SteveH

Got up early, left at 8am and went up for a run round the Elan valley.

Got home after having done 160 miles about half an hour ago.

Reminded me why I still have a bike. It doesn't get used as much as it
should, but on days like this I'm glad I've kept it.

--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

SD

On Sun, 8 Jul 2007 12:20:29 +0100, steve@italiancar.co.uk (SteveH)
wrote:

>Got up early, left at 8am and went up for a run round the Elan valley.
>
>Got home after having done 160 miles about half an hour ago.

I had a nice little run yesterday. Left at 7am, got home at ten to
midnight.
>
>Reminded me why I still have a bike. It doesn't get used as much as it
>should, but on days like this I'm glad I've kept it.

Oh, yes.
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SEV/CBR1100XXX/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..90668../..24701.../..31928.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 WG*
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 PM#5
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 YTC#4 two#11
'^' RBR Clues: 26 Pts:0500 Miles:1739

christofire

SteveH wrote:

> Got up early, left at 8am and went up for a run round the Elan valley.
>
> Got home after having done 160 miles about half an hour ago.

<cue shouts of "40mph average? Wuss!">

> Reminded me why I still have a bike. It doesn't get used as much as it
> should, but on days like this I'm glad I've kept it.

The 10R reminded me why I like riding bikes.

Although I loved the sound of the daytona, it didn't quite click with
me. In hindsight, the biggest clue is the aimless ride. It's the Sunday
trip out to nowhere in particular or the evening bimble, the whole
purpose is to ride the bike. After a while of owning the daytona the
aimless rides got shorter and shorter, until I didn't go out on it
unless I had a purpose to.

All that's changed back now. I had wondered why I still had the bike
when I was using it so little. I'm so glad that I swapped it, instead
of getting rid of it.

--
Christofire DIAABTCOD#1 DS#9 ZX-10R
www.liveforspeed.net

Champ

On Sun, 8 Jul 2007 13:50:10 +0000 (UTC), "christofire"
<chris@ukrm.org> wrote:

>The 10R reminded me why I like riding bikes.
>
>Although I loved the sound of the daytona, it didn't quite click with
>me. In hindsight, the biggest clue is the aimless ride. It's the Sunday
>trip out to nowhere in particular or the evening bimble, the whole
>purpose is to ride the bike. After a while of owning the daytona the
>aimless rides got shorter and shorter, until I didn't go out on it
>unless I had a purpose to.

Actually, I've never been good at "aimless rides". No matter how nice
a day it is, and how much I want to ride the bike, I still need there
to be a 'reason' to go out. The reason can be as flimsy as you like,
but a destination is required.
--
Champ

ZX10R | GPz750turbo | GSX-R 600 racer
My advice as your attorney is to buy a motorcycle
To email me, neal at my domain should work.

Steve Fitzgerald

In message <1i0xm7w.1sjqazv1yg74v1N%steve@italiancar.co.uk> , SteveH
<steve@italiancar.co.uk> writes
>Got up early, left at 8am and went up for a run round the Elan valley.
>
>Got home after having done 160 miles about half an hour ago.
>
>Reminded me why I still have a bike. It doesn't get used as much as it
>should, but on days like this I'm glad I've kept it.

Just got back from Blackpool (visiting parents as the first adventure in
my current annual leave). I got pissed wet through getting there on
Saturday night (well, Sunday morning really as I left Lodnod around 0100
and arrived there at 0430) and hit 'showers' most of the way home -
stair rods might have been a better description - so arrived home wet,
cold and miserable.

Somebody remind me why I don't run a car again?
--
Steve Fitzgerald has now left the building.
You will find him in London's Docklands, E16, UK
(please use the reply to address for email)

christofire

Champ wrote:

> On Sun, 8 Jul 2007 13:50:10 +0000 (UTC), "christofire"
> <chris@ukrm.org> wrote:
>
> > The 10R reminded me why I like riding bikes.
> >
> > Although I loved the sound of the daytona, it didn't quite click
> > with me. In hindsight, the biggest clue is the aimless ride. It's
> > the Sunday trip out to nowhere in particular or the evening bimble,
> > the whole purpose is to ride the bike. After a while of owning the
> > daytona the aimless rides got shorter and shorter, until I didn't
> > go out on it unless I had a purpose to.
>
> Actually, I've never been good at "aimless rides". No matter how nice
> a day it is, and how much I want to ride the bike, I still need there
> to be a 'reason' to go out. The reason can be as flimsy as you like,
> but a destination is required.

