Travelling to UK in the middle of the year for a bit and got a couple of 2 week blocks to decide what to do with, and thinking of hiring a bike and do a touch of sight seeing.
Looking for recommendations from any UK riders for decent roads to tour and things worth seeing while doing so.
Cheers. :)
Quote from: pave_spectre on March 21, 2012, 02:29:05 AM
Travelling to UK in the middle of the year for a bit and got a couple of 2 week blocks to decide what to do with, and thinking of hiring a bike and do a touch of sight seeing.
Looking for recommendations from any UK riders for decent roads to tour and things worth seeing while doing so.
Cheers. :)
just remember to drive on teh PROPER side of hte road. i went there years ago to the family ancestral home. we rented a car.took a while to get used to driving on left side. then once returned, took a bit of time to get UN used to it lol
Quote from: yamhonkawazukijust remember to drive on teh PROPER side of hte road.
Dude I am from Oz, we already drive on the proper side of the road! :D
So does the silence mean there are no UK riders, or no good roads to ride in the UK?
There are plenty, where are you going to be based?
SE - Romney Marsh and Sussex downs, good all along coast.
NE- Yorkshire Moors. Peak District national park.
SW- Exmoor / Dartmoor
NW- Lake District - Yorks dales national Park
One of my particular favourite short-ride bits of road is the B2067 from Hythe to Tenderden, its only a 40 minute blast unless you stop at the "Worlds Wonder" for a bite but it's an undulating twistee that skirts around the Romney Marsh.
A couple of mates and I are going to be riding from SE England to West coast of Scotland to do highlands and the "Great Glen" / Fort William etc basing ourselves at Oban for a few days, never done it before but it has great reputation.
Plenty of bike sites in UK listing good runs.
The Police in North Wales have something of an anti-bike reputation but I have never been to Wales so no personal experience, West Yorks has some great routes but a lot of idiot riding has caused many accidents so expect a strong but generally fair Police presence. Both Kent and Sussex Police use unmarked bikes especially on Romney Marsh in the summer, they won't stop you to preserve their anonymity but they will call ahead and get a regular patrol involved if they think you deserve it. don't be put off by this, it's a good place to ride.
Awesome, thanks.
First few weeks I will be in the southern area, attending the Goodwood Festival of speed and then a few weeks later Farborough Airshow.
My last week I will be up in Edinburgh for the Military Tattoo.
Between that I have a few weeks of whatever I want so should be able to pretty much go any where, though the bike hire sites I have found only list rates up to 5 days, don't know if that means the don't hire for longer than that or if I just need to inquire for a longer period.
Hey Pave you might run into friends (parents) they are going to some military tattoo in the UK. Only reason I know they were trying to book tickets when I was up there LOL!
Now wouldn't that be funny. Que it's a small world! Okay Okay please don't hunt me down for that one!
Mary
Quote from: pave_spectre on March 21, 2012, 04:07:43 AM
Quote from: yamhonkawazukijust remember to drive on teh PROPER side of hte road.
Dude I am from Oz, we already drive on the proper side of the road! :D
okay :nono: lol. i always thought the wrong side of road thingamabob was the british way of telling the rest of the world to fluck off. we'll do our own thing our own way
No - apparently it's Napoleon's fault, mainland Europe used to "keep left" before him. I think some stroppy Colonials had something to do with it too. :D
It's a funny thing that the general perception is that the overwhelming number drive on the right but when you start looking around the world it's closer than you think.
Quote from: Cal Price on March 24, 2012, 08:02:55 AM
There are plenty, where are you going to be based?
SE - Romney Marsh and Sussex downs, good all along coast.
NE- Yorkshire Moors. Peak District national park.
SW- Exmoor / Dartmoor
NW- Lake District - Yorks dales national Park
One of my particular favourite short-ride bits of road is the B2067 from Hythe to Tenderden, its only a 40 minute blast unless you stop at the "Worlds Wonder" for a bite but it's an undulating twistee that skirts around the Romney Marsh.
A couple of mates and I are going to be riding from SE England to West coast of Scotland to do highlands and the "Great Glen" / Fort William etc basing ourselves at Oban for a few days, never done it before but it has great reputation.
Plenty of bike sites in UK listing good runs.
