|
Author |
Message |
Carvel |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Carvel World Chat Champion
Joined: 01 Jun 2010 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Aff |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Aff World Chat Champion
Joined: 05 May 2011 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
-Monty- |
This post is not being displayed .
|
-Monty- World Chat Champion
Joined: 20 Apr 2012 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Pigeon |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Pigeon World Chat Champion
Joined: 27 Sep 2012 Karma :
|
Posted: 20:43 - 08 Apr 2016 Post subject: |
|
|
Wow. What an epic adventure!
Glad to see you boys were keeping up foreign relations.
Thanks to you, if the UK don't vote for Brexit, the French + Spanish will just kick us out anyway
Fantastic photo's and videos! The road of death looks incredible......and quite scary, I definitely need a few more miles under the belt before attempting such madness. I target fixated at the 1,000ft drop just sitting at my screen
Great writeup Matt! Three things stuck out in my mind:
1. Excellent resourcefulness as usual everyone.
2. Matt, you need to stop smashing mirrors, opening umbrellas indoors, walking under ladders and crossing black cats. Although, on the other hand, you were quite lucky the feds didn't bust you for transporting shrooms over state lines
3. How the feck was that out of the three Triumphs, Monty's was the one that didn't break?!?
Supermoto_Fan wrote: | Great write up.. The trip however sounds like a bit of a disaster |
hahaha, are you kidding, trip sounds standard BCF awesomeness |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
alexknight200... |
This post is not being displayed .
|
alexknight200... Crazy Courier
Joined: 05 May 2012 Karma :
|
Posted: 21:07 - 08 Apr 2016 Post subject: epic trip |
|
|
Thanks for the write up, enjoyed it muchly ____________________ Current stable: Yamaha XVS 650 1996 - Honda Super Magna VF750 1988. |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
-Matt- |
This post is not being displayed .
|
-Matt- World Chat Champion
Joined: 28 Apr 2013 Karma :
|
Posted: 21:30 - 08 Apr 2016 Post subject: |
|
|
I agree with a couple of the other guys. Reading it all in one condensed thread I guess it does come across as a bit of a disaster, but spread over 12 days most of the time it was really enjoyable. It was a bit of a nightmare at times (particularly for Paris2, who probably had worse luck than me to be honest) with the constant bike problems/lack of bike and incompetent breakdown company trying to sort him out a solution on both occasions.
We couldn't of even predicted the problems with his bike though. It was one of the lowest mileage and best condition bikes on the trip and he'd done loads of servicing work on it with a few of us a couple of weeks before the trip to try and avoid any of problems, it was just really crap luck. The first breakdown was at the end of the day, less than an hour from the hotel and just required us to wait in a carpark outside a supermarket for a few hours. The next morning we had the parts and got it fixed and they caught up with us not too long after we got to the Pamplona hotel that night.
The Pamplona crash and fines were a bit of a pain, but it was all over and done with in an hour and wasn't too expensive for the couple that got fined.
My incident was definitely quite expensive but i'm still glad I went. Once I knew what was happening I was okay with it, the waiting and not knowing what i'd do with the bike until we got a plan sorted out was the main stress, but it didn't impact the trip for me too much in the end. I missed a few sights around the hotel-town the following day, but I got to walk around Zaragoza in the meantime which was interesting. I missed the days ride leaving Barcelona to Montpellier (which I would of really liked to do), but again I did enjoy getting to go around Montpellier for the day until everyone arrived.
Even after the second breakdown, Paris2 managed to ride on my bike/pillion on _ Troy_'s for the majority of the trip and only missed the day's we had horrible weather in France until he met us again for Bayeux and Cherbourg.
Last edited by -Matt- on 22:18 - 25 May 2018; edited 2 times in total |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
-Monty- |
This post is not being displayed .
|
-Monty- World Chat Champion
Joined: 20 Apr 2012 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Fladdem |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Fladdem World Chat Champion
Joined: 29 Jun 2011 Karma :
|
Posted: 22:11 - 08 Apr 2016 Post subject: |
|
|
Very nice, I love it.
Normally I have terrible luck when I go away on the bike but I love the sense of no one panicking while all of this was going on that I get from reading that. ____________________ Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget. |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Dave70 |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Dave70 World Chat Champion
Joined: 21 Jan 2012 Karma :
|
Posted: 22:27 - 08 Apr 2016 Post subject: |
|
|
Great to see the pics and read the trip report.
Was that Irish mould/mushrooms on your wetsuit by any chance Matt? I had to put my leathers and boots in the washing machine with some antibacterial liquid after that trip, as they stunk to high heaven after getting thoroughly soaked.
Let me know if you have any UK trips planned this year, as going abroad is going to be a bit too costly for me this year, after having to buy a new bike and do tests.
I'll probably do Scotland in the summer (does Scotland have summer ), if yourself or anyone else wants to tag along. ____________________ There ain't no devil, there's just god when he's drunk.
2012: R125 killed by white van. 2016 R125 killed by 30,000 miles of redline. Current: 2016 Kawasaki ER6f. |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
-Matt- |
This post is not being displayed .
|
-Matt- World Chat Champion
Joined: 28 Apr 2013 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Copycat73 |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Copycat73 World Chat Champion
Joined: 11 Jan 2013 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Matt B |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Matt B World Chat Champion
Joined: 01 May 2012 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Copycat73 |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Copycat73 World Chat Champion
Joined: 11 Jan 2013 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha |
This post is not being displayed .
|
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha World Chat Champion
Joined: 22 Nov 2012 Karma :
|
Posted: 11:25 - 09 Apr 2016 Post subject: |
|
|
Nice one matt (and all). What was wrong with the Daytona in the end? If I read correctly it seemed like initial diagnoses pointed to bearing - then sourced one at a Suzuki shop, fitted it, but then banging noise continued. ____________________ "Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."
Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125 |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Matt B |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Matt B World Chat Champion
Joined: 01 May 2012 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
-Monty- |
This post is not being displayed .
|
-Monty- World Chat Champion
Joined: 20 Apr 2012 Karma :
|
Posted: 13:47 - 09 Apr 2016 Post subject: |
|
|
Chris looks so displeased with this photo ____________________ Present: [Kawasaki ZX7r][Suzuki DRZ 400s]
Past: [Honda PCX 125] [Yamaha RXS 100] [Honda CB 500] [Triumph Speed Four] [Honda ST1100 Pan European - Po-Po Edition] |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
P. |
This post is not being displayed .
|
P. Red Rocket
Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Karma :
|
Posted: 14:19 - 09 Apr 2016 Post subject: |
|
|
Fucking hell Matt
Looks like fun. Glad I didn't go as there would have been countless arrests by the sounds of it
Awesome write up. |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
chickenstrip |
This post is not being displayed .
|
chickenstrip Super Spammer
Joined: 06 Dec 2013 Karma :
|
Posted: 15:53 - 09 Apr 2016 Post subject: |
|
|
Matt B wrote: |
For me, riding down through Spain was something I would happily never do again. Whoever said that Spanish roads are good was obviously in a very different part of Spain to us. They were dull, badly surfaced, packed with HGVs and went through landscape and scenery that looked positively post apocalyptic. |
Who planned the route? I sometimes get the impression that many of these BCF group trips are planned merely by arbitrarily picking destinations for no particular reasons, and then just joining up the dots with the most direct routes? If a particular destination has a lot to offer and is a good distance to get to, then I can understand it, but for me, such trips are as much about riding the routes as visiting places of interest. On this particular trip, I'd have probably looked more at exploring the mountain roads in the Pyrenees. ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE! |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
-Matt- |
This post is not being displayed .
|
-Matt- World Chat Champion
Joined: 28 Apr 2013 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
chickenstrip |
This post is not being displayed .
|
chickenstrip Super Spammer
Joined: 06 Dec 2013 Karma :
|
Posted: 16:49 - 09 Apr 2016 Post subject: |
|
|
-Matt- wrote: | Reasonable explanation |
I see your points
Can't arrange the weather, and smart not to be doing consecutive long days in the saddle.
Anyway, at least that's all the bad luck used up before Belgium
It is, isn't it? ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE! |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
-Matt- |
This post is not being displayed .
|
-Matt- World Chat Champion
Joined: 28 Apr 2013 Karma :
|
Posted: 16:52 - 09 Apr 2016 Post subject: |
|
|
I sincerely fucking hope so |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
-Monty- |
This post is not being displayed .
|
-Monty- World Chat Champion
Joined: 20 Apr 2012 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
chickenstrip |
This post is not being displayed .
|
chickenstrip Super Spammer
Joined: 06 Dec 2013 Karma :
|
Posted: 16:59 - 09 Apr 2016 Post subject: |
|
|
-Monty- wrote: |
Matt's bad luck resets after each trip. |
____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE! |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
barrkel |
This post is not being displayed .
|
barrkel World Chat Champion
Joined: 30 Jul 2012 Karma :
|
Posted: 18:22 - 09 Apr 2016 Post subject: |
|
|
This is my favourite road, as linked in my sig. There was a lot of cyclists on it when you did it; less so for me. A couple of times, I'd go around a corner and find myself with an overtaking motorcycle heading towards me and the blind corner I came from ____________________ Bikes: S1000R, SH350; Exes: Vity 125, PS125, YBR125, ER6f, VFR800, Brutale 920, CB600F, SH300x4
Best road ever ridden: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2MhNxUEYtQ |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
barrkel |
This post is not being displayed .
|
barrkel World Chat Champion
Joined: 30 Jul 2012 Karma :
|
Posted: 18:33 - 09 Apr 2016 Post subject: |
|
|
Matt B wrote: | For me, riding down through Spain was something I would happily never do again. Whoever said that Spanish roads are good was obviously in a very different part of Spain to us. They were dull, badly surfaced, packed with HGVs and went through landscape and scenery that looked positively post apocalyptic. |
When I first went to Spain 5 years ago, most of the roads were freshly surfaced. But the mountain roads see snow every year, and they deteriorate until they get wholly resurfaced. Last year we went along one of my older favourites, the N-152, and the surface had deteriorated to the point that you couldn't go too quickly in bends because of the number of tar bands. The coastal GI-682 was a new favourite in part because it wasn't nearly as high, but last year we just happened to arrive as they were doing side growth trimming, and the road was covered in twigs and clippings.
Those roads were my favourites because they have smooth flowing curves but aren't too fast. There were other roads - much wider with longer curves - that needed triple digit speeds to be entertaining. But that isn't really my thing, so I can't list them off the top of my head.
As to the scenery, I like roads that make me focus solely on the roads. The Pyrenees aren't as photogenic as the Alps; it's brown, scrub and brush. The roads in the Alps are, as a rule, a series of straights and hairpins - these, for me, are the most tedious and least entertaining roads of all. I can quite easily imagine never riding a bike through another Alpine pass ever again. There are some incredible sights in the Alps though. ____________________ Bikes: S1000R, SH350; Exes: Vity 125, PS125, YBR125, ER6f, VFR800, Brutale 920, CB600F, SH300x4
Best road ever ridden: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2MhNxUEYtQ |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 8 years, 17 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
|
|
|