Dutchblog

Yesterday’s day out on the ‘bike turned out to be a fairly long 361 mile run over some of the best ‘biking roads in the north of England.

I left Edinburgh in brilliant sunshine, which endured for most of the day, except for the occasional cloudy spell.

The A68 took me away from Edinburgh, through Lauder & Jedburgh before pausing for bacon rolls & coffee at Carter Bar which due to it’s altitude was shrouded in low cloud.

I then continued on the A68, intending to pass trough Hexham & Alston before stopping at Hartside summit.

Alston moor was spectacular and the decent weather brought out hundreds of ‘bikers, all seemingly headed to the Hartside Cafe.

I pressed on towards Penrith & the Lake District, my intended destination being the well known Lakeland Motor Museum at Holker House, which I’d never visited before.

Here I found a surprisingly extensive & interesting collection of old cars & motorcycles as well as large amounts of motoring memorabilia and not least a significant collection of artefacts connected with world land & water speed record holders Sir Malcolm Campbell & his son Donald Campbell.

The hour I spent here was barely enough to fully appreciate all the exhibits and I’ll probably return once the museum is relocated to larger premises in 2009.

On the road again I pass through Coniston, Ambleside & Keswick before cutting east to pick up the M6 at Penrith for some quick miles to Moffat and the deserted A701 back to Edinburgh.

A really great day out on two wheels.

• Images may be found here.
• Track logs may be found here.

Our recent two-up trip to France highlighted a slight issue we don’t seem to have experienced very much before.

The incidence of the pillion sliding forwards & backwards on the rear seat under even mild deceleration & acceleration was more noticeable and resulted in her having to push herself back towards the top case more often than she used to on our previous bikes.

I researched the matter a little and discovered a very simple solution in the form of the Triboseat.

Essentially this is a form of open cell rubber matting, very similar to the type of material used to protect bike paintwork from luggage damage, except the rubber used seems to be a very grippy type of silicone.

In profile each silicone cell is flat on the underside which goes against the existing seat cover and the upper side has a much more domed & high gloss finish.

Triboseat make these covers for a wide range of bikes and they are extremely simple to fit by means of an elasticated draw cord and once installed it blends in well with the seat and looks like it belongs with the bike.

I’ve no doubt this simple accessory will do the job it’s designed for in addition to which it may offer a degree of protection to the original seat cover from boots being dragged over it as we get on & off the bike!

Images of my Triboseat installation may be found here.