White Van man - bikers friend?

Wore summer gloves and leathers for first time Saturday since last year, bike rode like a dream, thoroughly enjoyed myself so set everything in play to ride to work today.

Bl**dy freezing, hands numb, couldn't see a thing in the fog - miserable - until white van man came to the rescue.

Picture (if you can) A4 between Marlborough and Newbury. Reasonably wide road but just single carriageway, occasional stream of bunched cars etc and nasty fog.

White Van overtakes in front of me - filtering!! So I kept a safe distance and followed him - my own personal escort!! Complete nutter but damned useful for me in the circumstances. A few terrified faces in the oncoming cars!

Still frozen to the bone though - looking forward to the sunny ride home!!

Lovely road that. I used to work in Hungerford and would just go for a blat down there just for the sake of it.

Ahem... "alledgedly" a ZX6R 2001 can do 135 down the A4 between Newbury and Hungerford.

I once got buzzed by a Mustang WW2 fighter down the A4. Just heard this almighty v8 sounding thing and saw a big shadow and thought a TVR was about to plough into me. I looked up and saw the mustang peel off doing a barrel roll.... beautiful

Originally Posted by Colby

Lovely road that. I used to work in Hungerford and would just go for a blat down there just for the sake of it.

Ahem... "alledgedly" a ZX6R 2001 can do 135 down the A4 between Newbury and Hungerford.

I once got buzzed by a Mustang WW2 fighter down the A4. Just heard this almighty v8 sounding thing and saw a big shadow and thought a TVR was about to plough into me. I looked up and saw the mustang peel off doing a barrel roll.... beautiful

A flying horse eh? Thought I would see pigs fly before I welcomed a white van but a horse will do!!

Have got 120mph along there but haven't gone all out... yet and probably never will

Thats a favourite road for Mr Plods unmarked police cars too..Seen a few in the last couple of weeks down there- but usually more to the Reading side of the A4.

Just nearly been knocked down by WVM - pulled out on me at a roundabout.

I used to spot them when I was filling up with petrol in Hungerford. The way they looked at me just TOLD me they would be waiting further down the A4. Lo and behold halfway down the road they would be sat in a layby. They looked really miffed that I was doing 55 in a 60 on the way past

Originally Posted by SDMF

Thats a favourite road for Mr Plods unmarked police cars too..Seen a few in the last couple of weeks down there- but usually more to the Reading side of the A4.

I love that road - ride down the A4 from J12, to the roundabout at Hungerford (by the Texaco garage) and back again. Not once seen any police along there, tho I've been warned by numerous people.

What is rubbish tho is the road surface on the way back just by the new A34 (opposite Beenham valance). I've stopped on it twice now because the bike felt very odd - thought I had a puncture, but it's just very poor surface, which is rubbish because they've only just resurfaced it.

Originally Posted by rpwoodman

I love that road - ride down the A4 from J12, to the roundabout at Hungerford (by the Texaco garage) and back again. Not once seen any police along there, tho I've been warned by numerous people.

What is rubbish tho is the road surface on the way back just by the new A34 (opposite Beenham valance). I've stopped on it twice now because the bike felt very odd - thought I had a puncture, but it's just very poor surface, which is rubbish because they've only just resurfaced it.

Its been like that for years. I had my first tank slapper on it and had my first near off when my ZX6 was only a day old.....

Its a shame cos you SO want to give it some beans along the top of the hill round the bend and then down the hill.....

Originally Posted by Colby

Its been like that for years. I had my first tank slapper on it and had my first near off when my ZX6 was only a day old.....

Its a shame cos you SO want to give it some beans along the top of the hill round the bend and then down the hill.....

Thats a bad bend - seen a nasty there a couple of years back - cracking road but yeah tar and pebble resurfacing is sh*t poor. I prefer the stretch between Cherhill, Marlborough and Hungerford

i haven't had any trouble with WVM really....i've found them to be quite courteous really. they seem keen to move over in slow traffic to let me past usually. even when they are on their phone