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Soon they'll all be 50mph Roads
Blog Date - 04 July 2011
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny bright and warm day. Yesterday was riding weather. Yesterday was summer, I'm sure the rain will return soon and that will be summer over. All there is to look forward to after that is the decline into winter. I'm depressing myself here, stop it.
On that glorious day I covered well over 120 miles in the North West. I covered familiar roads I ride every few weeks and I rode a few roads that I've not ridden for quite some time. I was on my Fazer 600 as I'd dropped my son off in Rawtenstall and my 125 is not really up to carrying 2 large adults and luggage down the motorways. As for the non-motorway part of my trip, well over 90 miles between East Lancashire and Southport, I think my 125 would have been more than up to the job.
That's because my 125 will do 50mph, no problem. And that is the speed that all the countryside roads in the North West seem to be heading towards. Eeeeehhh....when I were a lad the A675 Belmont to Abbey Village road were all national speed limit, 60mph. Of course being on the way to Rivington and out in the coutry it became a popular road for bikers. Of course being a popular road for bikers meant that there were accidents, some very serious, some fatal. So of course this gives the authorities good reason to set a lower speed limit, currently 50mph.
The A581 from Croston to Rufford is only a short stretch but the road is awsome. Wide, curvy and grippy, the road has become a favourite with local bikers. It's possible to curve bends at speeds far in excess of the legal limit. For riders new to the road there are a few corners that come as a surprise and these again have caught a few people out with negative consequences. So that stretch of road is now 50mph. That said, the three riders coming the opposite way yesterday were not suffering the limit of the law, not by a long shot.
The A565, Southport New Road, from Tarleton to Southport used to be 60mph. On the dual carriageway the national speed limit meant 70mph was legal. Now the road is 50mph, and a large portion of the dual carriageway is now 50mph too. There's one stretch of 70 left, but it's over before it's begun. It's the same across Lancashire, Merseyside, Manchester and the bit's of Cheshire I get to as well. Is it a good thing? Is it self inflicted? What does the future behold?
Is this self inflicted? If bikers insist on taking these roads on at 120mph then we're bound to upset poor unsuspecting car drivers pootling along at 45. If riders come around a bend with their knee down only to find a cyclist on their chosen line is that the cyclist's fault? If the emergency services and the council need to keep on extracting leather-clad people from walls and ditches is it any wonder things need to change? What can the authorites do to stop this behaviour? They can't close the road to other vehicles except motorcycles on a nice warm sunday afternoon. They can't afford to provide municipal race tracks for cheap track days. The easiest thing to do is put up 50mph signs and hope that things improve.
Do things improve? That I don't know the answer to, I would be interested to view the statisitcs for certain roads though, to see if it makes any difference. Sometimes I think it does, but then if people were completely ignoring the 60 limit why would they pay any attention to the 50 limit? It seems to wind some bikers up! Each time the limit is dropped they get angry and ride the road even faster. They then wonder why it's been dropped to a 40...get angry...if this carries on the limit will be 20 everywhere.
I think the future is for slower and slower and slower limits. Health and safety's the new thing, yet the government cannot afford to maintain an ageing population. Why not let us all ride and drive like madmen? We'd soon have the population under control. That and hospitals full of disabled, broken and shattered people. No I think speed limits will drop. I also think fuel prices will continue to rise. I think insurance will continue to rise. I think we're going to be a little less wealthy than we were and things are going to change.
So...the future is 125 as far as I can see! Yes indeed, 125 cc's of pure unadulterated power...well...125 cc's of casual forward motion at least. I use my 125 most of the time. It does over 100 mpg, reaches beyond the 50 mph maximum on most roads today and is just the most fun to ride. The Fazer's a great bike but here in the overpopulated North-West it's something of a waste. Whenever the sun shines and time is on my side I take the Fazer to some georgous set of twisties just to find I'm stuck behind rows of cars or in a 50 zone. If I take the 125 I can thrash the living bejeezus out of it and find I'm only 5mph over the speed limit, then fill up afterwards and not feel like I've been brutally savaged.
Motorcycles for the last 30 or 40 years have been following the faster faster faster line of development. Up unitl the recent price rises you could buy a bike that would do 200 mph for under 10,000 quid. Why? Just so you can sit with all your biker mates and tell them your's is bigger, faster and better. Of course some guy on an ageing 500 will come past you in the bends because he's an ex racer and knows how to ride properly. Where's the diesel motorcycle for those interested in reliability and economy? Where's the small fun sports bike for those who ride real roads and can't afford track days every weekend?
Anyhows, that's enough rant for now. I'm sure there's more to come...
Reader's Comments
David Michaels said :-
They've done the same to the Cat and Fiddle. It's all 50 mph now from one end to the other. It won't make any difference though, at 50 most corners on the road are still lethal and like you said, it's only the good people who follow the limits, the idiots will still speed.
I ride a 250 during the week, better than a 125 as I still get good fuel but have that little extra go when I need it, when the tin boxes get annoying. I feel too vulnerable on a 125
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Dom said :-
I get what you're saying. I'm also north west, and I have a 125. This is my only bike until I have enough saved for my ZZR600. I love my ybr, but it just doesn't cut it on some roads, especially when im making regular weekend trips to manchester by A roads/motorway depending on what I'm in the mood for, it does struggle especially uphill. Show it a very steep hill eg A675 from M65 to Bolton, and I cant even get the 50mph limit! I guess it's ok if you know you can use something a bit faster when you feel like it. I do intend to keep it for going to work on however.
As for the road you mention between Tarleton & Southport, I was a witness to a fatal motorcycle accident along the dual carriageway stretch there, the motorcyclist appeared to me to be an innocent victim of a driver pulling out without looking, and I can understand both sides of the argument but I can appreciate why the new limits are being put in place.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
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