Sorry for being quiet for so long but I've not been doing anything motorcycle wise for a while. I had been using the Suzuki for commuting to work until the weather got too bad, but I was laid off from my job two days before Christmas. This wasn't really a problem for me as I'd intended retiring (finally!) in April, so I regard it as coming early.
Back to today and I thought I would take the Triumph out for a ride for the first time since the last post in September. I'd started the bike every two weeks or so to circulate oil round the engine and had kept the battery charged. It was a bit cold (c. 7º C), so wrapped up warmly and headed out. I rode on some rural roads for about an hour and popped in to check on my late father's house.
Back on the road, and it was more rural roads for another hour or so with a stop at the Thunderbolt Memorial.
During WW2, US Air Force aircraft were carried by sea to Greenock, transported to Renfrew Airport (then an RAF base), assembled and prepared, then flown south to operational airbases. Unfortunately, a Republic P47D Thunderbolt flew too low in misty conditions, struck some trees and the pilot, 2nd Lt Herman Carey was killed.
The road is fairly narrow and only serves a couple of farms and kennels. I'm not sure how old the trees are, but they were probably there when the plane crashed. There's a gap in the row where the memorial is.
After that it was an easy ride back home. Not sure how far I travelled, but I was on the road for about 2 hours. I'd stayed warm enough as long as I kept my visor closed and didn't need to switch my heated grips on. There was still a lot of salt on the road, so the bike will be getting a good clean!
It was good to get out on the bike, it ran well and there didn't seem to be any problems from it not being ridden for a while. Hope to get a lot more riding done this year, and I've a major trip being planned. More on that later!
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