EMERGENCY BITTER: "CiderFootballPunkRock"

Ok, we're going on a bit of a departure with this one - as alluded to HERE, I love my music (as do most bikers), so, putting bikes aside for a moment, I thought I'd have a go at my first ever album review.

A few years ago, some friends of mine, joined together by a love of cider, football and punk rock (you can see where this is going!), decided to put together a band - and that band has just released their first album. And to my eternal surprise, it's actually bloody good!

Emergency Bitter are a group of ordinary blokes from South West London - Alb, Ferret, Joe & Phil - who exist to have a good time. This band isn't about fame, making money or achieving world domination - if they can have a few beers, play a few gigs, have a laugh and knock out the odd passable tune, then they're happy. All very honest and admirable. Anyway, let's stick the headphones on and see what "CiderFootballPunkRock" has to offer....

First of all, don't be put off by the punk rock thing - this is a rock n roll album. The CD opens with "Wake Up" - a rousing little ditty which bowls along at a good pace and sets the theme for the other 15 songs, with it's catchy hooks and choruses. Humour is the other recurring theme on this record and this is amply demonstrated by the second song "Daytime Drinking". How can you not love lyrics like "I'm going daytime drinking, in the pub with the other wasters/I'm going daytime drinking, pints of cider and Jager chasers"?! Great stuff!

"Sold my Soul" laments our shared affliction in supporting Fulham, "Doris", "My Life", "Square Peg" follow - all pleasing, catchy tunes - while "Fuck the BNP", "Gang of One", and my personal favourite "Silver Spoon" stick two fingers up at some of the things that go on in society. But there's nothing overtly political here - they're just having their say. However, it's the boys' love of drinking and having a good time that really comes through on this album, and this is nicely summed up in the clever, funny and (again) very catchy "One More For The Road", which brings things to a close before the cover version encore of Christine Aguilera's "Beautiful" (yes, you read that right!).

This is an honest, highly enjoyable, accomplished and FUN record. It has a good pace throughout, great melodies and I guarantee you'll find yourself humming away to the tunes long after the record has finished. I've bought cds by the likes of Tracer, Airbourne and Stone Sour recently - all great bands - yet it's"CiderFootballPunkRock" that I play the most. That's some accolade.

At the end of the day, this is a band with good chemistry and one that is at ease with itself. I'm proud to call the guys friends and I love the album. Hopefully you will too.


PS. Should you wish to give it a go, it's just FIVE of your English pounds - available HERE

Not Dead Yet

I stumbled upon something rather terrific the other day. A chance posting on my bike club's general forum by fellow member "RegVarney" (I assume he drives a bus for a living!) opened up a whole weekend's viewing pleasure for your humble scribe. If you've ever watched "Long Way Round" with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, you will love this.

A genial chap from Dublin named Oisin Hughes has put together a video blog telling the story of his retracing of Ewan and Charley's trip round the world - but importantly, this is without the large BMW sponsorship and backup crew that was always available to them to help them get out of any trouble. In turn, Oisin has uploaded all of this onto YouTube. Entitled "Not Dead Yet", there are currently 21 segments available to watch - each of which lasts for about 20 minutes or so. Although his trip took place last year, it seems he's still working and editing it as there's more to come next week with episode 22 due on 2 April. We watched all 21 (so far) last weekend - it was that good.

A very basic resumé would be that he's riding a bike (well, a BMW - but don't hold that against him) from Dublin, right across Europe and Asia to Yakutsk and then Magadan on the far-eastern seaboard of Russia. The reason I include Yakutsk and Magadan specifically is that these remote towns are connected by the now infamous "Road of Bones", which is fast becoming the Holy Grail for overlander bikers. It defeated Ewan and Charley.

Dating from the 1930s, the road was constructed by inmates of the gulag camps. Many of these inmates perished in this cold, desolate place (where the average winter temperature drops to -46°C!) and the road is treated as a memorial, because the bones of the people who died while constructing it were laid beneath or around the road. 

It now lies in a high state of disrepair (all but impassable in places) and remains one of the great challenges for adventure motorcyclists. The Road of Bones is the subject of episode 22, due next week. 

"Not Dead Yet" is a great yarn and very very entertaining. It starts well with our hero missing the boat from Dublin to Holyhead, and you start wondering what he will do when faced with anything more complicated than a passenger ferry! Is he safe to be let out alone we ask?! Well, yes he is and his trip turns into a great story. Personally, I loved his commentary round the Nurburgring: "Get out of the fockin' way ya cont....jaysus!!!!". Wonderful stuff....

