We're on the road again 2011
Nick, Anthony and Daniel are off again...!
and every penny we raise will go to CANCER RESEARCH UK.
11th August 2011. Well that's it for this blog, we raised a total of £400 for Cancer Research UK which was short of our goal but it's still an achievement. Thanks to everyone who contributed to that figure either by donation or by buying a raffle ticket or whatever.
Plans are already afoot for next year and with a fair wind and a bit if luck we hope to increase the distance traveled by incorporating more of the Anglian and Welsh coastline.
Watch out for our new blog which will be starting once we've finalised the plans.
Bye for now...
Check the new blog...
http://2012tour.blogspot.com
Sunday 31st July. We had the funeral and it was a sad day for all. The lads and I decided to have a bit of a break and ride up to the Lake District. We headed to Lowick Green near Coniston Water where a friend has a B&B called the Farmers Arms. The ride up was great and we got there for about 3:30pm on Thursday. Once everything was put away we stayed in the bar before a really good dinner then returned to the bar where we met some of the locals and had a pleasant evening with them. On Friday we made for Coniston Water along the quiet country lanes which twisted left and right through what at times seemed impossible corners before reaching the small town of Coniston. After a short break we rode on to Lake Windermere through Ambleside and down to Bowness where we parked. The place was awash with tourists as it always is and we joined in with them sightseeing. We finally returned to the Farmers Arms for a late lunch before returning home. It was a great chance to unwind a little after recent events and we hope to return there again to explore the rest of the Lake District.
http://www.farmersarmslowick.co.uk/
Farmers Arms Lowick Green
Coniston Water
Windermere
Anthony me & Daniel
Friday 15th July 2011. The day before the tour.
It’ with great sadness that I have to announce that the tour has had to be postponed. My dad passed away this morning after a short illness and for that reason we will not now be going. We hope, instead to be able to re-schedule this to next year.
Keep smiling Dad.
Wasyl Lojik Apr 1924 - July 2011
28th June 2011 Wow time is flying by, just 18 days to set off !! I can't believe how quick it's come round. Final thing that needed doing before we set off was to get my glasses sorted out and yes, I went to Specsavers. So now I will be able to see both the road ahead as well as the speedo & satnav, clearly. The guy's in the shop even agreed to set up a poster for this trip and a sponsor form too. Thanks to everyone at WWW.specsavers.co.uk/Kirkstall.
15th June 2011 Just 4 weeks on Saturday, to go! Nice to see the summer is here at last, at least I think it's summer, well the rain is warmer, so it must be. It's really bouncing down as I write this, though I have to say that despite the soggy trouser legs, I actually enjoyed my ride home in the rain. Can't wait to get going...
1st June 2011 Well it's getting nearer, just another 6 weeks before we set off! All the electronic gear has been tested and works fine, the bikes are in tip-top condition and I've put to one side a few spares such as oil and spark plugs, just in case. I've also gone over the route again and I'm looking forward to seeing places like the Norfolk Broads and Brecon Beacons. We're eager to get going and I can't wait to see what other sights we'll spot along the way.
Brecon Beacons National Park
27th May 2011 Our press release was in the Yorkshire Evening post last night but for some reason they used an old photograph from our Long Way Round 2009 UK Tour. Well so much for the press, they're bound to get something wrong..! They did however include the link to the Just Giving site so hopefully there may be a donation or two as a result. Anyway, thanks to Dyrons Motorcycles in Leeds, http://dyronsmotorcycles.co.uk/ the bikes are in full working order and have been given a clean bill of health. Mine needed a new chain of course but that was expected and it passed the MOT.
We need to get some lightweight waterproofs as we only really have winter gear, which is a bit too heavy for summer riding. We also need some decent, waterproof bags as the ones we have, have all seen better days. I'll be checking out the sales in the next couple of weeks.
20th May 2011 We had a visit today from the area volunteer manager for Cancer Research UK, Simon Moran, and between us we put together a press release which will be featured in the Yorkshire Evening Post. Simon is a busy man and so we appreciated him giving up his time to come and see us. We spent some time going over the route and what we hoped to achieve as well as the reasons why we chose to support Cancer Research UK. A couple of photo's were taken of us wearing the T-Shirts.
We're really looking forward to getting going and all that remains now is to get the bikes serviced and put together our kit.
2nd May 2011 Following the Ride of Honour last month, the news has just come through of the amount raised and the number of bikes which collected their entry tickets. In total 723 bikes set off on the morning of the 3rd April, although many more joined in later, and the amount raised was £6000 !
24th April 2011 A couple of our headsets have go on the blink so I’ve had to get some replacement bits and today was the first chance to test them so Anthony and I took the bikes out this afternoon for a bit of a ride. It’s been really nice for the last couple of weeks and so any opportunity to go riding is not going to be missed. We took the A6120 ring road to Weetwood then turned right at the roundabout and then left onto Otley Old Road through Cookridge and crossed the A658 Harrogate Road. We then turned left onto York Gate and rode up to the Chevin Forest Park. Anthony wanted to try out his new camera so this seemed like a good place to stop. We spent about an hour there as he snapped away, I had also brought along my camera so I joined in. From there we back tracked to the A658 where we turned left down Pool Bank and right at the traffic lights at the Dynley Arms along the A659. From there we made our way to Roundhay Park for a few more photos before heading back home. We didn’t cover too many miles but it was a good opportunity to test out the re furbished head sets which, by the way worked perfectly well.
View from the Chevin
The Viaduct near Harrogate
The Lake at Roundhay
3rd April 2011 What a fantastic day! We were at Squires for about 08:30 and the place was filling up even at that early stage of a Sunday morning. There were bikes of every shape and size from little scooters to massive Harleys and Hondas. After registering and collecting the T-Shirt, we set off at 10am and the place erupted into life with the roar of a million cc's of petrol powered energy from some 800 bikes. The line rumbled out of Squires through the countryside and on to the A64 heading for Malton and Eden Camp. Police were there guiding the line through lights and roundabouts, marshals monitored our progress and bystanders waived flags and cheered us through. It was a wonderful atmosphere and an experience I'd like to repeat! Progress was slow in parts due to our sheer number of bikes but after about an hour and a half we saw the sign for the Camp. Indicators flashed as we peeled off the A64 and on to the entrance where a couple of full sized Spitfires marked the gates. We spent a couple of hours there, with bikers everywhere you looked it was as though we'd taken over the place, but all too soon it was time to go. The car park was already clearing as we joined the line of bikes. Heading back to leeds we rode, just the three of us this time, in contrast to the numbers of earlier in the day.
31st March 2011 All is ready for Sunday's "Ride of Honour" for Help for Heroes, it just remains for the bike to have a wash and polish and we're ready to go. We'll be at Squires for about 7:45am (now that is early!) and we'll be setting off to Eden Camp some time after that, once registration papers are checked etc. Watch this space for a full report and a bunch of photos.
19th March 2011 The new Honda dealership in Leeds has finally had its open day and we went along to have a look at all the new bikes on offer. When we got there the place was packed with every kind of big bike you can think of though the Harley was by far the predominate make there. There were acres of chrome, “ape hanger” bars and massive panniers everywhere we looked. One even had a walnut dash board! Each bike roared as they passed bearing leather clad bikers, whilst loud rock music filled the air, imagine how we felt as in we tootled in on or little 125’s two of which are scooters! As we parked up between two such monster bikes Daniel asked jokingly if we should chain up our bikes, “No” I said “I can’t see anyone wanting to pinch these!”There were lots of really nice bikes to choose from but my particular favourite is the ZX750 Honda which would suite me really well. Anthony likes the Silverwing as does Daniel. We'll have to wait for now as the restricted licence has still a year or so to go.
