What Have You Being Doing With Your Non-triumph Today?

Cant wait Dougie. First time for me along with three other mates. Luckily I live just outside Plymouth so the Santander ferry is 20 mins away

 

You'll love it! The place is full of great roads, how long are you there for?

 

Go on Sunday and back overnight on Thursday. Staying in Potes and have three great looking routes planned. About 6/7 hours per day which still not sure if too much but we all dont mind riding long distance. Think its the type of rods rather than mileage which makes the time though.
Been watching Richy Vida (annoying but good routes) and picked a couple from Ride recommended. I doubt we could go wrong whichever direction we go in

 

Slowing things down on the non Triumph today. Down to 4mph to be exact. Canal boating round the 4 counties ring (110 miles) in the Midlands for next 10 days before the Picos. Mrs Owl (Donna aka lock maiden) has 96 locks ahead of her while I take the stressful job of steering the boat. Great start through the Potteries and then into Harecastle tunnel. 2900+ yards long, supposedly haunted and 40 mins to get through underground. Got to feel for the people who built these things back in the day

 

Wow, SO interesting, @SleepyOwl! There's nothing even remotely like that around where I'm from. Wonderful photos! And Donna looks to be a superb "lock maiden", too.

 

In lieu of our usual Sunday group ride this past weekend, I did a little solo ride. Mr. Sandi had been invited to a friends' home for a Sunday morning "coffee with the guys" and other riding buddies seemed to have diverse plans and responsibilities as well. It was well past my Street Glides turn to get out of the stable and when I looked at my trip odometer it said 301.5 miles. That meant the last time I rode it was Rodeo Break weekend when we rode to Tortilla Flat and to Ajo, Arizona and that was over a month ago!

Since I've just been riding my Speed Triple and El Gordo for the past month, my Street Glide felt a big at first. But I love riding this bike and it only took a few miles to feel at home on it again. Mr. Sandi and I had friends coming over in the early afternoon so I had a limited amount of time to be out. I chose to ride up to and around Saddlebrooke, an area I've posted about previously. It's a huge "master-planned community" about 20 miles to the north of where we live in central Tucson.

There's a gas station with a quick mart in Saddlebrooke and I often stop there for something to drink midway through my ride. Often that something is an energy drink but today it was early enough that I opted for coffee.


As I rode into and around Saddlebrooke I had made the decision to get a nice fat muffin or donut to accompany my coffee. Minit Market has always had a case with fresh baked pastries in it but I'd never caved in and bought one, enticing as they were. But today the pasty case was nowhere to be found. When I asked, the clerk said that they hadn't had those fresh pastries for nearly eight months! Well, I guess if you snooze you lose. But as with many things in life, there are always alternatives and I found a packaged pastry that looked rather disappointing in its little plastic package but was actually quite delicious. It was called a Cream Cheese Cake. I didn't last any cream cheese but it was super moist and flavorful. And I'm certain it was very healthy.


Just when I sat down and began to sip my coffee, a car pulled in next to my bike. A woman emerged and as she did she emphatically waved at me and pointed to my bike saying, "Is this your bike? It's beautiful!" I walked over and she asked me more questions and we introduced ourselves. We wound up having a wonderful conversation over coffee at one of the little tables outside and must talked for a good half an hour all about motorcycles. She said she'd really love to learn to ride and I shared a bit about my entry into the wonderful world of motorcycles. I encouraged her to take the beginner rider course and shared websites with her. She was absolutely delightful and I hope to one day meet up with her again--this time with her on a bike! This sort of "chance" meetup is one of the things I truly love about riding motorcycles. I've met so many people over the years while traveling on my bike that I'm quite sure I'd never have met if I was driving a car.


Home again in the garage after a quick solo Sunday run. But that "solo" part was graced by a lovely connection with a stranger...all because of a bike.

 

Great write up @Sandi T and yes, wouldn’t that be great if you meet up again?
Another el gordo? Nah, there's only one!
Thanks for posting of course!

 

It is a great part of the history of the country Sandi. Originally built (by hand) to get the cotton and coal etc to the ports from inland. It was the raid network of the day. Families lived on board permanently. We have a 60 foot boat but they would have all been in a tiny cabin at the back to make more money from the products they transported. Originally pulled by horses and men would lay on their backs in the tunnels to push the barges through. Donna doesn’t know how lucky she is!! Lol
The red lines on this map show all the canals in England and Wales so it was quite a network they built.

 

She’s right. A beautiful bike. I love how bikes being people together.

 

Another two stories from different parts of the world from @SleepyOwl and @Sandi T . Both proving insight to local culture and has emphasised that motorcycling joins people together. We are so lucky to be able to enjoy these on the forum.

 

It's hard to go out for the day on a bike and not end up talking to at least one stranger. It's part of the fun. And if you're in a bad mood, you can always keep your helmet on. Although that does make eating cakes tricky.

 

A bad mood doesn't last long once you've put your helmet on.
(Can even try it in the house - won't be long before you're grinning like an idiot)

 

You make an excellent point.

 

Took the Lextek exhaust off the interceptor today. Lad down the road has agreed to buy them. Once I get the new gaskets I will fit the oem exhausts and then put the bike on the market.

anybody interested or know somebody who would be interested in the bike, pm me.

It is a 2020 bike with circa 3000 miles, with chrome tank.

 

Why are you selling it Wessa ??

 

I bought it for an upright riding position bike (I also liked the bike to be honest). I had the cafe racer Thruxton and Tiger Sport, so it complimented my garage. I have recently converted and put flat bars on the Thruxton which makes it the same riding position as the Interceptor. So I don’t think I will ride the interceptor that much, so decided to sell it.

 

That is going to be a bargain for some lucky person. To be honest it's the best colour chrome combination too. I'd be very tempted if I didn't have my Thunderbird, but I'd more than likely be in the same situation. Just out of interest what are you looking for in terms of the ££. I was trying to get the misses to get one about a year ago.

 

Circa £5k, but will consider any sensible offer.

 

@SleepyOwl you got me reminiscing, checked my photo album, time flies - 14 years now since we did the Picos (also stopped just outside Potes - Hotel Infantado). Used the Plymouth-Santander over night ferry then and many times since, a great way to start a Euro tour wherever you're heading, that trip the ferry was the busiest we've ever seen, doubt you'll see anything like it post Brexit/Covid.

(If they put you next to the fish lorries don't be in a rush to get down to the bike when you dock - they give off a special aroma )

You WILL enjoy the area, great roads and scenery..




But look out for Spanish style roadworks - they can be a bit agricultural - but then you're using the ideal bike for it.




Have fun, ride safe!

 

Wow, what an interesting slice of history, @SleepyOwl! Thanks for sharing it. And that map is amazing! Two things that tweaked the claustrophobic streak in me were picturing a family living in a tiny cabin and (especially) men laying on their back in the tunnels pushing barges through.