Post by tigerbassman64 on Nov 29, 2010 20:30:18 GMT
So, after much planning,twisting my mate's wife's arm to let him go,we never actually made it to the bike show at the N.E.C............
4:30 Alarm wakes me from a restless sleep.I went to bed at 10:00 hoping to get 6hrs but the thought of my first long(ish) distance ride since buying my divvy has kept me awake half the night. I'm excited and a little bit apprehensive. The problems I've had with the bike are still there. I've realised that it actually sounds like a Subaru Impreza when I accelerate,and I don't mean that in a good way. I've always thought they sound like they are misfiring and don't really like that.Anyway,on with the story.....
I roll out of bed to get in the shower. Blimey! bit nippy even with the central heating on. I turn to look at Mrs tigerbassman still asleep in our nice warm bed and briefly think I might just get back in and cuddle up. The thought passes quickly and I jump in the shower,dry,get dressed and go downstairs for some brekkie.
Porridge today,I think, double portion!
That is soon demolished along with a cup of coffee. I parked the bike in front of the house last night with a cover on so that I didn't have to wheel it from the shed in the back garden across icy grass so all I have to do is get my gear on and step out of the front door.
I'm wearing:
t-shirt
shirt
fleece top
Frank thomas jacket with winter liner
neck warmer
jeans
Frank thomas tousers with winter liner
2 pairs socks
boots
thinsulate liner gloves
Buffalo winter gloves
helmet
Bloody hell I'm boiling! Getting a bit claustrophobic in the house too.
I step outside and the feeling soon passes.A quick check in the car shows -8C
and I see my mate Clive pulling up outside my gate.
Brief greetings over, we decide to ride as far as Abergavenny,then stop for a cuppa , then carry on to the N.E.C.
I only live about 1/4 mile from the dual carriageway and so we are soon up to speed heading for Carmarthen.
Riding along I feel o.k really. Still feel quite warm and it's definitely better having a bike with a fairing.
The last time we did this trip I was on a naked BMW R1150R and had sheet ice on my chest.
It's still dark but in the headlight I can see the frost on the verge and on the centre of the lane in between the tyre tracks.
It's o.k,don't panic,just stay smooth,think ahead,keep your speed down, it'll be fine.
It takes about 20 mins to get to Carmarthen and it definitely feels colder here. My body is still warm and so are my toes but my fingers are numb with cold. I have no heated grips and wonder how Clive is doing with his newly fitted heated grips on his old airhead beemer.
We pass Carmarthen and take the A40 towards Llandovery.
Not only am I feeling warm but come to think of it I'm feeling too hot. I think I might have too many layers on and my body can't breath. This is getting quite uncomfortable now. My fingers are still numb with cold but I can feel myself sweating and I feel a bit sick.I have to open my visor a crack to let some cold air on to my face.
Damn! that was a mistake. The icy air hitting my face at 50 mph has made my eyes water and I'm struggling to see now.
I close my visor again and open the neck of my jacket,trying to release some of the heat and let in a bit of cool air.
O.k thats a bit better,now relax Geoff,grip with your knees and your grip on the bars will automatically relax. Not that I have much of a grip as my fingers feel like they are frozen in some grotesque creatures claw.
We continue for a few miles and I'm feeling worse. Why am I so hot? I can feel my head sweating and I feel really sick now.I burp and am a little bit sick in my mouth.Great! the last thing I want is to be sick in my helmet.
Come on Geoff get a grip man you're 46 not 86. Pull yourself together. Clives up ahead of you and he's 60 and had 2 heart attacks and he's doing o.k.
I try shifting in the seat a bit but I'm really not feeling well.
Then Clives indicator signals left and he pulls into a layby.
It turns out his grips aren't working and his fingers are frozen too.
I tell him I don't feel well and I get off the bike.I'm sweating and I have to take my helmet off quickly. My fingers are so cold I can't get my gloves off and I feel panic rising as I'm so hot. After what seems like ages I get them off and take my helmet off. The cold air on my head feels like heaven but I still feel like crap.
Sweat is running down my face and I have to squat down on my haunches to try and relieve the nausea. Whats wrong with me? I felt fine yesterday. Clive gets a flask of tea out and says we should go back home if I don't feel well.