Part 1 is HERE:

The rest can be found HERE:

ENJOY!!

Looking forward....

Next week the clocks go forward as we head into Spring - at bloody last! This winter has felt interminably long. But for once we won't dwell on the weather here - this is a time to look forward....to plan the biking year....

The first trip of 2013 comes in just a couple of months time. For this, we (me and biking pal Scouse Steve) will head south - to France and Spain. So I thought I'd use this piece to outline what we plan on getting up to (if nothing else it will make me feel better!).

We are calling the trip "Sea to Sea", because it is just that. From the trip over the Channel to Calais we will head south, down through France to the Mediterranean. Once there, we turn right, head through the Pyrenees, and eventually up to Santander on the Bay of Biscay for the boat home. Actually, that's "Sea to Sea....to Sea"....! Regular readers may remember me waxing lyrical on past trips about French "D" roads, and one in particular - the D940. The D940 is a truly fantastic route and one of my favourite roads ever. And given that it stretches down through France, it is this that we will use as the centrepoint of the French leg. So let's have a look at the trip in a bit more detail....

Day 1: On arrival in Calais, we pick up the D940 and do the first part of it, perhaps down along the coast to Boulogne or Le Touquet. After that, we take a dual carriageway which will drop us down past Rouen. After that we have some free flowing country roads, with the first days' destination being Blois - some 6 ½ hours (280 miles or so) riding time from Calais. With the journey down to Folkestone and then the Tunnel crossing, this will constitute a pretty full first day.  

Day 2: The next morning it will take us a couple of hours to ride to Le Chatre, where we pick up the D940 again. After a quick pit stop, we will then set off for Rodez, which is 177 miles of the glorious D940 due south. A total ride of 7 ½  hours and 307 miles.

Day 3: After leaving Rodez the next morning, we track south west over the mountains towards Millau where we will see or go over the famous viaduct. It looks pretty special....

Millau Viaduct

After Millau we continue south towards the Mediterranean Sea - some 150 miles (3 hours) away - where we will stop for lunch. Mais Oiu!

After lunch we set off to go up and over the first half of the Pyrenees, which will be another 3 hours (120 miles or so) arriving in La Seu D’Urgell - which looks like a rather smashing little mountain town in Northern Spain.

La Seu D’Urgell

Day 4: The next day we track along some fantastic roads to Pamplona, which is 250 miles away - basically following the mountains parallel to the border. The route is showing as 6 hours so plenty of opportunity for pit stops en route. Then overnight in Pamplona.

Day 5: The next morning we have a refreshing 150 mile blat to the boat at Santander, through the wonderful Picos de Europa mountain range.

Picos de Europa

Day 6: Relaxing on the 24-hour crossing back to Portsmouth. I think we'll need it!

This trip is a lot of riding in a short space of time. It's going to be pretty full on - but with limited leave available from our respective workplaces and not wishing to stretch too far the permissions of those left behind at home, we've crammed as much as we can into the time we have available. With a week on a beach in the Canaries before that, suddenly the prospects for 2013 are looking up.

It's going to be a great trip - I'm getting a semi just thinking about It!

Justice for David Bartholomew?

The latest in a long line of apparant miscarriages of justice against bikers is the case of David Bartholomew. You can read various accounts of what happened in the links below:

Bournemouth Echo
Visordown
Daily Mail
Motorcycle News

I'm not going to comment on the specifics of this case, except to say that this does not appear to be some youngster taking liberties on a bike too big for him - this was an experienced, middle-aged motorcyclist, riding within the law on what I would describe as a fairly sensible bike (sorry to any CBF1000 owners!).

What I will say is this: motorcycles are a perfectly legal form of transport but those of us on two wheels are amongst the most vulnerable of road users. That being the case, I do think that there should be some kind of an accepted legal principle demanding higher levels of expectation on those driving 4-wheeled vehicles. We all know that any idiot can drive a car, but when it comes to riding a motorbike, WE have to devote our full attention. It also requires a complete acceptance of responsibility for your own safety (which of course is utterly wrong but it's the way things are).

So has justice been served here? That's for others to decide but a campaign has been started in David's name. The ‘Justice for David Bartholomew’ Facebook page has been created to allow people to voice their opinions on the issue and collect funds for a possible private prosecution. To date more than 4000 people have shown their support.

If you feel strongly about this case, you can add your support here:

Justice for David Bartholomew

Time for a change?

