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| vfr800 |
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 vfr800 Spanner Monkey
Joined: 28 Oct 2005 Karma :     
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 Posted: 23:06 - 13 Mar 2007 Post subject: COMMUTING DIARY |
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Last year I clocked up 34000 miles, mostly while commuting to London from Tamworth, the shortest route is 110 miles each way. Some day's would be really boring run of the mill type days whilst others would have a little twist of fate or excitement.
I kept saying last year I should keep a diary of the daily events but never did, so this year I'm going to do just that.
The bike: 1999 VFR800 FIX.
Standard apart from heated grips and a scott oiler.
Milage: 41174
Day 1. 12th March 2007
Starting a new site today in Harrow.
Good journey down, nothing to report
Return journey was different, the sign post said M1 2.5 miles, great I thought, just then the traffic stopped and I had to filter for 2.5 miles to get on the M1.
A short way into the road works the traffic slowed and eventually stopped, filter time again.
After 500 meters of filtering the cause was in sight, a biker was lying on the carriageway, I pulled over to if i could be of assistance.
The guy was on his back conscious but not moving much, he was a despatch rider for TNT, he had some how run into the back of a 7.5 ton flatbed type lorry. The only apparent injuries were to his hands, as you often see and cringe at, he wasn't wearing any gloves, they were a mess, his right hand had skin missing with abrasions and one finger that was clearly broken, it was pointing the wrong way, he kept raising his arm to look at it.
After several attempts to communicate with the guy by a few other bikers that had stopped we began to draw a blank, he seemed visually ok in general but still said nothing.
After a short while another TNT despatch rider turned up and stopped, he actually knew the guy and started talking to him in Portugese, funnily the next biker stopped and he could talk Portugese aswell.
With the ambulance in sight and unable to assist any further I carried on with my journey home.
DAY 2. 13th March
I set out at 6.15am giving me ample time to get to site for 8.00am.
Journey was to be M42/M6/M1.
Having not watched the weather forecast last night i set out with the same clothing on as yesterday, big mistake! I got to the end of the road and looked at the temp gauge, 4 degrees, bloody hell I thought it is cold, the first car that came past me at the junction had signs of frost on the windscreen. Oh well i'll turn the grips up then!
Half way down the M6 the matrix signs said 'M1 closed from J15 to J14' shit all I need. I carried on in hope of the motorway being reopened by the time I got there, no such luck.
At J15 as i filtered up the off ramp I pulled up beside a nice looking fireblade, we had a brief chat about which way to go and set off in the direction of the A5. I didn't have much confidence in him as he had his directions taped to the top of his tank!
I thought we would link up and have a good thrash to find the A5 and back onto the M1, no such luck. he pulled off from the lights fast and i thought yes, game on, never been so let down by a blade, he reached 60mph and that was it. I overtook him with gust hoping he would follow my lead, naaa, he became a small dot in my mirror and was never seen again.
Just what is the point of a blade like that and not having the balls to ride it with any conviction, Cog Head would have whooped his ass on his 125 Mito, how embarrassing.
I eventually got to work at 8.20am.
coming home I was looking forward to a straight run after this mornings goings on, no such luck. At J18 of the M1 one lane was shut causing big tailbacks, I decided to get off the M1 and onto the A5 which took me the rest of the way home with a smile on my face as i thrashed along the A5, it's got some good islands to negate.
Was late back so I didn't go to bassets pole tonight, looking forward to that as the weather improves. ____________________ don't take it easy 'ride it like you stole it'
Last edited by vfr800 on 23:49 - 13 Mar 2007; edited 2 times in total |
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| Hotdog |
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 Hotdog Nearly there...

Joined: 28 Sep 2005 Karma :  
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 Posted: 23:11 - 13 Mar 2007 Post subject: |
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Sounds like your commute is pretty boring.
Be sure to post on here if anything interesting ever happens.
 ____________________ He's a gentleman, a scholar, he's an-acrobat, he's the one and only truly original.......
Hotdog....(Defender of the weak, the poor and the innocent)
He's The Ace - He's Amazing...He's the Strongest... He's The Quickest.... He's The Best! |
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| mrtEE |
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 mrtEE World Chat Champion
Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Karma :  
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 Posted: 23:11 - 13 Mar 2007 Post subject: |
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You're gonna post every day?  |
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| craigs23 |
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 craigs23 Mr Muscle

Joined: 08 Jun 2005 Karma :    
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| vfr800 |
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 vfr800 Spanner Monkey
Joined: 28 Oct 2005 Karma :     
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| bazza |
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 bazza World Chat Champion
Joined: 27 Aug 2004 Karma :  
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| h00dwink |
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 h00dwink World Chat Champion