On an aimless ride I'll set a general direction, then make decisions as
I get to certain junctions. There might be a destination, such as rivvy
barn, but the route to get there will be what takes my fancy.

I was finding with the daytona, at the low point, that I'd get about 10
miles out and then find myself turning back thinking there was other
stuff I could be doing.

--
Christofire DIAABTCOD#1 DS#9 ZX-10R
www.liveforspeed.net

steve auvache

In article <10r1931q9t0n7ii1vqeaq472qupfckhagc@4ax.com>, Champ
<news@champ.org.uk> writes
>On Sun, 8 Jul 2007 13:50:10 +0000 (UTC), "christofire"
><chris@ukrm.org> wrote:
>
>>The 10R reminded me why I like riding bikes.
>>
>>Although I loved the sound of the daytona, it didn't quite click with
>>me. In hindsight, the biggest clue is the aimless ride. It's the Sunday
>>trip out to nowhere in particular or the evening bimble, the whole
>>purpose is to ride the bike. After a while of owning the daytona the
>>aimless rides got shorter and shorter, until I didn't go out on it
>>unless I had a purpose to.
>
>Actually, I've never been good at "aimless rides". No matter how nice
>a day it is, and how much I want to ride the bike, I still need there
>to be a 'reason' to go out. The reason can be as flimsy as you like,
>but a destination is required.

Agree stongly.

--
steve auvache
A Bloo one with built in safety features

Eiron

Nige wrote:
>...went to
> get the blade out yesterday & it had a puncture, luckily it hadn't
> toppled over due to some wood in the shed that the back wheel caught
> against!

You mean that your Honda falls off its sidestand if it gets a flat tyre?

--
Eiron.

Nige

Eiron wrote:
> Nige wrote:
>> ...went to
>> get the blade out yesterday & it had a puncture, luckily it hadn't
>> toppled over due to some wood in the shed that the back wheel caught
>> against!
>
> You mean that your Honda falls off its sidestand if it gets a flat
> tyre?

Have you seen how upright the stand is? It's never had one before, but
looks a bit hairy to be honest. The weight of the bike was on the wood,
so possibly so.

--
'That is one bad hat Harry'

Nige

Land Rover Discovery II (2001)
Honda CBR900RR Fireblade (1997)
Yamaha MT-03 (2006)

Kiran

christofire wrote:
> SteveH wrote:

> <cue shouts of "40mph average? Wuss!">

Heh, I did a run this morning, out of London, up to Aylesbury, did a 'FOT,
back up to Marlow and then home. 2 hrs 10 mins, and 127 miles. [1]

> The 10R reminded me why I like riding bikes.

>
> All that's changed back now. I had wondered why I still had the bike
> when I was using it so little. I'm so glad that I swapped it, instead
> of getting rid of it.

That's precisely how I felt with the Blackbird. I'm glad I got the GSXR.

[1] Although I did notice on the way back that the roads seemed a lot
bumpier, or rather, my mirros and fairing seemed to be feeling the bumps. A
quic check back home revealed that the lower fairing brace/headstock bolt
was missing, and the top one was just about to fall out.

--
Kiran D.Bot (Celeritas)
GSXR1000 K3
BOTAFOT#19; IBW#14; BOTAFOF#20; MRO#18

Pip Luscher

On Sun, 08 Jul 2007 14:53:04 +0100, Champ <news@champ.org.uk> wrote:

>Actually, I've never been good at "aimless rides". No matter how nice
>a day it is, and how much I want to ride the bike, I still need there
>to be a 'reason' to go out. The reason can be as flimsy as you like,
>but a destination is required.

I'm pretty much the same, though I'm still immature enough to go for
the odd short blast to the nearest roundabout if I think the
traffic'll be light enough.

