I woke up this morning to heavy, grey and miserable looking clouds, within minutes of me waking up, the heavens opened and it began to pour it down. Today was to be my first day of riding in the rain. Joy. I’ve been pretty lucky not to get caught in any so far, has England really had a summer?! I’m shocked!
I must admit I don’t really have the correct clothing for wet weather riding, so I put my jeans on, big fur jacket and retro opened face helmet and set off. I might invest in the bad boy below:
This was not going to be pleasant but off to work I must go!
To be honest with you it wasn’t as bad as thought, but I could really notice the difference on the roads straight away, I felt a lot more wary turning corners and braking, oh and I couldn’t see very much, I’m still inventing some window wipers for glasses, I’ll be on Dragons Den soon. But people (mainly car drivers) just do not seem to be aware that rain should make a difference to how you drive or ride. No distance between each other, driving at stupid speeds and generally being blind to the obvious new obstacle of rain.
I turned up looking like drowned rat and I’m only just drying off now (it’s 3pm, I got to work at 9.30!)
It’s seems to be brightning up now though, which is good because there is a road trip planned to Wales this bank holiday. Where various stops will be made along the way to the many biker friendly cafes in Wales such as The Ponderosa or TheWelshBikers cafe. Wales is always a great place to ride, long winding isolated roads, amazing scenery but I can’t guarantee the weather! It is Wales after all!
Don’t forget if you’re out riding in the rain this weekend or in the future to give your bike a good check over and make sure it’s fit for riding in these conditions. Even better, why don’t you come down to Fasttrack and get yourself a free inspection for peace of mind, have a free tea or coffee whilst you wait and check out our awesome range of bikes we’ve got in at the moment.
What do you get if you mix a group of gorgeous feisty young women, roller skates and a whole heap of adrenaline? You get the Dolly Rockit Rollers! Leicester’s first and only roller derby team.
We’re a big supporter of these ladies, they’ve only been together for just over a year but are already taking the UK and now the world in seems by storm. They recently announced that two of their team members will be travelling to Canada for the first ever Roller Derby World Cup! One playing for England and one for Ireland, which is huge deal!
If you don’t know much or anything about roller derby, in a nutshell:
Girls only.
It is a game played on roller skates on an oval track.
Two teams.
The two teams each send five players onto the track.
One jammer (scorer) and four blockers (defense), one of which counts as a pivot.
The jammer must legally pass all opposing blockers, the blockers try to stop the jammers from scoring.
It all sounds a bit confusing, but trust me, these girls are fearless, fast and full of energy!
Check out their promo vid below!
The Fasstrack Team are all going down to support these lovely ladies in their next battle, against the Hot Wheel Roller Derby called Club Tropicarnage! Come down and show your support and do something completely different with you Saturday afternoon, on September 10th at 1pm.
Have you seen our new revamped van driving round Leicester?
Our Fasttrack ladies on the side of the van can be seen cruising round the city and around the country picking up and delivering motorbikes that you’ve bought from us. Keep your eye out for us, you definitely can’t miss us now, check out the photos!
If you see us on the roads, don’t forget to give us a nod or a wave.
We absolutely love the new look, what do you think?
Love rock music? Love bikes? Then I think you’ll love this festival…
The ‘Rock and Bike Festival’ is moving to its new home this summer, Leicestershire! Over the years this festival has got bigger and bigger and now sees itself spread over three days in the amazing setting of Stamford Hall. It’s set to get going on the 14th July this year where you camp and party until Sunday 16th.
As the name suggests it’s jammed pack full of musical treats, with over twenty acts playing over the weekend. The festival has mainly local bands and artists playing covering a whole variety of genres so there’s something for everyone. As well as David Bowie, Prodigy and Black Sabbath, but only in tribute form I’m afraid but that’s good enough for me as the tickets are so darn cheap! £40 for the whole three days and that’s including camping tickets!! Which is an absolute steal compared to so many festivals nowadays.
So what about the bikes? Throughout the weekend there’s loads of stuff going on, competitions where you can get involved, bike shows including custom, trike, classic, American and British bikes and everything in-between and no doubt bikes all over the place for you to drawl over!
Can’t leave the kids with your mum all weekend? Do not fear, this is a really kid friendly festival with lots of day time entertainment, kid friendly rides and even some face painting!
If that’s not all enough, why not get in the spirit and join in with this years dressing up theme, pirates!
Ahoy me mateys, see ya’ll in the mosh pit!
Since writing my last blog on motorbike holidays, I was discussing it with my friends, how we’d always hired out mopeds in Ibiza, and how a couple of us had come off whilst riding on the White Isle, myself included. Returning back from a day beach hopping, my 50cc mean machine threw me off, granted, it was actually my fault, but because I was on the way home from the beach all I was wearing was tiny shorts and a bikini. Needless to say, there was a lot of skin to tarmac contact! Ouch. Luckily that’s all it was, it could’ve been a lot worse. But it definitely put a slight dampener on the holiday, I couldn’t go in the sea, it stung, my wounded knee made it hard to walk (and dance for 12 hours) and well, it made me look a bit gross!
Looking back, I cannot believe I rode around in such little clothes, I wouldn’t dream of going out on the roads of Leicester in just my bikini 1) I would freeze death 2) I would get some really weird looks 3) WHAT IF I FELL OFF?! Why didn’t this cross my mind when riding in Ibiza or Thailand? I know it’s hot over in those foreign lands, but does all common sense evaporate in the heat too? I kind of feel invincible on holiday, which doesn’t make any sense. I also wonder why doesn’t the hire company say something about wearing some protective clothing, understandably I know that most people would ignore the advice, but I definitely think it’s something they should mention. Only a few years back, I remember they didn’t even make you take a helmet with your bike!
Thailand on the other hand is a whole other ball game; motorbike safety is not high up on their worries. I just couldn’t believe some of the sights I saw over there. Most motorcyclists were like trained circus acts, balancing anything from farm yard animals to scaffolding on their bikes. Whole families get about on bikes, mum, dad, three kids including a baby and the family dog, all zipping along the uneven roads without a care in the world, it is incredible! I know at least three lads, my silly boyfriend included who have come off mopeds in Thailand and surroundings without helmets on and ended up in hospital, again where’s that common sense gone?
With my holiday to Croatia coming up and my search for a moped hire company continuing, I know that I will definitely be wearing more than flip-flops and a bikini, but maybe I’ll leave the full leathers at home.
Everyone seems to be the same as me on holiday, not wearing enough or the right kind of clothing for riding a bike so I say to you in my best motherly tone “even if it 35 degrees, you’re not going out dressed like that!”