Lateralus

Sorry Fred - was something of a last minute idea!

Meeting at 9am at Roadcraft on Beechdale Avenue, with a few others from the school. Post here if you're coming and I'll know to wait for you.

Anyone Nottinghamshire-ish fancy a ride out somewhere tomorrow morning? Fancy a couple of hours out, but no specific destination currently in mind!

I think my bike instructor might race/have raced in this series - Gawin Pride?

Unlucky mate. Try some more practice videos and give it another go. Don't let it get you down!

It's under £300 new! Ta, need to look into that more then.

That place looks great, certainly for one night at least. I speak bad Spanish and slightly worse French - enough to muddle through as a tourist, but not enough for a detailed discussion about touring and routes!

Have read and will continue to read up on the various models out there, but anyone wanting to sell their motorbike satnav? Ideally wanting one with a powered mount, Bluetooth/phone pairing and the ability to play music (presumably from the phone). Needs to have European mapping too.

I have the IS Max II helmet too, but mine came with the Pinlock insert included. Bought it from J&S back in November, but don't know if that's standard. Perhaps worth checking with the shop and seeing if it was just missed out? However, having ridden with the Pinlock, I wouldn't be without it now. Have never had any issue with the visor steaming up at all. Glasses, however, are a different matter!

This is really helpful stuff guys, much appreciated and keep it coming! So then, current outline plan: Tues 15th Aug - 17.15 sailing from Portsmouth with an airline seat booked. Parents live near Newbury, so can easily head there Monday night and have a leisurely start to the trip. Weds 16th - arrive Santander 18.15, then ride to Pamplona or somewhere. Stay in cheap hotel/Airbnb. Longish ride for the evening, but I'll have done nothing else all day and it would be good to finish up near the mountains. Thurs 17th - Sun 20th - explore the Pyrenees and make way to Limousin region. Sun 20th - Thurs 24th - explore local area with wife, do nice family stuff. Fri 25th - Mon 28th - make way home via Chunnel or Calais-Dover ferry, hopefully with 2 overnight stops in France and very possibly aiming to get home on the Sunday evening, leaving all day bank holiday Monday to recover. It'll only leave me with 2 days' annual leave until Christmas, but for a decent tour I think I can cope with that! Will look at route planning in more detail over the coming weeks, assuming this is the plan which proceeds, and can put a deposit on the ferry imminently. I like the idea of stopping when I've had enough and chancing it on the accommodation, but to keep costs down I think pre-booking is the only option. No-one else fancy joining in?

Some great tips here, thanks guys. 1. I quite like ferries, so no problem with a 24hr crossing. 2. Agreed, not interested in a tour of Europe's motorways. 3. Furthest I've gone so far is 200 miles in a day, but I don't really have a concept of what a "reasonable" distance is to aim for. 4. I think I've missed my opportunity for Jim to fix it for me. I have thought a bit about camping, but it's the amount of extra stuff I'd need to take, even if I ate out, which concerns me really. Plus, if I'm doing relatively big days in the saddle, a hot shower and a comfy bed seems very attractive!

Congrats! As I'm very much still finding out, the real learning starts here!

Thanks for the help all, and for those route/planning suggestions in particular Baloo. Will look into it further and see where I get. Main issue is that the Pyrenees leg will add ~£200 in ferry costs, plus food, drink and accommodation for the extra time I'll spend away, so there's a chance it may be cut to save on money. However, if I can keep it on the agenda, what's a reasonable amount of time to allow for Limoges - Santander, including a bit of time for fun in the mountains?

Well, following a series of unexpected events, we've been invited to my wife's Uncle's place in France this summer, and it looks like I may well be going on the bike! TL;DR: 1. Going to France; what do? 2. Interested? I've read plenty of the general advice threads about France and touring, but being the precious and unique snowflake that this trip is, it deserves its own thread. The destination is a little west of Limoges in south central France, about halfway between Calais and Bilbao (see where this is going yet?). We're looking to go end of July/early Aug, or end Aug to pick up the bank holiday, and will need a vehicle when we're there. I know it's peak holiday season, but it's the only time we can go. I wanted to make a tour of it (by car), but Mrs Lat wasn't so keen, and we couldn't find a solution which ticked both our boxes. However, after another couple of rides on the bike this weekend, she's decided she's perfectly happy as a pillion as a functional means of getting from A to B, but isn't interested in long-distance trips or recreational rides. Then, out of nowhere, she suggested she flies down and gets picked up by her Uncle, whilst I ride down on the bike, which we can both use while we're there! I didn't need asking twice! A plan is born... So that I can have some time in the mountains, I'm keen to get the ferry either there or back between Portsmouth and Bilbao/Santander, with the other leg likely to be the tunnel or Dover-Calais ferry, mainly to keep costs down but at least partly because riding the length of France sounds like quite a cool idea! The 24hr leg to Spain is looking to be at least £220 for a reclining seat, or £100 more for a cabin, but the brief Dover-Calais leg is only £30. From an initial search, it looks like the optimum trip might be a ferry to Santander on Tues 15th Aug, aiming to get to Limousin by Sunday 20th. Few days with the relatives, exploring the area, then a shorter trip up to Calais (solo again) for a ferry home on Sunday 27th. Is this a good plan, or am I overlooking lots of good riding and a cheaper trip between the north coast of France and the Limousin area? If it is a good plan, is there anything in particular I should or should not do? Finally, if I did stick with this plan, anyone fancy joining me on at least the first leg of the trip for a jaunt around the Pyrenees? Can't offer accommodation for the middle part of my journey (family duties and all that), but could meet up again for the return leg? Just thought I'd throw it out there!

What's a Zod?

Snuck in a cheeky ride out yesterday, picking up another tag. Brierlow bookstore and cafe

Just remembered I still hadn't paid, but monies are now sent. Looking forward to it!

I can recommend the B5056 from the A6 at Rowsley down to Fenny Bentley!

I am now, following some judicious negotiations regarding intentions for my wife's birthday weekend!

Last 4 pubs ticked off! George and Dragon at Ashbourne Coach House near Ashbourne Barley Mow at Bonsall The Bell at Cromford

Guys, guys, GUYS! Have you heard about Derbyshire? It's amazing! Lots of 50mph limits, but the roads are twisty enough and I'm new enough that that's fine for me. Had a 35 mile journey to get to this evening's destination from work, so with some careful planning I managed to make it into a 65 mile trip, and picked up all 4 remaining pubs from the challenge!

As first posts go, I think we have a winner! Congrats on the pass!

I agree entirely - want a bit of tuition soon on lines, as I'm not wholly sure what I'm meant to be aiming for! Going to check out a few videos on YouTube over the weekend, so let me know if there's any particularly good ones for road riding (other than Twist of the Wrist, which I may try to endure again). I definitely see faster cornering as being a result of riding well, rather than being the main objective in and of itself. Which isn't to say I don't enjoy it, I just want to stick within my novice limits! Go along to your local advanced motorcycle club. They will give you an assessment ride - no committment required - and will cost you nothing but time and fuel. You will gain a lot from an hours ride with them. Thanks. Am booked on a bikesafe course in July now, and will look at the advanced options after that.

I only paid about £700 all in for my DAS, and that was from scratch. 14 hours in total after the CBT, but the price included that too, and test fees. My school did that as a fixed-price course, and I think I just about broke even compared to if I'd paid hourly for lessons instead. For another £100 they offered it as a guaranteed pass, where if you failed they continued training you until you passed. If you have a 125 and you're reasonably good already, I'd have assumed you could pass Mod1 and Mod2 quicker than that. I'm sure they be someone along soon who can be more useful than me!