rocks
Registered user
Well my health has recovered enough I thought to get out on the bike. Though being ill for four weeks has killed any fitness I had, and left me a lot weaker than I thought. I hadnt been out on the bike for a long while and so I awoke this morning with sunshine pearing through the curtains. Must has been a 10 minute clear patch before the grey set in. As by the time I dragged my self into my bike gear including new backprotector, I was already tired and breathing heavily.
I hauled the bike out of the garage and went through the ritual procedure of moving cars off the drive.. (anyone else have that problem.. ohhh for double garage and drive wide enough to get around the cages).
It was grey and low cloud out and about as I left buckley and headed for Ponderosa Cafe at the Horseshoe Pass near Llangollen.. about 5 minutes from home, whilst travelling through the two house village of Llong, I followed a DR125 over the bridge, he slowed suddenly and spotted an oppurtunity to get by him before the narrow lane..
The rear span out and bike drops to right, my feet fly off the peg and my right leg goes down with a massive jarring, I throw my weight to the left and the back wheel weaves, but I stay up and return to my side of the road..Scary moment.. an a nice reminder that my riding skills are rusty, TKC's are not too great on dampy oily roads and I defenitely a lot weaker than before I got ill.
A quick full stop at Pontblyddyn and off up the road to the Ponderosa.. a few bikes about but lots of low cloud and cold weather. The new muffs from Steptoe are working a treat and I swap from winter gloves too summer gloves to get better heat transfer from the heated grips. Never thought i could get away with summer gloves in the midst of winter.
Heres the views I got at the ponderosa.. wales is out there somewhere in the grey !
Deciding not to stop I headed off toward bala.. stopping when the rain started to don the water proofs and take a few piccies..
It was clean before I came out..
The wayfearers with very low cloud on the top in the background.
I wonder where that road goes..
Well a few back lanes and the rain pours down, the bikes slides a little on the gravelly roads and mud that winter rains have brought out for our entertainment. I take things easy and potter around, heading down a few dead ends ending with farms and one that stopped at an old wooden gate, one to check on the maps for future reference and legality of access.
Eventually I potter off to Corwen and decide to have alook at the Corwen Ford, and expect to find it a raging torrent after recent rains.
But it isnt.. waters up and probably not rideable ( Tim.. have you tried it lately??) at the moment.. some signs of the local 4X4 having been through.
Will probably be back to have a go during the Llangollen event later in the year (May time).. this summer it looked like this
I headed back to the lights, and a quick stop at the organic farm shop and cafe for a bacon butty and a cup of coffee. The bacon is great from this place.. http://www.rhug.co.uk/index.asp they even has Bison. Rain was a bit heavy for a stop to take pics.. (using new Fuji camera.. very impressed so far.)..
After refuelling I headed out toward Bala.. the road was busy.. and with caravans and campers..hmm they are starting early this year..
Sadly there were many signs of comingtogather of cars and the sceneray on the ride.. several looked minor, but one left a track some 50yards into a field and from the remains of body work still laying in the field with fresh pincer marks, it looks like the rescue services were out. It felt wrong to take any photo's though there were no flowers which hopefully meant it wasnt a fatality.
The road to bala was slippy in a few places and I tootled along behind a queue of cars following another camper, passing a gaggle of off road KTM's who were occupying the chip shop. Obviously on their lunchtime fuel stop before continueing their playing in the mud.
I stopped at the lake to have alook around and was shocked.. the water level was way down, I had expected it to be high with the rain..
Then I spotted these.. tide marks from the recent high waters. These are on the grass bank by the little white cafe above the wall. Would have meant near 2' of water across the carpark and surrounding land. That was some water level.
I was planning to head out to Bwlch y groes (Pass of the Cross) and upto vernwy, but that cloud in the distance, would be where I would be headed and it was very low and rain getting worse, so I decided to stick to the warmer lower valley's and drift along back toward corwen on some back roads..
I have always liked this bridge and the nearby war memorial and so stopped to take a few pics and enjoy a brief cesation of the drizzle..
I stopped here for some photo's on the first proper ride out having just bought the GS two years ago..how time fly's..
The war memorial..
Tigger getting wet..
Pheasent season, still in the full swing.. this chap should be keeping his head down..
The rain kept to a light to moderate drizzle as I pottered along.. even in the grey and merk, I still love this part of the country.
I would love to own this place.. the view it must have and the peace and quiet..
