Some Autumn Sunshine

It had been over 2 months since Anna P’s triumphant return (!) from the Malpas Rally, after which I had given her a good clean and then tucked her away in the shed.

The weather hasn’t exactly encouraged me out recently but today was bright sunshine with no rain forecast, so I thought I would get her out for a short 30 minute spin across to Heswall to see my sister before she goes back to Australia.

I pulled her out of the shed (Anna, not Denise!); tickled the float bowl and she started second kick 😃. Well, I can’t really wish for better than that, can I?  

Togged up in a few layers to stave off the cold, I kept to the A roads rather than lanes, as many around us are still flooded and muddy from all the recent rain, and had a lovely ride there and back. The ride back in setting afternoon sun was considerably colder than on the way out. 

My nephew’s son was also there and I think I managed to recruit another one to the motorcycling brethren- he was very enthralled with the old beast!

Snowdonia 360

Ever since Paul had passed his test and got his bike, he'd been itching to do a camping tour. We've done loads of cycle camping over the years but this was new. It’s the Classic's turn to come out and play this weekend - I don't think Anna would have thanked me for having to chase down a 900 Kawasaki for three days!!

The plan was to do the Snowdonia 360 route. As it's name suggests, 360ish miles around North Wales, centred loosely around Snowdonia. We had to do another 45 miles or so out to our nearest point on the route in Conway, so it ended up as a planned 450 miles over 3 days, making a nice and manageable 150ish miles a day.

Day 1 saw 158 miles on the quiet roads along the North Wales coast and a circuit of Anglesey. The weather was great and the roads fairly undramatic, but with lots of glimpses of things to come tomorrow! We ended the day with a BBQ and beers on the campsite.

First stop for coffee and cakes in Conway

Campsite just outside Newborough on Anglesey

Day 2 saw 145 miles through Snowdonia; around the Llyn Peninsula and then down the coast to Barmouth, ending up in an idyllic camp setting on the coast near Tywyn. The Llanberris Pass was a real highlight for me - I've wanted to do that on a bike for a long time. Such spectacular and varied scenery.

Llanberris Pass

Aberdaron

It was nice to finally ride across the toll bridge at Penmaenpool. I've seen it a few times now travelling up and down the Mawwdach Estuary cycleway path to Barmouth and it's always felt like it wanted to pull me across and explore the other side! Well worth the extra 50p each it cost us!

Great riding and weather, though the rain started shortly after we arrived at Cae Du Campsite and got the tents up. When I took my boot off, I found a 2” long slug had hitched a lift from Anglesey in the toe - eurgh, it was swiftly evicted!

It was a very spectacular setting for the campsite though, ranging out along the coast and facing directly out to sea. In the right weather, this would be an amazing place to stay but we couldn't really make the most of it.

The rain stopped for a couple of hours during the evening which gave us time to ride down into the nearest village for a very average pub meal and then finish the evening with a beer overlooking the sea from the tents. Then the rain and wind set in so we retired to our shelters for the night.

Day 3 saw us complete a final 156 miles from Tywyn back to Chester, to make a total journey over the 3 days of just under 460 miles.

It was fairly windy and light rain when we woke, so we packed up and set off early, aiming to stop for an early coffee and breakfast stop. As it happened, being Sunday, we couldn't really find anywhere open until we reached Dolgellau, but were then rewarded with a splendid fry up and a couple of coffees.

The weather was a bit drizzly for the first hour or so but then fine for the rest of the day. We had more open, faster A roads today back up through central N Wales and you could really see Paul easing into his comfort zone after 3 days on the bike.

A feature of today was that the Wales-wide reduction of 30mph to 20mph limit kicked in. I can't say that I found it a great hindrance to go a bit slower through the villages to be honest, though there was lots of griping on the media about it, predictably.

As we were leaving Bala, we came across the sort of meat-heads that were complaining about their liberties being infringed by having to go at the speed limit. A convoy of about 20-30 hugely impressive (!) supercars, ranging from run of the mill Porsches up through Ferraris to McLarens etc was formed up on the road leaving Bala. About a mile after we passed them, we could see the convoy catching us in our rear view mirrors. We turned right shortly afterwards onto a small road up and across the moors and unfortunately that is exactly where they were headed for. It didn't take long for us to get swamped after a series of ridiculous overtakes. After I saw Paul nearly taken out by one of them I though "enough is enough" and pulled up onto the grass verge at the first chance. The whole thing was ridiculously dangerous - I saw at least three overtakes approaching blind right hand bends that could have been fatalaties if anyone had been coming the other way - I assume the locals know about it and avoid the road. Paul gamely saw it through and I caught up with him a few miles later. I suspect that I had a much more enjoyable journey across the moors than he did.

The rest of the journey was smooth and uneventful. We stopped off in Conwy for a final pot of tea and cake, stumbling on a Macmillan Coffee Morning event, so the cakes were enormous. We decided that, once we hit Mold, we'd take the main road (A55) home as the quiet route really took us through some industrial backwaters. It's one of those rare bits where the busier road is nicer than the quiet road. So before long I was waving goodbye as Paul peeled off for the Wirral and I headed back to Chester.

