Embarrassing episode - dropping a motorcycle in public

All motorcyclists have done it at least once.  Some have done it many times.  We have all dropped a motorcycle at some point.

You thought the side stand was done when you leaned the bike over.  It kept going.  Or, you simply lost balance.  Yes, we have all done it.

Picture courtesy of Larry, aka GalacticGS on www.advrider.com

But have you dropped your motorcycle in REALLY embarrassing circumstances?   I have and this is my story....

I was going to give a presentation to a few hundred people about the London 2012 Olympics.  It was a formal affair in a large central London hotel.   Even though I was wearing a business suit that day, we were experiencing a hot summer, so I decided to ride my Harley-Davidson Road King to the event.   It was only 20 or so miles, so I was looking forward to the ride.

I knew the hotel had its own car park, so I wouldn't need to leave my pride and joy on the street.

I arrived at the hotel in good time and rode down its long ramp to enter the underground parking garage.  I stopped at the booth to collect a ticket, but the attendant put head out of the little window, and the conversation went something like this....

Attendant: "Sorry mate, we don't allow motorcycles to park in here."

Me: "What?  Why?"

Attendant: "Some people bring their car in here, leave it a long time and come back weeks later on a small motorcycle, get a new ticket and take their car out cheaply using that new ticket.  They then ride in the small gap at the end of the barrier to get the motorcycle out."

Me: "I am not going to do that."  Full of self-importance, I added "I am giving an important presentation here at the hotel and I need to park my motorcycle in here."

Attendant: "Sorry, the answer is no."

My only other option would be to park my bike on the street and I didn't want to do that.  By now, a car was waiting on the ramp behind me.

Me: (Getting a bit annoyed now) "So you are discriminating against me, because of what someone else has done?"

Attendant: "Like I said, you are not parking that motorcycle in here."

I was as determined as him. "Please contact the manager of the hotel and ask him to come here."

Attendant: "No, because it won't do any good."

Me: “I am not going anywhere.”  Now there are a few cars behind me waiting to get into the car park.”  One beeps his horn.

Attendant: “You had better move your bike.”

Me: “No.  Besides, I cannot as there is a barrier in front of me and cars behind me.  I suggest you go get the manager.”

Attendant: “No, move your bike.”

Me: "No!"

There was no way was I going to back down and somehow turn my bike around in the small space and squeeze passed the cars on the ramp.  I climbed off my bike and lent against the wall, staring at the attendant.   I was furious and the cars drivers were not happy either.   I shrugged my shoulders at them as if to say “what can I do?”

After a couple of minutes of this stand-off, more cars have joined the queue, so I locked my bike, set the alarm and leaving it blocking the ramp, I set off to find the manager of the hotel.  After a short discussion, he agreed with me and telephoned the attendant to tell him so.  I walk back to the car park, unlock and start the bike, the barrier is raised and with the attendant and car drivers glaring at me, I rode into the car park.

It then happens.  Ten feet past the booth, turning sharply to follow the ramp, I drop the bike onto its right side.  Fuck!

Full of blood-pumping adrenaline, I use all my strength and pick the bike up, only for it to get away from me and it fell over onto its left side.  Fuck!  Fuck!

Now sweating buckets in the heat of the confined car park, I tried in vain to lift my heavy Harley-Davidson again but i didn't have the strength.   I was now delaying the car drivers even longer and some had begun to blast their horns. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

I tried again, but there was no way I could lift the bike.

Embarrassingly, I had to ask one of those drivers to help me.   I felt stupid.  I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me so I was out of the gaze of the car drivers.  Reluctantly, one did help me to lift it, and I quickly parked my motorcycle and got out of that car park as fast as I could.

I can assure you, getting flustered, angry, sweaty and being in a bad mood is not a good thing just before delivering an important speech.  It went okay, but I have never been back to that hotel.

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Spain - The Final Frontier. Plus, Police use Scooters?

Concluding our trip in Spain, Paul and I soon reached the northern coast of Spain and prepared to get on board a ferry to take us back to the UK. The last few miles soon raced by as we went through the mountains to get to Bilbao, where the ferry port is located.

Before we arrived there, we had some terrific roads to ride on, set in spectacular scenery. We passed a lake with a very low water level....

We took roads that twisted through gaps in the mountains....

Here we had stopped to fix the GoPro video camera to my Harley-Davidson Road King while Paul checked his e-mails....

The gorge we rode through was very twisty and great fun. We came out the other end with big grins on our faces!....

Stopping for lunch on the northern coast of Spain, we had an exceptional view....

We stayed the night in Hondarribia, which is right on the frontier between Spain and France. This was the view from the hotel, with Spain on this side of the river and France on the other.  One could say, the final frontier we saw....

