You will probably have noticed that I haven't be writing much over these last few months. There are a variety of reasons for this, chiefly amongst those, is the fact that I'm actually doing very little actual riding.
The reasons for this are varied and I won't go into too much detail, but suffice it to say, it has nothing to do with losing my licence or getting into any form of trouble. I haven't crashed or hurt myself and my personal life is very healthy. Its more a case of circumstances are preventing me from getting out there on a regular basis. Knowing this, this mornings ride was a rare treat. Taking the Ducati out for a spin I took in one of my favourite routes via Salisbury and Shaftsbury and the superb A30.
With the UK basking in a sustained heatwave, I knew the ride would be fairly warm, and pulling on my Alpinestar leathers, I was reminded of summers past riding into and out of Central London, something I don't miss at all.
Apart from the obvious heat, the one thing I really did notice was how I no longer seemed to be 'bike-fit'. By this I mean physically used to riding and holding myself on the bike. After about an hour, the palms in both my hands started to hurt as I was clearly taking too my weight through my hands and secondly, the tops of my shoulders started to ache as well. Not a good sign that's for sure, especially as I have to head up to the aforementioned Big Smoke this Friday.
With warm dry tarmac to play on, the 1098s was a dream to ride. Probably what you would call underpowered in today's market, there is plenty of power which required 100% attention to fully control.
After filling up just outside Wilton in Wiltshire, I caught up a rider on a Ducati Scrambler. They were making some good progress and were clearly familiar with the road. I was following about 30 yards behind in a staggered formation when, as we rounded a corner, we were greeted with a dustcart on the wrong side of the road as it pulled out of a junction. Quickly reducing our speed, we both avoided disaster, but it was a good reminder that no matter what time of day you're riding, or how clear the road appears to be, you have to put yourself in a position to be able to stop at a moments notice.
About 40 minutes later I pulled up in front of my garage. A tank of fuel spent, a tasty beverage consumed and with my mind filled with reminders of why I look riding my bikes so much. Hopefully, I'll be back riding more shortly and it doesn't really matter if its wet or dry, thankfully the fun is not weather dependant.
The reasons for this are varied and I won't go into too much detail, but suffice it to say, it has nothing to do with losing my licence or getting into any form of trouble. I haven't crashed or hurt myself and my personal life is very healthy. Its more a case of circumstances are preventing me from getting out there on a regular basis. Knowing this, this mornings ride was a rare treat. Taking the Ducati out for a spin I took in one of my favourite routes via Salisbury and Shaftsbury and the superb A30.
With the UK basking in a sustained heatwave, I knew the ride would be fairly warm, and pulling on my Alpinestar leathers, I was reminded of summers past riding into and out of Central London, something I don't miss at all.
Apart from the obvious heat, the one thing I really did notice was how I no longer seemed to be 'bike-fit'. By this I mean physically used to riding and holding myself on the bike. After about an hour, the palms in both my hands started to hurt as I was clearly taking too my weight through my hands and secondly, the tops of my shoulders started to ache as well. Not a good sign that's for sure, especially as I have to head up to the aforementioned Big Smoke this Friday.
With warm dry tarmac to play on, the 1098s was a dream to ride. Probably what you would call underpowered in today's market, there is plenty of power which required 100% attention to fully control.
After filling up just outside Wilton in Wiltshire, I caught up a rider on a Ducati Scrambler. They were making some good progress and were clearly familiar with the road. I was following about 30 yards behind in a staggered formation when, as we rounded a corner, we were greeted with a dustcart on the wrong side of the road as it pulled out of a junction. Quickly reducing our speed, we both avoided disaster, but it was a good reminder that no matter what time of day you're riding, or how clear the road appears to be, you have to put yourself in a position to be able to stop at a moments notice.
About 40 minutes later I pulled up in front of my garage. A tank of fuel spent, a tasty beverage consumed and with my mind filled with reminders of why I look riding my bikes so much. Hopefully, I'll be back riding more shortly and it doesn't really matter if its wet or dry, thankfully the fun is not weather dependant.
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