No,Ill be fine I say. Just give me a minute to cool down and we'll crack on.
Clive says he'd rather we turned round as things will be worse if I feel unwell further from home.
Reluctantly I have to agree. I really do feel like death.I'm still sweating but now we have stopped my fingers have warmed up a bit but my toes have turned to ice from standing on the icy layby.
I feel terrible. Not only physically but I also feel I've let Clive down as due to his ill health he doesn't get out much and he had been looking forward to this ride. But what can I do? I really do think I will be physically sick if we continue. I suppose common sense has to prevail and after 15 mins we remount and head back.
The sun is starting to rise and I can see that there is a good couple of inches of snow in the fields and edges of the road and I can see the ice in patches on the road.
We stop one more time just before St Clears to warm our hands on Clives engine. I'm still feeling feverish and realise that we made the right decision to not continue.
Clive is completely understanding and I secretly think he may have struggled anyway but I don't say anything.
We say our goodbyes as he goes a different way at the next roundabout and I get home about 10 mins later.
Mrs tigerbassman is surprised to see me but says I made the right decision. She's right of course (aren't they always?)
It's 7:45 and the thermometer says -6C I hate to think what the wind chill would have been at 50-60mph?
The snow is supposed to be coming in tomorrow and so we'll leave the trip for this year.I'm too old to try to be a hero and self preservation is the order of the day I think.
I get stripped off and Mrs t is surprised to see how ill I look. I get in the shower quickly and then collapse in bed,still warm from where she was lying earlier.
I slept for a couple of hours and got up feeling a bit better but still not right. I still don't as I write this and my finger tips are painful to the touch even now.
I feel like a bit of a wimp now I'm home but I'm sure I did the right thing. It would have been dangerous to continue so on the whole I'm glad I didn't. I wanted to go to the bike show but not THAT much.
Why can't they put the bike show on in the summer months?
So,all in all our trip took about 2hrs and 75 miles. Not so much a trip as a "non trip". Perhaps there should be a section for trips that didn't quite go to plan ;D
Geoff
p.s if anyone sees Santa can you tell him I would like some heated grips for xmas please
4:30 Alarm wakes me from a restless sleep.I went to bed at 10:00 hoping to get 6hrs but the thought of my first long(ish) distance ride since buying my divvy has kept me awake half the night. I'm excited and a little bit apprehensive. The problems I've had with the bike are still there. I've realised that it actually sounds like a Subaru Impreza when I accelerate,and I don't mean that in a good way. I've always thought they sound like they are misfiring and don't really like that.Anyway,on with the story.....
I roll out of bed to get in the shower. Blimey! bit nippy even with the central heating on. I turn to look at Mrs tigerbassman still asleep in our nice warm bed and briefly think I might just get back in and cuddle up. The thought passes quickly and I jump in the shower,dry,get dressed and go downstairs for some brekkie.
Porridge today,I think, double portion!
That is soon demolished along with a cup of coffee. I parked the bike in front of the house last night with a cover on so that I didn't have to wheel it from the shed in the back garden across icy grass so all I have to do is get my gear on and step out of the front door.
I'm wearing:
t-shirt
shirt
fleece top
Frank thomas jacket with winter liner
neck warmer
jeans
Frank thomas tousers with winter liner
2 pairs socks
boots
thinsulate liner gloves
Buffalo winter gloves
helmet
Bloody hell I'm boiling! Getting a bit claustrophobic in the house too.
I step outside and the feeling soon passes.A quick check in the car shows -8C
and I see my mate Clive pulling up outside my gate. Brief greetings over, we decide to ride as far as Abergavenny,then stop for a cuppa , then carry on to the N.E.C.
I only live about 1/4 mile from the dual carriageway and so we are soon up to speed heading for Carmarthen.
Riding along I feel o.k really. Still feel quite warm and it's definitely better having a bike with a fairing.
The last time we did this trip I was on a naked BMW R1150R and had sheet ice on my chest.
It's still dark but in the headlight I can see the frost on the verge and on the centre of the lane in between the tyre tracks.
It's o.k,don't panic,just stay smooth,think ahead,keep your speed down, it'll be fine.
