Festival of Speed

 

At the weekend West Coast Harley Davidson/Triumph held a 'Festival of Speed' at their showroom in Hillington, Glasgow. I went along on the Sunday, and despite the wet weather, there was a good turnout of people. As well as showcasing Harley Davidson and Triumph bikes, there was a Wall of Death and Dr Diablo's Sideshow. Dr Diablo did all sorts of things like fire eating, hammering nails up his nose, closing a mousetrap with his tongue, standing on a bed of nails whilst carrying a woman from the audience, all good family entertainment!

The Wall of Death was advertised as having an additional charge, but it turned out to be only £3, well worth it for the show they put on. There was also a barber, some food vans and a band playing. A good day out and lots of interesting bikes there.

My favourite bike there: 1972 Honda CB350

Links:

West Coast Harley Davidson

West Coast Triumph

Wall of Death

Dr Diablo Sideshow

 

Retirement Trip – Part 1, The Music Trip

 

I'd previously mentioned that I was planning a 'Retirement Trip' this year taking in a couple of music festivals before heading to Spain for 6 or 7 weeks. Unfortunately, I've had to re-plan the trip due to circumstances beyond my control. My father died last year at the age of 95 and the family was left to deal with his will, sell his house etc. Unfortunately, the wheels of the Scottish legal system turn painfully slowly and it has taken a year to get permission to sell his house. During this time I couldn't plan anything as I didn't want to be away from home when legal documents needed to be signed. As I'd already bought the tickets for the music festivals, I'll be going to them then returning home with the Spanish part of the trip delayed until May next year (more about that later).

Last time I went to a music festival I went in the car, but this time I'll be going on my bike. With all the disruption caused by Covid, I haven't been for a good trip since my 'Trip Round the Neighbours' holiday back in 2017 and I want to try out some new things I have for the bike before the Spain trip.

So, on Wednesday 3^rd August I'll be heading to the Wickham Festival. This is going to be a long boring ride of 441 miles / 710 km, almost all on motorway but I'll grit my teeth and get on with it.

Luckily, you can camp at the festival the night before it starts, so I've got all day to get there. The '6h 59min' on the map refers to the time it would take if you rode at the speed limit without stopping. With rest/fuel stops and the inevitable holdups, a few more hours need to be added. The festival has an interesting lineup, however lacking Van Morrison who was a headliner when I booked back in 2020.

After the Wickham Festival I've a few days before the next festival, so I'll find somewhere to stay locally and explore the area. I've not been to this part of the country before and a couple of places on my list are The Sammy Miller Museum and the National Motor Museum.

The next festival, Cropredy Convention is only 100 miles/160 km from Wickham so it'll be an easy ride there. I've been to Cropredy before and they always have a good selection of acts.

After that it'll be another boring ride up the motorways home.

While I'm away I'll try to update the blog and my Facebook page but it will depend on Internet access, battery life, how much I can be bothered, etc! However, I will take lots of photos and videos and post them when I get back.

 

Suzuki SV 650 for sale

 

*****UPDATE: Now sold*****

That's my SV 650 for sale on Ebay. Please share to anyone who might be interested.

Ebay listing

Language lessons

 For the last few years I've been attending Spanish classes nearby and, since the start of the Covid lockdown, online by Zoom. 

I had started the classes when some of my friends moved to Spain and I thought it would be useful to learn the basics of the language to use when I visited them. As it turned out, they returned to Scotland but I enjoyed the lessons so continued attending them and will hopefully be able to use what I've learned when I go to Spain on the bike later this year.

My teacher, Michael, has set up Facebook pages for learners of,

Spanish 

French

Italian

English

He also has a YouTube channel where he posts lessons in these languages.

Classes will be available on-line and face-to-face, bear in mind that Michael lives in Howwood, Renfrewshire so classes would be within a reasonable travelling distance. If you are interested, fill in this online form.

I've really enjoyed my classes, they are fun, you learn a lot, and are not too 'heavy' on grammar etc. Ideal for anyone planning on going on holiday to countries that speak those languages.

The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride - Glasgow 2022

 

Sunday was the day of the DGR so it was tweeds on and head into Glasgow with my friend Jane on the pillion. It had been raining overnight and the roads were still a bit damp when I got up but had cleared by the time I left and although it was a bit overcast, it didn't rain until hours after we were home.

We made our way to the start point at The Fort Shopping Centre in the East of Glasgow and waited for the other riders to arrive. Eventually, about 130 riders came and we set off through the city to our halfway stopping point at Glasgow Green. We stopped there for a while then headed off again to our final destination at West Coast Harley Davidson.

The DGR is sponsored by Triumph, but at the moment there is no actual Triumph shop in Glasgow. West Coast have the Triumph dealership but their new Triumph shop isn't open yet, so the event terminated at their Harley Davidson shop.

At the shop there was a food van, Jane's daughter Summer had baked cakes for the riders, and we were entertained by a young rockabilly band. Awards were given for Most Dapper Man, Most Dapper Lady, and Best Bike.

Many thanks to everyone who took part in the organising and hosting of the event, and look forward to next year's

Links:

My donating page - still time to donate!

 Glasgow Ride page - currently at over £12,000

West Coast Triumph - coming soon

Best Bad Influence - band (e-mail) Facebook page

Some photos I took:

Yours truly at the start

This little James won Best Bike

Jane's son Curtis (age 4) on my bike

More photos here.

Video Jane shot from the back of my bike of the second half of the Ride - Glasgow Green to West Coast Harley Davidson.

The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride 2022 - update

 

That's me now registered to take part in this year's ride in Glasgow. After a few years of solo rides it'll be good to have a group ride again and to actually see other participants. My friend Jane will probably be riding pillion with me again and her daughter Summer making cakes for the other riders. I've put down that I'll be riding the Triumph, but if I get the Honda running reliably by then I'll use it.

If anyone else reading this is taking part in any of the rides, please let me know.

Details of the DGR here.

Please donate on my fundraising page.

More later.

Distinguished Gentleman's Ride 2022

 

Once again this year I'll be taking part in The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride to raise money for charity. If anyone else is thinking of taking part, in any city in the world, the website is now open for pre-registration and you'll be informed of your local ride's details.

Website