So, here we are at the back end of February and although the weather remains cold and (largely) miserable, it is at this time of year that Spring starts to come into view on the horizon, with its lighter evenings and gradually warmer weather. It is also at this time of year that thoughts start to turn to the possibility of a new bike (and by that I mean new to me - not sure I'd ever actually buy new from a showroom because when you wheel it out, you immediately lose 25% of its value, which seems a strange economy to me, but that's by the by....).

This is year 3 of owning the Z1000 and I have to say that I've enjoyed every minute of it (apart from being blown all over the place on Belgian motorways, due to lack of wind protection). But overall, it is a fantastic bike with power, character and presence and it does everything I ask of it. And I still look at it and think "pfwooooorrrrr"! So why thoughts of change? Well, it's what we do as bikers isn't it? There's always something newer, faster, shinier, comfier and it's nice to get the full experience isn't it?

Look at this monstrosity!

What I can say at the outset is that any "new" bike WON'T be a BMW, nor will it be one of those "adventure" bikes that seem so popular these days. Not only are they pig ugly, they are often ridden by people called Malcolm who kid themselves they're a cross between Ewan McGregor and Dr. David Livingstone, eating miles and traversing continents when in actual fact they live in a 3-bed semi in Surbiton and use the bike to pop to the shops! I exaggerate of course....(but not by much!).

So what is on the Chairman Chegwin wish list these days? I had a bit of a thing for a long time about the Ducati Diavel, but although undoubtedly a very good bike, it left me a bit uninspired (especially at the price). When thoughts of a new steed do start to take hold, Triumph's excellent Speed Triple is never far away from consideration. The bike mags all love it and it sells very well - and yet, despite admiring from afar, I've never been *that* moved to go and get myself one. These days the styling puts me off a bit and it seems to get smaller with each passing year, which is no good to those of us with, shall we say, a more "robust" frame. Call me old fashioned but I like a bike with over 1000ccs to actually feel like a bike that's got 1000ccs.

So what else? Well, this is definitely one from the leftfield but I have to admit to a bit (ok, a lot) of a man crush on the gorgeous Kawasaki W800. It sounds barmy but I absolutely love the looks and, while I haven't (yet) ridden one, sitting astride it, it fits like a glove. It is soooo comfortable and just felt so.....right! Ultimately, it would be a more sedate option than the rather more manic Z1000 I have now, but I think it would be SERIOUS fun. A second bike perhaps? Hmmm....

However, my new object of desire (and it is only an object, since I haven't actually seen one in the flesh as yet) is the MV Agusta Brutale 1090R - there's a sportier "RR" version too. I mean, just look at it....it's absolutely....brutal! The naked superbike class is definitely where I'm positioned as a biker and a buyer these days and this would certainly be a natural progression from the almost-as-brutal Z1000. But there's always a downside isn't there? Yes, it's Italian! Which means that as sure as night follows day, it will be unreliable and bits will fall off at regular intervals. And, naturally, it's expensive....with a list price of £12,500. Is it worth it? I have absolutely no idea. But the question I ask myself is: is it £7,500 better than what I paid for my Z1000? On a straight comparison, they're actually fairly similar bikes - and this is where reality starts to bite because I'm not about to plunge a lot of money on what is effectively a punt. Bike dealers must hate people like me.

So, what happens now? Well....precisely nothing! I still love the Z1000 and I haven't seen many other bikes that do it for me as much as my current bike does. It's only coming up to 17k miles, runs like a dream, looks fantastic and is in many ways the perfect bike.

So why get rid? This love affair has a while to run yet methinks.... 

Weather and public transport RANT!!!

So here we are, in mid-late January. The last five days in London (and much of the country) have been characterised by varying degrees of snow, ice and plunging temperatures. Kids love it - I don't. While all the main roads in our locality are well gritted and usable, sadly the same cannot be said of the side roads where we live, where pavements remain covered in snow and the side roads themselves are like sheet ice. Sheet ice = dropped bike, so this has meant that my beloved steed stays put and I have to resort to the horror that is public transport to get to and from work. So far, I've had three days of it and I have to say, an end to this weather cannot come quickly enough.

My journey to work consists of a 2-mile bus ride to the end of the tube line. From there it's a straight run up into Central London. With changes, it takes an average of 90 minutes to do. So that's about three hours a day - for a journey of 14 miles each way! On the bike, it takes a third of the time.

I topped up my Oyster travelcard yesterday (Monday) with £30.00. If this weather continues, that'll be gone by Thursday. But cost aside, I just find public transport in the London rush hour a thoroughly dispiriting experience. This morning the queue for the bus was 13 deep. The first bus that came along was packed to the rafters, so didn't stop. Wait for the next one then....

