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After my disappointment of lands end i was a little deflated when i got going north ,all the time i was at lands end all i could think was "the only thing thats missing is the pimp out of magnum force,ye know the one with the pink caddie and over the top pimp clothes".
Anyhoo, back to the story
I started to hear "CH CHING" again on the way to return over the Tamar bridge. I thought I'd be clever and stop in a lay by for a fag and get a quid out for the fare over the bridge,so i did, only i dropped the quid and it rolled straight down a grate(ch Ching Cornwall £1- GED nil). i got out another quid and put it in my glove ready for the toll booth operator.i jumped back on my bike and got to the bridge,where the toll man said "ye don't pay for bikes mate"!!!!
so i smiled politely and rode away muttering under my breath about throwing money away for nothing.the north would hold better luck for me i prayed
i pulled in at Michael wood services for a bum massage and some gas and from there i wandered my way to toward Bangor in wales to see my brother. i stopped over at his house and set off again the following morning
the following day i set off really late,so i phoned ahead to ask Mrs judgeged could she meet me at the tickled trout petrol station to let me unload the camping gear( i wuss-ed out and decided to B&B it instead)this done it was now about 4.30 so i thought i would stop at my mother in laws caravan in morecombe and try to get a nice early start tomorrow(after all i was not in a race)
(thanks to john and Carole and Laurie and val)
the bike had performed flawlessly other than the overheating problem (which i am in the process of sorting out)but as for the handling and engine performance it was flawless and well suited to the longer rides
i got up at 07.15 got mi bacon butties down my neck and was on the road at 08.15 and heading north to my own personal holy grail. i thought if i put in a hard day that i could get really close to John O'groats and get an early start and a nice easy journey tomorrow.as time passed and the miles passed i realized i could actually clock out tonight and sure enough at about 1820 i got to the pole(thee pole,ye know lands end 874 that way,thee pole)and got the photies and went back to the B&B I'd just passed about 2 miles back
"Sorry we're full"said the nice Scottish gent(no honest he was really friendly and helpful)"but if you don't mind riding 4 miles that way i can get you a bed for the night"
and so he did and if i may throw in an advert (i said i would)Mr and Mrs McCarthy the old school house,Brabster 01955611708 tell them that the lad with the black triumph tiger(they were both impressed with Lilly)says hello
you will be greeted with a 4 poster bed and remote telly hot shower and great breakfast, i paid £25
well fed and well slept i got up again Monday morning and set off back toward home with an real impression of how beautiful and spectacular Scotland really is. i got to Inverness and realized i was very close to loch ness so i detoured down the loch(now thats a big bit of water in anybodies book but i never saw the monster).the roue i took was down the A82 onto the A86(a truly glorious,quite and interesting road)and back onto the A9 and south back to my mother in laws caravan to meet Mrs judgeged for a quite? night in !!.the following day i got to the garage to wash the crap off Lilly before putting her away and got soaked a quarter of a mile away from home!!!
so,to the weather
i got spat on a bit in the highlands (approx 15Min's) and other than that i saw nothing but the best weather i have ever seen Scotland get
the mileage approx 1700 miles in 3 days(and i loved every bit of it
the comfort of the tiger is not brilliant but i reckon that a gel seat would make all the difference.i couldn't fault the engine reliability or the handling even with panniers i saw 90 miles and hour more than once(although not for a prolonged period)and it never blinked
EPILOGUE
i think the tiger has some little niggles that are going to put off anyone who is easily worried and i think that if triumph sorted out these teething troubles sooner they would truly beat the market and the tiger would be king of the jungle!!
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