Typical riding in the UK

[Freep]

After some recent discussions involving motorcycling in the United Kingdom, in this case England, I thought it might be of interest to someone to see what it's like.

While there are freeways (called "motorways") in the UK, the far better roads are the "A" roads, we'd call 'em secondary roads. That's what's in the video. Speed limits for most of the roads like this I've been on have been around 50-60 mph. Note the width of the roads and remember these are standard "country lanes" in all of the UK. They can get smaller, sometimes down to one lane with turnouts for oncoming traffic.

Riding with Evilnunmit

[R J]

Excuse me, BUT ya'll is a ridin on da WRONG side of da expressway.

Look like nice sights to see however, if I could remember to drive on da wrong side of da road.   LOL

[JimmyG]

Nice but ya'll are on the wrong side of the road

[Chrisj CMA]

Hey! That in no way is "typical" for the UK.........THE SUN IS SHINING............and............THE ROADS ARE DRY.....................that is like to die for over there, usually not the case at all

[Freep]

Hey! That in no way is "typical" for the UK.........THE SUN IS SHINING............and............THE ROADS ARE DRY.....................that is like to die for over there, usually not the case at all

You're thinking of Wales, mate. This is in England. 

I once heard a Welsh comedian, "In the Bible they talk about rain for forty days and forty nights. That was the best summer on record for Wales."   

I've been to the UK a couple times in varying seasons and have always had a at least a few sunny days out of the average two week stay. One time in '03 we had 13 of 14 days sunny around March.

But you're right, it does rain a lot over there. 'S why it stays so green.

[Freep]

And if you notice the road's damp in spots. 

[Chrisj CMA]

Hey! That in no way is "typical" for the UK.........THE SUN IS SHINING............and............THE ROADS ARE DRY.....................that is like to die for over there, usually not the case at all

You're thinking of Wales, mate. This is in England. 

I once heard a Welsh comedian, "In the Bible they talk about rain for forty days and forty nights. That was the best summer on record for Wales."   

I've been to the UK a couple times in varying seasons and have always had a at least a few sunny days out of the average two week stay. One time in '03 we had 13 of 14 days sunny around March.

But you're right, it does rain a lot over there. 'S why it stays so green.

I lived in England for three years.  Ya, there is about a week of sun shine weather every summer....the problem is the days of sunshine are not CONSECUTIVE.  The roads are almost always wet, heck, you can get a ticket over there for not having washer fluid for your wipers.

Don't get me wrong, I loved it over there, but clean vehicles, not an easy thing to maintain

[art]

Now you got me going,damn I want to ride. A lot like Oregon, beautiful countryside and green. But riding on the wrong side of the road. Over here 6 months of rain and 6 months of sunshine.

[Mickmanchester]

UK VRCC 3rd great northern meet video, up in the Lake District, early April 2013. These roads are special, I was up the week before, end of March to check all roads were open, some were shut because of snow, yes that is snow still at the side of the roads, but the sun was shining LOL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P7zc8ke0TY#t=155

[alph]

in that first video, at the end, there's a single lane road that ends on a hill top.   one day when I was out scouting for roads, I was using my GPS and took a road that was a dirt road for about two miles!!!  it was kinda funny passing guys parked on the side with their 4x4's, it was bow hunting season and i'm sure I ticked some of 'em off for scaring the deer away with my radio!! 

[BigBod]

Nice but ya'll are on the wrong side of the road

I'll tell ya why we ride on the left...back in the days of knights on horseback n all that, they would ride there horses to the left of the track thereby being able to use their right hand to hold their sword and fight whoever was coming towards them. (you got a problem if your lefthanded..lol..)

The same reason also applies to spiral staircases in castles, from the top they always go down anti clockwise so a swordsman could defend from the top with his sword in his right hand, and the enemy coming up the staircase would struggle with his sword being closer to the centre of the staircase...

Full of useless information me...

[czuch]

Lovin the vernacular.
Merry old England, where a "Wing" is what you lean on to unfasten the valve cover with your spanner.
I have a Jag and the factory manuals are a hoot.

[Freep]

Hey! That in no way is "typical" for the UK.........THE SUN IS SHINING............and............THE ROADS ARE DRY.....................that is like to die for over there, usually not the case at all

You're thinking of Wales, mate. This is in England. 

