First ride with Dee

Dee has been wanting to go for a ride on the Enfield for ages. She used to go pillion with her brother many moons ago but not for a lot of years.

We got her a helmet and scoured Vinted for some decent bike gear and she ended up with some cool leather jeans and burgundy Barbour jacket.  Looking so cool next to the bike 🩷

A sunny Sunday arrived and we went out for a couple of hours around the island, stopping off at Moelfre for ice cream. She is such a natural pillion and we can't wait to do more but I suspect that we have seen the last of the "warm enough" weather.

She's now talking about getting a scooter😀 

Rob's Birthday Camping Trip 24 - 26 July 2026

I'd given Rob an IOU voucher for his birthday - "IOU a camping weekend on the motorbikes".

So we found a campsite roughly half way between us down near Welshpool and not far from Lake Vyrnwy and the plan was that I'd ride there on the Classic and Rob would ride across on his Grom.

A classic Rob event then occurred where he decided the night before going to service the bike but something went wrong and so he ended up coming over in his MX-5 but actually that turned out to be pretty good for us.

I took the scenic route across the Llanberris Pass through Snowdonia - I never tire of that route. Then I had lunch in Bala and carried on down to the campsite.

The campsite was called Wonderful Wilderness and that summed it up well. To quote the website: 

If tranquillity, being off grid and close to nature appeals, the Wonderful Wilderness will not disappoint. We believe our secluded little sheep farm is something really special, a spot idyllically positioned between a beautiful forest and acres of farmland. Accessed only by a 4 mile narrow winding road though countryside, the views are unspoiled and simply stunning in every direction.

This was the singletrack access road.

Rob arrived an hour or so after me and we soon had everything set up. 

Our spot was by the river which was idyllic but the midges swarmed as the evening set in - We headed for high ground!!

The following day, after a lazy morning, we found a local cafe for brunch and then headed in to Aberystwyth for an explore. The weather wasn't great so it was good to be able to use Rob's car and also to have a proper chance to chat all weekend.

We got BBQ stuff while we were out and spent a really pleasant evening eating, drinking and putting the world to rights! It was a bit drizzly so we rejigged the tarp with my bike for protection and cooked under that. 

After the BBQ we repurposed it as a fire pit and managed to keep that going till bed time.

On the Sunday morning, we went back to our "local" for breakfast before heading for our respective homes. I went back the more direct route via Caernarvon. Total about 190 miles over the weekend.

A lovely snatched weekend with my boy!

Royal Enfield Owners Club Rally; 17-19 July 2026

I really enjoyed my adventure to the REOC International Rally on the Crusader last year, so it was a given that I'd try and get to the National Rally this year. 

I was going to do it on the Crusader again, but I'd been communicating with someone on the owner's club forum who was having exactly the same electrical woes as I had and I agreed to go on the Classic 350 and meet him there to show him the easy fix I discovered.

So the bike was all set up with camping gear and we headed out on the gorgeous route across Snowdonia and then onto the A5, where I stopped at Betws Y Coed for coffee and cake.

Lunch time saw me on the A41 in the Whitchurch area. I've always seen this old "greasy spoon" and wondered what it was like, so took the chance to call in. It was like an old greasy spoon, but OK food and good value.

I did like this sign on the wall though - kind of summed up where Dee and I have got to this year!

I rolled in to Stanford Hall in Leicestershire late afternoon after just over 180 miles and made my way around to the REOC area. They were having a joint meeting with the Taverners Founders Day weekend and we had our own dedicated area away from the masses.

I was surprised how busy it already was. All my preferred introvert friendly pitches around the edge of the field were taken so I had to squeeze into the middle. A couple of hours later, there was hardly any space left. I think there were 100 or so there altogether.

This view of bike and tent is getting very familiar to me now that I have fine tuned my camping set up!

In the evening, there was an interesting talk by a guy called Julian Amos, who had been a test rider for Triumph and then Royal Enfield. I chatted to him afterwards and it turned out that he had been a close work colleague of Rob's when he was a graduate at Triumph and had got Louis the job at Royal Enfield. Small world... 🙂 A beer and a read back at the tent and then I snuggled down into my sleeping bag.

On the Saturday morning, I stretched myself and did something new to me by going on the organised ride out. About 40 or 50 of us did a gentle 25 miles or so through the lanes up to Huggy's at Mallory Park, where there was a bit of a bike show on, including a big presence by the Vincent Owners Club. Coffee and the obligatory bacon barm ensued, while I watched a half decent bluesy band and browsed the bikes for an hour.

Interestingly, I ended up parked next to one of the new Emerald Chrome editions of the Classic. I've got to say that I much prefer the more restrained "Halcyon Green Chrome" version that I have come up with - the new one is a bit too sparkly for my taste!

