London to South Wales and back

The gang of us that bike at work got talking, between us, a new to me Triumph Tiger (carbed), new BMW R1150GS, new VFR800, and a bunch of guys with other 750+ bikes which they all commuted on. All of us bored with London's rat runs at rush hour as the most enjoyment we were getting. Discussion began and eight pledges of joining in were made. Ideas of the Alps, Pyrenees and Nurburgring led the first dilemma. We couldn't agree.

As a compromise we settled on a two day blast down to Steve's folks in South Wales to test our ability to get on other than at work, to see who was slow and who might get bored waiting for the rest to catch up.

Excuses, commitments, children and more excuses dwindled our numbers until it was just Steve & I.

With minimal overnight kit & a set of waterproofs we set off straight down the M4, over the bridge and off onto a load of A roads enjoying the reduction in traffic. Dumping our kit with his folks we set off around The Gower on B roads interdispersed with catching up with some of his friends and family.

The following morning took us north into the Brecon Beacons for a morning of the smallest roads we could find before a lunch stop in Brecon itself and starting the journey home. Fast A roads with plenty of speed cameras back to England and back to London on the old A4, passing through numerous market towns.

The result.

• We got on.
• We both disliked motorways after about an hour, but they did help crunch some miles.
• The Tiger & GS are well suited touring bikes and are both comfortable cruising at 80-90 mph.
• Our riding speeds were pretty similar and neither of us felt as though we were pushing the other faster or waiting around.
• Europe was next on the list.