From: frank@marvin.contex.com (Frank Perdicaro)
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles
Subject: Re: Moto rent @ UK
Date: 14 Aug 92 12:17:05 GMT
Organization: Xyvision Design Systems

In article <1992Aug05.130237.22901@bnr.uk> datasbld@bnr.ca (Datasbuild) writes:
>frank@marvin.contex.com (Frank Perdicaro) writes:
>: I will be taking an unexpected, week long trip to the London/Slough
>: area.  If anybody over there in the UK feels very kind today, he could
>: leave me a message at the UK office ( 011 44 753 820 565 ) informing 
>: me where I might be able to rent a bike for the weekend.  
>: 
>: I will be leaving in a few hours, so email will not do much good.
>: This will be my first trip to the UK.
>: 
>: Thanks.

>Done.
>Nick (the Biker)          DoD 1069
>"My other one's a Volvo".
>K100RS with towbar and NO

Done? Ha!  
I never got anything, but I did have a good time. 

I have several observations from the UK.  There is a higher
concentration of motorcyclists around London than there is around Boston.
Everybody in the UK understands road rash;  I did not see anybody with
shorts, and only one person with a short sleeve shirt.  This is after
a week of looking -- everybody else had leathers on!

Driving on the wrong side of the road is easy.  I rented a Fiesta.
The rented one was a 1992 w/3k miles.  I drive a 1979 with ( enough
miles to make me seem old ).  I really enjoyed the driving once I got
the roundabout, lettering and offramp logic down.  

I found that on my trip from London to Oxford and back ( on the M40 )
that people will pass you when you are doing 110mph.  Its really
amazing to cover 53 miles in about 30 minutes.  I liked it so much, I
drove about 5 hours > 100mph, with people occasionally passing.
Traffic consisted of 70 in the left lane, 85 in the middle, and 100 in
the right.  I felt fortunate that I did not experience much of the 
M25 parking lot ( car park ) effect, but what I did experience seemed
considerably less bad than rt. 3, or perhaps rt 95 on a sunny
Saturday.  I drove from Epping to Slough in "traffic" and did not see
much less than 80mph.  If I did a similar thing here, I would expect
to average 35mph.

Fuel is of better quality, but it should be for more than $5/gallon,
even if its an imperial gallon.

I really like BIKE magazine, it contained the most honest assement of
motorcycles I have ever seen.  They had quite a review in this month's
issue, but I saw no evidence of Hawks for sale, other than the one 
that passed me by as I walked to downtown Slough.  VT500 Ascots,
though, seem as common as scones.  About 40% of all motorcycles I saw
were BMW!  I was suprised.  I even saw one parked at Windsor Castle; 
does the queen drive a K75?

My drive straigh through London ( Slough to Upper Clapton ) showed me
two lane roads narrow enough so two Fiestas could not pass; must have
been motorcycle-only roads.  Also showed me that the Londoners drive 
like Bostonians, but faster.  I was suprised to do 70mph in downtown
London on a narrow but clear "A" road with the rest of the traffic.
-- 
	 Frank E Perdicaro, Systems Admin, etc.		Xyvision Color Systems
      Legalize guns, drugs and cash...today.		101 Edgewater Drive
   inhouse: frank@marvin, x5572				Wakefield MA
outhouse: frank@contex.com, 617-245-4100x5572		018801285
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles