As Jane Austen often said,
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a wife must be in want of a good ride".
Unfortunately, due to a lack of funds, I have been unable to insure my bikes since just after Easter 2010 so good riding has not been a feature of the last half year or so. With the Dragon Rally approaching my brother was starting to get jittery about me sorting myself out for the rally so the other night he rang to say I was insured (at his expense) and when did I want to take the DR650 out for a ride?
With Steffan's shed meet pencilled in for Saturday morning it was obvious what needed to be done. I arranged to pick up the bike from Gareth's house at 7.30 on Saturday morning and set off on the 90 mile trip to the shed meet. The weather was bloody horrible and I didn't have a dry mile for the whole trip (nor two thirds of the return leg). The slog up the A470 to Merthyr was easy and boring, it's dual carriageway all the way, but after Merthyr the road gets more interesting. I had a good ride over the Storey Arms pass and then cut across to Sennybridge and the tortuous delights of the A40 to Llandovery. This is a famous biking road and in heavy rain the DR was more than fast enough for its twists and turns.
When I reached Llandovery I was getting a bit wet-in-the-gloves and when I saw a nice looking cafe with an espresso machine I decided to stop. Most bikers use the West End cafe further into the village, but the Penygawse tea rooms cater for the more discerning coffee drinker. They told me that most riders still use the other cafe, but they get all the continental riders who need their espresso fix. the owner is a fully trained and time-served
Barista. The tea rooms have a sideline as a guesthouse and I think I might take Mrs Onepot to stay there soon.
Back on the bike it was time to tackle one of the most demanding sections of Welsh A road that I know of, the first stretch of the A482 to Lampeter (off the A40). It was whilst struggling to lose speed going into one of its deceptive tight corners that I realised I had no back brake. Once this fact was established (and we still don't know where the bloody fluid went) my riding was adjusted to ensure no more scares. Having said that it was hardly a slow ride and by the time I reached the turn off for Steffan's place I was grinning like an idiot.
All in all it was an excellent way to get back into riding again and I enjoyed myself a LOT. As for the DR, it was the first time I had ridden one any distance and I was very impressed. It has a fair amount of torque and is noticeably 'cammier' than the Honda RFVC Dominator motor that is its contemporary. The DR really starts to gallop after 5,000 RPM whereas the Honda motor has a very linear power curve.
It's nice to be back.
GC