I once heard a Welsh comedian, "In the Bible they talk about rain for forty days and forty nights. That was the best summer on record for Wales."   

I've been to the UK a couple times in varying seasons and have always had a at least a few sunny days out of the average two week stay. One time in '03 we had 13 of 14 days sunny around March.

But you're right, it does rain a lot over there. 'S why it stays so green.

I lived in England for three years.  Ya, there is about a week of sun shine weather every summer....the problem is the days of sunshine are not CONSECUTIVE.  The roads are almost always wet, heck, you can get a ticket over there for not having washer fluid for your wipers.

Don't get me wrong, I loved it over there, but clean vehicles, not an easy thing to maintain

The post was not intended to show British weather, rather British roads.

In your experience the roads in the video do look English, right?   

I mean, I didn't shoot the video. A guy called Oli333 did and he's English so I assumed the video is set in England. I could be mistaken, could be elsewhere. Does it at least look like English roads to you? Even if they're mostly dry? 

Besides all that, a wise man once said, "If  you don't ride in the rain, you don't ride." 

[Willow]

I think the issue taken was with someone attaching the term typical to the video.   

[Freep]

I think the issue taken was with someone attaching the term typical to the video.   

I am amazed and know not what to say.

[BigBod]

Our weather is sooo unpredictable, we can get all 4 seasons in one day...been exceptionally good summer this year but normally it does rain every few days no matter what time of year. If you wanna ride here, you have to ride in the rain. If you wanna camp, get used to camping in the rain.

I have to ride about 1000 miles to get away from the rain and have some 'almost guaranteed' sun in the south of France...lovely ride though....

[pitbull]

Our weather is sooo unpredictable, we can get all 4 seasons in one day...been exceptionally good summer this year but normally it does rain every few days no matter what time of year. If you wanna ride here, you have to ride in the rain. If you wanna camp, get used to camping in the rain.

I have to ride about 1000 miles to get away from the rain and have some 'almost guaranteed' sun in the south of France...lovely ride though....

I can't agree more BigBod. Next year I'm riding The Great Alpine Road down to Monaco.

I'll also point out that the road conditions in the UK are quite poor, lots of surface damage and when the authorities get round to fixing the problems the repairs are not that good. The French road surfaces are superb in comparison.
Here's a video I took using a cheap "keychain" camera. I have to take this route every time I leave my house.

Valkyrie F6C in Norfolk

[Freep]

Our weather is sooo unpredictable, we can get all 4 seasons in one day...
If you wanna ride here, you have to ride in the rain. If you wanna camp, get used to camping in the rain.
I have to ride about 1000 miles to get away from the rain and have some 'almost guaranteed' sun in the south of France...lovely ride though....

I'll also point out that the road conditions in the UK are quite poor, lots of surface damage and when the authorities get round to fixing the problems the repairs are not that good. The French road surfaces are superb in comparison. . . I have to take this route every time I leave my house.

So it's just like Colorado! 
So it's just like Oregon and Washington. And Alaska! 
So it's just like the Pacific Northwest! 
So it's just like all the secondary roads in the U.S! 

<Note: The comments above are irony, not opinion.>

Great video considering the camera. You "have" to ride that road everyday? Looks like a pretty interesting road to me.
Speed limits seem a little low, but that's normal most everywhere, eh? 

Your video is a perfect example of what I was trying to get across with the first one:
NOT that it's always sunny in the UK, anyone that's ever been there or even heard anything about UK weather knows that's incorrect and that's not what I wanted to illustrate.

Rather, I wanted to show how the roads in the UK are narrower, often more consistently twistier than their counterparts in the US. There are hedges and whatnot that limit visibility. Therefore if you're in a group, it's a lot easier to get separated. It's a lot easier to get off the route unless provided with a detailed map or someone to show the way.

In short, it's a different riding experience **read this closely** than many American roads. Not all, but many. Again, there ARE roads in the US that are similar to the ones on your video and the first video. BUT they are not the norm. IN GENERAL the roads in the US are wider, more open, offer better visibility and OFTEN, NOT ALWAYS, a given route will have fewer intersections.

