Ah, the little GPz—officially known as the ZX400C2, but affectionately referred to as that trusty old workhorse. This bike has certainly seen some miles and swapped hands more times than a good story at a pub. It started life as an official UK import and made its way into my Read more
The Long Itch Diner is located just outside the village of Long Itchington, it’s an extremely popular place not only with bikers (They hold biker nights every Thursdays) but also with custom car people who regularly hold events at the diner.
We started at Thunder Road Motorcycles in Bridgend for their official opening and spent a while admiring the new models (and new bikes) then we went on to a new cafe that Bonzo found called Village Farm Cafe on an industrial estate in a place called Pyle, the grub was superb! Read more
The day began as any good adventure should: with a hearty breakfast plan and the promise of a day enjoying the scenic roads of Wales. Bob and I were set to meet Bonzo and Ray just outside Ross-on-Wye for some early morning grub before hitting the twisties. Spirits were high, Read more
This years West Mids Riders Egg Run was a very well attended event with over 400 bikes, passengers and over 1000 easter egg’s turning up at the event starting point at the McDonalds in Bassetts Pole for a ride around Birmingham and ending up at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Thanks to Russell Davies’s excellent website at eggbaconchipsandbeans.com I was told about this great Cafe not far away so on one a cold and quiet Saturday morning me and Bob set off towards the Peak District in search of food. The Grindleford Station Cafe at Grindleford is very easy to find, Read more
It’s November so that must means it’s time for our annual pilgrimage to the NEC for this years Motorcycle Show. This years show felt slightly better than the past few years, there were less stalls selling `car boot tat’ and the isles seemed wider and easier to move around, maybe Read more
Today’s little ride started off much like many of our recent adventures — with a very necessary and extremely important stop at the Salt Box Cafe in Hatton. You know the drill: fuel up, fill the tank, and get your belly in gear for the day ahead. As always, the Read more
The Caldecote Steam Party has been an annual event for over 30 years, it was started my a local steam engine enthusiast named Cyril Bugby who one year for his birthday celebrations got together with his friends gathered in the a field in Caldecote to show off their steam engines Read more
What started as a ‘let’s have a wander down south’ turned out to be a very interesting day, after meeting up at Bob’s house we then headed down the A429 aka the Fosseway from Warwick, around cirencester and onto the A433 through the picturesque village Tetbury until we hit the M4 Read more
Today’s little jaunt was around the Forest of Dean, it’s one of the best kept secrets in the UK as it covers some amazing places and some even better roads. We had the pleasure of our Welsh friends today and after meeting up at in Malvern and after the customary Read more
The David Cooper Memorial Run aims to provide days out to remember for handicapped children and one of the ways they accomplish this is by using motorcycle side cars as fun transportation for these children to take them to exciting places around the Midlands. As you may know Bob not Read more
Oops! Dam! and Blast! – These were probably the words uttered by Ray as he slid off his Fireblade while going around a hairpin bend and started heading for the armco barrier…then again maybe he used slightly more colourful words. Thankfully Ray wasn’t hurt but his precious Fireblade was slightly scratched.
June 2004 saw yet another successful trip across the channel by Bob, Bonzo, Chinny and Windsor to explore the delights of Northern France.
Quatford Food Stop is also known as Alan’s Cafe or Quatford Cafe has long been a favourite biker’s cafe is a very biker friendly cafe just outside Bridgnorth in Shropshire.
Ray bought his Fireblade in 2002 and rode it all around the UK including some very long trips to France. The only modifications Ray did to his Blade was to fit a Givi rack and box. In August 2004 Ray forgot to go around a corner and decided to try Read more
Let me get this bit out of the way first, this must be the one of the best items ever produced for a motorcycle (unless you have a shaft or belt driven bike of course) A Scottoiler is a small chamber (5 inches long) that connects into the vacuum between the Read more
You may have noticed from previous bike rides that this show is one that we have visited for the last 2 years, it’s a shame to say that this year will might be the last time, unless something radical is done. This year’s show was, to be honest, crap! I Read more
To commemorate (or should that be celebrate?) Bonzo’s moving from the Midlands down to Wales we decided to have a little ride out into Wales and have a wander around the historic landscapes and thriving wildlife that makes up Elan Valley. We all left the Midlands and headed on down to Read more
The Imperial War Museum is a collection of five museums that include IWM London, IWM North in Greater Manchester, IWM Duxford, The Churchill War Rooms in London and the historic ship HMS Belfast, moored in the Pool of London on the River Thames, today we were heading East along the Read more
East? or West? That was the question of the day, should we head into Wales or go east towards Lincolnshire? After weighing up the pros and cons our bellies made the decision for us and told us to head for Wales and enjoy a breakfast at Dinky’s Dinah’s. Well you Read more
The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford is located in Shropshire and offers a fun, entertaining day out for all the entire family. Situated next to an active airfield, this is the only place in the Midlands where you can get close to so many breathtaking aircraft for free. Over 70 Read more
Bletchley Park, for those who haven’t yet had the pleasure of learning about this historic marvel, became the secret HQ of the Government Code and Cipher School during WWII—a team of absolute brainiacs who cracked the infamous Nazi Enigma cipher, effectively turning the tide of the war and giving Hitler Read more
In June 2003 Bob, Ray and Bonzo to take a ‘Bob weekend’ (10 days, you know what plumbers are like) to ride the 1,600 miles from the Midlands to the north of France, down through France and into Spain and finally into Gibraltar to see if any of the monkey’s Read more
The Midway Truck Stop is located on the A41, just outside Whitchurch, Like the Salt Box Cafe, the Midway is a very popular with lorry drivers (they even have their own seating section) and is the home of the world famous “Desperate Dan” breakfast. If you think you have a large appetite, the try one of these!
September 2002 Bonzo traded in his excellent Triumph Trophy 1200 for yet another Honda Blackbird! December 2005 Bonzo traded this 2001 Honda Blackbird for a brand new 2005 black one!
May 2002 Altberg (also known as Alt-berg) is a small company based in Richmond, North Yorkshire that originally and still do make excellent walking boots, I believe that a number of the employees at the company ride motorcycles and so they decided to start manufacturing motorcycle boots. The boots are Read more
Windsor’s got no excuse for this little incident, whilst approaching a bend his Honda VFR was happily content with the usual method of going around via the bit in the middle (known as the road) but Windsor had an idea and wondered what would happen if he went straight on, Read more
