I had an errand to run in Cheddar on Saturday morning, and as the weather was glorious, I decided to take the bike there, by the long route. We live close to the coast, but we can see the Mendip Hills from our back window, and they are a favourite biking area for us.

So, I was on the road before 8am, and enjoying the (still cool) June morning while there wasn't too much traffic about.

This CBF1000 really is working well for me. If you look at the spec sheet, it doesn't look particularly outstanding, with its "retuned" Fireblade engine, steel spine frame, and conventional suspension. But it really seems to hang together well.

I was able to make a respectable (but legal!) speed on the long, straight roads on the top of the Mendips, which look fantstic right now, with all of the trees in full leaf. There is one favourite but complex little stretch of road, that always gives me a buzz, with a medium speed right hand bend, followed by a dip and a small bump. Occasionally on the Fireblade, when I got it just right, the compression through the dip as I wound on the throttle from the bend was fun, followed by the front end coming up slightly on the bump, as the engine tried to wind in the chain, followed by a wobble as I messed up the front wheel landing! It's not like that on the CBF though, but it is, still, great fun, and, somehow, much more reassuring. Maybe it's true what they say though - the older I get, the faster I was!

Anyway, the long straights of the high road are followed by the tight winding descent through Cheddar Gorge, which really is a great stretch of road, as long as you watch out for the mountain sheep on the road! But the scenery, with the cliffs towering hundreds of feet above the road, is stunning, and worth stopping for.

After I dropped off the present for our nephews in Cheddar, I headed home for breakfast, and preparations for the first England game of the World Cup (beer, chicken wings etc!).

What a great way to start a weekend, eh. Next weekend it's the CBF1000 Owners Rally in Wales. Should be a lot of fun.

Cheers!

We were out riding early on Sunday morning, and on this occasion Janet led. We tend to swop around a bit, from one trip to the next, depending on who feels like riding point, and who fancies chasing. The same applies to tours - we've both led while over on the continent.

Anyway, this ride started me asking myself - which is more enjoyable, leading or following? And I came to a conclusion that surprised me. Following is more fun.

Leading is not unlike riding alone - the road ahead is clear, and you can set your pace (albeit you have to make some allowance for the rider/s behind).

But there seems to be a certain poetry to following. You position yourself around the rider/s ahead, you follow their line (or make your own if you choose). Most of all, you get to watch a bike, or bikes, in action. The acceleration and deceleration, the bend swinging, the suspension riding the ripples and bumps in the road. In a way, and depending on how close you ride, it is not unlike (I imagine) formation flying, holding station as the others pitch and roll at high speed.

It may not be the normal "don't follow leaders" biker image, but no matter. Biking is about what you enjoy, and if I'm not riding alone, I'll happily follow.

Well we had a bit of a change of plan, and didn't get away for the weekend - life gets in the way sometimes, doesn't it! But the promised brilliant weather arrived, so we wheeled the bikes out for a clean, and got some of the accumulated winter filth off them.

Then we headed into Bristol on the bikes, to grab a bite to eat at our favourite bike emporium, Fowlers of Bristol. And very nice it was, too. We set ourselves up at a table in the sunshine, and watched the bikes coming and going, while grabbing a snack and a drink. Low key, yes, but a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

This very tidy H-D Sportster combo caught my eye. It's pretty unusual to see a combo at all these days, so it's nice to see one so well turned out.

It was good to see a dad and two kiddies (both kids almost too small to see over the dash!) get helmeted up and ride away - happy family!

Back home, we polished the bikes, lubed the chains, and put them away for tomorrow. Now I think it would be nice to sit in the back garden with a glass of wine, and enjoy the evening sunshine - Cheers! 

We had a great evening yesterday - every Thursday through the summer the Royal British Legion Riders Branch hold a big bike meet on the sea front, in our home town of Weston-super-Mare. Yesterday the weather was unseasonably warm, and the turnout was huge.

We took the bikes for a short ride, and by the time we got to the event, there were already hundreds of bikes lined up. There were trade stands too (need a badge sewing on to your leathers?!), and everybody was well chilled and enjoying themselves.

The evening was nicely rounded off over a pint, trying out my new netbook, and learning how to use this software!

We'll do a bigger feature on the bike nights at the end of the season, with plenty of pics of the bikes too. 

Well, after years of running a web site (actually, Mrs T runs it, and I just pretend to!), it's time to start my biking blog.

What's it for? Well, I want to record what it's like to actually be biking - and especially the long trips - rather than just doing retrospectives. So, we've splashed out on a netbook, which will fit into the top box, and whenever we're on the road, I'll try to keep an up to date journal, with pics, of our travels.

We'll start, hopefully, this weekend, with a little jaunt to the south coast. The weather looks like being just right for it, so we'll hit the road Friday afternoon, and spend the weekend biking and partying a little.

Watch this space...