6th March 2011 We've been out an the bikes again this weekend and stopped in at Hein Gericke in Leeds to pick up some Kevlar Jeans. That's just an ordinary shopping trip but whilst there we met one of the guys who used to be with LSM. He suggested we might like to ride the 2011 Yorkshire Ride of Honour which will be raising funds for "Help the Heroes" on the 3rd April, from Squires to Eden Camp. It's £10 each and for that you get a T-Shirt and entry into the Camp. There will be some 500 riders in all and there will be a bit of a party atmosphere when we get to Eden Camp with a salute from the WRAF and a live band. We had a think about this for about a tenth of a second before agreeing to sign up. If nothing else we can have a bit of fun riding with an organised group and the money will go to a very good cause. Something else to look forward to now!
18th February 2011 We took a ride over to where it all started today to meet Ken and the guys at Leeds School of Motorcycling. It was here that Anthony, Daniel and I took our first steps to learn how to ride. Ken’s team have a great ability to make you feel relaxed as they put you through your paces from CBT to full test, and the fact that we all three passed is testament to their teaching skills. (OK, I might have needed a couple of goes at it but that’s just me being an old dog learning a new trick!)We took along a poster of our tour for them to hang on the wall and left them a sponsorship form should anyone want to contribute.We didn't stop there though, after LSM we kept going, just taking in the road and enjoying the ride. It's been a long while since we all rode together and it felt good to ride as a team again.
29th January 2011 It's Saturday today and Anthony was back from work at 2:30pm. It's been a really nice day, sunny, dry and not too windy but at a maximum of 2 degrees C, it would be really cold for riding. We set off anyway. It's been a long time since Anthony had his bike out, other then to clean it recently, so he was really happy to get going. All geared up, we rode the Leeds ring road, all 26ish miles of it. To start with it was still bright but the sun was already on the way down by the time we'd reached Lawnswood Grammar School. The traffic was light and we made decent progress. Anthony and I rode along through Horsforth and down towards Rodley. Then the Stanningley bypass to Armley where we swung round to the left past the Harley Davidson dealership and on through the tunnels. The A647 linked up to the A64 and on we went, the light was begining to fade now and I asked Anthony if we should carry on or peel off towards home before hypothermia set in. It was freezing! "No, I'm fine to carry on if you are" he said. So it was down to me. "OK" we pressed on up past the hospital at Seacroft and on to the A6120 to Shadwell and finally back to Moortown and home. It was about 3:20pm when we set off and about 4pm by the time we got back. To say we were cold was an understatement, we hadn't been on the road for long or gone far either, but the smiles on Anthony's blue face and reflected on mine, said it all.
19th January 2011 When I looked out of my window this morning, the road surface was white and glistening in the sub zero temperature. The windscreen of the car opposite sparkled under a layer of frost. "There will be no riding in that" I thought. I've been a little under the weather for the last few days and decided there was no chance I'd be getting the bike out in these conditions and so resigned to another day indoors I put the thought behind me. Funny though how opportunities present themselves. By midday the sun had cleared the frost and dried up the road completely. I needed to post a letter, pick up a new headlamp bulb for the car and fill out a prescription. In short I needed to be out there. Within the space of half an hour I'd donned thermals, boots and scarf, the bike was out in the sun and I'd checked oil, brakes, lights and chain. All were spot on.I Let it tick over for a few minutes just to warm up then off we went. First stop, petrol and at £1.27 a litre it took all of £10 to fill it. Post office next, just across the road and then light bulb from the car spares shop next door to the post office. One chore left, then I'd be free to have a bit of a ride. I headed up Harrogate Road to the ring road and turned left straight into direct sunshine. The other way, I thought would be easier on the eyes so at the next roundabout I doubled back on myself. The sun felt warm on my back as I followed the ring road A6120 past Roundhay Park and on past the junction with the A64. I stayed on this road all the way to Dyrons Motorcycles, where I stopped for a look round and for a chat. "First time out this year" I said. "You and loads of others" was the reply, "we've been really busy this week, seems the sunshine has brought 'em all out" We chatted for a while and they said they'd be happy to put up one of our flyers in the shop for our trip. Then I was off again and after another 20 minutes or so I was back home having covered about 14 miles. It really felt great to be back on the bike after so long. From what started as a cold no hope-er it turned out to be a lovely little ride out and I got everything done. Oops! I forgot the prescription. Oh well there's always tomorrow.
