Featured What you been doing with your TRIUMPH today??

No more Sesame Street then? Wonder when ITV will do the reruns in tribute? Sorry I couldn't resist letting my warped humour out.

So has the heart-rate come down and the lingering sense of guilt subsided?

That would have been pretty scary, but good that you still had to ride home; after an incident its always good to get back in the saddle to rediscover that 99% of the time all is good and you can ride safely. I'm guessing a quick glass of wine and a comforting hug from @Helmut Visor will be in order when he gets home.

If it isn't the day-trippers its the wildlife. Stay safe

 

I thought about Sesame Street when I wrote that .

Heart rate came down pretty quickly, I pretty much got it head - on and lower down on the bike, so it was a big thump, but nothing unbalancing. The guilt is still there - those birds are suicidal .

 

Finally some heat from the Sun, 15°

 

Two very nice bikes you’ve got there @darkman. I take it you rode one at a time, or are your riding powers even greater than your technical wizardry.

 

Added SW Motech SysBag 10 to the Speed Twin

 

Yikes! That must have been quite unnerving when you hit that pheasant, @Mrs Visor. And then quite gross when you were cleaning it off your bike and later your leg. I'm glad that your bike wasn't any more damaged than it was and especially that the collision didn't cause something worse. Otherwise it looks like it was a beautiful day for a ride. Nice to see so many bikes out! Thanks for sharing the photos.

 

Need to have a proper clean of the radiator guard today and my trousers are hanging on the line this morning drying having been put straight into the washing machine .

 

Bloody hell, that could have been MUCH more serious, Mrs V. Glad you came out of okay, if a little smelly.

 

I have just spent some time cleaning bits of pheasant off my Striple’s radiator guard with plenty of patience and a soft, short - bristled brush and cooked bits of pheasant off the headers. Had a very through look at the bike and my assessment of one tiny crack yesterday being the only harm done seems to be correct, fingers crossed .

 

Changed the brake fluid and bled the brakes (Speed Triple RS). Checked the bike over as MOT due soon and the horn decided to remain silent. One of 4 things, switch, wiring, relay or horn itself. Turned out to be the horn but managed to fix it by turning the small tone adjuster screw and it came back to life.

 

Went for a lovely ride up to the H cafe near Oxford for breakfast and then to OnyerBike near Bicester for tea and bread and butter pudding. Nice bloke at Onyerbike let me ride his rather smart Monkey bike around the car park, never ridden one in my 62 years and it was really good fun. Saw what appeared to be a little squad of "community speed officers" or some such. Little group of Blakeys if ever I saw one, any sympathy I might have had went once I saw their quasi police jackets and tabards and the officious buzz of excitement a motorcycle instilled in them, but I always stick to 30 in 30 zones.

 

Glad you are ok. Some years ago I hit a deer on a motorway at motorway speed resulting in one dead deer, my pillion wife with a broken ankle and broken toe and a mangled radiator. Miraculously the bike didn't go down.

 

That was some impressive effort keeping upright!!

 

A lot of luck involved methinks

 

Well I am pleased it was on your side that day as far as staying on two wheels was concerned!!

 

More sunshine but rain forecast Mon, making the most of it so took the two 69R's out as well.

 

Easter Sunday I rode 34 miles to see my Sister. A gorgeous day for a ride.

 

A very handsome couple.

 

What a glorious Easter Sunday here in the Sonoran Desert! After attending the sunrise service (6am) at our church, opening our Easter baskets to one another, and walking Ellie, the Boxer, Steve and I did our traditional holiday motorcycle ride to breakfast. But yesterday I noticed an oil leak by Steve's front wheel and, sure enough, it's his fork--blown seal no doubt. Thankfully I have "spare" bikes so today his Street Glide sat in the garage while he rode my Fat Boy (El Gordo, which means, the fat/plump one in Spanish) while I rode my Speed Triple RS. A good deal all around.

The first order of business was to ride to breakfast at Waffle House, one of the two restaurants we ride to on major holidays (Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas).. We alternate our holiday ride breakfasts between Waffle House and Denny's. Since we went to Denny's on Christmas, Waffle House was next up in the queue today.



We got an immediate seat at the breakfast bar which is always our preference anyway. It's great fun to watch the line cooks at work. They are like a ballet company or a well-oiled machine.



Freddie, the Greeter, works this particular Waffle House and he's a delightful gent whose job--and calling--is to be a greeter.




This is a caricature of Freddy at the Waffle House entrance. He's a bit of a celebrity on YouTube and (now) TikTok, too, it seems!



I forgot to take a photo of my breakfast but it was delicious and huge! A pecan waffle, 2 pork sausage patties, 2 eggs over medium, and hash brown potatoes. And, of course, a couple of cups of coffee. It's our tradition to leave a a very large tip for our server on these holiday rides because we've both been food servers and know it's tough to have to work on a major holiday. It's our small way of "paying it forward".

After filling our tummies we proceeded to do our traditional Easter morning westside ride which is beautiful! We go through not one but two "parks"--Tucson Mountain Park and Saguaro National Park-West. On Easter morning the traffic is light and the few drivers we encounter are typically very calm and polite (not always the case on "regular" days!).



I love the Sonoran Desert. It's like a "cactus forest" covered with hundreds and hundreds (probably thousands) of saguaro cacti.

Google Image



Home again, home again. It was great to be out on Speedy, and El Gordo and Steve enjoyed each other's company. Today was the warmest temperatures we've ridden in since last fall. My engine felt really hot but it might have just been the SUN! It was a bit toasty by the time we arrived home around 1pm.






Interesting, we're finding that our trip odometers are a fair amount different when we compare mileages. First we noticed the difference between our Street Glides. Steve's Street Glide always measures less than my Street Glide. Today's difference between my Speed Triple RS and my Fat Boy was 3 miles. Not much for a days ride but a big difference over the life / ownership of a motorcycle! Anyone else notice this with their bikes?

All in all, a wonderful day together celebrating Easter!

El Gordo


Speedy