October 31st, 2016

Summer is now over. Here in the UK the clocks went back an hour this past weekend, resulting in cold early dark evenings. Today is Halloween, but it would appear that nobody checked if Summer had read the memo.
The weather today is just amazing, more akin to early May than nearly November. Yes, it was marginally chilly first thing, but now, as I write this, its perfect outside. You can just see how clear the blue sky is in these pictures. Unexpected to say the least.

In other news, as I recently accepted a new job that will mean much more riding at night down unlit roads, I've recently invested in a brand new Oxford Hi-viz waistcoat. It may not be the coolest piece of riding gear I own, but it should make me much more visible on the roads, especially if the worst should happen and that is my only concern. At just under £40 is was neither the cheapest, nor the most expensive version, and it is elasticated and zips up the front, therefore removing any unnecessary flapping that can plague some of the cheaper alternatives when they come undone. Been there, done that, very annoying for all involved.
Last week I had a very quick visit from Mark White of Performance Bikes fame, who came and picked up the 1098s, which is being used in a comparison piece with the 959 Panigale currently being run by John McAvoy. I was a little cautious as the bike is far from perfect, but was happy to help.
My real hopes are two fold. First I hope the bike does itself proud and secondly, a cheeky little blog mention would be really cool. Watch this space.