18th January 2011 I've been in contact with the Yorkshire Evening Post who did a story on our last big trip, they said they would be happy to mention this trip nearer the time. It'll be a bit more publicity for the Charity.We're finally getting better weather now though its still frosty first thing. So I'm starting to get itchy to ride again. Maybe tomorrow...
7th January 2011 We're busy getting together all the various bits of paper we'll need for the trip, such as Cancer Research posters, flyers to hand out and stickers to plaster all over the bikes. We intend to stand out a bit so as to get the message across and we'll be calling into the local pubs on the route, in the evenings to try and drum up a bit of support too.Now that most of the snow has gone I've managed to bring the bikes into the light of day from their enforced hibernation over the winter, and though covered in a light coating of dust they look surprisingly clean. I was expecting to see a little surface rust on some of the thinner chrome on my bike but there isn't any to speak of. The light smear of WD40 seems to have done the trick. The Suzuki is due an MOT for the first time this May and I'm fairly sure it'll pass easily.I've also checked out the headsets and they are all working fine and we're taking Sally sat nav with us, but I'll also take an old fashioned map just in case. (maybe a compass too).
These headsets, made by Cobra are fine, they are not expensive and have seen us through all weathers. The only downside is that they would eat batteries which is why they come with rechargeable one's which can be fully charged overnight. It's still a good idea to have a few spares though just in case. The bike camera is made by Oregon, it to has a taste for batteries if left on too long. Its chip will easily record for an hour before being full so we have a spare chip too.
2nd January 2011 Happy new year! Where did 2010 go? it seems to have passed so quickly. Anyway we've put together a few photos of what we'd like to see in this trip:
Humber Bridge
Kings Lynn
Wells Next the Sea
Norfolk Broads
Cambridge
Oxford
Goodrich Castle, Ross on Wye
St Davids
Aberystwyth
Potteries Stoke on TrentWe'll try to tick off as many of these as we can as we go along.
29th December 2010 Well I hope you all had a really nice Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year, I know we are!The hotels are all booked now via Travelodge, they were ok last time so we stuck with them and the route, though not set in stone, has been agreed on. We intend to occasionally follow our noses just to see whats round the next bend in the road and if that adds to the fun of the ride then that will be great. If however we end up going down a dead end farm track, then we'll know better for next time.
23rd December 2010 This time we intend to touch the East and West coasts of Mainland UK in July 2011. We've plotted a route which will take us from our home in Leeds West Yorkshire to Great Yarmouth and across to St David's in Wales before returning home and just to make sure that there were no errors, Biggles & Baabra helped with the planning.
The route will take us over the Humber Bridge, along the coast of Norfolk and through the Broads to Great Yarmouth. We'll visit Cambridge and Oxford as we head West, and on into Wales, skirting the Brecon Beacons before reaching St David's. From there we'll come back into England and make our way through Stoke on Trent, finally returning to Leeds some 10 days and at least 1000 miles later. As before, we're hoping to raise awareness and funds for a leading charity, and this year we chosen to support CANCER RESEARCH UK. Their work is relentless in their search for cures for this disease and any contribution we can add will help them in their challenges. We've set up a link via Just Giving which is an easy way to donate. Please consider making a donation as, no matter how small, every penny helps. Please remember that not a penny of whatever you donate will be used to fund our tour, it ALL goes to CANCER RESEARCH UK. www.justgiving.com/Nicholas-Lojik
THE BIKES We still have the same bikes, my Suzuki GZ125, Daniel's Vespa 125 & Anthony's Piaggio Fly 125, and though they are a couple of years old now and have a few more miles on them, we still have great fun riding them. The "L" plates are long gone but to keep in the spirit of our other trips, we'll stick to A-Roads only. Preparations are well under way despite all the recent snow and ice. Watch this space for more information.
http://2012tour.blogspot.com/
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