late day out

[garyboy]

Was going to go camping up north wales on Sunday and Monday, but was too knackered Sunday so decided to go for a day out on Monday.
Got up early, but went back to bed, but eventually managed to get up before noon.
Didn’t have time to give the bike the full works so decided to just spray the chain and go, that’s if I could avoid the neighbours mooning over the bike, once the cover is off . … no chance .. they kept me there trying to get me to sell it, or repeating `wot a great bike`.
Eventually I managed to hobble my sprained foot over the blade, and away to go … OAP neighbours shouting `yay` etc … mind, I can see what they mean.  Smiley face, blip throttle … he heh…. YAY indeed.
Straight to the garage and fill up.. first 20 quid gone.

On my way .. great … take it easy, nice n steady .. well .. mostly.
I had decided to go for it and go through Neath, Haverfordwest, 487 to St Davids, then Carmarthen and aber and back down the 470.
The bike was handling great and I felt confident with the tyres, tho the rear was just starting to square off, but seemed ok.
Big mistake.  My first stop was 100 miles on, just after Haverfordwest.  Stopped in a shaded layby, and casually checked the bike.. like u do …. Shock/horror … the metal reinforcing was shining through the rear tyre!
I knew, from experience, that there would not be many miles left .. and I had promised myself that I would never run a tyre down so low, like I once did.. its not clever.
So.. what to do?  Well I knew I had to get back asap, so started the slow shittin-myself way back home, knowing what a blowout can do. Stopped a few times.. it was wearing very rapidly now.  No bike shop apparent in St Clears or Carmarthen.. and didn’t feel like asking the locals and being told `not from here` etc with silly looks, .. so carried on the M4….then.. brilliant…. Remembered about M and P just before junction 47 … phoned…

YES! .. they had a Pirelli Corsa 111 in stock and they would fit it if I waited.
Huge sigh of relief .. I don’t think I would have made it home on the old tyre, and didn’t fancy facing the smirking neighbours from the back of an AA breakdown truck.
The new tyre looked so …. THICK of rubber .. and the fitter was great.. greased the spindle, sprayed the cush-drive rubbers and sprayed my chain with the lube I had bought.  ( nearly £150, with the £7 lube.. expensive tyre.. but well worth it under the circumstances).  We had a good old chat about X7 s, but it was getting late.. 4.30 and had to choose between going home or continuing. So I headed back .. to Haverfordwest (got to be done)… another £20 for petrol, on the way, and a nervous ride with the new rubber.  I could feel the rise in height of the rear too, and it felt hard … it actually felt better before.

Anyway, at haverfordwest, instead of going to St Davids, went over the Precellis and then past Cardigan and Aberaeron.  It was getting very late, gone 7, and I was stiff and aching but rushed an icecream (got to be done, 2) and was on my way again after literally, a 3 minute rest.  More petrol, £10 top up, before Aberystwith, and I knew this would get me home, as its 100 miles away from Ponty and the tank will do 130 plus, sometimes even 160?. 
An expensive day out so far.
150 tyre and lube, 50 petrol, 5 for snacks, including a pork pie for 2 quid!
I forced myself onwards to get the last of the light, it was knackering and I hate riding in the half-light or the dark, but by the time I reached Brecon it was pitch black and well gone 9.

A two minute rest and stretch then on again, it was hell when cars came the other way.. the worst was a copper doing about 80 through the lanes with flashing lights.. blinded me for a few seconds.. all I could do was follow roughly where he had come from.  But when the road was quiet, it was great, swanning along on head beam with the road to myself, in an illuminated biking world of my own.
Managed to get home before ten.. absolutely knackered … but with a big grin, and thinking `there’s still life in the old dog yet`.
I left the half eaten pork pie under my seat cubby hole .. to mature for the benefit of the neighbours. Its still there… waiting.
 

[snoopy]

  love it ....

[garyboy]

Ta S

I shall remove the pork pie sometime next week..
can't be too nasty!

[Rhosyn]

There was a bike shp in Haverfordwest you could have tried, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login  and one in Llandissilio, Lamos but chances of having the tyre you need, not sure how much of a stock they actually keep but Garlands would have been able to help Im sure. Sounds like a great route you took anyway, I love it over Solva, St Davids way and up north, Aberaeron etc

[garyboy]

Thanks R,
yeah I guessed there was one somewhere in Haverfordwest .. and I know wherre Garlands is, come to think of it .. or used to know anyway... but I couldnt think at the time... I'll have to get one of them new fangles gps/phone thingys that tell you where things are ... would have been useful!

but yeah .. it really is great there.. all of Pembrokeshire .. i used to know it all well.. Solva is fab, yes,Aberaeron is my regular spot,north pembs is great... love the Precelli hills... great atmosphere there.

[The Stig]

[pricey]

blimey all that and not a cup of coffee mentioned  nice one

[blueracer]

Wow what a good report  Well done fella

[cheaperholidays]

I know you had new rubber but did you have to "feel hard..." lol

Ps you can't be far from me, fancy a bimble some time?

[triple595]

always pays to check the rubber before setting off, still no harm done and you enjoyed it all the more

[garyboy]

S
 

CH
that would be good .. a bimble one day .. I got your number from another post .. will text you when I recover from this ride :)

BR
cheers mate

P
mmm .. actually I DID have a cuppa (tea) and a muffin while waiting at M an P, for what seemed like a coupla hours, but the rest of the trip was practically straight through .. still knackered, but that sure was a long way in one go (for those type of roads)

T595
yeah .. always check the rubber .. your right
what i don't get is that I DID
and it seemed fine, not even squared off that much.
When I bought it, only last year, from Thunderroad, I noticed that the tread seemed very shallow, only about 2mm in the middle of the tyre.
it looked new alright, tho the new one from M n P looks different (same make).. twice as deep tread in middle and different shape? tho I may be mistaken.
also, what i didnt get at the time is that Thunderroad found it necessary to trial road run my bike????
is this usual? ( when fitting a tyre)
I didnt like that.
another thing.
last year, again when stopped in a layby, i noticed a panel pin sticking out of my rear tyre.  I bit the bullet (no tyre repair kit on me) and pulled it out with the tool kit pliers. all fine, and it was about 18mm long, obviously at an angle, luckily. anyway, i noticed how SOFT the rubber was, it was like rubber band rubber or balloon rubber.  I
I didnt get that either.
that's why i was surprised how hard the new tyre form M n P seemed.
Both were Pirelli Corsa threes.
any comments welcome.

(the fitter in M n P reckoned that the thinner the tyre gets the more it suffers from `cold tear` (or was it `cold shred`), as it has less to warm up to optimum temp, so runs cold, increasing slip percentage per rotation, so wears more quickly the thinner it gets, as its slipping more and shredding more from the cold anyway)