Home
Travel Stories
CBF 125 To Heysham and Devil's Bridge 2012 - By Ren Withnell
It's good to ride. It's even better when you can do 140 miles on 1 gallon of petrol. And what would make it perfect? When the bike you're riding has proper tyres on it and not the terrifying OE crap. That was the pleasant situation I fond myself in last Saturday, complete with a forecast of "acceptable" weather. With a day to myself after completing domestic chores I set off with no more of a plan that to scrub the new tyres in and see where I end up.
Shiny new Continental ContiGO on the CBF. Might be able to navigate a bend now...
The CBF 125 was never really designed as a touring machine, it's more of a commuter I'd say. You can tell that on the motorway. When you're rolling along at a steady 55mph you know it will go faster, but hearing that poor motor screaming below me makes me feel sad so I don't ask too much of it. Anyhow, the problem with going fast is the ride is over quicker. I'm happy at 55, I can see the world passing by in a satisfactory manner. I'm heading North, I don't know why.
I consider riding way up North, maybe up to The Lakes or even to Northumberland, but the M6 has other plans. The matrix signs warn me the motorway is closed between junctions 34 and 36 and sure enough as I pass the South Lancaster turning the traffic slows to a grinding halt. I filter through past all the cars that had sped past me, then further on through ones who must have been on the motorway before I even set out. On and on for quite a few miles, on and on past trucks, lorries, campervans and endless bored, frustrated and angry faces. The 125 is perfect for this, so light so narrow and so good at going slow.
Eventually I reach the turn off and the whole motorway is being diverted. It's a strange sight to see the closed section on the M62, naked, bare and empty. It's obvious to me now that all this traffic is going to be making it's way North and that the roads around here are going to be jammed solid. I spend an age squeezing, filtering and waiting my way through North Lancaster until I spot a sign for Heysham. I've never been there, lets go there says I, so I follow the signs.
It's good to be out of the worst of the traffic and riding along. Here the CBF is quite at home, keeping up with the cars and trucks, sipping fuel and thrumming along. The weather's hanging on by the skin of it's teeth but those grey clouds look threatening. All is well with the world for a moment and I'm hoping to find a quaint port town with a ferry terminal, fishing port and sea front. What I'm confronted with are endless rows of lorry trailers and containers behind high metal fences, confusing sign posts and lots of dead end roads that won't let me get near the ferry terminal or the sea. I give up.
I find a shop, purchase a bottle of pop and some crisps then ride a mile or so until I can at least see the sea if not ride to it. I guess it's a lack of local knowledge, but so far all I can make out of Heysham is there's a few houses between industrial units, containers and a power station. Maybe I'll return one day and take a proper look, right now I'm just going to park here and look at the sea through this wire fence and eat my crisps. The wind blows my hair into my mouth as I eat and I'm a little less than impressed.
I'm sure there's some nice parts to Heysham, but I can't find them today...
I hop back on the bike and head North. I've given up on the idea of a big big ride, there's just too much traffic and it's taken an age just to get through Bolton-Le-Sands and Carnforth. I head out for Kirkby Lonsdale and Devils Bridge, I can't think of somewhere more imaginative to go really. I find myself on a twisty road that's dry and I start to push the new Conti-Go tyres. Oh yesssss, that's much better, the bike's tracking as I'd expect and the cheap budget suspension does a remarkably good job of keeping the new tyres on the road. I'm having fun, fun at 45 to 55mph with about 11bhp. Yippee!
Morecambe was not very impressive either...thank the lord the road improves inland.
The CBF 125 is so light I can change direction without effort. There's not enough power to make the tyres choose between lateral grip and acceleration. On a small bike it's all about momentum, you have to take each corner as fast as you dare otherwise it's a long haul to drag the bike back up to speed. This road's a good one for a 125, it's flat enough, many of the bends have a good view and the surface is good. I play and push and curve the bends until I arrive at Kirkby Lonsdale and the 30mph zone.
There's plenty of other bikes and riders at Devil's Bridge. It seems I'm the only one on a 125 though so I park among Triumph Tigers and CBRs. For a very brief moment I feel slightly embarrassed but I dismiss it as nonsense. I visit the toilets and damn me it's 20p to use them, the machine eats my first and second ten pence pieces but only credits me with 10p, and I've no more change. Luckily another biker arrives so he slots his 10p in and we both enter, there's room for 3 in here. We make sure to allow others in before we leave, damn the machine. I don't stop long, there's no-one I know here and not much happening. I check the maps on my phone and head off with a mind to ride the Slaidbun to Bentham road, a super twisty favourite of mine.
Typical scene at Devil's Bridge. I don't know who or what they're all looking at.
A few traffic filled miles roll by before I find the road at High Bentham. The best bike for this road was my SLR 650. It had the grunt to climb, the suspension for the bumps and was tall to allow better views of the oncoming traffic. The Fazer's too low, too fat and the power delivery's all wrong for such a twister as this. The CBF? Well the twin shocks and skinny forks manage the bumps remarkably well, the light weight makes the bends a doddle and the brakes are sufficient to avoid the stray sheep...and cars. But... ahem... climbing the hills is... er... shall we say... lacking? Oh it can manage them, but I find I'm in second or third revving the nuts off it to make it to the top at 25mph. That said, coming down the other side is awesome!
As you get closer to Slaidburn the views open out. The whole road is single track complete with bewildered sheep and cattle grids.
I could stop at Slaidburn for another brew, but I'm ready for home now, I'm all funned out. