1994 .... ccoming from Vegas, riding into Death Valley at night... 37°C , pitch black horizon, white stripes on the asphalt flashing under the wheels... Neil Youngs Heart of Gold on the radio.... yep, it was on a Goldwing....
Climbing the twisty wooded section on the A272 at Langrish on my XJ900F, when I used to be really on it. My mate was following on his FZR600 and said he was showered in sparks the whole way. Good times.
An overnight ride on my Ducati 750 F1 in 1995 from Assen to Bologna. We left Assen after the first WSB race as Foggy won the race and hence the Championship, and we had a factory visit booked the next day. 840 miles in 14 hours, passing over the Alps at night was fantastic. God my arse was sore the next day!
There's a few really over the years, but recently (this summer) the ride from Arrochar to Applecross and back was fantastic. 400 rather brisk miles with fantastic company in great weather. Ya cannae knock it.
Riding the N260 westbound from the Baga Tunnel to Ainsa, then riding north on the A138 via Bielsa to Saint Lary Soulan last June. In one day. But the highlight sector was riding the N260 at pace alongside the Rio Eseras river, from Castejon de Sos to Campo http://goo.gl/maps/FAYGt It was 24C, 4pm, sunshine through the trees, the Rio Eseras roaring to the side fall off, and the 1098R was blaring it's song leading a group of 4 of us. Blind corners, 2-way traffic on the narrow single lane road, and the way that N260 just ebbed and flowed through the valley... It was the ride of a lifetime.
I know what you said but I have to say it was a red head called Ann. We met 2 weeks before she got married and I was her final fling. I did feel used at the time. However with age I reflect on the memory with great fondness.
Memorable ride? I think from Miranda do Douro to Vila Real in North Portugal in 1982, going to see the TT F1 & F2 round. Fabulous twisty roads, little traffic, perfect weather, friendly people, cheap prices, and my 750SS bevel running perfectly. It doesn't get much better.
In 1980 (yes, I'm that old) I rode from Florence, Italy to Zurich, Switzerland (and back) on a 1969 Ducati 250 Scrambler, to see Led Zeppelin in concert as events happened this turned out to be one of their last concerts. :frown: Anyway although the bike only had a top speed of around 60-65mph, fortunately it performed flawlessly for the trip which was lucky because it 'died' a few weeks later of big end failure. :frown:
A stand-out for me: About 1990,Suzuki DR200,on a TBEC multi-lap Enduro just across from the NEC. Summat to do with drumming up interest in Enduros while the bike show was on. In the morning session I broke the footrest on my XT350,finished the session but was going to knock it on the head for the day. Chairman offered me the DR for the afternoon lappery,so I thought what the hey... I got warned for going too quickly past the start/finish/lap scorers,I was feet-up,sideways in the mud,so everyone got showered in shite... I passed my mate,(him expert,me clubman),in mid-air on the launch side of a table-top,causing him to drop it, he was that surprised..as was I! Finished 7th overall,absolutely fooked... So many great rides though,the more I try to pick one,the more I remember Thats the trouble with bikes....once they've got you...
i wouldve preferred this thread if it had been 'who was your most memorable ride'...in which case dirty donna (screen name 'Charlie') or nasty nina (Dee Dee)...probably donna was insatiable...even her husband had to tap out for 20 minutes.
I was going to mention Nog, head rider, taking it up the rear etc, but it all seems rather puerile come to think of it.
Any ride to the Ducati museum is memorable and I've done a few over recent years, through France, Switzerland and Italy. I remember the day my Yamaha RD250LC was delivered by Keith Dixon (he's in his 70's now and still has his dealership) a girl I fancied for ages who lived around the corner walked past and asked if that was my bike. I said it was and she expressed an interest in going for a ride. I told her I was going out on it at midnight as that's when the insurance started and she told me to pick her up around the corner from where she lived. So on a cold and windy November evening, just after midnight, on my brand new RD250LC, with me wearing an anorak, trainers, useless gloves and jeans, I picked up this busty, slim 16 year old wearing a tiny skirt and pixie boots. Needless to say, we cemented our relationship. It was in a derelict barn and it was freezing but that outside temperature wasn't on either of our minds ! She dumped me a few weeks later for some spotty, Ford Capri driving, fool. A couple of years later, after she and her family had moved, I saw her as I was driving my (t)rusty Datsun 240Z. I offered her a lift home and via a 35 mile diversion and a lay-by we cemented our relationship again. The last time I saw her was several years later, she'd looked a bit of a mess and was wearing a mangy old sheepskin coat and had a mangy dog on a piece of string. 33 years later, I still remember that cold November night, passion, ringadingding, two stroke oil and tick, tick, tick of her cooling down whilst we were warming up. What a ride, both of them !
2007, coming home from Assen, I'm 5 miles from home in the pissing rain, piled up with luggage blasting down a local B-road. Just in the groove, swinging from bend to bend with not a care in the world. I looked down at the speedo and saw I was a mere 80mph over the limit I've tried to do the same speed on dry summer days since then and can't do it, it was just one of those moments where everything clicked.
Cadwell Park '05, lumped our clubs old bike race in with a guesting clubs forgotten era bikes, TZ350's 750's etc, 6 lapper I won outright on a 350 powervalve. OGR
