S-Westerly

Absolutely agree regarding mud covered rural roads. I was out in Somerset yesterday and some roads were like the Somme - pure mud. Not helped by all the water oozing out of springs and onto adjacent roads.

Ditto, I can't be doing with music while riding, I prefer being able to hear what's going on around me although to be fair with ear plugs in that's not very much! My ear shape doesn't lend itself to any kind of in ear speakers either. For the OP rather than in ear look at in helmet such as Sena.

Not proof against road rash and a bit chilly around the edges. think I'll give that one a miss.

That's a good idea. I suppose the best waterproofs would be those that are worn by deep sea fishermen and deck hands . You would probably be able to get these from a Ship's Chandler . Fishermen maybe but the stuff my deck hands get issued with are either very flimsy or really waterproof but not at all breathable and you end up soaked from the inside out. If you are looking for cheaper stuff they may fit the bill.

To be honest I think most waterproof over gear is 'one season/year' stuff. It's never that robust in construction. I'm moving onto laminated gear which is a lot more expensive but seems to work.

Mine was very neglected and I fell off it lots. Still have at least one scar from it. To be fair it wasn't the bike's fault, the rider was absolutely rubbish and didn't have a clue. Despite all the abuse I sold it as a runner in 1979 so it was obviously a fundamentally sound bike.

I used a Richa all in one (can't remember the model but it was recommended by Bike and came from Sports bike shop) during my recent travels and in the torrential rain on last Sunday over 4 solid hours I was dry. The only place I got damp was round my neck where rain ran down the back of my helmet.

Nuke Glastonbury , job done . I think nuking Glastonbury is a bit harsh and my son might be affected by the fallout. However a decent air burst bomb would do the trick. These people are so damned hypocritical - become vegan so what do we wear? Leather and wool will be out so we either cover the entire country with fields of flax to make linen or we wear cotton. No that's out as it has to be imported in fossil fuel burning ships. Okay we'll wear synthetic stuff. Oh wait a minute what's it made of? Hydrocarbon derivatives which are largely sourced from fossil fuels. It's enough to make you weep.

It's the country's entire population of weirdos and tepee dwellers out en-masse. Looking forward to seeing them get soaked in today's rain. Our local 'heroine', one of the founders of XR apparently heard a voice telling her weird shit after she had ingested psychotropic substances while on a holiday to Costa Rica to 'find herself'. She now feels qualified to dictate to the rest of us. Complete bloody loon.

A Super Dream was my first bike. Nice to see one still running. To be honest though I have absolutely no desire to ever ride one again.

My heart goes out to you . I absolutely love touring in Scotland . When the sun shines it's an earthly paradise but when it rains it can really get you down . Try to visit some waterfalls , they should be spectacular at this time . Unfortunately I am here on an office training course so options to go and do my own thing are non-existent. Despite the weather if I was here on my own account I'd be off seeing the sights of Kintyre and probably the Trossachs. Hopefully on my way south from Barnard Castle on Sunday I'll get to do some interesting rides through the Derbyshire dales. We shall see.

I'm in bloody Scotland. As I passed the "welcome to Scotland" signs the moderate rain became a sodding ( sodden?) downpour. It's not stopped since - 3 days later and looks set to last until at least Friday when I'll have to swim home. Bloody rain.

Funny as f**k! Serves the little sod right. Looks like somewhere in Asia?

I'd agree. I've got Halversson's outlast lined gloves and never get too cold, especially if I wear a pair of silk liner gloves as well.

Been there and done that. Haven't done it again!

Ditto, rode home from my GF's place after midnight one January back in 1979 wearing ordinary jeans. When I got home about an hour later I couldn't get off the bike except by sliding backwards off the seat and then found my legs weren't working properly. The pain when the circulation returned was a little bit eyewatering. Thank god for modern technical clothing!

That's what I'm thinking ref the harness that Drift specifically sells for the job. Also if I want to run a mike feed it would be possible and practical.

I've just bought a Drift 4K and I'm seriously thinking of getting the shoulder harness and mounting it that way. I'm not sure about mounting it on my helmet and there's not really anywhere to mount it on the bike. When I get home tomorrow I'll have a play.

I regularly go on holiday in the US including San Francisco. Never had a problem apart from being done for speeding once. Take my grandsons too. My brother lives there and he's never had a problem either.

Humanity as a species is very reluctant to accept change. Whether it's their personal environment, culture, politics or whatever. Example - governments spend billions trying to regulate rivers so that they don't flood. In the process they usually cause environmental mayhem and when the rivers escape their confines you get floods which are then the fault of someone. Climates have been constantly changing throughout the history of this planet - ice ages? It warms up and it cools down. Species come and go, sometimes in mass extinctions but usually not. Now we have a situation where climate is changing and yes probably faster than it would have thanks to the activity of human beings. Stamp out pollution whether it be of the seas or the atmosphere - a cleaner environment is to everyone's benefit. But be prepared to live in a warmer climate, you will not be able to turn back the clock. To try and make us all live in some pre-technology fantasy world is not going to work. Try it and say hello to mass unemployment and starvation. Of course the greatly reduced population would probably be seen as a plus by the eco warriors as I suspect they plan on being among the chosen few. Rant over.

Sensible boy.

But not Greta.

Look good. Sadly not having a garage my panniers basically live on the bike. On the rare occasion I take them off they get to lurk in the porch. Fortunately they look good on the bike and are not massive great aluminium trunks. They do the job though.

I happen to rather like my insectoid predator. When I decided to return to biking it caught my eye straight away and the rest is history. TBH I'm not a fan of lots of chrome and wire wheels mainly because I am a lazy bast*rd and keeping them shiny is far too much like hard work. A twice yearly application of ACF and a quick wipe down and I'm good.

Peugeot 50cc wannabe trail bike. Fairly elderly I think and that's the sum total of my knowledge about the bike.