As each day passes I am feeling the cold bite of Autumn, taking grip the land around me is tiled are ready for next seasons crops to be sowed, and our first winter feels closer than I would like, its scary to think that Vailima can with stand some of the winds we get, I hear the plastic PVC roofing groans and creeks when the north wind blows up a gale.
I am quite certain if I was to take away the massive grape vine that completely covers the patio the roof would fly away one night or day, high winds don’t just happen at night time.
When I am on Athena I am quite happy, but when like yesterday it rained and the roads were quite slippery I just stay in, I hate to get wet and I hate being cold even more, I still don’t have all the protective clothing that I would like for riding, but like anything in life it takes time, after all money don’t grow on tree’s yadda yadda!
But what I have already got I am quite happy with as long as it don’t rain or too cold I could wrap up well but I hate to feel like a Michelin man, all puffy and fluffy, but then a beggars cant be a choosers is my motto, so grin and bear it me old son.
Well I did it I finally went to Hatfield forest for a spin on Athena, and I even took that corner that made me have a fall at over 20mph, what a blast to actually face up to a fear and over come it words that best describe it is At Last!
I admit it has been playing on my mind that there was a place that I was trying to avoid like the plague but like so many other bikers would say you got to face it, get up and go for it, so I did and now I feel like I can get around it again and again not that I will unless I am going back to Hatfield forest in the near future.
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And there lays a problem, I have a nice quite bike she purrs along not a noisy bike like the ones that pass Vailima on a daily basis, now I do have a membership to the National trust and its gardens, forests and properties and I was dismayed, no angry that there seems to be a bias towards bikers, as I pulled up outside the kiosk, to show my card the woman before I could even turn of the engine was saying that’s ummm, I quipped I have a national trust card, and before I could finish, she says motorbikes are free but you have to park here,
I ask why, because there is cattle roving around, but car’s can park up by the Café! She repeats herself, you can park here free of charge, but I have a card I respond thinking that this is all I need, after all I have a bad heart, and walking is ok but the café is like a mile+ up a fucking hill.
Still she sticks to her guns, just park over yonder, I feel that I am holding up the line of cars and noisy pick up trucks behind me, I give in and park in the car park and park my bike, having to hall up my tank bag which weights a fucking tonne, I walk thought the forest towards the café it takes me nearly 30mins to get there, my tank bag slowing me down, trying to take photos and rest along the way.
I reach the café spend £1.90 for a kit cat and a minging cup of draft Pepsi, I spend a little time talking to one of the volunteers about joining doing some work in the forest, something I have been planning for a while, I spend about 30mins walking around the trees before heading back to the bike.
I would have loved to spend more time in the forest but because I have to walk quite a distance, back to the lower car park, I cut short my time, the journey home was nice lovely twisty lanes a good challenge for a novice rider, and a good time to go would be around 10am till around 2pm,
the roads are less used, now there is one word of caution, one of the roads to Hatfield forest is chip stone which carries on for around 2miles, if possible avoid this as I could feel my bikes paint work being smacked as I moved along this horrible single track road.
Best to get to the forest via, Hatfield Broad Oak, some really nice stop of points to take photos, happy biking people and please be careful, there’s lots of white van men that speed along these roads.
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