With a decent length commute to do, I rarely find that I want to head out socially after work or at the weekends. I'm certainly not adverse to it, more that I'm reasonably content with the miles I do during the week, that I feel no urgency to head back out on two wheels at the weekend.
This is probably a mix of the aforementioned commute and the knowledge that the chances of being pulled at the weekend are certainly a lot higher. So with a certain amount of irony, on the first day of my annual holiday, I headed out on the bike to explore the countryside a little.
I'd mentioned to my friend and former work colleague, Lucinda, that if the weather was nice, I was around for a ride at the start of this week. As she was working shifts, we arranged to head out on Monday morning. I like riding with her as she is a good rider who doesn't take unnecessary risks and has a really good knowledge of the local road network, which invariably leads us down roads I rarely, if ever use. 
When arranging the ride I said that I didn't want to go hugely far or fast and fancied a trip to Portland, a stony outcrop on the south Dorset Coast, famous for a prison, a lighthouse and a cafe that sells some of the best teacakes in the region. A plan was hatched.
The weather was great. It was sunny, still and cool. Lucinda was on her trusted RR5 Fireblade and with my 954 FireBlade (please notice the slightly different spelling - not an error) off the road without a valid MOT, my 1098s came out to play again.

The ride that followed was just what I needed. It wasn't rushed, but swift; relaxing but stimulating at the same time. After a long Spring, Summer and early Autumn at work, for the first day of my holiday, it was just what I needed and I could feel my pressures and worry evaporate around me.
I love riding, love being a motorcyclist and I love the freedom it gives me. Its a bit of a cliche, but cliches always have foundations in fact. 
I take a look at my life, where I am right now and I don't think I would want be to be anywhere or anybody else. Hi, my name is Matthew Brown and I'm happy with that.

Sorry for a lack of updates these last few weeks. As they say, life has been getting in the way and with a touch of irony following my previous update, today I just want to look back at one of the rides from earlier this week.
I've been exclusively riding the 1098s lately and it was a fairly bright dry, sunny, but chilly start to the day. I left home a fraction later than usual, at around 07:45 and left the house in a good mood. With the schools back, traffic levels were fairly busy, but I was able to make reasonable progress. I turned off before the dual carriageway as usual and took to the back roads, which are more suited to two wheels.
Despite no apparent rain, the road surface became wet. I'm putting this down to early morning moisture in the air and not enough people using the route to clear it. With a damp and greasy road, the ride itself was an exercise in restraint and concentration, rather than one of enjoyment.
Approaching the last village before I got to work, I got stuck behind a school coach, belching out diesel fumes and taking up 3/4 of the road.
Towards the end of the village, I was looking for a way past, when, as my concentration was looking up the road, the coach just stopped. With their higher driving position they saw a lorry coming the other way so had to stop and I nearly ran into the back of them. I didn't react well.
I took full advantage of my size and speed advantage and popped past the coach once the lorry had moved on and with the sun behind me, I had a driver almost pull out into my path. They were doing that thing when people put their hands up to block part of the sun, but still move forward without apparently giving themselves enough time to be sure. I didn't react well.
Now annoyed I got to work feeling that the only way that ride could have been any worse was if I'd been nicked, or had crashed. 
The whole ride felt horrible and painful and I will freely admit, it affected me into the morning. I kept dwelling on it and it highlights, well for me at least, the importance of starting the day right. 
Reading this back, this is just coming off as a bit of a rant, which I guess it is but it has highlighted the importance I place on the ability to move freely and my own pace. Who would have thought that I used to ride daily in London?