Cruise to Noojee

These groovy cats couldn't care less what happens in an office, that's really not their bag. Like, gettin' up late on a Friday and riding wherever a road goes, that's it man, ya dig? Marlon and me we found a happening scene in Noojee, after twisting our minds on twisty roads. Early on I shoulda split but, like, I didn't. Those hills were dark coming back, man, pretty dark, but the worst darkness is in the mind!









During the week I found a wild scene, here, and you gotta dig it too. But don't let it split your mind. Just turn the sound up.

Back out there

Wonderful autumn days of sun have come and gone and it's been so painful to sit at home and waste them. After commiting all my spare time to academic work these last few weeks, today I went riding again. 

It's two years since I started wandering these wonderful places above Yea, on cold winter days on empty roads. In the first days here I rode the beloved GR650. Then for a while I only had the Hornet, a sports bike. It's so good to be in this place on another great motorcycle - the SR - which like the GR feels fantastic at just 60-70kph, as I meander gently through the bends. At such a slow speed nothing feels challenging or dangerous, everything is relaxation and pleasure. 







Later the sun came out.



I read on one of the blogs who's owner has subscribed here, of an invitation to bloggers to take a photo of their self and showing the centre line of a road, to be shared on a site somewhere. It came to mind when I stopped to take the above photo, and although today is not the day that people are invited to take the photo, I took one with the certainty that I'd forget on the appropriate day even if I am out riding.



And so I rolled into the mountains as the day rolled on with me.

I've been busy

I have been busy preparing another blog, on philosophy as a tool for well-being (here) and so could only spare four hours for riding last Sunday.  It will be a week before I can go riding properly; and when I do it will be on the SR, for I need to strip, clean and rebuild the carburettors on the Virago because it's running rough, which is probably due to having sat for a long time - different jets will be blocked with varnished fuel and other rubbish.

In the meantime, I want to post some Viragos from the net which have inspired me. Not because I think they are beautiful, but because they have transformed the XV into a road bike, which is what I want to do albeit while retaining the classic beauty of the stock Virago. I have bought a spare seat off eBay, and soon I will get to work and raise its height by about 10cm, then I will have it recovered. I am exploring ways to set the foot pegs and controls rear-ward - not in a sports way, but in a classic 'sit up and beg' position. I will ditch the pillion seat for a rack, which will look good and be very handy. And I will have a rear seat and backrest built to bolt on and off of the rack.







And two bobbers that have tempting elements





Here is a bike that I've always lusted after, the Yamaha SRV250.

Yamaha took the Virago 250 engine and built a cafe racer. Everybody always said they should have built an SRV535. I don't want a cafe racer - this is to be a comfortable highway bike - but I am inspired by the SRV.

Here's me (with Lawrence of Arabia's head, because I posted this picture on a motorcycle forum where I want to remain more or less anonymous) on the bike with my feet in a rear-set position.