I was pretty tired and only after a couple of hours in the sadle, so I headed home to a hot cup of tea. Hosepipe down the mud of the bike and put her back in the garage for another day.. bring on the summer..
I hauled the bike out of the garage and went through the ritual procedure of moving cars off the drive.. (anyone else have that problem.. ohhh for double garage and drive wide enough to get around the cages).
It was grey and low cloud out and about as I left buckley and headed for Ponderosa Cafe at the Horseshoe Pass near Llangollen.. about 5 minutes from home, whilst travelling through the two house village of Llong, I followed a DR125 over the bridge, he slowed suddenly and spotted an oppurtunity to get by him before the narrow lane..
The rear span out and bike drops to right, my feet fly off the peg and my right leg goes down with a massive jarring, I throw my weight to the left and the back wheel weaves, but I stay up and return to my side of the road..Scary moment.. an a nice reminder that my riding skills are rusty, TKC's are not too great on dampy oily roads and I defenitely a lot weaker than before I got ill.
A quick full stop at Pontblyddyn and off up the road to the Ponderosa.. a few bikes about but lots of low cloud and cold weather. The new muffs from Steptoe are working a treat and I swap from winter gloves too summer gloves to get better heat transfer from the heated grips. Never thought i could get away with summer gloves in the midst of winter.
Heres the views I got at the ponderosa.. wales is out there somewhere in the grey !
Deciding not to stop I headed off toward bala.. stopping when the rain started to don the water proofs and take a few piccies..
It was clean before I came out..
The wayfearers with very low cloud on the top in the background.
I wonder where that road goes..
Well a few back lanes and the rain pours down, the bikes slides a little on the gravelly roads and mud that winter rains have brought out for our entertainment. I take things easy and potter around, heading down a few dead ends ending with farms and one that stopped at an old wooden gate, one to check on the maps for future reference and legality of access.
Eventually I potter off to Corwen and decide to have alook at the Corwen Ford, and expect to find it a raging torrent after recent rains.
But it isnt.. waters up and probably not rideable ( Tim.. have you tried it lately??) at the moment.. some signs of the local 4X4 having been through.
Will probably be back to have a go during the Llangollen event later in the year (May time).. this summer it looked like this
I headed back to the lights, and a quick stop at the organic farm shop and cafe for a bacon butty and a cup of coffee. The bacon is great from this place.. http://www.rhug.co.uk/index.asp they even has Bison. Rain was a bit heavy for a stop to take pics.. (using new Fuji camera.. very impressed so far.)..
After refuelling I headed out toward Bala.. the road was busy.. and with caravans and campers..hmm they are starting early this year..
Sadly there were many signs of comingtogather of cars and the sceneray on the ride.. several looked minor, but one left a track some 50yards into a field and from the remains of body work still laying in the field with fresh pincer marks, it looks like the rescue services were out. It felt wrong to take any photo's though there were no flowers which hopefully meant it wasnt a fatality.
The road to bala was slippy in a few places and I tootled along behind a queue of cars following another camper, passing a gaggle of off road KTM's who were occupying the chip shop. Obviously on their lunchtime fuel stop before continueing their playing in the mud.
I stopped at the lake to have alook around and was shocked.. the water level was way down, I had expected it to be high with the rain..
Then I spotted these.. tide marks from the recent high waters. These are on the grass bank by the little white cafe above the wall. Would have meant near 2' of water across the carpark and surrounding land. That was some water level.
I was planning to head out to Bwlch y groes (Pass of the Cross) and upto vernwy, but that cloud in the distance, would be where I would be headed and it was very low and rain getting worse, so I decided to stick to the warmer lower valley's and drift along back toward corwen on some back roads..
I have always liked this bridge and the nearby war memorial and so stopped to take a few pics and enjoy a brief cesation of the drizzle..
I stopped here for some photo's on the first proper ride out having just bought the GS two years ago..how time fly's..
The war memorial..
Tigger getting wet..
Pheasent season, still in the full swing.. this chap should be keeping his head down..
The rain kept to a light to moderate drizzle as I pottered along.. even in the grey and merk, I still love this part of the country.
I would love to own this place.. the view it must have and the peace and quiet..
I was pretty tired and only after a couple of hours in the sadle, so I headed home to a hot cup of tea. Hosepipe down the mud of the bike and put her back in the garage for another day.. bring on the summer..
