Colonel Irrelevant » Bikes and Speed

New Biker!

The Colonel — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:03:47 +0000

Congrats to my youngest who had his first pillion experience today!

And many thanks to Baby Biker of Leamington who kitted him out.

Wonderful stuff, especially the demand ‘go faster’!

Rusty as a rusty thing

The Colonel — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 10:17:49 +0000

First time out on the bike in the new season.

Oh dear – lines all over the place. Rotten gear changes, worse breaking.

Very, very rusty which is not a good way to ride.

Looks like more practice is needed – and that needs some half decent weather rather than the snow/ ice/ rain/ hail forecast for this weekend.

Bike Dealer Recommendation

The Colonel — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 15:16:36 +0000

Silverstone Harley Davidson are a really good bunch. Large stock, attentive folk and Ozzy on the sound system.

Very impressive, with lots of stuff to sit on, including a number of Buells.

Well recommended!

Silent Running

The Colonel — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 21:00:07 +0000

I drive a Toyota Prius, which is great. I also ride a massive Yamaha with a loud exhaust.

The Yam can be heard from the next County, whereas the Prius can run silent and take people by surprise.

Which is a good thing as I can creep around the places where Old People lurk and scare them in a nice, respectable, shiny black, ‘green’ car.

And then I can jump on the Yam and thrash the living wotsits out of it, creating loads of noise before quietly burbling through villages at a genuine 28 mph (unless otherwise indicated). This seems to create a sense of horror in Old Folk with the build up and then the let down of seeing a sensible biker yob.

Oh what fun it is to challenge stereotypes!

F1 again …

The Colonel — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 21:00:02 +0000

The Boy is a bit special isn’t he?

Another great display of driving by Mr Hamilton. Well done!

F1 gets exciting!

The Colonel — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 19:31:01 +0000

Finally F1 has a new hero (take a bow Lewis) and the racing is actually racing rather than processing and filling up. There was a time when I felt that F1 should be run on street circuits and be based on real life, with things like the school run, weekly shopping, ranting bosses on the phone and roadwork diversions added to make life exciting. Fill ups could have been done at service stations, chicanes could be provided by caravans and old people and the tyre changes could have been done at a ‘fast fit’ store after lots of ringing around to shave 50p per tyre off the price.

But I was wrong. What we need are talented drivers, fast cars, open circuits and high safety standards in cars. And then we all have fun.

What we could do with fewer of is walls at fast circuits. But that will take some doing, I expect.

What a marvellous night …

The Colonel — Tue, 22 May 2007 21:48:46 +0000

for a blat on the bike.

Dry, warm, not a lot of traffic.

Find a nice sweeping road and just amble along at less-then-stupid-speeds with a massive grin on your face.

Wonder if I can get out tomorrow? Should be quiet with the football on …

April Fool at World Superbike Coverage

The Colonel — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 18:45:39 +0000

Take 3 commentators.

Let them rabbit on to themselves.

Let them swear and bad mouth their mates on the team.

Then let them realise that they are live just before the race is about to start.

Priceless …

… and even better with Sky+

What a Beautiful Day …

The Colonel — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 18:41:55 +0000

For riding about, going nowhere and just enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of a bike.

Decent bendy roads with light(ish) traffic made for a fun time with Mrs Colonel.

Didn’t manage to get down to Clarkson Land, but that would have meant pre-planning a route and it was far too nice to plan anything.

Spring is Sprung

The Colonel — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 18:04:38 +0000

What a beautiful day it was today.

Perfect for getting a big, noisy, fast and bonkers bike out and thrashing it to the annoyance of the neighbours.

Shame I don’t live near Clarkson!