The hairy Gael and the beautiful 62 year old German...

[simondippenhall]

are thinking of going for a bimble for 2-3 days next week if the weather forecast stays dry. Suggestions where please, starting from North Hampshire.

The hairy Gael (not you, Jockser!) has had his mug featured enough in recent ride reports not to inflict it on you again. (If you are a glutton for punishment, click here: http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/464067-Gael-Warnings-in-West-Africa/page16

The sleek elderly German beauty is less well known in these pages

This will be the first multi day outing on this bike, a 1956 r50 which was first delivered on 10 March 1956 to a customer of Friedrich Voos jr. Bmw dealership (now defunct) in Solingen, West Germany. It then resided in Holland from 1956 until 2016 when I acquired it.

Hoping to avoid motorways (but also the muckier B roads) and possibly head into Wales (but will follow the weather ).

All thoughts gratefully received. This will be a bimble with maps rather than GPS.


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[chasbmw]

are thinking of going for a bimble for 2-3 days next week if the weather forecast stays dry. Suggestions where please, starting from North Hampshire.

The hairy Gael (not you, Jockser!) has had his mug featured enough in recent ride reports not to inflict it on you again. (If you are a glutton for punishment, click here: http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/464067-Gael-Warnings-in-West-Africa/page16

The sleek elderly German beauty is less well known in these pages View attachment 371098

This will be the first multi day outing on this bike, a 1956 r50 which was first delivered on 10 March 1956 to a customer of Friedrich Voos jr. Bmw dealership (now defunct) in Solingen, West Germany. It then resided in Holland from 1956 until 2016 when I acquired it.

Hoping to avoid motorways (but also the muckier B roads) and possibly head into Wales (but will follow the weather ).

All thoughts gratefully received. This will be a bimble with maps rather than GPS.


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My R50 is the one year younger.........even at the modest speeds of an R50. The brakes are a bit iffy (except when damp first thing in the morning), very heavy flywheel means slow gear changes upwards and I bit of a blip of the throttle downwards.

Lots of charm and a surprisingly cramped riding position


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[MikeO]

Lovely bike.

I'd think that suspension (and its effect on your arse and back) will define how many miles a day you'll average...

 

[simondippenhall]

Mike: suspension seems remarkably comfortable (but let's see how I feel after I do more than 70 miles in one hit!).
Lots of competition from posh young totty like this

and this

both seen at Bahnstormer yesterday....but you can't beat the real thing!


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[oddshapedballs]

That RnineT is nice, except for the school satchel on the back but each to their own.

The Triumph, no...just no!

 

[Ash]

Sunday us looking like rain around our parts Simon.
But next week looks nice, dry & warm...

 

[simondippenhall]

Indeed, Ash... thinking to depart Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. A kind GSer up Nantwich way has offered me garage space so that's one potential direction.

Preparation is important for these long and arduous trips to distant parts, where the security situation may be tense and there is the possibility of crossing international boundaries (if I go to Wales).

Issues to be addressed include:

Which passport shall I travel under?

Do I need my immunisation record?
Probably not.

Have I packed the tool kit?

Yes neatly tucked into the tank, it even has tyre levers and feeler gauges.

Is the piece of emery paper excessively large?

Yes and I have trimmed it down, as I am still psychologically scarred by Tim Cullis' (of this parish) mockery of my excessive duck tape packing en route to follow the 'Lisbon- Dakar' over a decade ago.

Reduced size emery paper

Is the (completely ineffective) standard pump packed?

Have I got my cycling puncture repair Kit? Yes, seen above the pump. (As if I thought I could lever off the tyre of the BMW, given the hard work I found doing this on my KTM 690).

How will I fix my navigation device to the handlebars?

Good meteorological intel is also critical:

Fortunately it looks like Ash is on the case! (See previous post).

And mustn't forget the National Trust vacuum mug which saw me through 3 months across Africa. It's important to have a flask of tea for sitting in lay-bys (although ideally you need a Morris 1100 to go with it)


Got the first leg of the trip in mind

My impeccable pre-expedition planning established this route leads to a garden centre with superb fruit scones, an essential for energy replacement in hostile environments.


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[simondippenhall]

Forgot to attach a picture of the trusty trans Africa flask!


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[chasbmw]

If you need a night in Bristol give me a shout....


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[Jockser]

The hairy Gael (not you, Jockser!)

I should hope not
But, to be on the safe side, I went for a bit of a tidy up this morning

I do like that little bike If you ever get fed up with it.....

 

[simondippenhall]

Thanks Chasbmw: will look at the weather forecast tomorrow and let you know - very kind!

Jockser: hope I won't tire of her but if this run goes well, maybe a run on her to the Emerald Isle ?


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[Jockser]

Jockser: hope I won't tire of her but if this run goes well, maybe a run on her to the Emerald Isle ?

Cool, look forward to that. Now get on with this run

 

[simondippenhall]

Well Jockser I took your advice and had the beard trimmed....to the necessary hipster style for riding an old airhead
The bike is fuelled up and the weather tomorrow looks promising


I have packed navigation guidance and the necessary emergency nutrition

It’s not quite as far as my last bimble this year


Just hope the locals will be as friendly!


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[tuftywhite]

Looking forward to this.

I may come and meet you on one day, depending where and when?

 

[simondippenhall]

After a fabulous day with a great 450kms ride in sunshine I will let the pictures speak for themselves

Ready for the off


Coffee break in Highworth, Oxon


One of many many stop signs as the country’s roads are repaired


Parked up at morning break


The view from the cockpit




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[simondippenhall]

Lots of wet roads across the country

But beautiful spring gardens like this one at Dipley Mill



The Duke of Wellingtons back door



Roman towns


Barbed wire at Aldermaston




I am settling in to the old Bmw saddle but my but still my rear-end wishes this sign were literally true! I think this town was named so because it’s on the A4 halfway between London and Bath:

The scenery is changing as I get into the Cotswolds- Burford:

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[simondippenhall]

The famous hill climb...wish I had stopped to visit it.

The houses are looking a little different







Evidently not everyone in Wales is a Leaver (Engineer, don’t lose faith!)

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[simondippenhall]

And a few reflections on the ride:

I wore my genuine hipster gear (jeans, Rokker boots and open face helmet) and 30 miles in I was having second thoughts- boots pressing on shins, getting a bit cool, and windy around the head.

But it all settled into a comfortable routine and felt better, meanwhile the r50 was going like a train...cornering well and accelerating vigorously even if the brakes were a bit enthusiastic And it has been averaging about 60 mpg which is not bad as I have not been holding back!

Safely arrived at my generous host, Albatross

Visited Nantwich church just before


And finally a tribute to this site for the support it offers to random riders like moi (I have had several offers of help and accommodation from inmates).

Albatross has asked if I am 'done with the pictures' so with this snap of the Ridgway, crossed near Hinton Parva, I can say 'Yes'!
'


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[Jockser]

No pictures of locals washing their smalls in the streams, women carrying heavy bundles of firewood along the road or donkey & carts heading to market
What sort of an RR is this at all at all

Keep up the good work Simon

 

[jonnie comet]

A cracking write up and what a lovely old bike. The whole read made me go ahhhhhh...

Loved it.....