Joined: 04 May 2006 Karma :     
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| JonB |
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 JonB Afraid of Mileage

Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Karma :  
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 Posted: 00:59 - 14 Mar 2007 Post subject: |
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Here is my commuting diary.
I walk (note slouch) out of my block of flats and get my fob out of my pocket, I fob out of the gate. Look at the sun, nearly blinds me and I nearly hit the lamppost! Stupid SMIDSY. Council should get it moved ideally. I pick up the pace down the pavement, I avoid the little bits of gravel that have obviously been picked off the plantation to the right of me.
I come to the first set of traffic lights, wait for all of the traffic to come to a halt and I hurtle toward the other side, notice it is green at the second set, so I hit the accelerator hard and pace to the other side, just in time, phew!
Carrying along my journey on this nice March morning, I notice the recycle bins have been moved, they were quite a hazard and it turns out they were moved cause people were putting food in them. Perhaps the highways agency should invest in some proper bins next to the carriageway. Come to the inaugural road junction, I look both ways, but this gimp in a mercedes cuts me up from behind the corner. Damn.
Onto the next set of traffic lights and get wheelie gestures from the kids on the bus. (Note wanker gestures). I ignore them, but then I almost slip on the drain! Not enough grip on my Adidas BT020's.
I meander through a few side pavements and I make it into uni, nice and safely; on foot.  ____________________ Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth. |
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| Itchy |
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 Itchy Super Spammer

Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Karma :     
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 Posted: 09:07 - 14 Mar 2007 Post subject: |
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you must seriously be bored, I have commutes like that , have to stop at least once a month for a downed rider, peds that come off heavy traffic diesel but I only ever bitch about it when something seriously goes wrong, like somebody not accidentally but has intent to kill me. ____________________ Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching. |
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| Pete. |
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 Pete. Super Spammer

Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Karma :     
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 Posted: 09:18 - 14 Mar 2007 Post subject: |
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There's a monster spill of diesel on the Deptford one-way this morning. Luckily I was in the bus lane so missed it  ____________________ a.k.a 'Geri'
132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good  |
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| Shaun |
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 Shaun Likes 'em bent

Joined: 17 May 2003 Karma :     
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 Posted: 09:47 - 14 Mar 2007 Post subject: |
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I can see his thread is going to be rivetting, full of terror tales about how every set of traffic lights changes as you reach them and that car driver who only just saw you in time!
Get a blog, save wasting valuable forum space.  |
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| killa |
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 killa Won't Shut Up