The tube trains have also been rammed each day. Fortunately, being at the end of the line, I do manage to get a seat. Others further up the line are not so fortunate - if they manage to get on at all. People are rude, they push and shove, they cough all over you, batter you with their rucksacks, the trains are dirty and full of stale air and germs and people just look so bloody miserable all the time - as well they might, it's a horrible horrible experience.

                                  
                                 THIS ISN'T LIVING!!!!!!!

                            WHY DO PEOPLE DO IT????
                                   
                                 I HATE IT, I HATE IT!!!!
                
                 AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
  
PS. On arriving home tonight I find that it's 'effin snowing....AGAIN!! 

Box Hill or Bust recommends....

Bikes and biking is a bit of a niche subject in terms of creative and lifestyle writing and it can be difficult to come up with interesting pieces that are not simply a variation on the same theme. I'm strictly an amateur at this and write from a purely personal perspective on the bike-related things I get up to but I do find it interesting that, when looking around the web, it appears that the number of similar active (amateur) bloggers writing regularly and solely about our favoured pastime is actually quite small (or at least I've not been able to find vast numbers doing it).

So, while Box Hill or Bust is obviously the most interesting, most informative and best written blog in the "blogosphere" [quiet at the back there!], what else is out there for our delectation? A handful can be found on the "Blog Roll" further down this page on the right hand side and for the purpose of this piece, I thought I'd highlight four in particular that I enjoy reading. And if this helps increase their audience in any way, then all well and good.

First up, "A Bedford Biker".

Written by Lizzie Lane, a young blogger and biker from (I know you won't believe this...) Bedford, this is written from the perspective of someone growing up with a love of bikes but who has only recently passed her test - so her's is a different and interesting take on all things biking (and in stark contrast to old gits like me who have been riding for years). This is an entertaining and well written blog and I really like her youthful positivity. She'll learn.....!

Next up, "Braais, beers and bikes".

This one is much closer to home for me - written by Andrew Wood (aka "The Rider"), a gnarled old rocker, drinker and biker who is based in the Western Cape in South Africa. Andrew comes across as a really good guy and this one does exactly what it says on the tin - it's all about braais (barbeques), beers and bikes and basically having a good time (all the bloody time, it seems!). It's a very entertaining blog, packed full of photos and I have to say that I'm somewhat envious of Andrew's lifestyle!  

Next we have "Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist".

This one is different again. Written by Geoff James, a British ex-pat nowadays living on North Island, New Zealand, who describes himself as a "Grumpy old curmudgeon on some occasions, mental age of 5 on others". Hmmm...that's quite close to home too! Geoff has been riding a long time and has definitely "seen it and done it", so to speak. He is also a longstanding IAM member so this blog tends to be a bit more in-depth, informative and sensible than the tripe I write.      

Last (but certainly not least), we have "Find Me On The Road".

This one is a relatively new discovery for me, written by "SoniaM", who is based on the West Coast of Canada. Sonia seems to be fairly prolific, having written 138, 137 and 111 pieces respectively in each of the last three years (where does she find the time I ask?!). I'm still catching up with all this content but again, this is a well written and an interesting account of biking from yet another part of the world.   

So there you have it. Four very different blogs and four very different people, each offering a different experience and perspective on the life that we love. Now I suppose I'll have to get to work and make Box Hill or Bust a bit better!

Happy reading.....

You lucky people!

Back to work after the Christmas and New Year break and what do we find in the news to welcome in 2013? Yep, rail passengers are facing their tenth consecutive year of above-inflation fare rises. This is a familiar theme for this blog and what we now find is that from today, the average season ticket goes up by 4.2% and many will rise by more than double that (a season ticket from Banbury to London rises by 9.2% or £436 - incredibly, that ticket is now just shy of £5,200 a year!!).

The unions have been quick to say that the Government is pricing ordinary people off the railway and according to a Network Rail study, more a third of trains are still late! This is going to keep happening, yet bizarrely, more people are using the railways than ever. Demand is growing at 5-6% every year, despite the fact that average train fares have risen nearly three times faster than average incomes since 2008. Rail use and the high prices, overcrowding and questionable punctuality that go with it seems to buck every trend and no one that I know can explain it.

Many commuters are spending a good 10%+ of their salary simply on travelling into work - and that's not even considering the time it takes out of the day with delays, connections etc etc. I suspect many of those will also say that they have no choice but to keep paying what is demanded of them. It's a captive market innit? But aside from how good any of this is for the world of work, people's pockets and their family/home life (or the country's economic recovery), will people really keep taking the hit? How much more can the Government and the rail companies get away with extorting from their "customers"? And does the "no choice but to pay it" argument really stack up?

I don't have all the answers but what I do know is that this state of affairs must represent a real opportunity for the motorcycle industry. The "Get On" and "Ride to Work Day" campaigns are doing some really good work but they are voices in isolation, so what I'd like to see in 2013 is a concerted campaign, backed (and funded) by all sides of the industry and the biking media, to really drive home the message of the advantages of switching to two wheels. The arguments are well-rehearsed but they're not being heard. What I don't see is any sense of us as a community working together.  

They say the two certainties in life are death and taxes. These fare rises are now becoming a tax on work - it's time to try a different direction....

Happy New Year!!!

Well, that's 2012 (nearly) out of the way and so we look forward to what 2013 has to bring. One thing's for sure (especially for those of us living in London), 2012 will be very hard to beat. Virtually all summer long, London was the centre of the world's attention and despite the downbeat predictions I made at this time last year, I have to admit that we as a city coped brilliantly with the Olympics. In fact, against all expectations, it was an absolute dream getting around London. There was no gridlock on the roads, the transport system didn't keel over and at times Central London seemed largely deserted. Clearly, the government did such a good job with their doom-laded messages that it seems many people simply took August off! If only it could  be like that all the time.... And our athletes delivered - all in all, it was a very un-British display of organisation and excellence!

On the downside, I didn't do nearly enough biking this year. Despite plans being laid, there were no big trips and the weather put paid to a lot of riding here at home. It is also fair to say that this had an effect on this blog. I'm not really one for New Year's Resolutions but the message for 2013 is very much "must do better". More riding and more writing is the order of the day over the next twelve months.

As a start, plans are emerging for a return to the roads of France - in particular, the Route Napoleon and Gorges Du Verdon, down in deepest south of France (close to Nice), which have been suggested by biker pal Steve. I'm not familiar with these myself but am reliably informed that these should be on every bikers' bucket list. And I have to say that it does indeed look promising....! (click on the pic below)

The so-called "Grand Canyon of Europe"

So that's something to look forward to in probably April time.

Aside from that, having spent Christmas up with family on Anglesey, we have to do last year's aborted trip to Wales this year. The roads up there are just brilliant (as long as the weather is ok....)

That's all to come (and more besides, hopefully), but for now I would just like to take this opportunity to wish all of you who bother to read this blog a happy and successful new year. Most of all, keep the rubber on the road and stay safe - there are a lot of idiots out there!

Winter is here....

Yes, dear reader....the clocks have gone back, the days are shortening and it's only a matter of a few weeks until Christmas. Where did the year go?

Biking wise, I have to say that 2012 has turned out to be a complete non event, which is a shame because 2011 was full of good riding, including a couple of fantastic long weekends in France. I had plans for this year but work, circumstance and (mostly) the weather has got in the way. I definitely need to make amends in 2013 but this year isn't over yet. You never know....

While plenty of fellow bikers will be putting their pride and joy away in the garage for the winter months, I'm not one of them. Never have been. As far as I'm concerned, bikes are there to be ridden and there is plenty of good winter riding to be had (there's plenty of crap, attritional riding to be had on the commute too, but we'll ignore that for the purpose of this piece). Yes, the winter months get a tad chilly and you might have to deal with a bit of wind and rain on occasion if you're caught out but I don't think there's much that's better than a bracing blast in the bright winter sunshine. It's good for the soul!

And if you are so minded (or a bit of a pansy), there's a plethora of kit and accessories available these days to keep you warm and dry - from handlebar muffs and handguards to heated grips and seats to all manner of waterproofs and heated clothing....gloveliners, vests, jackets, trousers, boot insoles etc etc. Just make sure your battery (and wallet) can cope!

Personally, I don't bother with any of that (other than waterproofs). I had some heated grips on a previous bike (my beloved VFR) but found that while they can almost burn your palms off on the underside, they do very little to offset the chill on the outside of your fingers. They just didn't feel right, so I got rid.

I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to winter riding anyway - I prefer layers to manufactured heat and, despite my advancing years, actually quite like the chill and the feel of exposure to the elements. And yes, I get a strange kick from the cold weather tears, ruddy cheeks and nose dribbles that go with it! It seems to me that if you have heated everything, then you may as well be in a car. Others will disagree, I'm sure (I'm also sure that if I had to do long motorway schleps on a regular basis, I'd be taking a very different view!)