The Police in North Wales have something of an anti-bike reputation but I have never been to Wales so no personal experience, West Yorks has some great routes but a lot of idiot riding has caused many accidents so expect a strong but generally fair Police presence. Both Kent and Sussex Police use unmarked bikes especially on Romney Marsh in the summer, they won't stop you to preserve their anonymity but they will call ahead and get a regular patrol involved if they think you deserve it. don't be put off by this, it's a good place to ride.
or can take a ferry over to douglas IoM. and ride the route. ( have family and friends there and in the UK. granted dont go blazin past a lemon sandwich Eh?
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Police.car.1.arp.750pix.jpg/250px-Police.car.1.arp.750pix.jpg)
Do'h, I never even thought of the IoM :oops:
Quote from: pave_spectre on March 27, 2012, 01:26:12 AM
Do'h, I never even thought of the IoM :oops:
somewhat inexpensive
http://www.aferry.co.uk/specialoffers/IsleofMan.htm
Ok lets see if this works.
http://g.co/maps/8fgxm
Google maps, potential route to and from Stelvio Pass.
The start and finish points in england are purely arbitrary at this point.
It's very often cheaper to take a car on the IOM ferry than a bike, such is the law of supply and demand I suppose, also being an ex-ferryman bike take a bit more securing.
Quote from: Cal Price on March 29, 2012, 04:03:53 PM
It's very often cheaper to take a car on the IOM ferry than a bike, such is the law of supply and demand I suppose, also being an ex-ferryman bike take a bit more securing.
yeah i saw this myself. i priced a bike transfer to douglas ( or to hte landing and THEN to douglas. lodging there was with friends or family. hiring a bike err renting a bike wasnt difficult. i could do so wiht my american license.
Well, just to update this little thing, my trip is planned and a bike booked(V-Strom 1000), but a slight change of interest sees me doing very little riding in the UK. Will be picking up the bike, and heading down to folkestone overnight before hopping a train over to europe for 9 nights.
Now I am just looking for some luggage that will be able to carry all my clothing (including bike gear) on the plane easily and not be so unwieldy that I can't strap it fairly easily to the back of the bike. Looks like I need somewhere between 60-80L capacity. I have a 52L tailbag with lockable zippers which would be great, except that it holds everything BUT my bike gear :mad:. Stupid jacket just takes up so much room and doesn't pack down very well.
Enjoy the trip..just be furgin careful with driving on the right, particularly first thing in the morning and when you encounter a roundabout. France is fun, lovely roads and the French seem to like motorbikes more than the Poms. From this July the Froggies insist all motorists carry a cheap breathalyser. You can buy them at a garage for a few quid. Don't know where you're going to finally end up going but maybe have a peep at:
http://www.lazymotorbike.eu/riding/
Carrying the gear...thought about taking the helmet, gloves, boot and a pair of Kevlar jeans and picking up a cheap jacket in London.....plenty of reasonable stuff around and with the $A.....you little beauty!
Going to do a travelogue for GS Forum?
Taking the helmet, will be carry on in it's own bag. Don't own boots, bugger all selection available in Darwin so was going to pick up a pair in the UK.
which just leaves jacket, trou, and gloves. Dont really want to grab new sets of those since I just had to fork out for a new jacket recently after the zipper busted on my old one, so would prefer to take mine. (though I don't know how suitable a joe rocket pheonix jacket and trouser will be to european weather in july :D
One option I am considering is buy a large duffel bag that can hold tail bag(it packs down pretty damn flat) and clothing, and then just fold it up and have it strapped down underneath the tail bag on the bike.
QuoteGoing to do a travelogue for GS Forum?
Should have fairly regular internet access was was thinking of throwing together some kind of ride report during my sojourn.
After reviewing my trip I had a week where I was basically doing nothing, so now in addition to my European ride, I am also going to grab a CBF600 and spend 5 days tootling about wales.
Can't wait for this trip to take place :D
Well the day of my flight to UK is nearly here, and I am still in two minds about my helmet ,never mind the hassle of trying to fit my jacket in with the rest of my clothes (would I look weird wearing my Motodry jacket on a plane? maybe just a little). Can't decide if I should risk the hassle of taking my own helmet on a plane in it's own little bag, or just try and find a cheap helmet while I am in Cambridge.
Decisions, decisions.
Good luck, I have just finished a 1600 mile Scotland trip and unbelievably stayed dry - got a good soaking coming down through England on the return leg but made it just in time the day after we passed through some places there was washout on the roads.