Leaderboard

Get em a couple of dirty strippers

I'm working tomorrow, then I'm on holiday till the 19th. Once I get back I then have 6 days to work before I leave definitively.

Was a warm ride, cool in the airport.....er hospital. also went to Asda for a bun. Not much of a ride, could have kept riding, but doubt the buns would have survived a long ride.

That's better

Have to be careful around here, there are some dubious guys riding round in vans.

Now I came to the first Ford of the day, this is the ford at Moreton and it's not for the faint-hearted as it's about 50 meters wide with a gravel bottom that you can sink in if you don't keep the power on. I waited until the dogs had finished playing in the river and then went for it. Thankfully I made it through but my starfish did quiver a couple of times and then onto the wonderfully named Jubilee trail.............. Ford number 2 was next (still no BMW's) . I tried to do this last year with a mate , we came from the opposite direction and had a look at it but he didn't fancy it So I came to it from the other direction today and you could get a better view of the best way across............ Safely across and still no wet feet ....................

Now most of the lanes so far had been climbs or descents over chalk or rock and they were bone dry so the next lane came as a bit of a shock. It started well with a lovely old sign just off the main road............ Then I had to hunt a bit to find the entrance as it went across someone's drive right outside of their posh house Once I got into the lane I first noticed that there was a lot of vegetation and it was very green , this ,meant that there had to be a water course underneath and that usually means boggy going. The vegetation was thick and you couldn't see the ruts underneath so there was a lot of paddling of legs to keep everything upright............... After about 15 minutes to do about half a mile I came to more solid ground (thank god) and stopped for a coffee. While I was stopped I noticed this very ambiguous sign which just about sums up how rights of way in England . It says 'Public route to Public path ' WTF is that supposed to mean ?? The next lane is a bit contentious but the gate wasn't locked today so I carried on up Everley Down. Then I cam to a new lane (to me) and found that someone doesn't want us to ride it I just rode over the pile of chalk/rubble and carried on............ Now I had to do a bit of roadwork to get down to an area of Dorset that reminds me of parts of France. It's heath type land with lots of sand and fir trees...............

Ditch pump?

Dunno. Last weekend the boys will be home before they both leave for uni so got to make the most of it. Maybe some sort of banquet.

Whoo hoo...I am off out on the scoot again today Only going to the hospital for my MRI........but it's better than nothing.

Wedding at the weekend …. New whistle and I’m Looking fresh and crisp hope it cools down a bit though

And the good news is that the heat is on the way out! Hopefully I'll be out Saturday and Sunday in the mornings as we've got the boys in the afternoons. What you lot doing?

I was meant to work today but after a phone call to my boss last night I decided to give it a miss. Ducati parts are not selling well at the moment and my boss and our mechanic were off to Snetterton today for a race weekend so not much point in going in. So a ride was on the cards and as I haven't been trail riding for a couple of months I though I'd give that a go and see if my ribs and back would hold out ok. Last night I scanned the OS maps and google earth and plotted a route down to some fords in Dorset and take in some lanes that I hadn't done before. It was an hour and 30 mins to the first lane just south of Shaftesbury, I must of ridden past this loads of times but never spotted it before........ These girls were keen to see what was going on ........... I did another couple of lanes before the glorious climb up through Fontmell Down............ and then through another couple of sunken lanes to get back to the A350 near Iwerne Minster........

And so onto Ford number 3 ................... The only dodgy bit today was dropping your front wheel off the first ramp to get into the ford , after that it wasn't so bad............... The next lane was off limits when I got there as it has a TRO (traffic regulation order) in place until April 2023. The lane in question has been fought over by different parties for over 20 years so no real change there. I then road onto some some lovely lanes around Yeovil ............... and finished at Babylon Hill, one of the best lanes in southern England (IMO) but not one that you'd want to ride up when it's wet By time I got home I'd been out for over 9 hours and covered 175 miles, this evening I am knackered

