I was really looking forward to my weekend away in France with ELAM, my IAM motorcycle group.
August 14th -16th was the highlight in my calendar this year, and 54 of us were booked for a days training on the Folembray circuit, 25 miles south of where we were staying in Saint Quentin.
Leaving London on Saturday 14th, it started off dry, but soon clouded over, and no sooner were we on the M2, or was it the M20, when it started raining. However, the weather in France was much better. There were about 17 of us on this ferry, and everyone, except one guy and myself, decided to take a scenic route to the hotel. Marek and I were keen to get to the hotel directly, and the motorway, complete with toll of 7 Euros, there. The weather brightened up tremendously, so after a quick stop to take my waterproofs off, we got back on the road. Little did I know at the time, that this was ging to be the highlight of my riding that weekend.
On arriving at the hotel, we found out that the guy leading the scenic route had been involved in a prang, and written off the R6 he was riding.
The following day was like a pop group from the early 90's. Go on, have a guess. No? Ok, I'll give you a clue - they had hits with; Love is all around, Sweet Little Mystery, Goodnight Girl, and my favourite of theirs was Wishing I was Lucky. Geddit???
We left in three or four convoy groups of ten minute gaps to get to the track. Unfortunately, one of the guys on a Super Blackbird found a diesel spill on a wet roundabout. He got away without breaking any bones, I beleive, but that was his bike out of the game.
Whilst it did stop raining for short periods of time, there was no wind, and the track remained thoroughly wet. Yet most of the time, it rained either lightly or quite intensely. If you want to see how bad, take a look at the photos on Facebook (Martin Ace).
It was pretty well organised, divided us into three groups of abilities, and then mini groups within each of those. I did very few laps, in fact, I'm sure I backed out of the riding before everyone else. I found it hard work just getting along with the sighting laps. My confidence with riding has been at an all time low since getting rear ended last June, and I didn't see the point in pushing myself beyond any level of comfort. I don't usually ride in the rain given a choice, and there, I simply was not in the right frame of mind to be able to digest and implement the instructions that were being given.
In all, five riders came off their bikes that weekend. I don't regret not spending more time on the track at all, I was just glad that I came home without any scratches. So what did I get out of it? Apart from the social aspect, not a lot really. But I can share the good news of how well my water proof gear worked.
Last year I returned my one-piece unlinned Hein Gericke oversuit as it leaked, down through the zip, leaving me with a wet groin. On a friends advice, I went for a two-pice unlinned suit. It was 100% waterproof and for the money, it was excellent. Being a plain PVC type set up, it is not a breathable suit, therefore you can sweat in it. But for keeping the rain out - it's excellent. I can't remember how much they cost, but it was about £20 for the trousers (Basic II Rain Pts BLK, barcode# 11068503228) and the matching jacket was £30ish. I think it's only fair to add that the jacket is a bit of a pain when it comes to pulling the sleeves over the gloves; they are only elasticated, so putting one glove on and then using an ungloved hand to get the sleeve over it is ok, but then putting the other glove on and trying to pull the other sleeve over the newly gloved hand with the other glove already on takes time, and is frustrating.
Boots were also from Hein Gericke and are the Tuareg model, with Goretex. I've had these for 2 years now, and they've never let water in. £130 well spent.
Fortunately, my Halvarssons gloves held up too. 100% waterproof, bought from Woodford motorcycles, agian about 2 years ago. I can't remember if they were £40 or £60.
It wasn't just the Folembray trip that proved this gear. Coming back to Enfield
from Lewes, I got caught in a torrential rain storm fo about two hours back in
June. It was far worse than Folembray, and although I had the option to stay
that Saturday overnight in Lewes, I needed to be back for something early
Sunday.
One thing I have learnt is to take off my buff bandana in the rain. It's great
for holding in earphones for music, but soaks up the rain.
As for my luggage, the Kriega US20 and US10 were perfect. But having to take
the seat off in the rain to attach the straps is really annoying. Unfortunately
though, even though it was the first time I used the US20, it started to fray
where the rubber panel meets the textile fabric. I've advised the shop where I
bought it and they are persuing Kriega for a replacement on my behalf.
I have a Fog City Hyper Optics anti-fog insert in my visor for my Arai.
Absolutely great, no fogging/misting at all. In fact, breathing hard onto it
and it demists in a couple of seconds. I just had to make sure that I dried the
inside of the visor before pulling off from petrol stops, where I'd lifted the
visor which allows some splashing to occur from the front of the hat onto the
inside of the visor when in the up position
Hope this is helpful to some of you.
Martin
