Cornwall has narrow roads

This is by no means the narrowest road today, but is an example of why I am rethinking the "road nearest the sea" routing plan.

As the photo shows, the sides of the road are so high you can't see anything, it's a bit like being in a maze, with no visual reference point. On the really narrow roads it's impossible for two cars to pass, and getting my bike past a car is a delicate manoeuvre. 

The flowers in the roadsides are lovely, but the narrow routes are better left to walkers and cyclists.

I left Paignton this morning with mixed feelings. It's a rough and ready seaside resort, but home to a great biking tradition  Bikers Make A Difference www.bmad.co.uk is a cracking example of a positive contribution by Bikers to the community. Quite unplanned, I arrived in Paignton on the Sunday of the BMAD may festival. I would have liked to stay and see things in action today , but had to press on.

I did three ferry crossings today, Torpoint near Plymouth, where I didn't get a photo

Kingswear

And Fowey. Interestingly it costs 10 times more to cross a Fowey than a Kingswear (30p and £3) and Kingswear is wider. 

It was after crossing to Fowey that I saw this smart Harley and spent a pleasant few minutes with its owners who had been to the Paignton festival and were making their way home.

For the selfie adjudicators I will add this one, it's taken on the Fowey ferry and I reacon merits a C minus.

Since being in Cornwall I have been looking out for topless swarthy men using scythes in a not altogether orthodox manner. So far no sightings, but there is still another day before leaving the county.

It's Falmouth tonight, in a backpackers hostel, followed by a camping barn tomorrow. The shower looks ok though.

I called in on some old friends in Falmouth and it was very pleasant catching up on several years.

The bike causes stiffness so I plan some exercise this evening, not sure if I will swim or walk. Depends on the rain I think.

Today's Ride

The tracker seems to be working again. Follow this link to see what I did today

http://www.mapmyride.com/view_workout?w=969094233

Is this Dorset?

There is a rumour that Dorset exists, just as there are persistent stories about the Loch Ness monster. I am unable to confirm either. If pushed I would say that Nessie probably doesn't exist and Dorset probably does, but today I have seen neither.

Leaving the Isle of Wight in a mist

I was impressed with a strong display of MAMILs disembarking from the ferry. Is the female equivalent a MAWIL? Not sure but they were there too.

With the Tour de Yorkshire passing our village today it brought a tear to me eye.

There was slight evidence for the existence of Dorset in the shape of the white horse on the chalk behind Weymouth. It's actually a dirty brown horse, due no doubt to the austerity financial programme imposed by Millionaire PM Dave and his school chum chancellor Gideon. Sorry I promised no politics, but I am really concerned that the oily *****s will get on again, don't let them. Vote for a real alternative to this bunch of out of touch liars. Yes that means vote Labour.

Back to the Triumph Trophy that I am riding. I haven't referred to the stereo yet.  I am not a fan of playing loud music with the car windows open, so a stereo on a motorbike looks like a no no. It should play directly into my helmet via the scala rider headset, but because someone of limited imagination has fitted the annoying TomTom satnav rather than the Triumph recommended Garmin, I can't link the stereo to my headset at the same time as the satnav. this means that if I want to listen to the radio , or iPod, it has to be through the speakers. The quality is not bad and you can set it to automatically increase the volume as speed increases, so you don't annoy high street pedestrians too much. 

There is fun to be had in stereotype busting- instead of the expected heavy metal or bass thundering from the speakers it's fun to watch the faces of passers by when they hear the lilting tones of an Alan Bennet monologue, or John Humphreys in full flow on the Today Programme.

I have landed in Paignton. 

It's by the sea, that's all I am prepared to say by way of commentary. I'm leaving after breakfast and have no plans to return.

Still waiting

The queue at Yarmouth. At least it's stopped raining

Wet ferry terminal

I am booked on the 10.30 ferry from Yarmouth, I got here early hoping to get an earlier one but that's all there is, at least it's dry.

A bunch of bikers have been camping for a long weekend, last nights rain has brought them here in preference to the wet field.