I surprised myself by actually enjoying riding in a group and the "drop off" system wasn't nearly as scary as I imagined! I was surprised how many people didn't think to fuel up beforehand though, which caused a 15 or 20 minute traffic jam at the local petrol station while the majoritry waited  for the few. Grumpy old man time.

Back at the rally site, there was a little REOC show area that I browsed and was particularly taken with this lovely little Bullet 350 bobber, which had been very subtley modified in various ways. I loved the understated look of it, including black powder coated rims and hubs and what looked like maybe Honda or more modern RE front forks. 

It reminded me a bit of this gorgeous old Bullet that I rode at last year's rally. I feel I have something like this in me sometime in the future!

On the Saturday evening, I took the chance to catch up with Rob and Andy for tea at a pub half an hour or so away, which was a real bonus, then headed back to catch the band that had apparently been laid on. When I got back, everything was suspiciously quiet and it turned out that the hall organisers had barred the band from playing following complaints from neighbours about music a week previously! Never mind, an early night was good.

Sunday morning saw the masses arriving for the Founders Day event which was massive and I had an enjoyable couple of hours strolling around the bike displays and hundreds of autojumble stalls. I even managed to keep my wallet in my pocket!

I wandered back late morning and packed up my stuff before heading for home, calling in at Liz and Phil's for a tea on the way.

I arrived home at about 10.30 after another 185 miles, and it got properly cold for the last half hour 🥶. I only found out afterwards that someone very special had watched me come back to safety and then got back in her car without telling me before driving an hour and a half home....💖

As I am writing this, it's just been announced that there will be another International Rally in May next year, this time in Central France. I love the idea of taking the old Crusader on a big adventure like that. We shall see....

Yorkshire Dales / Pennines / Lake District - June/July 2026

Time for the annual road trip with long time riding buddy Paul. The plan this year was to base ourselves in a single location and do loops out from there each day, so we found some simple "pod" accommodation in Kirkby Lonsdale in the Yorkshire Dales.

Day 1 - 29 June 2026 - Home to Greasby to Kirkby Lonsdale (178 miles)

I rode across to Paul's, arriving mid-morning for coffee and then we set off on A roads up through Southport and Preston, arriving at Kirkby Lonsdale late afternoon. Once we were in our lodge, we headed into town for BBQ supplies and beer etc. Had a splendid feed and then wandered into town for a couple of beers.

 

Day 2 - 30 June 2026 - Yorkshire Dales loop from Kirkby Lonsdale (172 miles)

The first day's loop was a circuit around the Yorkshire Dales. Very beautiful countryside and quite remote. My favourite part was the "viaducts" section, and the spectacular Ribblehead Viaduct. We stopped for a late lunch at a lovely little old tea rooms just before there. Had to take a detour for the last part so ended up retracing our steps for the last 20 miles or so. 

 

Day 3 - 1 July 2026 - Pennines loop from Kirkby Lonsdale (174 miles)

The second loop was around the Pennines and this was my favourite. We started off the day almost immediately by going across some singletrack roads around the back of Sedbergh and came out on the lane running past my old school field centre LongRigg! What a blast from the past that was - it was probably 50 years since I was last there.

And then onto the wild Pennines proper. This was just great - very desolate and barely another vehicle in sight for most of it.

We ended up coming up Hartside - another blast from the past, as Paul and I first cycled up here about 25 years ago! There was a welcome cafe there then but apparently it burned down a few years ago and is now just a car park.

A cracking day's motorcycling. In the evening, we went into town for food and drink. I was trying to hunt down a hardware store that Dee had described as her "favourite ever store". Sadly, there had been a tragic fire there a couple of years ago at Xmas, which had killed the owner and shut down most of the town's High Street over Xmas.

Day 4 - 2 July 2026 - Lake District loop from Kirkby Lonsdale (182 miles)

The final loop was around the Lake District. This one just didn't do it for me. After the splendour and isolation of the previous two days we were in beautiful scenery but also engulfed by tourist traffic everytime we got anywhere near a town or village. We stopped in Grasmere for morning coffee and struggled to find a space for the two bikes, then got really poor service. The same thing happened at Buttermere for our lunch stop.

I just wasn't into it by then and was a bit concerned about doing the severe passes at Hardknott and Wrynose in a less than 100% frame of mind. I told Paul I wanted to take the easier coastal route back. He agreed and we had an easier but still enjoyable ride back. I love the Lakes but they can be a victim of their own success a lot of the time.

Day 5 - 3 July 2026 -  Kirkby Lonsdale to Parkgate (91 miles)

And so we headed for home. We arranged to meet Dee for lunch at Parkgate and had a great feed there. We could have spent the afternoon there happily chatting and drinking.

Day 6 - 5 July 2026 -  Neston to Home (81 miles)

I stopped at Dee's for a couple of nights and then headed back to Anglesey for an uneventful spin along the well travelled A55.

878 miles across 6 days on the bike altogether. The little Classic had to slog up some of the hills in a low gear but once again proved to be an admirable little tourer!