Watching them ...

As a motorcyclist, you become very aware of your vulnerability. You are exposed, not only to the elements, but also to the vehicles and hazards that surround you on your journey. Any sensible motorcyclist will take additional training to boost their skills - Skills for Life, as the IAM advertise them.

The principles of advanced riding - or driving - are, to observe everything that is going on around you, and to respond appropriately to the hazards that you see. You need to be in the right position on the road, travelling at the right speed, in the right gear, ready to react to the developing situation.

But, of course, things don't always go according to plan. For whatever reason, it is sometimes good to have someone on your side, when all there is, is the 'it wasn't my fault' situation. And just for such times I have invested in a helmet / dashboard camera, to record the antics of the average British motorist with  whom I share the roads.

The Drift HD has various mounts, a sucker for the windscreen, clips for the helmet and a couple of others. So far I've used it once in the car and once on the bike, and I'm pleased with the results. There is nothing exciting to show, but I have done some editing to remove the boring bits and added some fading for the scene changes and titles. My first production is on YouTube at:

http://youtu.be/u64jNrNb12I

Things I've learned; the camera was too low, I got too much dashboard. I reduced the resolution to keep the file size small, but the picture is grainy when when shown full screen, so I will experiment with the full 1080p setting (although it was better before it was put through the editing software). View from the helmet mount is good, but the audio is drowned out by wind noise.

I'll try and get some interesting footage for you...

Icy March Ride-out

Sunday is the day when all good motorcyclists go for a ride-out.

I could have gone with the Solent Advanced Motorcyclists - but they decided that the weather was not suitable, a tad chilly with the possibility of snow, and cancelled their run. Instead I went with two other Silver Wing owners for a thrash round Hampshire and Surrey.

We met at Petersfield, to the accompaniment of snow flurries and temperatures hovering around 0C (32F). Our plan was to head for Winchester along the A272, but as it was closed we headed north towards Farnham, and then west to England's ancient capital.

We dropped into the city via the A31, acknowledging King Alfred as we passed his statue. As we found that the Rifle Regiment's museum was closed, we headed back into the city for food and a chat.

Then it was time for the return journey, north to London for the others and south towards Fareham for me.

Nearly 100 miles covered (more for the Londoners) and new friends made. A good day, I'd say.

Outside the Rifles Rgt Museum.
They only sell The Wing in three colours in the UK; black, blue and silver