Joined: 18 Oct 2004 Karma :  
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 Posted: 13:21 - 14 Mar 2007 Post subject: |
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6:25am, I’m out the door and the cover comes off the Yammy.
With the RXS warming up, I start putting on my gear thinking of the commute ahead and how these roads are just second nature now, I think I could do the whole thing blindfolded……..could I?..........nah, maybe not today….
It’s a clear sunny day, fresh, but dry.
I set off and approach the end of my road, I look to the right to see two bikes approaching at high speed, and they fly past taking up both lanes.
I pull out as there appears to be nothing following, looking to the right again, then heading left.
As the bikes approached the roundabout one hundred yards ahead, I could sense they were travelling much too fast to take it, the rear wheel of one of the bikes, which was an off road machine, locked up sending out an ear piercing screech and small wisps of smoke from the tarmac.
The bike slid down to the left, as it hit the ground I watched in disbelief, sparks and plastic flew in all directions as the bike span around and hit the curb with the rear wheel, sending the rider into the air, finally coming to land on the centre of the roundabout. My first thoughts being, get and help him.
That’s when I heard the sirens…..an ambulance I thought, that was quick…...
The other biker had slowed down to walking pace to see if his comrade was moving, which he was, but rolling over holding his chest in agony.
I hear a loud crack from behind me which makes me duck instinctively as it split the atmosphere in two, the rear window of the van ten feet in front of me shatters into a thousand pieces, I see the biker has now given his machine some beans, I follow his actions, realising there is someone wielding a gun behind us.
The other machine looked to be a 125, a Honda, from my knowledge of bikes I could tell by the wheel and exhaust size that his machine was similar to mine in capacity.
The sirens are much louder now, I can hear that tone amongst the racket that gets right inside your ear. That’s no ambulance, that’s the police, these lads are fucking running.
I’m catching the other rider now, as he takes the left hand bend and before I reach the corner myself, I take a look in my mirror. I can see the panda weaving past the car I just past, one officer at the wheel, and the other leaning out of the window trying his best to steady his piece.
I take the corner as fast as I think the RXS could handle, the rear end is unsteady and I’m bracing myself for the impact…….stay focused.
The tyres don’t fail me and I manage upright the bike, pulling the throttle back further than the cable should go, the other rider looks back over his shoulder, I know he saw the police car behind me, because his head swivelled back round and he got his head down to the clocks.
I wasn’t going to out run the car, the second gun shot gave me two options to choose, split from the felon and hope they follow him, or bail completely and hope that I don’t hit anything solid. Either one would be better than taking a bullet to the back.
I chose to split off, but where?!
The road climbed as it turned into a bridge, the other rider had jumped the crest and as I came over the top, I saw him come down on to the tarmac hard, he fought with the machine to get back on track. The RXS started accelerating down the slope, I needed this speed, the car was spitting distance now, but they couldn’t get a bead on me because of the incline.
I saw my opportunity, with throttle fully open the RXS screamed for mercy, every gear licking the red. I was up with the criminal now, he’s a teenager, probably not his bike. He had missed a cog in his hurry to escape and had dropped some speed.
As I over took, I hear another shot, we were on level ground now and they were going to hit their target if we didn’t get a move on.
I looked over at my unfortunate ride out partner as I pass, his eyes transfixed on the road ahead, whatever he was running away for was his business and I didn’t want a part of it.
A hundred thoughts passed through my mind, my family, my partner, escape, death….…something has to give, I can’t stop now, they’ll take me out for a crime I didn’t commit.
The road was going to split into two, several hundred yards ahead, as I heard the next shot I looked over my shoulder again this time to see the handle bars of the scrambler twist with such force it seemed to stop the bike dead in it’s tracks, unlucky for the rider……unlucky for his pursuers……
I glace ahead, and then look again…..the rider hit the ground before the bike, which was now several feet in the air, the petrol spilled out and glistened in the sun blinding me for a second before it all came to a stop when it hit the front end of the panda car.
I looked forward and started to break as the junction approached, I felt the heat on my back from the burning fuel of the bike as it ignited. As the car passed, the officer closet to me made a jump for it, pushing the door open and tucking in for the impact. The other had been set alight……and the screaming drowned out the noise of the flames..…..as I came to a stop I watched as the rolling inferno took out a sign post which stopped the vehicle dead.
The officer lying on the road, rolled over to look at me, I looked him straight in the eye, what the hell went on here? What’s going to happen now?
Shit, I’m late for work ____________________ Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
Bike:- Yamaha TRX850 | Killas Biking History | Killas Gaming History | Killas autmotive history |
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| Ariel Badger |
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 Ariel Badger Super Spammer

Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Karma :     
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| pwntifex |
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 pwntifex World Chat Champion

Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Karma :    
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 Posted: 11:34 - 15 Mar 2007 Post subject: |
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11.15. I could feel my pulse in my temples as I stepped out of the front door and turned the key.
I was locking it.
The tarmac felt hard, granite-like, as I pounded down it, a look of conviction painted across my face. Oh yes. Today, it would be different.
I had five minutes. I broke out into a run.
Down the hill--I dodged the granny--my knees beginning to make a strange sort of whining noise, the ride becoming more uneven.
I wondered if my bearings had gone.
Suddenly--there it was! Green, white, festooned with sprogs! I ran to it. The doors opened with a hiss.
The bus.
I made it.
I heard applause, cheers. Someone threw rose petals on me.
Someone else threw a bottle at my head, which rebounded off my skull with the slow, graceful, parabolic arc that signifies a certain type of hero.
Meaning? Get a blog, tartles. ____________________ the warped one: This is a follow up from the thread 'my willy hurts' |
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| JAMSXR |
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 JAMSXR World Chat Champion

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| krebsy |
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 krebsy World Chat Champion

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| akaDAVE |
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 akaDAVE World Chat Champion

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| vfr800 |
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 vfr800 Spanner Monkey
Joined: 28 Oct 2005 Karma :     
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| Ariel Badger |
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 Ariel Badger Super Spammer

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| killa |
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 killa Won't Shut Up

Joined: 18 Oct 2004 Karma :  
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| vfr800 |
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 vfr800 Spanner Monkey
Joined: 28 Oct 2005 Karma :     
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| vfr800 |
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 vfr800 Spanner Monkey
Joined: 28 Oct 2005 Karma :     
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| vfr800 |
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 vfr800 Spanner Monkey
Joined: 28 Oct 2005 Karma :     
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| ram_doom |
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 ram_doom World Chat Champion

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| TheDonUK |
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 TheDonUK World Chat Champion

Joined: 20 Feb 2006 Karma :   
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 Posted: 02:30 - 16 Mar 2007 Post subject: |
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Good story killa
VFR800, it is boring... i have thought about writing about or videoing my exploits couriering, but then who the fuck would want to read/watch that... |
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 19 years, 113 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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