Boring times.....

Is it wrong that due to immense frustration at the work I had to carry out this evening I decided to relax by cleaning and ajusting the chain on the Tuono? 2 hours of work followed by an half an hour of chain cleaning and I'm ready to chill out on the sofa. There's some Buzzcocks on the stereo, with some Smiths queued up, I'm set for a couple of hours of internet time.

My rear tyre is ready for replacment, but I don't think I'll get the chance to get it changed before the road trip this weekend. Hopefully 500 hard miles won't destroy the rear before I get back, it's already managed 4000 miles of abuse. Perhaps I should find the cash and time to get it done on Friday? Maybe leave work an hour early and head up to Oxford's Dave Clarke Motorcycles for a 2CT? I'll have to have a think tomorrow and book it in if I can.

Spring 2010.....

Due to fooling myself into thinking that I would dissove if I went out for a ride in the winter rain, I didn't put many miles in over the winter. It made me a little crazy but I'm appreciating the recent dry weather even more than usual. The Tuono passed it's MOT with only a new front tyre to help it through. As a treat, I bought it a new Renntec rack for the back, some polish and myself a new pair of gloves.

Last weekend was filled with bike stuff. I headed out early on Saturday for a run down towards Henley, followed by a visit into the Farnborough bike shops. A quick blast down the old Alton/Farnham/Winchester circuit before meeting Limburn in Salisbury. A last 75 mile blast back up the A338 completed a nice little 200+ mile day. Sunday involved more miles, with a pootle over to George White's for a coffee and mooch. Limburn joined me and we headed back to Oxford for another coffee and some pie. MMmmm Pie.

Throughout the weekend I was fiddling with my suspension settings to try to dial it in. I put everything to the standard settings with the exception of the rear preload which was decreased. This caused some unexpected high speed weave so the rear rebound and compression were increased by 5 clicks each. It's improved but still not a great improvement. Maybe the increasingly square rear tyre isn't helping so I won't change anything else until that's changed.

I've planned a trip to North Wales in a couple of weeks for a camping trip (hence the new Renntec rack) and I'm hoping the rear tyre will make it. It should, although I suspect the handling will be less than ideal. I have to sort out this years bike insurance before the tyre is changed. What a fun job that will be.

I took the car to work today, not sure why, and yet all I'm thinking about is how long it is until I finish work and can get home for some bike stuff. I think a bit of chain cleaning and urban riding will satisfy me. Perhaps I took the car as yesterday I followed a 58 plate Triumph Street Triple with a flat rear tyre 10 miles along the A34. He pulled off into MPK with me and I shielded him from the commuting traffic behind whilst he wobbled around the slip roads at 10 mph. Poor sod, what a crappy start to the day. I've been there and it's pants.

Short memory span

Winter gloves, lining in jacket and trousers and sub 60 mph speeds and I was still freezing my giblets off this morning. Summer has officially left us and I see no sign of a barbeque autumn. It's easy to forget the painful cold and the wintery roads during the tepid heat of a British summer. I feel very unprepared.

Make mine a strong one.

I decided to revisit this little area of the web and begin writing down some of my actions and encounters. I realised after re-reading some of my old posts that it was a cracking little way of remembering some of the stuff I got up to.

So then........

18 months after the last post and you'd expect there to be lots to talk about, you'd be wrong. I'm living in Oxford now with Ming and the daily grind up the A34 has morphed into a slow crawl down the A34. In an attempt to survive the nasty weather I'm back in a cage for the commute. A little soul destroying but it's better than sliding along the road on my ass, which is how I spent more than one commute last year.

After last year's NW200 trip I was in love with ZX6's and bought a lovely B1H. 6 months and 7K later and I wrote it off. The replacement for the ZX6 was a Aprilia Tuono, the mighty T. The Viffer has stayed in the garage throughout all the bike swops but as the Mighty T is so much fun it hasn't seen much action for the last few months.

Now the summer has come to an end I feel the need to reflect on how I filled it, that'll be a job for tomorrow............

Coming at ya like a bag of cocks.

I've got into the routine of commuting and I have become accustomed to the daily grind that starts with 35 miles on the Viffer.

The last few weeks have had some highlights and some lows.

Highs:-
Fast Newbury road antics
High speed lane splitting
Riding other peoples bikes
Spotting an unmarked rozzer just in time
Scrubbing in new tires
Oil and Filter change.

Lows:-
A flat tire
90 Mph winds
Torrential downpours
£10 a day fuel costs
Pushing 250Kg of Trumpet uphill on the A34
Hundreds of car drivers doing their best to take me down each and everyday

A pair of new Michelin Road Pilot 2's are on the Viffer and the handling has been transformed. The Honda seems to be affected badly by worn rubber. New oil and filter followed the new hoops and a good clean has started getting the bike ready for it's MOT next Saturday.

34,500 miles on the clock and the bike is in need of a service. I don't think I'll get a chance before me and Big L pop over to Brussels in a couple of weeks. The Viffer will probably have nearer 37K on it before its sorted. Doh !

On a lighter note, Si has bought a CBR600, Very nice, and Ming has taken steps towards getting on 2 wheels. Bikes, Bikes, Bikes !

wk1

The end of the first weeks commuting to Didcot is rapidily approaching. A full 350 miles has been covered up and down the A34 since Sunday. I've seen some accidents, some breakdowns, lots of roadkill, falling rocks, some awesome army vehicles and the same Harley commuter twice everyday.

I think this weekend may be filled withbike maintenance, cleaning, some shopping for textiles and maybe a few test rides to help Si choose a bike. Any excuse for a ride.

210 miles clocked up.

3 days into the new job and the new commute and it's all going smoothly. The A34 is always a little restrictive as the amount of traffic doesn't allow high speeds or a relaxed cruise but the small twisty section of the ride between Newbury and Andover is ace. It's been attacked 3 times each time has been at 90% which for me is impressive. I'm sure the novelty will wear off once it has been done a hundred times but for now, it's awesome. Today I started splitting traffic on the 34 and then looked down and realised I was splitting lanes at nearly 90. MMmmmm. I think I will need to listen to my MP3 or start calculating mpg figures to keep myself occupied as otherwise, I may find my license being in danger. It's fun though. I still need to wait for the first "wet" commute which I am not looking forward to. I don't mind riding in the rain but knowing I still need to be presentable when I arrive is driving me to consider buying more kit. (who said......"any excuse!").

The VFR is now so far overdue for a service that I think I will need to give it a minor service at the weekend so I can still sleep at night. Just an oil/filter change will do and it will keep me rolling for a few more weeks until I can get it serviced by someone more technically adept.

The job is going well. Lots to do and everyone seems nice enough and I can see myself spending the next few months there. I'm feeling a little lost though as I haven't had any training on any systems and I am trying to teach myself 4 very vital programs. This makes it more rewarding when I work something out but also slows everything down. I also haven't had any formal inductionr tour so I am finding myself physically lost as well as mentally. Maybe tomorrow I will feel a litte more at home and begin to get stuck into the work.