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RogerDeCoaste... |
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RogerDeCoaste... L Plate Warrior
Joined: 24 May 2018 Karma :
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Posted: 00:53 - 24 May 2018 Post subject: Visiting London from USA - What to do? |
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OK guys, here's my situation. I'm traveling with my family this summer on holiday. We're staying in an AirBnB somewhere in greater London. I plan to spend a full day by myself to do what I want - something British and on two wheels - while they sightsee in the city. My available dates are Sun, July 14 or Mon, July 15. The question is, what to do?
Quick bio: 58 years old, have ridden dirt and street, did some road racing a long time ago, currently ride a KTM 300 XC 2-stroke and do a little hare scrambles and enduro.
Ideas:
* Rent (or "hire" as y'all say) a classic British bike for the day, but I'm concerned about riding on the left side of the road, especially in London. You could talk me into it though.
*Go to the ACE Cafe. You could talk me out of that, it's probably a lame touristy thing to do, right?
*Watch a road race
*Hire an off-road bike and go enduro or trail riding (this is the best idea on this list if it's an option)
*Go to a motorcycle museum
So, I'm hoping for some advice. Which of these are good options? What other ideas am I missing? If you were me, what would you do?
Thank you for reading this, and thanks in advance for your advice.
Cheers,
Jim |
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ThatDippyTwat |
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ThatDippyTwat World Chat Champion
Joined: 07 Aug 2016 Karma :
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weasley |
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weasley World Chat Champion
Joined: 16 Oct 2010 Karma :
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Posted: 08:44 - 24 May 2018 Post subject: |
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First: over here the 14th of July is a Saturday and the 15th a Sunday.
I'd agree that riding in London is not for the faint-hearted nor is it a typical 'British' experience. My first thought was Ace cafe but you may find you go there, stand around a bit on your own and then leave, depending on what's going on, what the weather is like and so on. A Sunday is more likely to be busy, if you want more chance of seeing stuff.
The National Motorcycle Museum is just over 1 hour by train from London (train from Euston to Birmingham, then a short taxi ride).
Trail riding will be tricky - the number and location of legally-rideable trails in reach of London is limited.
For something typically British, you could just hire a bike and ride to the nearest coast (Brighton, Bournemouth, Southend etc) for fish and chips and an ice cream. Or just ride around until you find a nice looking pub. Just be clear that your idea of what is typically British may not be the same as the reality - remember the weather lottery we have here. ____________________
Yamaha XJ600 | Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat | KTM 990 SMT | BMW F900XR TE |
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Ste |
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Ste Not Work Safe
Joined: 01 Sep 2002 Karma :
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RogerDeCoaste... |
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RogerDeCoaste... L Plate Warrior
Joined: 24 May 2018 Karma :
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Posted: 10:20 - 25 May 2018 Post subject: |
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Thanks for the great replies!
"Riding a bike in London is not a thing you want to do for fun. Lots of filtering, possibility of getting jacked,..." I have no idea what that means but it sounds bad!
"over here the 14th of July is a Saturday and the 15th a Sunday" - damn you Brits and your bloody Imperial Measurement System!
All kidding aside, great info and good feedback. OK how about the Goodwood Festival of Speed? It looks pretty epic, and it happens to be running when I'll be there. What do you think, should I do that? How would I get there, is there a train? I only have one day and I think it would be a pretty long haul down and back.
As epic as the FOS looks, I'm still really liking the idea of riding a Bonnie down to Brighton for some fish & chips and ice cream. |
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Fizzoid |
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Fizzoid World Chat Champion
Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Karma :
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Freddyfruitba... |
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Freddyfruitba... World Chat Champion
Joined: 20 May 2016 Karma :
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Ste |
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Ste Not Work Safe
Joined: 01 Sep 2002 Karma :
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weasley |
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weasley World Chat Champion
Joined: 16 Oct 2010 Karma :
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Polarbear |
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Polarbear Super Spammer
Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Karma :
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Posted: 22:19 - 25 May 2018 Post subject: |
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Goodwood if you can get tickets. It's a great day.
Riding a motor bike in London? I've been riding 40 years and can count the number of times I have ridden in (central) London on one hand and I've hated each time.
Add in getting used to riding on the left, roundabouts (I used to give my wife's American cousin heart attacks with roundabouts ), the shit traffic and push bikers.....
It really isn't worth the stress. ____________________ Triumph Trophy Launch Edition |
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barrkel |
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barrkel World Chat Champion
Joined: 30 Jul 2012 Karma :
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Posted: 22:48 - 25 May 2018 Post subject: |
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Polarbear wrote: | Riding a motor bike in London? I've been riding 40 years and can count the number of times I have ridden in (central) London on one hand and I've hated each time. |
I've been riding over 10 years and I love riding in London. I've been bike-jacked once, but I reckon you face no more than 0.05% risk or so on any given visit. Still too high, but it's very small.
If it's your first time riding a bike in a European city, I might give it a miss - it's not a grid, and you'll get nowhere fast queuing with regular traffic. If you don't know where you're going, it's very easy to make a wrong turn, and many side-streets are one-way systems either to nowhere, or back out on to the main street, to avoid rat-runs. The extra stress of trying to actually get anywhere means you can't focus on the fun of the cut and thrust of traffic. And it is fun, when you get into it. ____________________ Bikes: S1000R, SH350; Exes: Vity 125, PS125, YBR125, ER6f, VFR800, Brutale 920, CB600F, SH300x4
Best road ever ridden: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2MhNxUEYtQ |
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RogerDeCoaste... |
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RogerDeCoaste... L Plate Warrior
Joined: 24 May 2018 Karma :
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Posted: 00:40 - 05 Jun 2018 Post subject: |
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Just wanted to circle back and thank all you guys that took the time to read and respond. Great advice, really helpful! Just goes to show that motorcyclists are awesome no matter which side of the pond we're talking about. As you guys say: cheers, mates!
(And because y'all are bikers after all): |
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A100man |
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A100man World Chat Champion
Joined: 19 Aug 2013 Karma :
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Posted: 15:32 - 05 Jun 2018 Post subject: |
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There's also this place.. https://thebikeshed.cc/
I hesitate to recommend it since
a) I've never been and
b) it looks to be populated by the sort of hipster/nouveau biker (or 'pseud' in Private Eye speak) I despise.
Nevertheless if you're on the tourist ticket and it's not far from your digs it might be worth the price of a cup of coffee if only to guffaw at the outrageous prices.. ____________________ Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750
Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600 |
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 5 years, 327 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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