Sorry to hear about the surgery, hope recovery is swift and you can get away together without her being too uncomfortable on the bike. May I suggest a Multistrada rather than a GS... A partner that enjoys being a pillion on a 916... you're a very lucky man As to a route from Bangor; how about something like this. I love the roads around there, this route has some of the best IMHO. 155 miles with plenty of choices of places to stop for a drink, eats and views. Beddgelert - food and drink Harlech - castle, views and ice cream Barmouth - food, drinks, shops and view across the estuary (can be busy) Penmaenpool toll bridge (explains the toll on the Google route, 50p IIRC) - views of old wooden toll bridge Lake Vyrnwy - cafe at southern end for drinks and food Bala - drinks, food and view of the the lake Betws-y-Coed - drinks, food and shops (can be busy) The route encompass passes and some tight and twisty stuff, some paved single track and some stunning views on a good day. A good explore of the area. Tracing out that route and describing the attractions has really whetted my appetite for a trip up there....
May I suggest an ST4 - 916 engine and pillion comfort https://www.gumtree.com/p/ducati-motorbikes/1999-t-ducati-st4-916-st4/1374903043 Sorry to hear about your wife - hope it all goes well
Sorry to hear of the surgery and wishing a speedy and full recovery, which might be aided by the lovely Ice-Cream parlour in Barmouth water front.
Just wanted to update everyone. Firstly my wife had her surgery last Wednesday surgery lasted over 6 hours. She is out of intensive care and is on a ward and disconnected from all tubes etc. She will hopefully be getting released into the wild on Wednesday this week and she has been cleared to go to wales on Friday!!! She is however not allowed to go on the bike for 6 weeks so we won’t be taking it but we can go over in the car (which won’t be the same but it’s better than nothing) as she isn’t allowed to move her neck in case her windpipe separates. thank you all for you thoughts Jon
First things first let’s hope for a full and speedy recovery, plenty of times to enjoy a bit of travel as and when.
The possible windpipe separation sounds very scary !!. I hope all goes well. I have been all over Wales, the scenery can be breathtaking. I have driven the coast road pretty much from bottom to top and it is awesome, as is Snowdonia (not necessarily great when driven over in a large truck mind ) I had real mixed reception from the people when I have been there though, its probably fair to say most were either OK or ambivalent, but there certainly were lots that were happily speaking English, only to break into Welsh as soon as it became clear I was English. That would be in the central and northern areas. If you have a Scots accent that may not be the same for you (I hope). I follow a couple of Welsh Facebook tourist sites, and there is currently more than a little hostility towards the English...the more vociferous posters seem convinced that everyone east of Wales is a walking Covid carrier that should stay home and not darken their doors ...Probably a minority view, but it is there. I hope you can avoid those dicks and still have a good time
We run an airBnB cottage in rural Carmarthenshire, and we have been welcoming visitors with open arms since lockdown was eased in Wales. We lost a huge amount of income over lockdown, although we were hosting NHS staff as much as we could. In South Wales, their is very little hostility to the English, or visitors in general, we are just glad to see places open again, particularly the pubs when I'm out cycling! South West Wales is a very Welsh speaking area - apparently up to 60% here - but speaking Welsh is not used here to exclude visitors, just that many more locals are comfortable speaking Welsh when they can, but are happy to swap to English when necessary. The best thing to do is to learn a little conversational Welsh - although it is a tricky language, a friendly "Bore da", or "Iechyd da" (Cheers) goes a long way. And "Cymru am byth" while watching the rugby always goes down well.
I know it is not all of ya mate. It never is, its always a minority that creates bad impressions. As said, I have been all over Wales with differing career paths, originally as a trucker, latterly in IT and visiting businesses. I travelled regularly to the south up to maybe a year back but never had an issue to be fair. The middle and the north though ..... wow, chalk and cheese. I witnessed the changing language thing personally when I went in shops (well pre-lockdown). The latter hostility has been from a handful on places like North Wales Live etc on FB. Again its a minority, but the virus seems to have renewed past hatred or dislike of the English. I have lost track of the times I was called saes or saesneg down there...which in theory is not offensive, but depending what other wording is slung in with it, and the tones used - it can be so. I have enough to know when the piss is being taken (the irony is - saesneg is actually an old Germanic word for saxon !!)
I’m half Scottish and can if required speak with the required accent. If anyone starts throwing abuse that will be a section 5 public order offence at the very least and they could be reminded of the fact that it is an arrestable offence
