Its been quite a while - a year, in fact

[vifferman]

... since my last longish ride.
The last time I did more than just communtering on my bike was last Easter, when the vifferbabe organised The Tour Of Up Norf. It were great...
For one reason or A Nutter, I just haven't bothered to go riding (apart from almost-daily comuntering, a shortish lunchtime jaunt, and a trip to Silverdale to pick up The New Confirminators). Today, I just HAD TO GO FOR A RIDE.
So, I did.
Had no idea where I was going, but I headed out through Albania, Kaukapakapa, turned towards Wellsford, then as I went past the Port Albert turnoff, decided I should see where it went. Did 15km down there, and got my mojo back! So, I decided I needed more mojo-inducing road, and headed for Mangawhai Heads, Waipu, etc. before retracing my route.

The trip was about an hour longer than my body could put up with. Mebbe iffen I'd stopped at Lang's Cove or Wellsford, it would've been OK, but my bum and hands were screaming by the time I turned up home, and I've probably still got a crease on my forehead from my too snug AGV.

But it did wonders for my mood, I scrubbed the crud off my rear Azaro, I didn't crash (although I had a close call overtaking on the way home), and I got no tickets, thanx to deciding not to go silly, and other motorists warning me about the cops on SH16.

Someone had a serious oops though, at the Kaipara Flats turnoff. Several amulances and fire appliances were in attendance, theEvil Coners were out, and there was a big crowd of onlookers, including a group of bikers, so I hope it wasn't a biker.

I have a feeling I'm gonna have to give away the biking soon though. If my decrepit body can't put up with more than about an hour without shrieking at me from nearly every joint, I'd say I'm pretty well Fookt, wouldn't you?

[HDTboy]

I'd say you were just out of practise

[yod]

I have a feeling I'm gonna have to give away the biking soon though. If my decrepit body can't put up with more than about an hour without shrieking at me from nearly every joint, I'd say I'm pretty well Fookt, wouldn't you?

so sad to hear it mate....anyway....wanna sell me ur bike cheap? im already hangin out for a bigger bike and i just loooove the sound of the V4, unfortunately my bank balance wont quite take the thrashing i so dearly want to give it....

I GOT 1ST DIBS !!!

[gijoe1313]

Yer doing fine, just need to get that riding endurance back! Sounds like you set yourself some fine milestones there - even got me itching to get on my ride and pootle off to parts unknown right now! (hmm Gisborne again? )

Keep at it and do us proud matey!

[kickingzebra]

fitness is good, general fitness improves your flexibility too.

[jtzzr]

I'd say you were just out of practise

Eggsactly what HDT said, you just need to get out more mate , don`t wait another year ,you have to keep your MOJO intact.

[beyond]

Out of practice but it sounds like its well and truly time to get a GSX1400 and your motorcycling life will begin afresh.

[SixPackBack]

....................

[MacD]

Out of practice but it sounds like its well and truly time to get a GSX1400 and your motorcycling life will begin afresh.

Yep, buy a GSX1400/Bandit/Tiger/Ulysess XB12X etc and you'll wonder why you ever put up with clip-ons! Not to mention the ability to cope with the odd bit of gravel around NZ.

I moved from my RF900 to the Bandit due to my neck complaining about the riding position on the RF. I then did a 3500km round trip to Invercargill and back on the Bandit without even a twinge.

Sounds like time for some test rides!....

[crashe]

Someone had a serious oops though, at the Kaipara Flats turnoff. Several amulances and fire appliances were in attendance, theEvil Coners were out, and there was a big crowd of onlookers, including a group of bikers, so I hope it wasn't a biker.

Hmmmmm I came across two accidents yesterday.

One was 4 kms out of Wellsford.
One Kawasaki Ninja with only 700kms on her clock went for a slide..... due to a very old lady indicating right on the medium strip to turn into Port Albert road and then changing her mind at the last second and pulling left on her steering wheel into the path of the rider. The rider managed to not hit the car and slide on the road into the ditch.

All is well...... 3 cop cars in attendence. All awaiting the outcome from the police report.

Rider wearing full leathers and no injuries to him.
Scuff marks on the left side fairings of the bike.

Then another accident later on about 5pmish, a 3 car pile up heading north about 8 kms out of Warkworth. All families sitting on the side of the road. But the ambo did catch up to me just before Orewa and I popped in behind the ambo and followed them to the motorway turnoff.

