Well, Spring is doing is hardest to claw its way to the head of the queue here in the UK. I fear winter, although it appears to have stepped aside briefly, still may come back and demand its place in the line claiming it just had to pop to the loo.
Either way, this week has started with dry roads and temperatures well into double figures. Let us not forget, this is still February and sub-zero temperatures are still commonplace. The start of this week has seen me with a few days off as I'm celebrating a year with Carolina. She has come into my life made everything that was bad, good and everything good, amazing. So as its our anniversary, disappearing out across the countryside would have been a little rude, but I did however get to spend an hour giving the 'Blade a quick clean. Im sure the lovely lunch we spent together had very little to do with her decision.
In other news, it seems like video blogging is the way forward, although I have no plans to disappear into the digital void, much preferring the power of the written word and images, my friends are putting some good looking Youtube channels together.
After highlighting my mechanics page last week, my mate Phil dropped me a message asking me to check out his channel. So check it out I did. Phil O's Garage is all about a man in Buckinghamshire building and riding modern classic bikes. Phil has been lucky enough to appear in Practical Sportsbikes magazine and is always on hand to offer genuinely helpful advise and knows his stuff. 
What's not to like about a man in a garage talking about fixing bikes?

Earlier this week, I was able to undertake my first real ride with anger of 2017. Now I don't mean I was fuming behind the visor, with the red mist altering my perception of reality, far from it; this Monday gone was my first dry, warmish ride of the year in totally clear conditions. So far this year the rides have been either damp, misty or just too short to really do anything with them, so this ride to a little bike meet from work, was more like a tornado than a breath of fresh air. 
During winter, its all too easy to forget just how quick and responsive bikes can be. Instead of approaching bends, slowing down well in advance to make sure there was grip, I could commit to corners in advance and pick the lines that I wanted to take, look through the corner and just revel in all that being a biker is. Absolute heaven.
In other news, I've taken my 1098s up to see Artur in North London for its bi-annual major service. While it's there I've asked him to look at a few little bit and bobs and he's found a few alarming things as well. A few missed bolts here and there, but also a few frayed wires. Not good, but Artur is one of the few people I trust to work on my bike these days and I had no problem driving the 150miles one way to ensure the bike is looked after by one of the good guys.

Speaking of Artur, he's started a Ducati service themed Youtube channel. Its very young and he's finding his way, but the knowledge this man has inside his head is, in my opinion, priceless. Below you'll find one of the videos he's put together and you can find the channel here: Desmo Clinic
Give it a subscribe. 
We'll be doing a bit of work together, which includes looking at a different filming solution as at the moment he's just doing it on his phone. Hopefully this is the start of something really big for him. Watch this space. Headbehindthebubble and Desmo Clinic together on the same page..what else could you possibly want? 

February in the UK, and for a biker, its all about stealing rides when and where you can. Our winters, although not as brutal as in parts of Eastern Europe, Russia and North America can still be pretty cold, so when an opportunity arises, you just have to take it.
A temporary break in the cold temperatures meant I was able to ride to work again this week, but the road conditions were far from perfect. A few of the smaller lanes I ride along are littered with debris washed off fields and properties, with cars funnelling it all into the centre of the lane, normally right on a bend.
So despite being able to get out on the bike, proper riding is still a good few weeks away. February is a weird month to be honest. Its like the Tuesday of the calendar year. Its not the start, its not the nice bit in the middle, nor is it the exciting bit at the end, its just kinda there, waiting to pass.
As the saying goes, Spring is just around the corner and I know there are a lot of riders out there eager to get back out on the roads. Every year, its that one weekend when the sun is up, the first one when temperatures are in double figures when all the bikes come out again, all of them shiny and bright.
In the meantime though, I'm just content to get out as and when I can. I could be a commute, or a slow bimble down to the local coffee shop (guaranteed parking for the bike thank you very much) but at least its something. The FireBlade is no showroom special so, although I do look after her, I'm not precious if she gets really dirty and that means I can enjoy riding her no matter what the weather.
One final point for today. A big thank you to the driver who stopped to check I was okay when I was taking the pictures above. A very kind gesture and one that I won't forget for a good long while.

The overriding desire to ride the bike, often makes you make questionable choices. It was very much this way for me this week; with mild, but wet weather moving in. I was quite happy taking the bike to work a few times in weather that can only be described as 'less than ideal' just to ride.
After the expected cold January and using the car pretty much all the time, it was good to get on the bike with only the risk of water under my wheels. 
On Monday I did run into a fog bank on the dual carriageway on the way to work, but on the way home, it was just heavy rain. Today, it was heavyish rain on the way there and half a dry ride back before the rains returned, but to be honest, I really didn't mind, in fact I enjoyed it. I have no aversion to riding in the rain, that is, as long as I'm wearing textiles or an oversuit that keeps the water on the outside. 
The weather for the remainder of the week is expected to turn really nasty, with really high winds and rain combining to make riding conditions that only a real fool would actively choose to ride in.
​There is a light at the end of the tunnel though and that is that Spring is close and then the real riding of 2017 can begin.