--
-Pip

SteveH

christofire <chris@ukrm.org> wrote:

> SteveH wrote:
>
> > Got up early, left at 8am and went up for a run round the Elan valley.
> >
> > Got home after having done 160 miles about half an hour ago.
>
> <cue shouts of "40mph average? Wuss!">

Heh. Even 40mph was too quick in places - fecking sheep asleep in the
middle of the road.

> > Reminded me why I still have a bike. It doesn't get used as much as it
> > should, but on days like this I'm glad I've kept it.
>
> The 10R reminded me why I like riding bikes.
>
> Although I loved the sound of the daytona, it didn't quite click with
> me. In hindsight, the biggest clue is the aimless ride. It's the Sunday
> trip out to nowhere in particular or the evening bimble, the whole
> purpose is to ride the bike. After a while of owning the daytona the
> aimless rides got shorter and shorter, until I didn't go out on it
> unless I had a purpose to.
>
> All that's changed back now. I had wondered why I still had the bike
> when I was using it so little. I'm so glad that I swapped it, instead
> of getting rid of it.

Hmmmm, I think I've been going through that.

I've owned the VFR for longer than I've ever owned any other bike and
done around 15k miles on it now - mileage has been dropping yearly.

Maybe I need a change, but I can't think of what I'd change it for.
--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

deadmail@burnt.org.uk

steve@italiancar.co.uk (SteveH) wrote in message
<1i0y0tf.x9sy5r1w400vyN%steve@italiancar.co.uk>:

>Maybe I need a change, but I can't think of what I'd change it for.

A harley.

Or a nice little mini.
--
K75RT, K1100LT, ZXR750H1, 5TA.

I know I aint doing much,
doing nothing means a lot to me.

The Older Gentleman

SteveH <steve@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:

> I'd quite like an XJR1300, though.

I enjoyed riding Bruce's, but I wouldn't buy one.


--
BMW K1100LT 750SS CB400F CD250 SL125
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3
BOF#30 WUSS#5 The bells, the bells.....

SteveH

The Older Gentleman <chateau.murray.takethisout@dsl.pipex.com> wrote:

> SteveH <steve@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > I'd quite like an XJR1300, though.
>
> I enjoyed riding Bruce's, but I wouldn't buy one.

I think what I really want is a 750SS - same shape as yours, ideally,
but I don't mind the later ones.

Cost of maintenance and the cost to change could be an issue, though.
--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

Ace

On Sun, 08 Jul 2007 14:53:04 +0100, Champ <news@champ.org.uk> wrote:

>Actually, I've never been good at "aimless rides". No matter how nice
>a day it is, and how much I want to ride the bike, I still need there
>to be a 'reason' to go out. The reason can be as flimsy as you like,
>but a destination is required.

How strange. I've always been quite the opposite - the feeling of just
getting on the bike and heading off in whatever direction felt right
was always an integral part of the attraction for me.

And this was always especially so on a Sunday morning, when I could
just take all day to go nowhere in particular.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ DS#8
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

The Older Gentleman

SteveH <steve@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:

> Cost of maintenance and the cost to change could be an issue, though.

Hardly. Cheap to run and maintain, IMHO, and you can get a damn good one
for £1500-1700.


--
BMW K1100LT 750SS CB400F CD250 SL125
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3
BOF#30 WUSS#5 The bells, the bells.....

A.Lee

SteveH <steve@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:

> The Older Gentleman <chateau.murray.takethisout@dsl.pipex.com> wrote:
>
> > SteveH <steve@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> > > Cost of maintenance and the cost to change could be an issue, though.
> >
> > Hardly. Cheap to run and maintain, IMHO, and you can get a damn good one
> > for £1500-1700.
>
> Hmmmm. Thought I'd have to pay a fair bit more to get a nice one. But I
> haven't looked at used bikes for ages now.
>
> I think the cambelts are what scare me the most - however, I suppose
> it's easier than doing them on a car, and I have no issues with that.