All in all, a great few days. We coudn't have wished for a better weather window and the Snowdonia 360 route is a real cracker - well worth doing.

I think that could be the last decent adventure of 2023 - but maybe not.

Malpas Rally

It was Anna’s turn to play out again last weekend. We’d applied to display at the Malpas Yesteryear Rally a few months ago and part of the deal was free camping so, even though it was only half an hour up the road, I opted to camp on the Saturday night to take in the full atmosphere.

But first I needed to give Anna her first post-rebuild service as the initial very easy running in miles are pretty much done now.

I spent a pleasant few hours doing an oil change and cleaning both filters; adjusting valves; checking cylinder head bolts; check primary drive chain etc and then had a general fettling session. I was pleased to see that when I put a strong magnet in the old oil, there were only a small amount of very fine metal particles attached to it, which I guess is what I’d hoped to see after the initial running in.

While the primary drive cover was off, I had a good look at the clutch again to try and get to the bottom of the clutch drag issues I’ve been having when she’s hot. I stripped all the plates off and just took the slightest amount of material off each of the friction plates - just enough to give a fresh cork face. Then I also gave the outermost pressure plate another clean up on the sander. When I reassembled everything, I put a couple of washers under each of the springs as they looked “spring bound” - i.e. most of the tension already taken up, which I’d been told might have also affected the performance. Anna was a delight to ride after that lot! The clutch has a really nice feel to it and the hot dragging has gone, so I can select neutral and first more easily at lights at last. 

Loaded up with camping gear again, we set off late afternoon and by 6 pm had established base camp for the night. I went for a wander to find a coffee (I’d forgotten to pack some 🙄) and familiarise myself with everything, then settled in to make some spaghetti and read a book in the sunset while I enjoyed a couple of beers and people / tractor watched! Just as I decided to head inside, a huge storm shower blew in - good timing.

The following morning  was bright and sunny and I was up early to move Anna onto the display area, before grabbing a coffee and bacon roll on the way back to the tent. (Unfortunately, I forgot the muesli as well as the coffee - oh dear, what a shame ...😁).

There was a really nice variety of bikes on show, including a multitude of various styles of Honda "monkey bikes", which seem to have become very collectable recently. I was really taken with this 1962 Heinkel Tourist scooter, which just oozed Sixties styling and had been beautifully restored.

The show is huge and covers a real array of vehicle types. I went for a mooch and realised that an ex-colleague Mark was also displaying at the show. His exhibit was somewhat more impressive - a proper old steam roller "Samson", together with his caravan.

Back down to earth with a bump, I returned to my much more modest effort and joined the parade around the display ring.

My mate Paul arrived during the morning and so we had a good catch up and stroll around. We both found a bit of a fascination for the stationary engines, including one running a cement mixer. As usual, we decided that restoring one would be great and we must do it. As usual, we have forgotten about it a week later 😂.

As the day drew to a close at around 4.30, there was a monumental downpour, which saw everyone head for shelter in the beer tent! By the time it had stopped, it was time to take the bike back up to the tent and pack up. 

A very pleasant adventure was capped off with a superb ride home. After getting past a queue of traffic held up by some of the slower exhibits, I had a clear run down the A41.

IoM Day 4

After last night's downpour, my final day dawned clear and sunny. I needed to pack all my stuff away and be on the outside of the circuit before roads closed at 12.30, ready for the afternoon practice session, and then to be at the ferry terminal in good time for the sailing at 4.15.

So I had a nice lazy morning, with a couple of coffee brews while the tent dried out in the sun and then a nice long chat with Roy, who had arrived yesterday on the other Crusader.

 

Pretty reluctantly, I packed everything away and loaded Anna up again, ready for the journey home.

We headed up to the TT Paddock and had another look around; a coffee and cake in the Manx GP Supporters Club tent and then I went and got a spec in the grandstand to watch the 2 practice sessions from there.

In between the 2 sessions, I wandered down to the paddock and saw this beautifully prepared Enfield 500 Classic Senior bike being pushed into scrutineering. I hadn't seen any Royal Enfields in the programme and it turned out to be a late entry, being ridden by Adam McLean, who went on to get a great 5th position in the race on Saturday.

And then all too soon, I had to head off back down to the ferry terminal for the journey home.

The crossing was very much smoother than on the way out! Anna behaved impeccably on the journey home, in fact felt super smooth (relatively!) keeping up with the traffic on the journey through the Birkenhead Tunnel and home down the A41. As we got home her trip meter ticked onto 377 miles, so our adventure had added another 220 miles of running in. 