It took me 35minutes to get from Warkworth to Orewa in the bumper to bumper traffic jam. Cheers to the drivers for moving over and letting me pass.



What amazed me was the amount of cars who saw the red and blue flashing lights on the cop car and the words 'accident ahead' at the bike accident just out of Wellsford, that didnt slow down and only slammed on their brakes right by the cop car.
Even when the lady cop stood in the middle of the road flagging everyone to slow down didnt work either. I said "Give them a ticket....." lol
She said "What for? ...Stupidity....." I said "Hell yeah...."

[vifferman]

fitness is good, general fitness improves your flexibility too.

Yeah, I know that. Trouble is, I can't do more than a few minutes at a time before the pain makes me stop. The exercise has to be low/no impact, as arthritis is eating up all my cartilage.

I've been thinking about going the adventure bike / UJM way, but it ain't gonna happen without support from the WifeAccountantPorcupinePillionist, aka the vifferbabe. She's already pissed off; for some reason any farkling/customisation/improvements made to the VifFerraRi have stopped it being 'our' bike and she's gone off it, despite all the improvements being reversible and...well...improvements. LOL. Seeing she earns nearly twice as much as I do, it makes it hard to do anything requiring money without her approval.
OTOH, if I sell the VifFerraRi, I get to choose the colour/wheels of the VW Eos or whatever we replace her Peugeot with.

[Hawkeye]

What amazed me was the amount of cars who saw the red and blue flashing lights on the cop car and the words 'accident ahead' at the bike accident just out of Wellsford, that didnt slow down and only slammed on their brakes right by the cop car.
Even when the lady cop stood in the middle of the road flagging everyone to slow down didnt work either. I said "Give them a ticket....." lol
She said "What for? ...Stupidity....." I said "Hell yeah...."

Isn't it law that you need to slow to 30k to pass an accident spot. (Where's the road code when I need it). Sorry just looked it up and it's actually 20k.
So when it comes to bikes, any slight misdemeanour and they know every rule in the book, but when it comes to cages they ask you... what for?

[Ixion]

..

I have a feeling I'm gonna have to give away the biking soon though. If my decrepit body can't put up with more than about an hour without shrieking at me from nearly every joint, I'd say I'm pretty well Fookt, wouldn't you?

What nonsense. I dunno what's wrong with you young people today. You said it was just your arse and hands that were complaining. They've just gotten soft cos you haven't been out enough.

And if the dreaded arthritis(which I admit I can't speak of from personal experience) limits you to an hour at a time, well, just plot a ride from pub to pub. Pubs are seldom more than an hour apart, and even if you don't drink they have comfy chairs and so on to rest up in.

Winter's coming, best time for riding. In winter you don't need to cover long distances, even a short ride is exhilerating. Just get out there, take the long way home.

Give away biking indeed. Never heard such silliness. You're still BREATHING ain'tcha ? When you stop breathing, is MAYBE (just maybe) a valid reason to give up.

[Deviant Esq]

Yeah, I know that. Trouble is, I can't do more than a few minutes at a time before the pain makes me stop. The exercise has to be low/no impact, as arthritis is eating up all my cartilage.

Bummer mate, that really sucks. Still, as silly as it might sound, ever considered aqua jogging or just plain ol' swimming? That's pretty much the best low / no impact workout you can get - no jolts to the joints like running, but high restistance because you have to move through water. And then depending on where you go to do your swimming / aquajogging, some have a spa bath that you can use afterwards to relax a bit before you head off for the showers. Worth a look if it helps you stay on two wheels.

Best of luck to ya mate.

[vifferman]

Thanx for all the helpful comments and encouragement, Folx.

I went shopping with the vifferbabe yesterday, and while we were braving the mall, I picked up some big jars of stuff that will hopefully help. I'm not giving up yet, so I'll just have to see how it goes.

I guess I panicked a bit (like I did when I first found out I had AAaaaaargghhhhhthritis) at how bad it had got. The anti-mentalness droogs I was on had the side-effect of masking the pain, so I didn't realise how ferkt I'd become until I dropped from 5 tablets/day to "just enough to keep the withdrawl symptoms from making me kill myself" (or summat like that).

I'd love to get a Ulysses, but I can't see that happening.