I was thinking of selling mine (1997 750SS) a few months ago, but was a
little perturbed when viewing the finished prices on ebay for similar
bikes - £1100 was the lowest I saw, I was expecting £1700, but doubt I'd
get that for it now, though I've changed my mind and am keeping it, now
that the starting problem has finally been solved.
As for cambelts, it just isnt an issue. the parts are around £30 iirc,
next day delivery from 3Cross. The first time you do it, it takes less
than 2 hours. The second, it can be done in half an hour, it really is
simple, with easy access to the engine side cases.
Ducati dealers charge £350 upwards for it, I just cannot see how they
justify such an amount for a quick job like that.
And yes, they are a lovely bike. So lightweight, flickable, stable, but
they havent got the engine grunt/power of inline fours, which can be a
problem for some, it doesnt bother me as I'm no longer a lunatic on the
bike (well, mostly not).
Alan.


--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.

SteveH

SteveH <steve@italiancar.co.uk> wrote:

> Got up early, left at 8am and went up for a run round the Elan valley.
>
> Got home after having done 160 miles about half an hour ago.
>
> Reminded me why I still have a bike. It doesn't get used as much as it
> should, but on days like this I'm glad I've kept it.

Took a few quick snapshots whilst I was out:

http://www.italiancar.co.uk/Elan_Valley

Rode for miles without seeing any other traffic.

--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - Hongdou GY200 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 TSpark - B6 Passat 2.0TDI SE - COSOC KOTL
BOTAFOT #87 - BOTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

eric the brave

Ace wrote:
> On Sun, 08 Jul 2007 14:53:04 +0100, Champ <news@champ.org.uk> wrote:
>
>> Actually, I've never been good at "aimless rides". No matter how nice
>> a day it is, and how much I want to ride the bike, I still need there
>> to be a 'reason' to go out. The reason can be as flimsy as you like,
>> but a destination is required.
>
> How strange. I've always been quite the opposite - the feeling of just
> getting on the bike and heading off in whatever direction felt right
> was always an integral part of the attraction for me.
>
> And this was always especially so on a Sunday morning, when I could
> just take all day to go nowhere in particular.

I would say you where searching out some nice bends. That's what I tend
to do.


--
--
ZX10R in the correct colour.
Triumph Sprint ST for long two up touring.
http://sportstourer.org

The Older Gentleman

A.Lee <alan@darkroom.+.com> wrote:

> Ducati dealers charge £350 upwards for it,

Mine doesn't!


--
BMW K1100LT 750SS CB400F CD250 SL125
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3
BOF#30 WUSS#5 The bells, the bells.....

CT

Champ wrote:
> Actually, I've never been good at "aimless rides". No matter how nice
> a day it is, and how much I want to ride the bike, I still need there
> to be a 'reason' to go out. The reason can be as flimsy as you like,
> but a destination is required.

Agreed.

Now that I commute pretty regularly on the bike, the aimless weekend
rides are fewer and farther between.

The downside to the commuting is that the majority of my rides now are
in pretty heavy traffic, so every so often a longer & more scenic route
to/from work is called for.

--
Chris

darsy

On Jul 8, 6:19 pm, Ace <see...@virgin.net> wrote:
> On Sun, 08 Jul 2007 14:53:04 +0100, Champ <n...@champ.org.uk> wrote:
> >Actually, I've never been good at "aimless rides". No matter how nice
> >a day it is, and how much I want to ride the bike, I still need there
> >to be a 'reason' to go out. The reason can be as flimsy as you like,
> >but a destination is required.
>
> How strange. I've always been quite the opposite - the feeling of just
> getting on the bike and heading off in whatever direction felt right
> was always an integral part of the attraction for me.

*ding*

unless Champ would count as a "flimsy excuse" that there are several
roads that I know well and enjoy riding on[1], within a few minutes of
my house.

[1] without there necessarily being anything at the end of them[2]
[2] I can think of several roads that I'll ride one way, and then turn
around and come back on.

--
d.

Champ

On Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:05:28 -0000, darsy <darsyx@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Jul 8, 6:19 pm, Ace <see...@virgin.net> wrote:
>> On Sun, 08 Jul 2007 14:53:04 +0100, Champ <n...@champ.org.uk> wrote:
>> >Actually, I've never been good at "aimless rides". No matter how nice
>> >a day it is, and how much I want to ride the bike, I still need there
>> >to be a 'reason' to go out. The reason can be as flimsy as you like,
>> >but a destination is required.
>>
>> How strange. I've always been quite the opposite - the feeling of just
>> getting on the bike and heading off in whatever direction felt right
>> was always an integral part of the attraction for me.
>
>*ding*
>
>unless Champ would count as a "flimsy excuse" that there are several
>roads that I know well and enjoy riding on[1], within a few minutes of
>my house.