**Disclaimers**

I am not an expert in UK weather, road design, road maintenance, customs, laws, motorcycling, group riding in the UK or US, or anything else for that matter.
I have traveled in the UK in various seasons over many years.
I have not ridden a motorcycle in the UK.
I have driven a car in the UK.
I have not lived in the UK.
I do know a goodly number of people that live there.
I do know a goodly number of people that ride motorcycles there.
Again, I am no expert, merely an interested observer.

The reason I post things of this nature is in the interest of showing how the motorcycling experience varies in places I have visited and comparing it with American practice, nothing more.


By the way, Norfolk looks lovely. 

[art]

 

Our weather is sooo unpredictable, we can get all 4 seasons in one day...
If you wanna ride here, you have to ride in the rain. If you wanna camp, get used to camping in the rain.
I have to ride about 1000 miles to get away from the rain and have some 'almost guaranteed' sun in the south of France...lovely ride though....

I'll also point out that the road conditions in the UK are quite poor, lots of surface damage and when the authorities get round to fixing the problems the repairs are not that good. The French road surfaces are superb in comparison. . . I have to take this route every time I leave my house.

So it's just like Colorado! 
So it's just like Oregon and Washington. And Alaska! 
So it's just like the Pacific Northwest! 
So it's just like all the secondary roads in the U.S! 

<Note: The comments above are irony, not opinion.>

Great video considering the camera. You "have" to ride that road everyday? Looks like a pretty interesting road to me.
Speed limits seem a little low, but that's normal most everywhere, eh? 

Your video is a perfect example of what I was trying to get across with the first one:
NOT that it's always sunny in the UK, anyone that's ever been there or even heard anything about UK weather knows that's incorrect and that's not what I wanted to illustrate.

Rather, I wanted to show how the roads in the UK are narrower, often more consistently twistier than their counterparts in the US. There are hedges and whatnot that limit visibility. Therefore if you're in a group, it's a lot easier to get separated. It's a lot easier to get off the route unless provided with a detailed map or someone to show the way.

In short, it's a different riding experience **read this closely** than many American roads. Not all, but many. Again, there ARE roads in the US that are similar to the ones on your video and the first video. BUT they are not the norm. IN GENERAL the roads in the US are wider, more open, offer better visibility and OFTEN, NOT ALWAYS, a given route will have fewer intersections.

**Disclaimers**

I am not an expert in UK weather, road design, road maintenance, customs, laws, motorcycling, group riding in the UK or US, or anything else for that matter.
I have traveled in the UK in various seasons over many years.
I have not ridden a motorcycle in the UK.
I have driven a car in the UK.
I have not lived in the UK.
I do know a goodly number of people that live there.
I do know a goodly number of people that ride motorcycles there.
Again, I am no expert, merely an interested observer.

The reason I post things of this nature is in the interest of showing how the motorcycling experience varies in places I have visited and comparing it with American practice, nothing more.


By the way, Norfolk looks lovely. 

?

[Freep]

Art:

?

Not really.

Frustrated. 

[Willow]

I'm with Art.   

I'm always amused by people who don't say what they mean and then when confronted with contradiction they say, "That's not what I meant."

A really lot of listening lends a fair amount of value to a little talking.  The same concept applies to internet conversations.

Enjoy the wind, Freep.  It's what we all do best.    

[Gryphon Rider]

Hey! That in no way is "typical" for the UK.........THE SUN IS SHINING............and............THE ROADS ARE DRY.....................that is like to die for over there, usually not the case at all

You're thinking of Wales, mate. This is in England. 

I once heard a Welsh comedian, "In the Bible they talk about rain for forty days and forty nights. That was the best summer on record for Wales."   

I've been to the UK a couple times in varying seasons and have always had a at least a few sunny days out of the average two week stay. One time in '03 we had 13 of 14 days sunny around March.

But you're right, it does rain a lot over there. 'S why it stays so green.

I lived in England for three years.  Ya, there is about a week of sun shine weather every summer....the problem is the days of sunshine are not CONSECUTIVE.  The roads are almost always wet, heck, you can get a ticket over there for not having washer fluid for your wipers.

Don't get me wrong, I loved it over there, but clean vehicles, not an easy thing to maintain

It's typical riding if he typically only rides on days when it's not likely to rain. 

[Chrisj CMA]

Like I said, I was there for three years.  There are not many days you can expect no rain in England.  It just goes with the territory so to speak.  I know all about riding in the rain..........I dont prefer it but Ill do it when I need to

[Freep]

Never mind.