RiDE January 2021

‘The latest retros give the best of both worlds’ As motorcyclists, we seem to love harking back to the past. However, if we remove our rose-tinted visors, it’s easy to see that the bikes aren’t anywhere near as good as today’s. But with the latest crop of retros, we can have the best of both worlds. As I write this, I’ve just come back from a couple of wonderful days riding Triumph’s Thruxton RS and Royal Enfield’s Interceptor 650. Both designed and developed in the UK, there’s a huge price gulf between them. However, both share the flies-in-your- teeth, wind-in-your-hair thrills of yesteryear but combined with dependability, modern finish levels and in the Triumph’s case, pretty damn-high performance. A mate of mine called them Britain’s coolest bikes and I reckon he’s right,…

Peak District I have been reading your magazine ever since discovering the joys of life on two wheels two years ago. A friend of mine introduced me to the idea of riding green lanes and yesterday, I decided to give it a try. Here’s a picture of my highly capable 2018 Triumph Tiger 800 XCA getting her feet dirty. I had a blast and am keen to find more local trails to ride. Despite keeping the bike upright on the dirt, my only battle scar came from it sliding off the side stand when I eventually got back on tarmac. Doh! To finish off the day, I watched the sun set at the top of the Cat and Fiddle before a 15-minute ride home. Sam Dawson Get your bike in RIDE &…

Applecross, Scotland I wanted to share some pics from my trip to Scotland with RiDE’s readers. We did the NC500 plus some more. It was 1783 miles in a week for me, as I rode up from Oxford. Some amazing roads and spectacular views, especially at Applecross, which is absolutely amazing. James Henton Zagan, Poland Here is my Versys 1000 outside Zagan on the way to Prague, parked up at The Great Escape camp, Stalag Luft III. Tony Byrne Brecon, Wales Here is my dad Lawrence with his son Neil and grandson Kyle. That’s three generations of Joneses out for a ride in the Brecon Beacons. Caroline Chard (who rides pillion with her husband, Chris) Dartmoor, Devon Here we are during a spontaneous ride to Dartmoor from Gloucestershire and back during a break in a downpour. This…

‘This is between Loch Melfort and the east side of Loch Ness. I’ll be riding through winter and may squeeze in a few camping trips, too.’ Mike Taylor ‘Here’s my BMW R1200RT at Land’s End on a four-day, 1000-mile tour of Devon and Cornwall. I don’t own a car, so ride all-year round.’ Augusto Mota ‘I’ve raised over £7200 for Pancreatic Cancer UK after riding to 26 countries over 13,700 miles on my Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX SE.’ Trevor Kerr ‘Here I am above Beddgelert in Wales with my husband Kevin. It was glorious and there was hardly any traffic on the roads.’ Tracy Atkinson ‘This was taken on a recent tour of France. I was going to head to Cornwall but went abroad and plan to visit Scotland shortly, too.’ Sharon Oliver Sign up…

WHAT HAPPENED TO the weather? Today was forecast to be a bright and dry day but it’s anything but - it’s cold and a thin drizzle’s falling as we meet up for a much-needed coffee at the visitor centre by the Upper Derwent reservoir. “This is one of those places you’d never find if you didn’t know it was here,” says Dave, and he’s right - it’s tucked up at the end of a narrow dead-end road which runs along the eastern side of the reservoir (where the Dambusters did their practice runs). Dave’s only been riding four years, having got into bikes following the loss of his partner, Kate, in January 2016. “She always wanted us to have a Harley, so we hired an HD with a hearse sidecar…

Best time of day to ride The middle of the day is the best time, to avoid rush hours in the towns. Best corner Spoilt for choice really! Plenty of good bends all through the route. Be careful at... Crossing the A628 at Crowden to Woodhead Pass, as it takes us from a low road across the main road at a staggered junction, so visibility’s bad and traffic can be heavy. Best place for a cuppa Again, spoilt for choice! The visitor centre at Fairholme is great but not always open, Ladybower Café van is good, and Oil Can Café at Holmfirth is great. And also remember... There are speed cameras at various points on Snake Pass, so you need to keep your eye out. It’s easy to take a wrong turn in Glossop and end up in the…