I have seen a load of people doing the Isle of Wight Challenge. One woman in the ferry terminal with horrible blisters on her feet!!

http://www.isleofwightchallenge.com/

First "sea" crossing

Like a lot of seaside resorts, Eastbourne in the morning is a bit grim. I was up promptly, partly to make sure the bike was safe - it was. So I walked along the windy prom checking the detritus, it was mostly beer bottles and plastic bags.

I don't want this blog to be overtly political, but there are times when serendipity has a way of identifying a truth. As I walked out of the hotel, right in front of me was this poster display van, it's an election so that's what you see. But look at the name of the company operating the van....

You couldn't make it up.

Much as I am enjoying this trip, the southern traffic is beginning to frustrate, rarely can you find a stretch of open road, and more often than not, when you do, it has speed cameras. I don't want to  thrash in an unrestrained way, but the volume of traffic simply makes progress impossible.

The one exception to that statement is the old Military Road in the south of the Isle of Wight. It makes the ferry trip worthwhile, several miles of undulating clear road, with gentle bends and little traffic. The road also has beautiful vistas over the sea. What more do you want?

It's worth taking a little space to reflect on the qualities of the Triumph Trophy 1200SE that I'm riding. None of the problems I have encountered so far are attributable to the bike. Punctures happen, idiots break TPS units. The bike is comfortable, the seat has put up with my substantial rear for lots of hours and feels good.

It's also nimble on the move, static it's horribly heavy, and I wouldn't like to have to pick it up if I dropped it. But that's the style of the bike, not a criticism of the Trophy.

I love the flexibility of the engine, in top gear it will accelerate away from 30mph, and in normal circumstances there is not really a need to change down to accelerate between 40 and 60.

Some of the minor controls are fiddly. I am getting used to them, but there is so much going on that finding the right button, particularly in winter gloves, is a bit hit and miss.

The ride is superb, I haven't changed the suspension setting from "normal" so far. But tat feels good on the minor roads and motorway.

I have discovered a couple of minor issues which Pidcocks will need to sort under warranty. But nothing critical.

All in a I am happy I chose the Trophy over the R1200RT.

A trouble free day

The Ibis hotel at Thurrock was surprisingly comfortable. An early start, furled by coffee, soon led to the Allhallows peninsular. An oddly remote and sparsely populated area close to the Medway towns. This is Home territory for me, but it's not a place I know well. Today was bright and springlike. In winter this place is bleak, but today it was welcoming. Orchards coming into blossom and plenty of green hedges.

In the distance the cranes of Medway Port and the chimneys of Kingsnorth Power station are a reminder of how close one is to the overpopulation of the South East of London.

As I entered the Medway Towns I took a short break with Steve my brother who works for Agregate Industries at Chstham docks

I still don't have the teqnique for discrete use of the selfie stick, but I can crop photos.

Too short a time later and I'm on my way to Thanet. I thought that the traditional Hop field was gone from Kent, and certainly they are far from the ubiquitous crop evident in my youth but I did see one

While I never picked them, I remember the summer school holiday being referred to as "the hopping holiday" because whole families used to camp out in the fields to bring in the crop essential to he local and national brewing industry.the holiday extended later into September than the current holidays to suite the ripening of the hops.

In Margate I was surprised to see absolutely no sighn of the regeneration of Dreamland as described at www.dreamland.co.uk the site talks about an opening party in June 2015. All I can say is they will have to get a move on. It looks like s derelict site to me.

Dreamland was one of the original leisure parks, the Blackppol pleasure beach of the Soith East. When I was a child it was considered to be the place to go or to avoid, depending on your view of lout entertainment.

My continuing search for compromise with TomTom led me inland a little before dropping into Dover from the White Cliffs. If you look hard you can see Calais behind the Trophy.

I think I know what to do to tempt TomTom into working with me, but it is no Garmin.

It's less than s week to the general election. I have seen some evidence, mainly large posters of well scrubbed Tory candidates in the fields of natural landowning supporters. In Thanet there were a few prominent UKIP posters but not as many as I expected given the prominence their leader, who is standing there, gets in the media. 

I am staying in the Pier Hotel Eastbourne tonight. A formerly grand establishment right opposite the pier. It's grandeur has passed and it needs a refit, but the bed feels comfortable and the view over the sea is lovely. I have had to leave the bike in the road so I have some anxieties about its security but it's well locked and resting on its stand...