Get On!!

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Bikes are not just for fun!!

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The Fateful Day

This Blog has been a long time in the writing. There are a few reasons for this as will probably become apparent!
Wednesday 6th April and I'm feeling a bit out of sorts, have turned down four shifts of overtime and am generally pissed off with life. Go to the doctors and decide to try and stop smoking! The doctor prescribes Champix tablets for the Smoking and arranges for me to go for a bloodtest the next week.
Thursday 7th April get pestered by work again to work overtime, tell them I cant be arsed. I really must be ill! Spend the afternoon in the company of my big sister drinking coffee and catching up.
Friday 8th April go for leisurely breakfast and try not to think about cigarettes, knowing that when Mayhem gets home in the early afternoon we are going out onthe bikes. I go down to his house early and decide to wash the bike as the previous weekend run around Keilder has left her in a sorry state. Lazy wash though, down to the local jetwash with a bottle of Muc-off and some alloy wheel cleaner. Job done and bike looking much better I jump on and head back to Mayhems house. No sign of his work van so I decide to go on ahead and have him meet up with me at Keswick (20 miles away) . I head off to Cockermouth and decide I might as well take the scenic route Around the back side of Bassenthwaite Lake. Quick stop for a ciggie in Cockermouth and then offI go. A stretch of road I know very well, road surfaces fairly good considering the harsh winter, Warm and sunny and dry on a motorcycle with good music in my ears. What more can a man ask for?
Riding along the B5291 towards Castle Inn Hotel without a care in the world enjoying everything that my senses can detect ,I bank into the last corner on this road. Brain screams "CAR" and then thinks "this is gonna hurt". A severe blow followed by a sensation of flying and then I am lieing on my side with a smell of antifreeze and hot oil in my nostrils. Brain is now saying "ohmygodyouwererightthishurtssomuch". A good Samaritan who had some first aid training and a lot of common sense Kept me talking and still until the Ambulance, police and firecrew turned up and more importantly, stopped anyone from touching me or trying to take my helmet off. The emergency services cut all my clothes off, which at the time I cared not one bit about! I got to fly in the Great North Air Ambulance too. The car was driven by a young chinese student, It was a hire car. She must have forgotten which side of the road to be on because she was trying out my side.
I sustained quite a few injuries and even though we are five months down the road, my right arm is still very stiff and painful. However My Darling Blackbird is dead, deceased pushing up daisies etc etc.
Cue my incredible older brother , William. He Insists on providing me with a replacement steed! A lovely 1985 Honda VF1000FII Bol d'Or.

I went to his house a couple of weeks ago and rode it to Mayhems garage where it now resides. My first ride on abike in five months and it was Fooking Brilliant! I cannot thank William and Mayhem enough for their support through this time, they are the salt of the earth! I have since been out for a bimble through the wonderful lake district a couple of times and I can say that I am BACK ! Slower than a nun on a C90, but I'm back!
Unfortunately my doctor discovered some reasons why I had been feeling out of sorts. I had been suffering from Hypothyroidism, Low hormone levels and osteoporosis all of which are now being treated. The one big positive to come out of all this is that the ciggie I smoked in Cockermouth at 3.05pm 8th April 2011 was the last one i have ever had! I now look forward to riding what is left of this season and getting back to somewhere near the mediocre skill level I once possessed! Come on guys , lets get out there!
Pooley Bridge.

What actually prompted me to get down to writing this missive tonight was a letter I received from the Cumbria Constabulary this morning. It was from the Traffic Management Officer and basically said that the young lady who very nearly killed me would not be charged or prosecuted as it was very likely she would not stay in the country long enough to prosecute or be Retrained.
Nice to know that British justice is so considerate. Wonder if that would have been the case if they could have proved I was speeding? Not that I'm bitter or anything!
The VF is an Ideal bike for me to get back to biking on. It is a really comfortable riding position and the engine has bags of torque and the engine braking is excellent. I have ridden almost 300 miles on her now and am getting used to her little foibles. All in all I am just so happy to be back on two wheels and getting on with life!