Hondarribia is in the Basque country in northern Spain and this region is an Autonomous Community within Spain. It has its own language and this is immediately noticeable with road signs being very different from the majority of Spain. We stayed once again in a Parador hotel which was a converted from a 10th century fortress castle. The hotel has thankfully retained many of the castle’s original features, including one wall left in its original rubble condition....

A main dining room....

A massive stone staircase....

The bar area....

Paul and I walked into the main part of the town which being a Friday, was packed with many families, friends and groups all out enjoying the evening and the start of the weekend. The atmosphere was terrific and very laid back. We noticed this scooter, which very unusually, was a police bike! I have never seen a scooter like this before....

The next day, our ferry didn’t leave until the evening, so the two of us took a ride into France, to the town of Biarritz. Being on the Atlantic Ocean, the waves are often good enough for surfing, in a pretty spectacular setting....

More views along the coast as we made our way to the ferry....

In Bilbao, we went to see the famous Guggenheim Museum, a contemporary art museum designed by Frank Gehry. The building is known as one of the most important pieces of modern architecture in the world and it is easy to see why....

We didn’t go inside the museum, for it was the building we came to see.

Interesting public art outside the museum....

A final shot of the two of us on this trip....

And one of our bikes, which had performed tirelessly and without fault....

On the way to the ferry, we had to cross a river by a ‘flying transporter bridge’. Capable of carrying just 6 cars (or 5 cars and our two bikes) the bridge is not really a bridge at all, but a cable car that you drive into, slung beneath a tall steel structure across the river. This picture is looking back at the structure....

Paul, sitting on his bike paying the bridge attendant for the crossing....

From our ferry leaving Spain....

It was on the ferry that I discovered I had left my laptop behind in the last hotel we stayed at and a quick phone call confirmed it had been found in my room, where I had left it. It was a relatively easy job to get it couriered back to me in London.

As the ferry arrived back in Portsmouth on the south coast of England, we saw a passenger-carrying hovercraft and we passed a huge aircraft carrier, moored in the navy dockyard....

Paul and I had enjoyed an excellent motorbike tour of Spain. We had seen a great deal of the country, mainly from back-roads. It is a huge and fascinating place, full of history and character. We had travelled 2,659 miles / 4,279 kms and learned much of the way of life in many parts of Spain that the tourists rarely see. We had seen glorious weather and had only been rained on for about 30 seconds, just before leaving England.

As ever, Paul is a tremendous riding partner and we cheerfully waved each other farewell as we headed back to our own homes and our wives late on a Sunday night.

A few pointers about motorcycle touring in Spain....

1. The roads are of a very good quality
2. Beware of people walking on the roads, where very often there are no pavements / sidewalks
3. Away from the motorways and the main roads, there is almost no traffic
4. Away from the motorways, there are very few places to stay the night. Hotels and campsites are few and far between, so book ahead.
5. Away from motorways and especially on the back-roads, take every opportunity to fill up with fuel, especially on Sundays. Fuel filling is nearly always done by an attendant.
6. Beware of the lunchtime drinking culture, even by drivers. While we didn’t experience any problems at all, we did see many drivers (including truck rivers) drinking alcohol in the cafes and bars we stopped in for lunch
7. It can get very hot in July and August. Drink a lot and wear sun screen
8. Few restaurants serve dinner at night before 2030. Many don’t open until then.
9. Plan your motorbike ride to pass through mountain areas. The roads there are fantastic!
10. Away from the coast, very few people speak anything but Spanish, but this is okay. Learn 10 Spanish words and everyone will try to help you!

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The First Time on a Bike. How about 304 Miles?

I think 304 miles is not too bad for an eleven year old, on the back of a bike for the first time. Here is the story of how that happened.

Last week, I was in the Seattle area to collect my step-grandson, Talon, and bring him back to the UK to spend a few weeks with Jackie and I. He has been to London a few times before to see us with his parents, but at eleven years old, to do it on your own must be more fun because he didn’t mind leaving them at home at all.

The only direct flight between London-Seattle-London is British Airways and something rare happened. I got upgraded on the flight out from economy to premium economy and the two of us were upgraded to business class on the flight to London. So an eleven year old boy, gets to sleep in an airplane bed on the way to London for a few weeks. Not a bad start, I would say!

So Talon is here in London and we have been going out to see places just about every day.

A few days ago I met up with friend Ian Solley and he asked if I wanted to join him on the HOG Meridian Chapter ride called HogsLegs, in France and Belgium. I said yes and asked Talon if he wanted to come along as well. It was only going to be a single days ride, so not a problem for a young man that hadn’t been on a motorbike before. We rode down to near Ian’s house the evening before so we could be within striking distance of the Channel Tunnel as we had to get the bike and ourselves on the train very early the next morning.

