After meeting up at Bob’s house for our customary cup of tea we decided to start the day the best way known to mankind that doesn’t include gaffa tape, a mop and a left-handed can opener. Breakfast at the Touchdown Cafe in Wellesbourne Airfield. Once our bellies were full it Read more
Steel Horse Cafe is located just outside of Abergavenny at the junction of the B4598 on the road to Usk. The place has a great, friendly atmosphere, serve great food including some amazing muffins and coffee and has loads of easy parking.
Most bikers like to talk and when we are at home or work and need our daily fix of anything motorbike related there are a growing number of us that frequent on on-line motorcycle forum or 2 or 3 or 4…. One of my favourite UK motorbike forums can be Read more
The B3212 starts just to the west of Exeter, passing under the A30 and on past Moretonhampstead before, after 30 miles, it reaches its end at Yelverton. It’s a proper cross-Devon route, taking you right through the heart of Dartmoor National Park along the way. Open moorland, tight hedgerows, and Read more
It’s nearly the end of another fantastic biking year and as usual we have had our ups and downs, some of us haven’t been out on the bikes as often as they would have hoped, some of us ate too many full English breakfasts and some of us got soaked Read more
Like many people these days I have a ‘smartphone’ these are fantastic devices as you can use them not only to text your loved ones that you’re OK, telephone your mates to let them know you’re running late, posting your latest bike photos on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ you can even Read more
Starting in Moffat, follow the signs for Edinburgh on the A701. The road soon opens up to some fantastic scenery, including the infamous Devil’s Beef Tub, a large hollow formed by four hills. From here the road climbs steadily through the Southern Uplands, with the landscape opening out into big, Read more
The B4077 from Stow on the Wold to Toddington is a classic slice of Cotswolds riding. Honey-coloured stone villages, dry stone walls, and a road that rises and falls gently over the hills between them. It’s not a road that demands aggressive riding, and it doesn’t need to be. The Read more
The famous Royal Enfield motorcycles were made in Redditch until 1967, when the factory closed. The brand survives, but the bikes are made in India. When J D Wetherspoons decided to convert the former Danilo Cinema into a pub, they decided to name it The Royal Enfield, in memory of the Read more
The Malcolm Uphill plaque in Caerphilly isn’t just a bit of metal on a wall; it’s a tribute to one of motorcycling’s true legends—a man who rewrote the record books and became a local hero in the process. Malcolm Uphill earned his place in the annals of biking greatness back Read more
The Triumph Monument, a towering ode to two-wheeled greatness, proudly stands on the B4104 in Meriden, right where the legendary Triumph factory once hummed with the sound of British engineering brilliance. Crafted by the talented Frances Firth, this monument isn’t just a slab of stone; it’s a full-throttle celebration of Read more
Tacla Taid, the Anglesey Transport and Agriculture Museum, is the largest of its kind in Wales. It features displays of cars, motorbikes, commercial and farm vehicles and static engines. Websites: Grim Riders Web Site Grim Riders Motorcycle History Trail Google Map Anglesey Transport & Agriculture Museum
The Llangollen Motor Museum is hard to find, but well worth the effort. The museum has a collection of motoring memorabilia which includes more than sixty cars and motorcycles. Websites: Grim Riders Web Site Grim Riders Motorcycle History Trail Google Map Llangollen Motor Museum
The Lone Rider isn’t just a sculpture—it’s a high-octane masterpiece that roars with history and style! Depicting a sleek motorcycle and rider in an edgy futurist style, the artwork practically zooms into your imagination, with design elements that scream “speed” louder than a revving engine. This awe-inspiring piece took a Read more
The National Motorcycle Museum occupies an 8-acre (32,000 m2) site in Bickenhill, Solihull, England and holds the world’s largest collection of British motorcycles. Websites: Grim Riders Web Site Grim Riders Motorcycle History Trail Google Map National Motorcycle Museum
The Coventry Transport Museum (formerly known as the Museum of British Road Transport) houses a collection of British-made road transport, the reason it’s located in Coventry because the city was previously the centre of the British car industry. There are more than 240 cars and commercial vehicles, 100 motorcycles, 200 Read more
It’s March 2013 already but unfortunately due to the poor weather we having been having this is the first time we have managed to get out and bag our first location in this year’s Grim Riders charity motorcycle challenge, the theme being Motorcycle museums and legends. While the sun may Read more
The Touchdown Cafe is based at Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield and it is an extremely popular cafe with pilots using the airfield as well as bikers.
The B4246 from Blaenavon to Abergavenny is only around 6 miles long but as you come out of Blaenavon the road winds uphill, before a great view of the Black Mountains unfolds in the distance. From here, it’s a sharp descent through woodland and some crazy hairpins before arriving at the outskirts Read more
Fromes Hill is located on the A4103 between Hereford and Worcester and is part of Fromes Hill services, the place is very easy to find due to the very large Tank outside!
Queenswood Cafe is a lovely timber framed building in Queenswood Country Park on the A49 between Hereford and Leominster at the top of Dinmore Hill.
Another stop on the 2012 Sculpture Trail ride: Anish Kapoor’s Temenos, looming over the north-east corner of Middlesbrough Dock in Middlehaven like some giant alien antenna picking up cosmic vibes from Teesside. At 110 metres long and pushing 50 metres tall, it’s not exactly easy to miss, especially once you Read more
Bob and Bonzo, connoisseurs of quirky road trips, fired up the Honda Blackbirds and set off for the north of England with a cheeky detour into Scotland, on a mission to bag the last stops of this year’s Grim Riders sculpture trail. First stop, Henry Moore’s King and Queen at Read more
Another stop on the 2012 Sculpture Trail ride: Henry Moore’s King & Queen, sitting regally over Glenkiln Reservoir with enough majestic charm to make you wonder if it’s secretly running the local sheep population. It’s just one of several sculptures scattered around the estate, which looks less like a reservoir Read more
Another one for the 2012 Sculpture Trail ride: a pair of towering scrap metal giraffes that turned up outside the new Omni Centre in Picardy Place back in 2005, and have been stopping traffic ever since. Helen Denerley built the pair entirely from scrap metal, proof that one person’s junk Read more
Next stop on the 2012 Sculpture Trail ride: the Angel of the North, Antony Gormley’s colossal steel guardian that’s kept watch over Gateshead since 1998, perched on a hill above the A1, A167 and the East Coast Main Line like it’s silently judging the morning traffic. At 20 metres high Read more
Last one on the 2012 Sculpture Trail loop: the Apollo Pavilion in Peterlee, a slab of brutalist concrete that’s spent most of its life dividing opinion. Victor Pasmore built it between 1963 and 1970, part sculpture, part footbridge, and the town’s never quite agreed on whether it’s a landmark or Read more
Bob and Bonzo, armed with their trusty Honda CBR1100 Super Blackbirds—aka the two-wheeled jets of the road—set off on an epic adventure to Aberystwyth. Their noble quest? To hunt down the holy trinity of a perfect day out: Sun, Sea, and Sandwiches. Taking the scenic route through the jaw-dropping Elan Read more
The Empowerment was designed by the artist Stephen Broadbent, sponsored by Alstom Power (now Siemens), and completed in 2002, the sculpture spans the River Witham in Lincoln’s City Square. It takes the form of two aluminium-and-steel human figures reaching to each other across the water. The design is intended to Read more
The Halo Smart Clean is a multi stage process that removes road grime, salt, old waxes and co-polymers from the bike before applying a coating of ACF-50 to protect the bike from corrosion. With the exception of the ACF-50 which was designed originally for use in aerospace applications, all the products used Read more