Thundersprinters are Go - F.A.B. Frank

Every May the grubby but practical little Cheshire  town of Northwich hosts the Thundersprint motorcycle festival devised by our Frank Melling.  The main event is a GP in the car park, with 440 yards of endless right-hand bends on a dreadful surface but in the morning a cavalcade of motorycles around the town takes place where there is at least one left turn not counting the exit from the Tesco roundabout. There are also trade stands and other attractions over the weekend such as the stealth spitfire and greasy burger vans.  Andrew English gives a near factual account of the event here.

Participation in the cavalcade of Northwich town centre (closed off specially for the event) is now in its 4th year for Highwaylass and me: we (and Clarky) were invited to this event by Frank Melling through our  Daily Telegraph Motoring Section blogging activities for the first time some 5 years ago (and indeed Highwaylass became a DT MS guest blogger for a brief but golden period). 

Highwaylass and Ruby pose next to Ferguson Doodlebug in the cavalcader's paddock.

It's Ferguson Doodlebug's third year at the event but my 4th. Every machine requires a technical inspection  - even race machines that are not road legal are permitted to cavalcade but must be scrutineered first. The race machines feature heavily in the time trial later on - that is the ones that survive 3 laps of Northwich town centre.

 Here is the riders perspective of the cavalcade (warning - it's long...).

The main attraction appears to be the scantily clad Bennetts Babes supplied by one of the sponsors - the only way an old letch like me can get good frontal shots of them is by asking them to hold up a map showing where Jack Riepe lives.

This is the GP in the car park bit: here in the car park various classes of classic machine run a time trial over 440 yards.  This is scooter number 98 seen outpacing a portaloo.

No. 287 appears to have a rather large engine (or is it a domestic appliance on wheels?).

A Bender of a Royal Wedding German Weekend

Something's gone wrong here and I can't seem to insert my text where I want so do it yourself!

Famous Ruddesheim flaming coffee sure kicks a punch.

A bike clothing shop with a wind tunnel!

A bike clothing shop with an acoustic chamber!

My first ride.

I kindly point out two features on Germania to some french tourists.

A scooterist chatting to another one.

A bike clothing shop the size of 4 ASDA superstores!

A rubber articles shop and some Crocs(tm)

A bike clothing shop with all the visors in stock!

A bike clothing shop with beer on tap!

 For Jack: R.:-

Royal Spanakopita

In tribute to the Royal Wedding, Nikos World's chief chef has created a much improved spanakopita* recipe suitable for any royal waistline.

Toasted pine nuts, eggs, feta and cheddar cheeses, currants, salt, pepper, spinach, butter, olive oil,nutmeg and oregano wrapped in filo pastry and cooked in an oven.

The dome of Aghia Sophia Cathedral in Moscow Road, London

The perfect spanakopita served on Easter Sunday.

Shop window in Royal Windsor

*strictly speaking a spanakotyropita

Up to Geordie Land

"Me Oolfa will piss aal ower yer GTI" - that was Bob telling me that his rust bucket Alfa Romeo Giulleta would go faster than a Golf GTI that I could only dream of owning back then in 1977 but was talking about in the college bar. I did not mention the broken down Yamaha RD200 that I owned then.  My first exposure to Geordie as a college freshman still resonates in the annals of my University memories alongwith Newcastle Brown beer and cheap sherry from Unwins probably produced in Cyprus.

Ready for early dawn departure

I digress -

I decided to ride my newly updated for 2011 GS (more anon.) to Durham for the BMW Owners Club AGM as I had read that the lunchtime sandwiches would be free. There would be a dinner and guest speaker too. 

I followed Lori's instructions to the letter to embed this route map into the blog (Lori does my map look big in this?):

View Larger Map

Leaving home at 7pm on a cloudless but crisp morning I scooted around to the west of Salford and Manchester and started out across the Penines on the highest motorway in England (at 1,221 feet (372 m)) - mist clinged in the valleys either side of me as transited Leeds barely an hour from leaving Knutsford   to commence the great trek north.

The famous Stott Hall Farm flanked by the carriageways of the highest motorway in England

Helpful signs guide me through Durham

Many nice BMW motorcycles  - I did not realise until later that a prize would be awarded for the best machine and I had parked my bike at the halls of residence far away from the scrutiny of the judges.