Mind you, there are limits. It was 3°c on the ride into work early this morning and as I drew up to some lights alongside a young guy on an R6, I could see that all he had on as protection from the elements was a thin jacket, jeans, trainers AND NO GLOVES!!! Brrrrr!!!!! 

Enjoy the winter ride!    

Bikes....Football....Beer....GOLF?!

Yes dear reader, it would appear that your faithful scribe has succumbed to middle age....having reached nearly 47 years of age and never having played the game before, golf is now a new pastime of choice. How did this happen? It's not very "bikerish" is it? Well that's what I thought - but the reality it seems is somewhat different. I learn that quite a few of my biker and football pals enjoy a round from time to time. One of my oldest friends is so engrossed in the game he even blogs about it: check out the excellent Three Off The Tee

Everything is still at an early stage - at the moment, I'm enjoying some introductory lessons to learn the basics, will then graduate to playing a 9-hole course, and then onwards to the full 18. I very much doubt that Lee Westwood is looking over his shoulder but it's good fun, a good challenge, good exercise and at the present time, it's all about incremental progress. I'm even buying golfing magazines alongside Fast Bikes, Motor Cycle Monthly and Classic Rock!

Now, you may laugh but what has surprised me is how close golf is to biking. Yes, you read that right - golf and biking actually share very similar characteristics. Let us consider the evidence....

1. It's all about the wrists and arms (and posture) - something I've learned very early on is the importance of getting into the right position(s), of not gripping the club too tight or tensing the arms. This of course is the same in biking - tensing on the bars and throttle is not good. Nice and smooth and relaxed is the way forward in both (mind you, it ain't easy teeing off in helmet & leathers....)

2. Look good and feel good - get the right gear, make sure it's comfortable and that you're looking good (as with John Daly, below right, it doesn't matter if others don't think so, just as long as you do!). If you look good you feel good and you will play better - just as in biking, you will always ride better in decent gear on a clean, well-looked after machine rather than some filthy, rusty old nail. It's sycolojikal innit?

3. The balance of patience, power, poise, touch and concentration - whether you're golfing, racing, off-roading, green-laning or commuting you need to learn how to develop and balance these attributes. Too much (or too little) of any one in the wrong place and it's Goodnight Vienna.

4. Accessorize (and make sure your wallet can stand the strain) - oh yes, both pastimes can be bloody expensive with all the little "extras" that are on offer in showrooms and golfing shops. I'm not a huge fan of golfing "fashion" but the missus is already wincing at the prospect of an open wallet.....for starters, check out this bad boy golf caddy....


Keeping the biking links going, I'm currently using a set of FAZER clubs and as a nod to my favourite tyre manufacturer, will use BRIDGESTONE balls (you can poke Dunlop stuff....)    

So there you have it. Bikes....Football....Beer....and now GOLF. Quite unexpectedly, I'm now embracing fully a game that I had previously thought of as only of relevance to old men and oddballs. How wrong I was....

So where does "Box Hill or Bust" come from?

A few people have asked me where the name of this blog comes from. When I was first thinking about trying a bit of blogging, actually, deciding the name of it was the easiest part - finding something interesting to say is far harder! I needed something bike-related (obviously!), since this is primarily a biking blog but I also wanted to link it to other stuff I'm into. Therefore, in the case of "Box Hill or Bust", it's bikes and heavy rock music.

"Box Hill or Bust" is actually the name of a track penned by a reasonably well known biker rock band called Dumpy's Rusty Nuts, who were popular on the London pub and club scene back in the 1980s. Check out a live appearance by the band on "The Tube" in the mid 80s.

They were also a regular feature at various biker festivals around the country. I've seen them probably hundreds of times over the years - from humble beginnings in the back rooms of pubs like the Lee Green Old Tiger's Head and the Grey Horse in Kingston to bigger venues like Hammersmith Odeon (somewhat bizarrely, supporting black metal nutcases Venom) to the Reading Festival. They also hold the appearance record at the old Marquee Club in Wardour Street, Soho.

Being a "regular" at gigs, I got to know Dumpy quite well. He was bike mad - mainly British bikes and cafe racers, Norton being a particular favourite, as you can see! Box Hill and the Ace Cafe were his favourite bike meets and lots of the band's songs are bike related.

He had a reputation as a bit of joker but was actually quite a serious and thoughtful bloke away from the stage and his great love - apart from bikes - was blues and prog rock music (Peter Green, Hawkwind etc), a direction he's now gone in with the band (yes, Dumpy's Rusty Nuts are still going).

