In this country it is not only the weather & the cost but for me it is the big elephant in the room; poor road. Rippled surfaces, bumps, potholes, gravel broken glan, screws, nails...And to top it all salt & grit in the colder months. Not to mention bike theft (a big worry in big towns & cities) I think moving to a less hostile climat & environment is one solution. It is difficuly to do a lot of pleasure riding so bike ownership may provide other additional ways of fulfilment. For me if it becomes a liability & a worry then it is perhaps time to think again Must say I started riding both for work & pleasure. The first part is not there anymore and achieving the second part is becoming more difficult which is sad
Interesting. I was thinking of moving to Portugal, may even to @F1CT1C10U5 home. He has a nice bike shelter and a run around cat to keep me company!! Back to my serious self, perhaps I'm fortunate to live in West Mids. Our roads (both A's and B's) are generally well-maintained. I don't park anywhere long enough to be affected by theft, but BECAUSE of that I am perhaps too confident in not using a disc lock when going for coffee in Worcester. As those who have suffered the misfortune (@dainesefreak for one) we know that it takes only second to nick a bike.
I’ve either not had the time or the weather has been shite, and I hate cleaning bikes. The only reason I’m selling is I’ve ended up with a bunch of points on my license (through no fault of mine) and I’m waiting to have my day in court to attempt to sort it out.
You will have to slow down and buy a V-Strom for a bit I did a year off the roads for speeding and ended up joining the Cycle Touring Club (CTC) - some proper sandal and sock wearing characters in there - met some really nice people in the CTC - no regrets, life took a different course for a while.
Swmbo received two consecutive speeding fines within a fortnight of each other while driving my car, the first I knew of it was when the court papers landed on the mat. Months after the offences.
Well let's you can sort that out then, thought they were meant to send out nips before proceeding, to know who the driver/ not the owner was, did you moved home shortly after the nip was sent? Anyway good luck mate
It is getting very tough out there. In the past 12 months, they have replaced nearly all the speed cameras with average speed one from M4 into london even in the 40,30 mph zones. Trying to keep the average speed while looking out for pedstrian, cyclists, other road users and lane changing is inhuman. You can easily collect fines. LAst Apr decided to ride to london (good friday); last time I did this was in 2010. To add to the above, also notices the lanes have been narrowd to make way for cycle lanes so filtering on bike is is tough and stressful
I live in London and heading out on the A40 to get into the Chilterns was one my routes (other is A1/M1). Try to avoid it now due to the average speed cameras.. Anyone know if they’re set with a margin of error? Half the time I welcome a bit of traffic so it slows me down..!
This thread was exactly the sentiments I felt after a ride last Sunday. 20mph zones, cameras, it's everywhere, even noise monitors proposed now. Agenda2030 is not a hoax, we're being sleepwalked into something not asked for. One of the main culprits in moulding motorcyclist's views is MCN. They pretend to be just passing on the news while dripping a message. Electric bikes for one, ULEZs for another, and it doesn't help when TT heros tell us how great they are. It's not helpful for those of you who are stuck in the UK and can't just relocate but it is real, you will be priced and managed off the road, that's blindingly obvious now. Those who saw this coming years ago and were scoffed at don't look so mad anymore.
Fair enough points, @auag . Definitely cause for concern, more particularly in some areas of UK as opposed to others. Of course there are no lobby groups with enough strength to voice the motorcyclists' word, so what we have to do, in my opinion, is reluctantly grin and bear it, or, as has been suggested, relocate - Spain perhaps? In the meantime, we must do our utmost to enjoy what we have while we have it. Fair enough for me to say, I guess, because I am in my 'twilight years' of bikes. For those new to the scene, the 20 - 30-year-olds, I feel for their motorcycling future. Perhaps they will visit the National Motorcycle Museum in a few years and be looking at 2019 Fireblade SPs on a stand labelled: Remember These?
It's a very complex issue. Some of life is random but mostly it's planned. The game is to change things very slowly, so most don't notice, and those few who do are marginalised rather than becoming leaders of resistance. Over time, most even forget what they once had and the next generation doesn't know it even existed. It sounds Orwellian, and guess what.. it is. The changes to transport policy, the gradual removal of discretionary movement in the name of safety and environment are not random.
