your fave local biking road (poll - a, b, or unclassified)

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

Yeah good points - also York is quite an interesting city, although a bit small. Wished I lived closer to Leeds tbh cos that's vast. Getting to know my around that would be a bit of a feat. Hull is within striking distance but it's a bit shit. I still do tackle it though.
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"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[chickenstrip]

I used to live on the outskirts of London, so could basically decide how 'involved' I wanted to get with all that. Rarely went to The City itself though - a bit too hectic for me.
Where I am now...well, you're into Carlisle and out the other side before you realise you went near a city
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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!

[1198]

[chickenstrip]

[stevo as b4]

I've ridden that stretch of road, and most of Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire.

But it was back in the days that I had big bikes, big plans for long 100-300mile day trips, and I too used to like long fast sweeping roads where you could ride most of the time without alot of braking or massive speed changes. I did also like technical gravel and sheep strewn rural Wales, but for different reasons.

Now I ride little bikes and I can honestly say those long sweeping roads or Cressage straights, the Foss Way etc, would bore the arse off me.

Id go out of my way to ride the tiniest roads, where you probably won't ever see over 60mph and that'd be rare. 90-100kg tall bikes don't like long straight exposed roads, are uncomfortable over distances, and having no wind protection are uncomfortable and noisy at speed.

I remember rolling through sleeping little Sunday villages in a group of race can equipped bikes and in 1-piece leather suits, making a racket on the way to popular Shropshire biker meet up locations. I did think all that caper died early in the Millennium though?

It's not something I'd want to be doing now as a 40yr old bloke, it almost makes me cringe thinking back to those days of sunny day predictable biking.

I ain't got that interest or desire to be an annoying cunt I guess now?

[chickenstrip]

[stevo as b4]

I'm back in my shed on Saturday ok!

Also If I can get it to stop raining before March and if I can get one of my bikes engines to hold itself together and survive both my engine building skills and a dyno set up, then I will go back down my little quiet back lanes.

Until then and while it's very soggy, dark, wet, cold etc,
Well you have my full positive and constructive input and enthusiasm as always!

[1198]

Just to mention by the way that the Newtown / Crossgates Road now seems to be in the sights of the local police. There’s occasionally a car sat in the 30 zone at the north end but there’s also a camera van on one or two of the bits in the middle - eg the 60 zone.

[chickenstrip]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

[Shaft]

[chickenstrip]

I do sometimes enjoy a bit of town riding, but I wonder how much of my survival is down to sheer bloody luck!
With so much traffic, it only takes one idiot to do the wrong thing at the wrong moment - it's just not in the rider's control. I've been taken out this way before, not doing anything wrong, but just some twat deciding he's not going to stick to the rules as I drew level with him - no amount of skill would have saved me.

It hasn't totally put me off town riding, and if I know where I'm going I'm confident enough, but I prefer to be more in control of things, so town work will never be my favourite.
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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!

[stevo as b4]

I'm not sure these days if many roads can beat several miles of open fields, forest fire trails, moorland etc and a big old gnarly 500cc open class mens bike.

Some people want to ride route 66 on a full dress Harley. Some want to Lap the TT etc.

For me I think the ultimate before I die ride might be a 500cc MX bike with a long range tank, parked in a farmer's field and pointed at the horizon of green and yellow squares. I'd love to see how many miles I could cover of green landscape as the crow flies straight over nicely planted fields, and through fences and hedges before my 10litres or so of Pre-mix is exhausted.

Maybe I'd like to cross a desert on an adventure bike or do a hard enduro race too.

All I know is that the people that want to ride across the US on a hog are the weirdo's.