Don`t get too excited......the 27 year old is one of my bikes !
But there again....you may get excited at the sound of me,a confirmed Urallist and sidecar nut,going out on a solo bike for a change.
Before you get really,really excited...nope,I didn`t fall off or drop it because I forgot to put my foot down.
I will admit to forgetting to raise the sidestand a couple of times though,heh heh.
Anyway....the MOT had expired on my 1981 'Plain Jane' GL1100 GoldWing so I booked a test appointment for 11am.
Sheesh....the air was cold when I got the bike out.
I think she`s quite a looker overall....a few rough edges but they kind of add to the appeal.
27 years old and with a shockingly low 26,000 miles when I bought her last year.
I`ve put just over 5,000 miles on her up to now,including a 3,000 mile fortnight around France.
I`ve other bikes to use remember,so she doesn`t get used every day...or even every week...but it`s always very enjoyable to wheel her out and go for a ride.
I did a last minute lights/brakes/bearings check then a quick 'well being' overall check....I`d had a slight leak from the radiator top hose last week,which I`d repaired but wanted to ensure it wasn`t weeping again.
No weeps or other malaise so let`s fire her up and get riding!
That`s not smoke from the pipes,it just shows how cold the air was this morning.
With no MOT I can only legally ride direct to a pre booked MOT test but there`s nothing to say I can`t go the picturesque direct way is there?
I know...a slight stretching of the rules when stopping to take photos en route,but I was still heading to the test centre while riding through Port Sunlight.
I`ve shown some of this before,a 'model village' created by Lord Leverhulme for his workers employed in his Sunlight Soap Works but even though I live very close to it I always find it a pleasure to look at.
This archway shows the direct line along the centre of the village from his works,with a War Monument in the distant middle and the Lady Leverhulme Art Gallery constructed for his wife at the extreme distance.
The War Monument.
Not many houses are the same,as many are built in the mirror image of the ones adjacent but they`re all eye candy to me.
Ok,the Wing flew through the MOT.
Test pass certificate in sweaty hand it seemed a shame to take the direct route home,so off we went for a bit of a cruise.
Actually it was less a case of sweaty hand and more a case of frozen hand glad to be shoved back inside Hein Gericke Pathan glove and wrapped around Oxford Heated Grip on full heat,but it doesn`t quite sound the same,does it ?
I rode along to New Brighton.
This is on the North coast of the Wirral and was getting the cold wind straight off the Irish Sea.
A bit too cold for clowning around,methinks.
Fort Perch Rock....built to defend the Mersey Estuary from foreign invaders using the Rock Channel around the North East tip of the Wirral.
Never fired its guns in anger...just as well really as the lighthouse built some years after the Fort was directly in line with the main gun battery!
There`s a military museum in the Fort nowadays.
Hmm...looking at that photo again,I`d better watch my fuel levels....can`t be far off going onto reserve.
Onwards from here and a short loop of the Wirral Peninsula beckoned.
This lake looked nice and still.
No wonder it looked so still.....it was a sheet of ice !!
Maybe that`s why my hands are STILL a bit cool even with my heated grips on full reheat mode!
There`s a fabulous looking tree on a big hill at West Kirby which has always impressed me with its size and shape......today I thought it about time I took a photo of it.
A few miles of nice sweeping bends and I turned off my homewards route to detour into Caldy Village.....I thought some of you guys might like to see it.
It`s very expensive property even on the outer fringes,but when you get into the heart of the village I shudder to think of the property values.
Costs nothing to look at it though,so here`s some photos.....
I just love the look of all that sandstone...even on a bitterly cold morning like this,it still looks warm.
Let`s ride around that corner...
Beautiful buildings at every bend....
Even on a solo bike it`s a bit tricky finding a safe spot to stop and take a photo though.
Beautiful buildings and beautiful old buildings.....
Check out the plate above the door to see just how old the one in the last photo was.....
Talking of old,this road sign is probably collectible nowadays.
Heh heh,maybe I should come back tonight with some spanners....
Just a couple of country miles to do then we`re back home.
That`s it...back home for a hot tomato pepper soup with warm fresh baguette and proper butter.
45 miles riding for an MOT test that was 3 miles from home.
Don`t think any car drivers would do that...it`s a biker thing,I reckon.
Hope you liked reading about it.