We woke early at 5am and met Ian and two of his friends Paul and Simon and the five of us blasted down to Folkestone on four Harley’s where we boarded the train to Calais in France....

You stay with your bike (or car) as the train goes through the tunnel....

The train takes just 35 minutes to travel under the sea and we arrived in France to a glorious sunny day, making our way to a local petrol station where the riders of 50-ish bikes met and received the usual safety briefing before setting off....

Warrs Harley-Davidson have two dealerships. One is in Chelsea in London where I bought my Road King and they have another in Mottingham in South London. The Meridian Chapter is based out of the Mottingham dealership.

The ride through France and Belgium is a gentle one, and perfect for just riding and admiring the view, with a few friends. We did about 130 miles in the two countries, stopping for morning coffee in Beruges where Ian set off on a conquest to buy cheese and wine.

We arrived in the town of Veurne in Belgium where we stopped for lunch in the town square, a picturesque quiet place, where the people of the historic town were enjoying a peaceful leisurely lunch....

That was of course, until 50 Harley-Davidsons turned up and part-filled the town square with gleaming bikes....

After lunch we wandered around the town, trying to find an elusive bottle of excellent wine. We found a good-looking wine shop, that was sadly closed, but I liked the scooter sitting outside....

At the appointed hour, the riders began to re-assemble in the square, ready to resume our ride in Belgium....

Talon next to the Leading ladies....

The ride culminated at a place called the Bikers Loft, a bar, hotel, museum and gathering place for motorcyclists. Some of our group were going to stay the night in the sparse surroundings of the hotel, but our smaller group left early, hoping to catch a train back under the sea at a reasonable hour. We rode alongside Belgium canals, which were straight but contained few cars. Reaching the French border, we resorted to using the motorway, for a blast back to Calais and the tunnel.

On getting back to the UK, Talon and I had further to go than the others and pretty soon, they would have been home, while we carried on a long loop around London on the M25, the last hour of which was in the rain.

We arrived home late-ish, having done 304 miles in one day. Tired. Wet. Cold. But, with big smiles on our faces. Especially Talon.

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A local ride to check out the Road King....

As it was away being painted, I haven’t ridden the black bike much this year. Tomorrow, it is having a major service before the bike gets shipped to the US for the tour so I thought I had better get some miles accomplished today so I could see if there is anything in particular I want done during the service.

The weather wasn’t great, but it stayed dry so I am grateful for that. I didn’t go anywhere particular, but I did about 60 miles locally – it was one of those rides that I headed in one direction taking roads I never normally use, to see what I found.

I took a few photos....

Not far from where I live, I saw something odd in a field. I don’t think I have ever seen this before where what I assume some seeds of one crop - barley I think – were growing in a wheat field and standing wispy and taller than the main crop....




















I then rode over a bridge near Hemel Hempstead that goes over the Grand Union Canal, right next to a lock. Luckily there was a narrow boat in the lock so I stopped and took a couple of pictures....







































My route then took me passed Pitstone Windmill which is believed to be the oldest windmill in the British Isles and bears the date 1627. It was badly damaged in the Great Storm of 1902 which ended its working life, but was restored by local volunteers and maintained today by the National Trust....



























The final picture is of my Harley-Davidson Road King, near to a local railway viaduct, which I think makes a fantastic background for any motorcycle picture....



























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Yesterday, I had to go into Central London and I saw the Royal Artillery Regiment taking their ceremonial guns through the city. The pictures speak for themselves, but even motorcyclists get in on the act – see the Police motorcyclist in the final picture. There were a team of these Police bikes escorting the Regiment and controlling the traffic....

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New Paint for my Road King

The weather was good this morning, so I rolled my Harley-Davidson Road King out of the garage and took some pictures of it. This is the bike I will be doing the tour of the USA on. As you will see, I have had the bike repainted in its original black, but with portraits of Hollywood movie stars.

I found the sun being out was both a help and a hindrance. It helped give a lot of light, but there were considerable reflections, so one day soon I might get the bike re-shot in a studio where the light can be controlled a lot more.

The bike was painted by Tony Evans and I have got to thank him for doing such a marvellous job. Here is a link to his website. The portraits are all air-brushed and I think they are stunning!


















































































































































Audrey Hepburn




















Judy Garland




















Lauren Bacall



















Marilyn Monroe




















Vivien Leigh




















Jane Russell



















Marlene Dietrich



















Deborah Kerr




















Liz Taylor





















Sophia Loren








































The Author

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