The worst and possibly most stupid trip I made by motorcycle was last year in December on my trusty old GSX1400. I was off to Austria and had to get to Stanstead airport. So like any man that wants to save £40.00 on a car park I thought I would make use of the free bike parking. I say this was a sensible idea despite being told I was stupid in light of the time of year.
Now it was minus 6 when I set off for the 70 odd mile trip. I had on about 5 layers of clothing as well as my own natural insulation through the consumption of much pie eating over the years. Despite the cold the trip over was pretty uneventful and I parked up and trundled off on my flight.
Now by the time I got to Austria and saw the TV in the evening the big freeze had hit the UK and pretty much the whole country came to a standstill. Oh dear. But hey ho – I was on holiday. The snow would be gone by the time I got home…wouldn’t it? It always melted within about two hours when I was a kid and wanted to go sledging. However I was so wrong… so so wrong!
A few days later I returned to find the UK had not thawed; that Stanstead was about the only airport open; and that my bike was in a car park with about a foot of the white stuff on it. It was only appropriate that I take a photograph before setting off… for a scary ride home!!!
That seems a world away compared to my ride in today in the glorious sunshine on my new addition the ZZR1400. I shall blog some details of the new bike later!
Andrew Prendergast aka Chef