But there again....you may get excited at the sound of me,a confirmed Urallist and sidecar nut,going out on a solo bike for a change.
Before you get really,really excited...nope,I didn`t fall off or drop it because I forgot to put my foot down.
I will admit to forgetting to raise the sidestand a couple of times though,heh heh.
Anyway....the MOT had expired on my 1981 'Plain Jane' GL1100 GoldWing so I booked a test appointment for 11am.
Sheesh....the air was cold when I got the bike out.
I think she`s quite a looker overall....a few rough edges but they kind of add to the appeal.
27 years old and with a shockingly low 26,000 miles when I bought her last year.
I`ve put just over 5,000 miles on her up to now,including a 3,000 mile fortnight around France.
I`ve other bikes to use remember,so she doesn`t get used every day...or even every week...but it`s always very enjoyable to wheel her out and go for a ride.
I did a last minute lights/brakes/bearings check then a quick 'well being' overall check....I`d had a slight leak from the radiator top hose last week,which I`d repaired but wanted to ensure it wasn`t weeping again.
No weeps or other malaise so let`s fire her up and get riding!
That`s not smoke from the pipes,it just shows how cold the air was this morning.
With no MOT I can only legally ride direct to a pre booked MOT test but there`s nothing to say I can`t go the picturesque direct way is there?
I know...a slight stretching of the rules when stopping to take photos en route,but I was still heading to the test centre while riding through Port Sunlight.
I`ve shown some of this before,a 'model village' created by Lord Leverhulme for his workers employed in his Sunlight Soap Works but even though I live very close to it I always find it a pleasure to look at.
This archway shows the direct line along the centre of the village from his works,with a War Monument in the distant middle and the Lady Leverhulme Art Gallery constructed for his wife at the extreme distance.
The War Monument.
Not many houses are the same,as many are built in the mirror image of the ones adjacent but they`re all eye candy to me.
Ok,the Wing flew through the MOT.
Test pass certificate in sweaty hand it seemed a shame to take the direct route home,so off we went for a bit of a cruise.
Actually it was less a case of sweaty hand and more a case of frozen hand glad to be shoved back inside Hein Gericke Pathan glove and wrapped around Oxford Heated Grip on full heat,but it doesn`t quite sound the same,does it ?
I rode along to New Brighton.
This is on the North coast of the Wirral and was getting the cold wind straight off the Irish Sea.
A bit too cold for clowning around,methinks.
Fort Perch Rock....built to defend the Mersey Estuary from foreign invaders using the Rock Channel around the North East tip of the Wirral.
Never fired its guns in anger...just as well really as the lighthouse built some years after the Fort was directly in line with the main gun battery!
There`s a military museum in the Fort nowadays.
Hmm...looking at that photo again,I`d better watch my fuel levels....can`t be far off going onto reserve.
Onwards from here and a short loop of the Wirral Peninsula beckoned.
This lake looked nice and still.
No wonder it looked so still.....it was a sheet of ice !!
Maybe that`s why my hands are STILL a bit cool even with my heated grips on full reheat mode!
There`s a fabulous looking tree on a big hill at West Kirby which has always impressed me with its size and shape......today I thought it about time I took a photo of it.
A few miles of nice sweeping bends and I turned off my homewards route to detour into Caldy Village.....I thought some of you guys might like to see it.
It`s very expensive property even on the outer fringes,but when you get into the heart of the village I shudder to think of the property values.
Costs nothing to look at it though,so here`s some photos.....
I just love the look of all that sandstone...even on a bitterly cold morning like this,it still looks warm.
Let`s ride around that corner...
Beautiful buildings at every bend....
Even on a solo bike it`s a bit tricky finding a safe spot to stop and take a photo though.
Beautiful buildings and beautiful old buildings.....
Check out the plate above the door to see just how old the one in the last photo was.....
Talking of old,this road sign is probably collectible nowadays.
Heh heh,maybe I should come back tonight with some spanners....
Just a couple of country miles to do then we`re back home.
That`s it...back home for a hot tomato pepper soup with warm fresh baguette and proper butter.
45 miles riding for an MOT test that was 3 miles from home.
Don`t think any car drivers would do that...it`s a biker thing,I reckon.
Hope you liked reading about it.
Nice write up! Super locations and pic's.