It takes about 20 mins to get to Carmarthen and it definitely feels colder here. My body is still warm and so are my toes but my fingers are numb with cold. I have no heated grips and wonder how Clive is doing with his newly fitted heated grips on his old airhead beemer.
We pass Carmarthen and take the A40 towards Llandovery.
Not only am I feeling warm but come to think of it I'm feeling too hot. I think I might have too many layers on and my body can't breath. This is getting quite uncomfortable now. My fingers are still numb with cold but I can feel myself sweating and I feel a bit sick.I have to open my visor a crack to let some cold air on to my face.
Damn! that was a mistake. The icy air hitting my face at 50 mph has made my eyes water and I'm struggling to see now.
I close my visor again and open the neck of my jacket,trying to release some of the heat and let in a bit of cool air.
O.k thats a bit better,now relax Geoff,grip with your knees and your grip on the bars will automatically relax. Not that I have much of a grip as my fingers feel like they are frozen in some grotesque creatures claw.
We continue for a few miles and I'm feeling worse. Why am I so hot? I can feel my head sweating and I feel really sick now.I burp and am a little bit sick in my mouth.Great! the last thing I want is to be sick in my helmet.
Come on Geoff get a grip man you're 46 not 86. Pull yourself together. Clives up ahead of you and he's 60 and had 2 heart attacks and he's doing o.k.
I try shifting in the seat a bit but I'm really not feeling well.
Then Clives indicator signals left and he pulls into a layby.
It turns out his grips aren't working and his fingers are frozen too.
I tell him I don't feel well and I get off the bike.I'm sweating and I have to take my helmet off quickly. My fingers are so cold I can't get my gloves off and I feel panic rising as I'm so hot. After what seems like ages I get them off and take my helmet off. The cold air on my head feels like heaven but I still feel like crap.
Sweat is running down my face and I have to squat down on my haunches to try and relieve the nausea. Whats wrong with me? I felt fine yesterday. Clive gets a flask of tea out and says we should go back home if I don't feel well.
No,Ill be fine I say. Just give me a minute to cool down and we'll crack on.
Clive says he'd rather we turned round as things will be worse if I feel unwell further from home.
Reluctantly I have to agree. I really do feel like death.I'm still sweating but now we have stopped my fingers have warmed up a bit but my toes have turned to ice from standing on the icy layby.
I feel terrible. Not only physically but I also feel I've let Clive down as due to his ill health he doesn't get out much and he had been looking forward to this ride. But what can I do? I really do think I will be physically sick if we continue. I suppose common sense has to prevail and after 15 mins we remount and head back.
The sun is starting to rise and I can see that there is a good couple of inches of snow in the fields and edges of the road and I can see the ice in patches on the road.
We stop one more time just before St Clears to warm our hands on Clives engine. I'm still feeling feverish and realise that we made the right decision to not continue.
Clive is completely understanding and I secretly think he may have struggled anyway but I don't say anything.
We say our goodbyes as he goes a different way at the next roundabout and I get home about 10 mins later.
Mrs tigerbassman is surprised to see me but says I made the right decision. She's right of course (aren't they always?)
It's 7:45 and the thermometer says -6C I hate to think what the wind chill would have been at 50-60mph?
The snow is supposed to be coming in tomorrow and so we'll leave the trip for this year.I'm too old to try to be a hero and self preservation is the order of the day I think.
I get stripped off and Mrs t is surprised to see how ill I look. I get in the shower quickly and then collapse in bed,still warm from where she was lying earlier.
I slept for a couple of hours and got up feeling a bit better but still not right. I still don't as I write this and my finger tips are painful to the touch even now.
I feel like a bit of a wimp now I'm home but I'm sure I did the right thing. It would have been dangerous to continue so on the whole I'm glad I didn't. I wanted to go to the bike show but not THAT much.
Why can't they put the bike show on in the summer months?
So,all in all our trip took about 2hrs and 75 miles. Not so much a trip as a "non trip". Perhaps there should be a section for trips that didn't quite go to plan ;D
Geoff
p.s if anyone sees Santa can you tell him I would like some heated grips for xmas please
! You(r mate) obviously made the right decision there 
.