No. I 'need' a destination.
--
Champ
ZX10R
GPz750turbo
neal at champ dot org dot uk

darsy

On Jul 9, 11:07 am, Champ <n...@champ.org.uk> wrote:
> On Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:05:28 -0000, darsy <dar...@gmail.com> wrote:

> >unless Champ would count as a "flimsy excuse" that there are several
> >roads that I know well and enjoy riding on[1], within a few minutes of
> >my house.
>
> No. I 'need' a destination.

hmm. Well, on the BOTAFOF run, the destination is usually High Beach,
but the route is rarely the same i.e. we don't run "from South Mimms
to High Beach" in anything like an efficient way.

--
d.

Ace

On Mon, 09 Jul 2007 11:07:31 +0100, Champ <news@champ.org.uk> wrote:

>On Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:05:28 -0000, darsy <darsyx@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>On Jul 8, 6:19 pm, Ace <see...@virgin.net> wrote:
>>> On Sun, 08 Jul 2007 14:53:04 +0100, Champ <n...@champ.org.uk> wrote:
>>> >Actually, I've never been good at "aimless rides". No matter how nice
>>> >a day it is, and how much I want to ride the bike, I still need there
>>> >to be a 'reason' to go out. The reason can be as flimsy as you like,
>>> >but a destination is required.
>>>
>>> How strange. I've always been quite the opposite - the feeling of just
>>> getting on the bike and heading off in whatever direction felt right
>>> was always an integral part of the attraction for me.
>>
>>*ding*
>>
>>unless Champ would count as a "flimsy excuse" that there are several
>>roads that I know well and enjoy riding on[1], within a few minutes of
>>my house.
>
>No. I 'need' a destination.

It certainly adds something to a ride, particularly in company, given
that the sooner you arrive, the sooner the beers can be started, but
I've always also hugely enjoyed solo riding, even touring, for the
very reason of having no deadlines, no destinations, no distractions.
It's one the areas in which I liken biking to skiing, which is also
why I'm surprised to learn of your odd[1] views on this.

[1] To my mind, that is.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ DS#8
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

M J Carley

In the referenced article, steve@italiancar.co.uk (SteveH) writes:
>Got up early, left at 8am and went up for a run round the Elan valley.
>
>Got home after having done 160 miles about half an hour ago.
>
>Reminded me why I still have a bike. It doesn't get used as much as it
>should, but on days like this I'm glad I've kept it.

On Saturday morning, I went down the road to the Black Forest with six
Germans. I discovered that I'm not quite as bad a rider as I thought I
might be but (a) I have a lot to learn about twisty roads and (b) I
don't think a Pan is quite the thing for the conditions.
--
Differenza fra il rivoluzionaro e il cialtrone. Il rivoluzionario
rompe l'orologio e invece di presentarsi alle nove si presenta alle
nove meno cinque. Il cialtrone rompe l'orologio e si alza alle undici.
Home page: http://people.bath.ac.uk/ensmjc/

Switters

On Sun, 08 Jul 2007 16:32:20 GMT, Pip Luscher
<pips.computer@spammers.foad.ntlworld.co.uk> allegedly wrote:

> I'm pretty much the same, though I'm still immature enough to go for
> the odd short blast to the nearest roundabout if I think the
> traffic'll be light enough.

Is this to GYKD? Don't they have proper bends round your way?

Champ

On Mon, 09 Jul 2007 12:15:27 +0200, Ace <seesig@virgin.net> wrote:

>>>> >Actually, I've never been good at "aimless rides". No matter how nice
>>>> >a day it is, and how much I want to ride the bike, I still need there
>>>> >to be a 'reason' to go out. The reason can be as flimsy as you like,
>>>> >but a destination is required.
>>>>
>>>> How strange. I've always been quite the opposite - the feeling of just
>>>> getting on the bike and heading off in whatever direction felt right
>>>> was always an integral part of the attraction for me.

