Stretchie on tour

I'm off to Somerset this weekend for a wedding so thought I could mix it in with seeing a couple of mates I've not seen for a while so it's become a road trip.

Then I though, well, the bar muffs are on and it's got a decent light now... Might as well take the 125 and give it the 'Tour Test'

So here's the plan:

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It's only 180ish miles but I've not done that kind of mileage on it before, I do an 11.5 mile route twice a day, to and from work so this should be good, don't want to sit on motorways but will use a little bit of them where it'll help out

Leg 1
Saturday, from Gloucester to Wincanton - 73 miles
Down the A48 and across the old bridge, I believe I can go across the foot bridge part on a 125 which will be quite cool.
Then at Aust it's on to the back roads, through Tockington and on to the A38 which I will follow to Horfield, then jump on the M32 into Bristol and off towards and past Fowlers  (maybe stop in for a brekkie) and carry on to the A37 until Shepton Mallet, then B3081 through Evercreech and Bruton and into Wincanton where a BBQ and beers await me

Leg 2
Sunday just Wincanton back up to Shepton, then off to a wedding for celebrations - 14 miles

Leg 3
Monday morning, Shepton - Weston Super Mud - 37 miles
Leave Shepton - North on A37 then peel off up the B3135 to take me through Cheddar Gorge, then Winscombe and in to Weston, stop for a bit of lunch with matey boy


Leg 4
Monday Afternoon Weston to Gloucester - 59 miles
Leave Weston and head up the A370 towards Bristol but take a left at Flax Burton and head through Portbury and on to the motorway northbound at Gordano for one junction and back off after the bridge and around the outside of the industrial estate, past Severn Bridge and over the M49, over the M4 and follow the A403 to Aust, then back over the old bridge and up the A48 home.

Any guesses as to how long it may take? I'm well excited, don't really go out on recreational rides much any more  

Here is 'THE BEAST'

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A Zumo on a 125

You must add the bike to your Fuelly profile. Hope the weather is kind to you, enjoy.

Hope it goes well Dan.
Got snow and ice up here so I'll stick to 4 wheels for now
Cheers
Rosco

I do actually have it on fuelly, just never thought to update my sig.

I was VERY disappointed yesterday, I added the latest fill up and only had 82mpg :(

been getting about 92mpg but nearly all of my commute is 50 / 60 mph so the poor little little spends it's whole life on the red line, if I drove through town I'd be well over 100mpg

Looking forward to seeing what I get this weekend but I have a feeling that I am just going to be riding it like that regardless of where I go

Oh yeah, the Zumo, I have a spare cradle but I need an extra ram mount (just the square bit with the ball that attaches to the back of the cradle) and power cables to finish the install, so I'm going to have to put the route in and only turn it on when I need it then charge it up in the evening

Well, we made it. Was a fantastic weekend, it was basically a weekend of reminiscing on my first couple of years living down south.

I rode down the A48 from Gloucester and to the Old Severn bridge and went over the pedestrian bit which I've never done before, then stuck the the normal roads and down the A38 to end in Fowlers to meet the '4 Counties Bikers' group and have a full english

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The ride there, once I got to Bristol, was the first of many flashbacks, I rode past the first place I lived in Bristol, my old local for two years, one of the places we used to have the Thursday night Mofo meets and into Fowlers itself.

Then orf down the A37 to Wincanton to spend the night drinking with my mate Rick, which again is a lot of road I used to do quite a bit to go and see Rick and Lou and the kids but I've not done it since 2008 when we moved away from Bristol.

Sunday was awesome, spend the day with them and then in the early evening only a short blast from his up to Shepton Mallet for a wedding, checked in to the B&B, and on the 10 min walk to the venue thought I'd best line my stomach before the drinking began

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Then got a few (not competitively priced) ciders down me neck and threw a few shapes:

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Did a bit of winding up of the other guests, which was another great part of the weekend, it was pretty much a reunion of people I worked with from 2008, there was also a characterist there drawing people:

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And the cake was cool, like Christmas pressies:

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Got back to the B&B and rang Grunty to check in (and tell her I missed her) and listened to someones alarm going off all night :smt013

Then had a nice ride from Shepton over to Weston Super Mare to meet another mate I've not seen for years for a quick catch up, so went via Cheddar Gorge, which I used to do in the other direction every day in 2006 travelling from work in Weston back home in Bristol.

Was going to stop for a brew in Cheddar but it was a bit depressing as it's practically a ghost town at this time of year, so I stopped at Burnham on Sea, to see the Sea Sea Sea

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And have a chuckle as I rode past Mikes Fun Pub, where your feet are guaranteed to stick to the floor, had some good nights in there, some with a friend who has just recently passed away so that was a bit of a thinker, then off to Weston, to take a couple of pics then go see my mate.

Not a lot of bikes around at this time of year I noticed:

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This is the first time I've seen the new pier

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And it was beautiful on the beach

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So off to my mates work for a brew and met the office pooch, Doris

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Then began the nearly 70 mile journey home on the little fella.

Had a fantastic weekend seeing places, riding roads and seeing friends I've not experienced for far too long, and as a bonus my crappy, little Chinese 125 was phenomenal, didn't miss a beat, and was just a hoot to ride. I loved it, the only time I've ridden a 125 was my CBT in 2003 and I took Cheryl's CG125 a mile down the road and back when she got it in 2009, I might treat mine to a 150cc big bore kit though


Oh and 93.8 mpg the whole trip cost about £10 in fuel

Looks like my little Suzuki EN125, great trip and piccies