There are definitely some bits to attend to now - a good service and torque the head back down; adjust the pushrods after bedding in and seal the valve cover properly - hopefully that lot will sort out the oil weeping from the top end. And then I've noticed that the steering head stem has slackened off a bit, which was causing the front end to shudder under heavy braking - not nice! I also want to have a look at the front brake - I think I need to get the brake shoes relined with a more modern compound and may even need to get the brake drum skimmed, as the braking performance from the front is a bit iffy to say the least.

All in all though, I'm super pleased that we got this adventure under our belts with no big dramas and look forward to our next one once she's had some TLC. 

Postscript: I had a message from Roy on the day after I arrived back to say that his bike had blown a hole in the piston on the way up the mountain. He wasn't sure if it was running too lean or if he'd overdone the mix in his "special" fuel concoction. I'm still not sure if he was joking or not....

IoM Day 3

I needed to check-in for marshalling at 12 today - an extra “contingency” session had been added to make up for the Monday evening cancellation and red flag last night.

But I had time in hand to do another lap of the circuit, this time in beautiful sunny conditions. The Crusader was running beautifully but the climb up the mountain was relentless and I was in 3rd gear for a lot of it to prevent the engine flogging up in 4th. So the sight of the Victory cafe at the top was welcome to give her a break. 

Before I had my helmet off and ear plugs out, I was accosted by a madly enthusiastic guy whose first motorbike in the late 70s had been a Crusader. He kept me chatting for ages, which was very nice but meant I didn’t have time for my planned coffee and cake! 

Setting off for the final small climb before the long descent back to Douglas, she felt in her element - she actually seems to respond pretty well to a gentle thrashing 😳. What Rob would call “an Italian decoke” 🙂 I particularly loved the gentle popping on the over-run as we came down the long incline to the Creg-ny-Baa Hotel, where a policeman with radar gun awaited us!

I signed on for the afternoon session and was at Transmann again, this time with a lovely guy from the Lake District called Alan. What an interesting life he had lead, including spells as a welder, shipwright, Army reservist, mayor (twice!) and theatre nurse. 

The session ran in perfect conditions until the last 5 minutes when there was just a very slight hint of rain. By the time we had packed up and I was walking back to the campsite, it was full blown rain and the evening session had been cancelled. I can’t say I was disappointed, as I was pretty knackered by then!

As I arrived back, a group were arriving from Galway, including a well used motor home, which subsequently disgorged 2 motorbikes from within(!!), one of which was a '61 Crusader. Roy, the owner, and I spent lots of time over the next couple of days comparing notes on our restorations. He had done a video blog of his, which is way over my head! Watch it here.

I particularly liked his tool store that he'd made out of an old crash helmet, to go on his rack!

With the evening session cancelled, after cooking some tea I headed for a big walk into Douglas and along the prom, returning after dark. Then settled down in the warm evening with a beer to read a book.

IoM Day 2

I did something a bit different from my previous visits to the Island today and decided to do a gentle bimble around the Island keeping pretty much as close to the coast as I could, so that I was mainly on quiet lanes and B roads. Basically, I started at the ferry terminal at Douglas and kept the sea over my left shoulder.

Very soon I was on country lanes heading out towards Castletown.

I took a break at Port St Mary to let Anna cool down. I have to keep reminding myself that I’m still running the engine in, but she’s in her element on these lanes.

Next stop Peel harbour and a delicious early lunch of locally caught Queenies (small scallops) and bacon roll. Lots of other bikes were gathered at the harbour including a group of 4 or 5 riding MZs. Considered as very ugly ducklings when new but kind of cool now!

I realised shortly after leaving Peel that my phone battery needed charging so I stopped off at the Motor Museum at Jurby so I could charge it while I walked. A very interesting and quite eclectic collection of cars, bikes and general paraphernalia! I particularly liked this Charabanc - always seems to evoke a spirit of a “grand day out”!

From Jurby it was a fairly short hop up to Point of Ayre, the most northerly point on the island. I think the fog horn and lighthouse look great here - so forlorn that you can just imagine them belting out a wailing noise in a thick fog!

And then I followed a well trodden path back down the eastern side of the island, taking the coast road from Ramsey to Douglas, but with some diversions off down the tiny lanes hugging the coast. As we got towards Laxey, I was feeling sorry for poor Anna, who’d dealt with some very steep hills on that stretch, so I took the main road back.  But this is still a very picturesque route as it runs parallel to and criss-crosses the Electric Tramway down onto Douglas prom. 

All told we did about 85 miles and it was such a lovely journey - perfect for this kind of bike. 

I got back in time to stroll up to the gathering point for my marshalling sector, at Braddan Church and spent a couple of hours at TransMann on the exit from Braddan. It was all fairly uneventful for us, though sadly the second session was red flagged not far into it and no further practice took place. It was announced the following day that one of the riders, Ian Bainbridge, had died following an accident at Kirk Michael. 

It always makes me doubt why I support road racing when there is a fatality. I don’t even particularly get much from the racing itself per se; it’s the atmosphere of lots of bikes and passionate motorcyclists on such wonderful roads that I like.