The 80s was a great time to be on the pub and club rock scene - there were some great bands on the way up and from various gigs and parties, I got to meet likes of Luke Morley (once of Terraplane, the band that subsequently became Thunder), various members of Girlschool, Rock Goddess, Engine, Chariot, even Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield of then little-known Metallica at the Royal Standard in Walthamstow(!). And then there was the bottle of vodka shared with Phil (Animal) Taylor of Motorhead at one of Dumpy's infamous birthday parties... Happy days.

I haven't seen the band since the mid-90s, since Dumpy moved up to Derbyshire and when he does venture out to play, he tends to gig locally there, plus the odd biker festival - but never say never. It would be good the relive the old memories once more.

So there you have it. "Box Hill or Bust" is an 80s biker rock anthem. If anyone can come up with something similar that also incorporates football and beer, I'm all ears!

The scourge of the urban scooterist

Time now for a bit of a (hopefully restrained) moan. Yes, it's London scooter riders in the firing line today.

Riding in to work this morning, I came by the aftermath of two accidents. Both involved scooters, both had ambulances in attendance and both looked to be fairly significant shunts. Sadly, this isn't unusual - the vast majority of accidents that I see on London's roads involve either cyclists or (more usually) urban scoots of various sizes and shapes.

Despite the statistics suggesting that you are something like 30 times more likely to have an accident on two wheels (than in a car), it's actually quite rare that I see an accident that involves what I will refer to as a "proper bike". Why is that?

It's not that scooters, of themselves, are in any way more dangerous than bikes - after all, both are machines that are there to be ridden and they will only go as fast as you want them to (or are capable of going). However, I think a key reason is that these different types of machine are ridden in different ways. Certainly, from what I see every day, urban scooter riders tend to be much more likely (and willing) to take risks on the road in an attempt to make progress. Many's the time you see scoots charge down bus lanes, beast cyclists and weave in and out of traffic. Much more so than most bikers would (or do), in my opinion. I definitely think that riding an urban scooter encourages a certain state of mind.

Scooters these days are light, highly manoeuvrable and have very lively and zippy engines. Some of the "maxi-scooters" that have emerged on the market - such as the new Piaggios - are also extremely powerful, with engine displacements of over 800cc. Perhaps this encourages those riding them to go for gaps that a "proper" biker would think twice about?

The other key point for me is the lack of attention scooter riders give to their own personal safety. For example, apart from the mandatory (by law) crash helmet, most that I come across wear zero protective clothing - and then they go out and ride badly! Wearing a suit, office shoes and no gloves, it is hardly surprising that if (when) they come off, the accident will turn out to be a lot more serious than it might or should have been. Many even carry their bloody shopping in the footrest space! Madness.

In contrast, I wear armoured leather trousers and boots and bike jacket with built-in back protector. Solid gloves are also a necessity - your first instinct in an accident is to put your hands down as protection, so they will always take a significant impact. I wouldn't even consider riding in London without these things and I simply cannot understand why scooterists choose to run these risks. It's all about personal choice I know (as well as image), but given that a lot of fatal accidents happen at around 30-50mph where riders come off their machine and hit something solid (or get hit by something solid), to me it's utterly unfathomable. The road hurts.

Ultimately, scooters represent very good value as runarounds or on the daily commute into town, so they're not suddenly going to disappear from our streets (more's the pity!) - indeed, the opposite is true since sales are up year on year, bucking the trend of bigger bikes. I'd simply wish to see better standards of riding and more consideration of other road users. The fact is that by their actions, many scooterists put themselves at risk - and by their two-wheeled association, they give bikers a bad name....


IMPORTANT EDIT: For the sake of clarity, this should not be misconstrued as applying to the Mod or scooter movements - many of whom I count as friends and have enormous respect for. No, as the title (hopefully) suggests, this is about the weekday urban commuters, many of whom shouldn't be let out unaccompanied....  :-)

I vow to thee my.....BIKE

As usual, I rode the bike into work this morning. But today, for some reason, it felt good. It felt REALLY good.

There was nothing out of the ordinary particularly. The weather was drizzly, the roads were wet - flooded in places, the result of another poor English summer - and traffic was fairly heavy. So what's to enjoy? Well, not for the first time I just felt very lucky to be able to suit myself getting into work. No bus timetables, no getting stuck in traffic, no being packed in on the hot and unreliable Northern Line and no smelly/rude/selfish/coughing & spluttering fellow commuters to deal with in an enclosed space.

But of course, it's not luck is it? I love bikes and I have a bike. Therefore, I ride it in to work. Why wouldn't I? The question is, why don't more people do the same?