Cathedral

Not Charley Boorman, Cliff is marketing US made Jesse luggage - I take a fancy to the lockable mounting box on which a standard top box can sit.

The camping family on manouvres

  

The next day I teamed up with a charming camping couple from Wales for the scenic ride back across the stunningly scenic Yorkshire Dales.   Naturally I meet them at the camp site down by the river and we ride in the company of approximately 29,900 other bikers and 29,901 Nissan Micras across the moors turning left at Blea Common Historical monument.

The Ribblehead railway viaduct at Blea Common - the only place where we stopped and hence the only photo opportunity

Tomato ketchup and visor wash

Two Wheel Parish Last Weekend News Round Up

Spring has arrived and foraging for food on the yellow spangled Cheshire road sides under the Think Bike! signs and around the daffodils is possible.

Stella has arrived and Tubbyballs has gone to a new home in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Nikos has taken refresher training and is now claiming her seat on Stella.

Mrs Nikos sustained a blow out on the Tissington Trail and I did not have a bicycle pump - I had a haircut  after seeing photograph #4 below.

FRIDAY

Tubbyballs draws admiring looks from the youngsters in George street on her way to the lucky new owner in Northern Ireland. 

Mrs Nikos and Instructor Rob following a successful day in Salford - I believe that he reacquainted her with riding a motorcycle after a gap of 20 years.

SATURDAY

The junction of the High Peak and Tissington Trails  - these cycle and hiking trails use disused railway line routes.

9 miles out and Mrs Nikos buys new acquaintances Anne and Jim a cup of tea to thank them for showing me how to fix a puncture in her bicycle tyre.

Beautiful Peak District National Park and characteristic loose stone walls dating back to the neolithic age (probably).

Puncture fixed and we head towards Hadrian's Wall

NEVER ON SUNDAY

Stella's first outing.

 Mrs Nikos on tip toe with Stella - here ballet training has finally come in useful again .

After a hearty weekend of cycling and motorcycling what better food to eat than dandelion leaves gathered from the roundabout island of the Northwich A556 junction - a variation of the Greek horta is born in the Nikos World kitchen: πράσινοι καπνοί diesel αρώματος σαλάτας φύλλων.

Engineered to be the Best - Flew Above the Rest

The Manchester Aviation Viewing Park provides in equal measures runway side viewing of a relatively busy international airport, a cafe with screaming kids running around causing mayhem, and a static aviation park that hosts the first British Airways Concorde airliner housed in  a purpose built hangar.

Tours must be booked - we elected to go on the nerds special 45 minute certificated tour.

This is really rather special as one is allowed to feel the joystick (yoke) and fondle the volume controls (throttles) - reheat is preselected and cuts in when they reach 100%.

Something not found on an Airbus -  nose droop control  lever (aka droop snoot knob) - required because the vortex flow generated by Concorde's delta wing at high angles of attack reduces the forward visibility at take off and landing. Concorde does not need slats and flaps like an Airbus for take off and landing - the vortex flow acts like a giant Dyson vacuum cleaner and sucks  the 180 tonnes or so of aircraft into the air..

Captain Nikos' twin brother bites his lip as the tour guide John has his third nervous breakdown trying to answer impossible questions from a devout Concorde expert.

Manchester airport from the Concorde flight deck  - droop snoot down - obviously.

Hello good evening and welcome - David Frost once sat here commuting to New York from London  Interior redesign by Habitat  - small windows to peep through. Centre arm rests fold away and swivel by 180 degrees and depict speedbird motif (a BOAC thing) . Seatbelts have been stolen by a Liverpudlian visiting school party.

The paraffin dart - 202ft long when cold but due to supersonic compressive heating expanded by 1ft in supersonic cruise where it flew faster than a rifle bullet.

Previously never seen before top secret image from the Nikos World wind tunnel of an Airfix 1:144 model shows the pre Dyson vortex flow established as high angles of attack

Underneath the double delta wing - notice the camber that at high angle of attack allows the clean and stable formation of that  vortex flow that I keep banging on about