>>>unless Champ would count as a "flimsy excuse" that there are several
>>>roads that I know well and enjoy riding on[1], within a few minutes of
>>>my house.
>>
>>No. I 'need' a destination.
>
>It certainly adds something to a ride, particularly in company, given
>that the sooner you arrive, the sooner the beers can be started, but
>I've always also hugely enjoyed solo riding, even touring, for the
>very reason of having no deadlines, no destinations, no distractions.
>It's one the areas in which I liken biking to skiing, which is also
>why I'm surprised to learn of your odd[1] views on this.

Oh, the route doesn't matter at all, and I too like solo riding a lot.
But for some reason I need an end point.
--
Champ
ZX10R
GPz750turbo
neal at champ dot org dot uk

Pete Fisher

In communiqué <276493h6gncie5cj65276iacsodlgn80kp@4ax.com>, Champ
<news@champ.org.uk> cast forth these pearls of wisdom
>
>Oh, the route doesn't matter at all, and I too like solo riding a lot.
>But for some reason I need an end point.

The only time I can do truly aimless riding is if running-in a new or
rebuilt bike. Even then I prefer to have a destination in mind for a
reasonable length stop if the run is more than a trivial distance. The
route to and from may be circuitous and be changed/extended as the
journey progresses, but I have to have a destination in mind.


--

+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: Peter@ps-fisher.demon.co.uk |
| Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest Yamaha WR250Z |
| Gilera GFR Moto Morini 2C/375 |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+

CT

Pete Fisher wrote:

> The only time I can do truly aimless riding is if running-in a new or
> rebuilt bike. Even then I prefer to have a destination in mind for a
> reasonable length stop if the run is more than a trivial distance.
> The route to and from may be circuitous and be changed/extended as
> the journey progresses, but I have to have a destination in mind.

When I was running in the Sprint ST I managed 700 miles in 6 days.

Apart from three days of commuting (35 miles round trip normally) the
route was always from home to home.

--
Chris

Andy Bonwick

On Mon, 09 Jul 2007 11:07:31 +0100, Champ <news@champ.org.uk> wrote:

>On Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:05:28 -0000, darsy <darsyx@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>On Jul 8, 6:19 pm, Ace <see...@virgin.net> wrote:
>>> On Sun, 08 Jul 2007 14:53:04 +0100, Champ <n...@champ.org.uk> wrote:
>>> >Actually, I've never been good at "aimless rides". No matter how nice
>>> >a day it is, and how much I want to ride the bike, I still need there
>>> >to be a 'reason' to go out. The reason can be as flimsy as you like,
>>> >but a destination is required.
>>>
>>> How strange. I've always been quite the opposite - the feeling of just
>>> getting on the bike and heading off in whatever direction felt right
>>> was always an integral part of the attraction for me.
>>
>>*ding*
>>
>>unless Champ would count as a "flimsy excuse" that there are several
>>roads that I know well and enjoy riding on[1], within a few minutes of
>>my house.
>
>No. I 'need' a destination.

Any pub will do as a destination. You don't even have to know it's
there until you see it.

I like just heading off in a general direction and looning around for
an hour or two. Admittedly I'm hardly at home to do this at the moment
and the only time I get to do any miles on the bike is when we go away
for a weekend.

Pip Luscher

On Mon, 9 Jul 2007 10:35:25 +0000 (UTC), Switters <me@privacy.net>
wrote:

>On Sun, 08 Jul 2007 16:32:20 GMT, Pip Luscher
><pips.computer@spammers.foad.ntlworld.co.uk> allegedly wrote:
>
>> I'm pretty much the same, though I'm still immature enough to go for
>> the odd short blast to the nearest roundabout if I think the
>> traffic'll be light enough.
>
>Is this to GYKD? Don't they have proper bends round your way?

In a word, no. If I'm prepared to ride quite a few miles of
arrow-straight roads then possibly, but I get the distinct impression
that the Romans had a lot to do with the original road layouts round
here. It's ideal Harley country.

Also, to be fair, I'm not very good at it and can only do so when I'm
feeling really confident, which means wide clear curves with excellent
visibility.

--
-Pip