Next up was another lane that I've passed many times but never ridden . This is a Byway (open to all traffic) and yet there are locked gates at both ends, I just rode around the gates and carried on........... Further up the road I got to another lane that was completely blocked with farm machinery, there was no way past this one but obviously the rich land owners around these parts don't give a toss about the law Next I rode down into Cerne Abbas to see the famous land mark on the hill, if you zoom in you can clearly see that this dude rode a Honda Rally Just at the entrance to the next lane I stopped to take this photo of the drive leading up to some posh pad , a lady who was driving down would down her window and told me that I shouldn't be parked there So onto another a couple of lanes with glorious views.................... and then this one which involved opening and closing five gates along it's length

Not everyone has a van to keep their bikes safe in

midget dago bummer transport, get to abandoned villages much quicker.

It is around 22c/23c but it is quite humid today. The rain will arrive tomorrow the weatherman says, and could be heavy at times, and it's going to stay around the same temps over the weekend, a warm & wet weekend.

I live near weston-super-mare the chances of them turning up clean are remote.

I’m driving down to England to see my mother, weather forecast is shit so the bike will stay at home.

In all my years of riding I have only ever had 1 bike stolen from me, I don't want to ever go through the anger/rage and frustration again.........the feeling when you return to where you parked your bike and find a empty space is soul destroying ........and the absolute crap that insurance companies come up with when trying to claim, it may only be a lowly scooter to you guys, but it's my scooter paid for with my money Rant over.

If he didn't padlock it , it would have a Deliveroo sticker on it within 30 minutes and a wannabee Valentino Rossi riding around delivering drugs

He won't understand the concept of actually riding bikes to get to where you want to go Fred!

he's chained and padlocked it....

Yep same here, set off on a ride, come back and it's is dusty......but it looks clean as I don't think I have ridden it in the wet...,..I will remove the seat tub which makes access to the engine a doddle. A few things to do to it, oil change in around 1000 miles, new plug, and the wheel paint is poor, respray during the winter.

That's a major issue here! Virtually every time I wash the bike it's not because of road muck.....it's because of dust. And because it's so sandy you can't just put some polish on it because it'll scratch the paintwork. You just gotta hose it away.

It does until you get up close, the wheels are dirty, and the black plastics are covered in dust, suppose that's with it being so dry.

They look cool on that young lady, they don't look quite so cool on a 70 year old bloke ....................... just saying

This is why Mrs Moon is NOT accompanying me on the trip delivering N01 daughter to Liverpool. she can say her adieu's at home and have a bit of a cry with the remaining 2 once we've left.

Moving the boy to Uni in Bristol tomorrow the wife is going to be devastated i don't know who's going to stress worst

Those shredded jeans that chick is wearing rock.

If only you had a van to chuck the bike in …. when I say can I mean Artic .

Same old here.

I hold a grudge, id do it just for the fun of it, more should do it in areas of high theft. Most chit being done is by a small percentage of repeat offenders. Take them out...crickets. Works over here, why call the cops, fuck them they are the biggest criminals around.

I would, but the bike was stolen in 1982 That bike (Honda CB400f) was never seen again.

Put a tracking device on a bait bike where your old one was stolen, let it get nicked, and let the hunt begin...

Admit it or not we all have a relationship with our bikes no matter what they are, they're in part priceless so yer thats the lowest of the low. Well not exactly, insurance companies are the lowest of the low, the differences between insurance companies and thieves are difficult to discriminate.

Well some of thats annoying shite but some of it like closed (not locked) gates I understand if you're moving cattle where there's public access well thats a whole nother story. As a reasonable sprinter I can tell you 4 legs beats 2 every time and feckers who leave gates open should be shot on sight

Nice one Bob have i said i like a gravel bottom before

Loving this report. Do not fancy my chances of staying dry on ford number two! Or any water for that matter

Excellent Bob!

So satisfying

Had my weekend today. I'll be looking after my son all weekend as Ersilia is off to London with her sister to see the virtual ABBA gig

bet he's a Harley rider