I dared a peek out of the bedroom curtain to find a wet, drizzly and windy Monday morning. The sky was moody and grey with the promise of sustained shitty weather for at least the rest of the morning.
My boy Jake was staying over with us and he’s a bike nut. He didn’t take much waking and as I emerged from the bathroom, he was stood waiting in his Hein Gericke trousers raring to go.
After a cup of coffee, we walked out into the rain and fired up the bike, before quietly riding up the cul-de-sac into the waiting world.
A quick stop in East Ardsley to top off the tank, and an uneventful tour of the A650 saw us arrive at Jordan’s almost bang on time. Waiting for us there was our ride leader for the day Sanensafe (Or Red Leader One, as I affectionately call him!). We already know each other from work, so there’s a bit of good natured banter and a quick introduction to Jake. As we were discussing the possibility that we’d be the only ones out due to the weather, a familiar yellow behemoth crested the rise from the Tingley roundabout....it was Allen and his mighty Goldwing. He was shortly followed by our newest member Flasher who arrived on a very smart CBR600RR. So, that was 4 bikes and 5 bikers in total. 2 naked streetbikes, 1 full-on sport bike and 1 massive tourer with the full range of engine sizes from 600cc to 1800cc, a veritable club record! See how we embrace diversity....even on days off!
Sanensafe had some fantastic roads in store for us, but first was a motorway plod to Ferrybridge to meet with a friend of his. However, a quick tour of the car-park at the service area revealed that his bottle had gone....there were no other bikers there. So with Sanensafe leading the way, the WYP Bikers die-hards embarked on our epic, record breaking journey through the lanes and byways of East Yorkshire and The Humber.
Now, to say that there was a bit of mud and cowshit on the roads would be something of an understatement. Added to the recent precipitation, there were some very slimy surfaces to negotiate. As Flasher is still quite new to God’s County, and this was to be her first proper ride out for quite some time, I took up the position of “last bike” for most of the ride to be sure she didn’t get left behind on unfamiliar roads. Of course that generally meant that I got lots and lots of questionable material thrown up off the road into my face! (especially off that sportbike rear tyre!) I ended up looking like some sort of bizarre, bike-riding caveman with a pillion passenger! I was glad for the safe and cautious riding style adopted by Flasher, otherwise I’d have been in a proper state! After a few miles of twistys, we stopped for a quick chat about where we wanted to go from there. We all agreed (apart from Allen, who was merrily listening to his CD player behind that huge fairing) that it was actually bloody cold as well as wet! Jake had lost contact with some of his fingers and Flasher remarked that she was rapidly going the same way. In no way am I ashamed when I admit to switching my heated grips on to position number 3!
Heroically we pressed on to find a nice cafe but a rummage through my pockets confirmed that I had failed to bring any cash! Mildly embarrassed, Jake and I gratefully accepted a pot of steaming coffee each from Sanensafe who gallantly stumped up some of his hard-earned for us. Thanks mate! We were joined in the cafe by some lads who were walking to London in aid of Help For Hero’s....a charity I fully support and we donated to the cause....well those of us that actually brought cash did! There was some talk of the British Superbikes, World Superbikes and Moto GP with opinions and predictions aplenty.
Warmed and refreshed, we headed back out into the gloom and some amazingly entertaining roads, I don’t know the roads very well out there and was nearly caught out a couple of times by mud, farm machines and biking inexperience....fortunately, 23 years of professional driving experience and advanced training payed off and the rubber was kept facing down! For one section, Jake and I found ourselves following the tyre tracks of Allen on the ‘Wing. I was hugely impressed by his skill on the bike and found I had absolutely no chance of keeping up with him as he sailed off out of sight....and this was on the twistys! If you ever want to see a huge tourer effortlessly hefted through country lanes at a very decent speed, try and keep up with Allen. That bloke CAN ride!
All good things come to an end, and as the morning ebbed away and the afternoon loomed into sight, we called it a day and went our separate ways. With a wave, Sanensafe opened the throttle on the M1 and disappeared off home to swap ninety-odd horsepower for one horsepower as he had planned a more sedate and traditional country ride for the afternoon. Allen, Flasher, Jake and I headed over to junction 27 and split from there. Jake and I had a cheeky look ‘round Jordan’s and I had to use a lot of willpower not to sign on the line for a brand new DL650 Vstrom. Don’t ask me why, but I just love those adventure/tourer bikes. The thought of Mrs P wearing my testicles for earrings was the decider though, and I resisted the salesman’s banter....well this time anyway....
A brilliant, if very wet and mucky ride. A big thanks to Sanensafe for leading and also to Flasher and Allen for braving the elements!
Just look at the state of my bike! (I bet that lovely white CBR took some washing!)
Thanks for reading.
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