2nd Go at the Dukes

Well did the dukes today for only the second time ever
It was dry this afternoon for the first time in about 3 weeks so whipped off the seat cowl and clipped the pillion seat back on as the g/f was keen to go for a spin.
Headed out through dunipace, couple of laps of the pirnhall roundabout then hit the A811 from stirling heading to balloch.
Great road, long sweeping bends, good visibility, 80-90 kph all the way
G/f starting to get some confidence back after last very twitchy ride due to tyres and slipping clutch.
Got to the Azel, crossroads and south (glasgow) and west (balloch) both loooked decidely overcast so headed north to aberfoyle.
Nice run, plenty of overtakes, but traffic surprisingly light.
Hit the first switchbacks and scraped right toeslider (TS) and gave myself a bit of a shock, 3 switches later and left ts down, (remember this is with a pillion)
First half of the run (to the loch) was good ts down apx 5 more times (more through necessity than design, think i was out of 2nd gear twice on this section, couple of the tight ones kept on tghtening and dropping away and was nearly caught out a couple of imes but on the whole I was taking it quite easy and was enjoying it.
The downside was the DP is definately not a road for a pillion, she was getting flung all over the place, nearly dropping off the back to trying to press me into the filler cap, needless to say she did not really enjoy it. Needless to say this was due as much to my riding as the road. I DEFINATELY NEED MORE TRAINING/ PRACTICE/ EXPERIENCE,
Unfortunately the second half of the road was wet for long sections and had a severe case of wet leaf build up so I had to take it very easy although the g/f did enjoy getting airborne on the long straight.
Stop for coffee and Haggis toastie in calander then great run back down through dunblane, doune, br of allan, stirling and home.
All in all a good day out, starting to get confidence back and finding that getting toe down through necessity without thinking about it was a bonus and can only be a good thing. (before if a corner felt too tight / fast i would brake and stand the bike up)
only saw 3 other bikes all day, 1 bmw, 1 gxr and something else, never saw a single bike on the dukes and only 2 tour buses nutty

Sorry for rambling on but, biking's great and each ad every time i go out I love it more and more , even the days where the rains coming down that hard its bouncing back up, thats just another learning experience,
Anyway, take care all and ride safe.

Originally Posted by Kilted Ginger

80-90 kph all the way

How fast is that for the benefit of us non-Europeans?

Had a go at the pass on sunday too.. was up that way 12-1pm ish, Just reading what you wrote about it made me laugh.. about the same thoughts on it (no toe down or pillion tho) Had a good run over most of it till i found a coach on my side of the road on one of the sharp downhill bends got kinna tight to say the least! My mate was on a new Fazer and commented on not being able to match the Sv's pace up the tight twisty bits
Had a great time up there, will leave it till the dry season before i have another shot at it

I've been toes down with my wife on pillion twice, both times she turned green with motion sickness and insisted on turning back immediately and going home on the straightest road available.

Needless to say I don't do that anymore!

[carelesschucca]

Kirsteen pain refuses to go go down the dukes pass, she always feels ill on it...

Originally Posted by carelesschucca

Kirsteen pain refuses to go go down the dukes pass, she always feels ill on it...

That might be something to do with the sonic boom you cause

Originally Posted by Kilted Ginger

Some stuff about motorcycling... coffee and Haggis toastie... More stuff about motorcycling

mmmm... Haggis toastie... never thought of that... must... buy... bread.

Originally Posted by WRCSixtyThree

mmmm... Haggis toastie... never thought of that... must... buy... bread.

If your an avid haggis chaser (as I am) another interesting recepie is:
4 yorkshire puds
fill one with mash potato
fill one with mash carrot and neep
fill two with haggis
fill sapce around and between puds with peas,
Top the whole thing with some homemade onion gravy, or bisto if you're feeling lazy.
Enjoy