to Belgium, save some money and take in some good roads at the same time 🙂 Eurotunnel only £15 each way and one night low cost hotel..baccie saving will pay for the trip and still provide £250 saving overall…no brainer.
Left early to catch Eurotunnel 5degs, arrived in France to bright sunshine and 18degs..quick nip up to Tobacco Alley at Andinkerke, Belgium then Mway down to Liege and then local roads to Spa in the Ardennes. By now it was 22degs and I was feeling hot in all my winter riding gear.
From Spa aimed for Trois Ponts and did a nice circular route on great smooth, twisty and empty roads in the sun..fantastic. The Ardennes is a mix of wooded hills and pasture, very pretty and easy to reach. Had lunch in Trois Ponts, soup and crusty bread..unfortunately broke a tooth on the crusty bread, so I’ll put the £250 towards a new crown 🙁
Pheasant Plucking 3rd April 17
It was a nice day so Bernard, Stuart and I decided to go for a ride through the Cotswolds. 10 mins into the ride a pheasant decided to run across the road in front of me…doing 70mph at the time I had no time to brake or swerve and no option but to hit the bird…big thump and feathers flying but the bike stayed steady and I rode on..30secs later I noticed my left leg was getting wet…then steam started to pour out. Stopped to take a look and found that the top panels on the left of the bike were missing and the radiator was hanging off and coolant gushing out!!! That bird deserved to die!
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- After the Pheasant encounter
That was my ride over..called BMW emergency breakdown service and 90mins later the truck arrived; took me home and then the bike on to my dealer BMW Nhampton. A couple of days later the estimate came; £1,464!! including £40 for valeting the bike and removing “Pheasant innards” Thankfully my insurance excess is only £175, but still an expensive ride and it would take 10days minimum to fix the bike 🙁
The following week I was booked on a trip to Wales with the guys, which I had organised and planned the route for…can’t go without a bike! I have bought 3 bikes from BMW Nhampton so they know me well; told them about the Wales trip and they offered to loan me a brand new F800GSA which they said I would be doing them a favour if I would run it in…great service, thank you Wollaston BMW!!
Bernard kindly took me over to pick it up; rode pillion on the back of his K1600GT which has an “armchair” on the back complete with armrests..very comfortable. To Bernard’s merriment and my trepidation found the F800GSA was fitted with big knobbly tyres and 21in front wheel..more off road than on road; not ideal for a thrash round Wales with a bunch of hooligans on 160-170Bhp BMWs and KTMs!!! But beggars cant be choosers…
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- 800GS Adventure
Rode the bike home and was pleasantly surprised with how it handled..did some Googling re the tyres Conti TKC-80s. Reviews were very positive suggesting good on road as well as off road…well we’ll see.
Wales 11/12/13 April 17
Wales is a great place to ride, great roads, no potholes and little traffic; a group of us were all keen to get in an early trip…weather dependant (it rains a lot in Wales! ) I booked 8 of us into a pub/hotel in Rhayader mid Wales near the beautiful Elan Valley, this would be our base for 2 nights..could be cancelled 48 hrs before with no penalty.
Come decision time and the forecast looked mainly dry, but cold ..highs of 10 degs. So we decided GO. The 8 of us meet up at BMW N Oxford on the morning of 11th April. Bernard, Stuart, Matt, Colin, Chris, Andy, Rich and me..4 BMWs, 3 KTMs and a Triumph.
We set off for the Brecon Beacons and then up through the Black mountains to Devils Bridge and on to Rhayader via the Elan Valley. Great day, good roads but a bit chilly. Much to my surprise the knobbly tyres worked quiet well and nobdy was complaining about my leading pace 🙂 Checked in to the pub, plenty of beer and a good meal, lots of non PC boy chat and then off to bed after a long day.
Next day after a full Welsh breakfast we set off for a a loop up round Snowdonia. I let the fast boys lead as the road from Rhayader to Newtown is very fast with good bends..no way I could keep up on my little 800cc and now I was definitely feeling the 21in front wheel and pushing the tyres a bit too much. Coffee stop in Bala and then on to the moors and some narrow twisty up and down roads to slow them down a bit..started to rain and there was low cloud up in the hills. but good fun was had. Snowdonia is great, picturesque and much of it similar to the good stuff in Europe..and only a couple of hours from home. Rain stopped but it was a chilly 8degs, finished off with the Elan Valley in the opposite direction. A good day. Indian that night, beer and red wine and bed.
Last day plan was to ride to Aberystwyth for a cuppa on the sea front and then the fast A44 back, turning off via Tewksbuy and Stow, Chipping Norton and home. We set off in a chilly 6degs, felt colder..after a few miles decided to can Aberystwyth when it started to drizzle and hit the A44 instead. Great thrash back home culminating in the Chalbury loop and tea at Chipping Norton.
All in all a great trip..we’ll do it again when the sun shines. Put 750 miles on the 800GSA, good little bike and the knobblies were actually not bad on the road..thanks again Wollaston BMW..but cant wait to get my 1200GS back.
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- Cold in Wales
