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nice camera angle.
makes it look like a 1200 !!! Intro......
After many years as a keen traveller of the world, in the conventional way of planes and automobiles, the challenge of heading for the beautiful Pyrenees, coast to coast, on motorcycles all started when I turned 50 and met Tony, the man of my dreams! He gave me the 1950's book 'Gasoline Gypsy' by Peggy Iris Thomas to read.. wow... how inspiring! and a
must read for any lady traveller! An independent lady full of adventure conquering 14,000 miles through Canada, USA and Mexico in the 1950's and all on a BSA 125cc, just my kind of woman! Alas, she did have the advantage of being half my age, but none the less, that didnt deter me from acquiring a 1995 Honda 125 to start learning how to ride! 50 is the new 30, isnt it?!!
Being excited with our common interests and fabulous new relationship, my enthusiastic partner Tony helped me find my Honda - Rupert.. (Ah, bless, yes, I named him, much to Tony's disgust! ha ha) which was just the ticket to get me out on two wheels, even in February! To my amazement, pulling off without stalling was perfect from the start, stopping was
Honda 125. another figure of 8.
how many times does 8 go into 684 ??? another story!, had to get used to having a brake under my right foot, not in my right hand!, but soon got to grips with it! After many sessions practising 'figure of 8's', I booked my CBT in haste, (courtesy of Tony - who bought me a voucher for Christmas) as I was keen to get started, even in February! We planned to get out on the road and make some short trips in Wales during the spring and summer to get into the swing of things.... Ferry to France booked for 28th August.. Portsmouth to Bilbao!
Tony had been intending to write a motorcycle travel blog for some time, but despite all the picture taking, including a 5 week life changing trip to the Himalayas, hadn't quite got round to it. We are planning a lot of travels in our 50's and beyond, so its time to make many lasting memories for us to share...
This particular trip is a little jaunt across the Pyrenees in late summer. My co traveller is my lovely lady Angie, who I met late last year and was more enthusiastic for this trip than me even though she had never ridden
a bike before and wasnt interested in a 2 up trip ! go girl !!! To that ends, she booked her CBT, passed on the 17th February and bought an 18 year old honda cg125! it soon became apparent it had seen a hard learners life!.
So, what bikes to ride ? Angie was so keen that she intended taking her big bike test in June and get in plenty of practice miles on UK weekend bike trips before August, so it wasnt going to be her CG125 ! We very much wanted to take in the countryside and culture, stopping often, and where some old cliche that it was about the journey rather than the destination would very much be priority and the crux of the holiday.
I didnt fancy slogging on my BMW 1100rt and anyway with Angie being so new to it, what "big" tourer would she ride alongside ?! No, we would do it at a leisurely pace, economically and smile at every "flat out" 45mph twist and turn !!! I suggested a couple of Honda Cub C90's !!!! but on reflection and consideration given for the amount of hills we would be climbing
we both soon doubted my childlike enthusiasm. Also, have you seen the money these things fetch nowadays !
In my garage I had two old Honda twins - a 1979 CD200 Benly and 1988 CD250. These were complete but had been in many parts for some time, one with electrical issues - brake pedal also flashing headlights (MOT failure apparently !) and everything seemingly rewired from a jumbo roll of red cable !!!! The other in need of new pistons and rings ! So, what better incentive to get them both sorted than the promise of escaping rainy UK for the sunshine of southern France, mountain tops, forests, medievel towns, mountain streams, roman aqueducts and the company of a lovely lady all on two wheels - whooohoooo !
Motorways/highways were to be avoided where possible though we would take the highway from Bilbao across the border into France as the ride/holiday was really about being in the countryside not about riding for the sake of riding. My son sorted the wiring on the 250 and I got all excited about booking the MOT and riding her again, charged the battery, fresh petrol and she fired up after only
a few seconds. Wow, such a relief, unfortunataly only firing on one cylinder !!! usual checks - fuel, yep. spark, yep. compression ? cant find the 10mm adapter ! aaaaargh !!!! more on that later !! The 200 on the other hand had received new pistons and rings and I had removed the starter motor as I never used it and being 6volt, if it didnt start on the button after 2 attempts then it seemed that the battery lost 2volts with every subsequent attempt !! and anyway the 1kg weight saving could be crucial on the climb up the col du tourmalet. At least I am sure I heard something along those lines on some Tour de France coverage ! maybe replace it with a kilogramme of something from Lance Armstrongs cabinet ? no need to worry about performance then eh !!!!!
I decided a more comfortable seat would be nice and had just such a thing from an old moped, a luggage rack from an Enfield Bullet and maybe some kind of Frankenstein pannier arrangement. I got as far as bracketry for the seat and drilling some holes for the rack when Angie turned up to practice
her 'figure of eight'!!. I proudly showed off my handy work and announced my intentions at which point she questioned the use of a bike with weak 6volt electrics should something fail and the fact that i would be riding foreign roads with a rubbish headlight and no indicators, no matter how pretty or potentially comfortable ! damn, she can be so sensible (and realistic !)
Plan B, or maybe C ! I have a feeling there may be some considerable overlapping of plans ! I was determined that we would do the trip on small bikes. The 250 cylinder problem was hopefully just a minor issue so that was still going to France. I started looking at cd and cb200's, super dreams etc, for Angie but figured probably best not to tempt fate. Let her pass her test then she could choose what kind of bike she felt she wanted and suited her. However, in one of my late nights on ebay, I came across a 1981 CD200 Benly (12volt !), dry stored in a garage, last on the road 1993, one owner, original bill of sale and all MOT's to back up the 15000 miles on the
clock !!! well at a couple of hundred quid and one more bottle of ale just to be absolutely sure what could i do ?......go get it!
The mudguards were rotten but unbelievably the tyres still held air and the wheels were in better condition than those on my Benly ! though probably in need of some serious internal de-gunking she ran sweet !!!! Looks like she might be going to France too !!!! Angie can still choose a bike of her own, but my overactive brain is already planning a CD250/Benly arrangement with common parts from both bikes battling it out to see which ones get bolted to the bike for a place on the ferry to Bilbao in August !
Following the passing of my Motorbike theory test, (second attempt!) our first weekend 'practice' ride to West Wales on my CG 125 and Tony's Funduro! (Yep, plan 'C' !) was over the first May bank holiday of 2013. 180 miles round trip via Builth Wells, Llandovery, Lampeter and Sennybridge, Brecon to return (see map attached). All went without a hitch, and boosted my confidence no end! This was the start of our summer jaunts to get
plenty of practice in, next one to North Wales in July, with a nice little stop over in Ruthin castle and a quaint B&B Ty-Mawr in Snowdonia.
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