As is the case every single day I ride the bike, I arrived at work this morning absolutely buzzing and ready for the day. For mental stimulation and a crash course  in problem solving, forget Sudoku - just buy a bike and ride it into Central London each day.

The challenges come from every direction - cyclists weaving in and out, car/van/taxi drivers pulling out, U-turning and jumping lights, long traffic queues to negotiate, death-wish pedestrians walking out between traffic and running for buses not caring about the vehicles that might be in their way, blind school-run mums, potholes in the road, an expanding proliferation of traffic lights and road furniture - and with the Olympic lane restrictions to come.

And you know what? I love it.

Even better, it saves me time, money and hassle. As Loyd Grossman might say...."let's look at the evidence"... My 14-mile ride into Central London takes 35 minutes door to door. Via bus and tube the same journey takes on average an hour and a half - each way. That's up to three hours travelling each day, in not very comfortable or salubrious conditions, just for the dubious privilege of going to work. Then you consider how costly our public transport is. A weekly travelcard for zones 1-4 in London costs £41.80 (£53.40 if you live further out).

By contrast, I put between £16-£20 of petrol in the bike each week. That's less that half the cost of public transport - and that's riding a relatively thirsty (and zesty) Z1000. A smaller bike or even a (spit) scooter will do the job even more economically. Bargain.

More bikes on the road would benefit everyone - there would be less congestion, less pollution and less overcrowding for those who choose (or have no choice but) to remain on public transport.

Time for the ride home now....I may go the "scenic" route and enjoy some more.

Box Hill here I come.....

Weather....Jubilee....EURO 2012....Weather....

We are now in June. Nearly half way through 2012 - so how has the biking year gone so far? Well, not to put too fine a point on it.....it's been crap. Apart from a couple of mini bimbles round mid Surrey and a couple of long routes home at the end of the day, all this year has consisted of so far is the commute to and from work.

The reason? Well, work has got in the way a lot and then there's The Great British Weather.

Coming out of a relatively mild winter (only one major snow fall that I can recall - luckily we don't live "oop north"), I'm sure many of us had high hopes for spring and summer, but it's largely been a washout....quite literally. After a freezing cold February, things started to look up. Apparently March was lovely. I say apparently because we chose the best and warmest March for a long time to go on holiday to South Africa, so missed it all. But never mind, things looked good for April. Or not.... April 2012 actually turned out to be the coldest since 1989, the dullest since 1998 and the wettest since 2000. Remarkably, there have been only three wetter Aprils in 285 years of records in England and Wales!

May had to be better, didn't it? Well yes, but only marginally. It was bloody cold through the first half of the month, and unusually dull and gloomy in the South East. Not at all what we've come to expect in recent years. Very disappointing. And so to June.

As I write this, I look out of the window and it's raining. This has been the story of the month so far - there has been widespread flooding across the country (particularly in the South East) and for the first time in over 100 years the showpiece Senior's race at the Isle of Man TTs was cancelled because the roads were so dangerous (and those riders are nutters, with no regard for personal safety!).

And it's about to get even worse. The short range forecast is for three month's worth of rain to fall over the next three days! Lovely.

So if no biking, what else has happened? Not much to be perfectly honest. Fulham finished the season strongly and ended up in 9th place in the league. The Jubilee celebrations took place and, typically, it rained! 

Thankfully, our street party happened on the Saturday - the one day on that weekend not affected by the weather. The sun even made an appearance during the afternoon! Some photos of our day can be found HERE. 

And now we're into Euro 2012. By all accounts it's 30-odd degrees in Poland and the Ukraine (we are currently at 15 degrees in London) and it's been a good tournament so far.

For the first time in a very long time, I'm actually enthusiastic about England and our chances of winning something. Maybe not this particular tournament but I think we have it in us to do well over the next few years.

The reason? Well, we have some good young players coming through but it's largely due to the new management team. Roy Hodgson and Ray Lewington were the principal figures in Fulham's storming run to the Europa League Final in 2010 and we as supporters hold them both in extremely high regard. Add the impressive Gary Neville into the mix on the coaching staff and we have a team that hopefully everyone can get behind. Much more so than was the case with the distant and wasteful Capello.

A highly creditable draw with 3rd favourites France opened our tournament and tonight we play Sweden - the land of ABBA and flat pack furniture. We haven't beaten Sweden at a major championship since Joan Collins was a virgin but I'm quietly confident we can do the business tonight - and then we see where it takes us.

I just wish they could send some of their weather our way....