Back in 2002 my old school mates from the class of '63 organised a reunion for those that were interested. About 12 turned up that time (out of a class of 30) and despite my better judgment and with encouragement from my wife, I attended. Scroll forward 21 years to last year we held the next one! It was suggsted at that one we had better not wait another 21 years(!) and so yesterday was set as the next one and this time we had 9 there plus two last minute apologies owing to sickness. One guy who couldn't make the previous two turned up and it'd been 54 years since anyone had seen him!
What has this to do with scooters? Be patient & I'll tell you! It was held in my old home town of Birmingham so would be a round trip of about 150 miles which by car would be 90% motorway. On checking the forecast however, it bode well, with no rain forecast for the entire day and temperatures from 12 to 16C. Take the scooter Neil! So I did, after plotting a route which dodged the M/Way in favour of A roads. The journey down took 2.5 hrs, while the return (no stops) was dispatched in 2 hours. Roads were wet for the first half of the downward journey and dry for the rest.
Here's me getting ready for the 10am departure.
Then at the halfway point grabbing a bacon bap for sustenance. (We have a lot of these mini catering units at roadside pull ins here in the UK. The menu is basic, but they're a boon for lorry drivers and other travellers who don't want the more formal and corporate service areas.):
And finally, the destination:
On the plus side, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey, the DTX performed faultlessly and I now know that a 200 mile day is perfectly feasible for me, even at my age - no aches or pains this morning! The downside? I now remember what a ball-ache rush hour is in big cities. Even with 100% of the return leg on A roads I still had to navigate over motorway junctions with traffic flying around in all directions. Man do you need your wits about you! Would I do it again? Sure I would and maybe will if next year is on offer.
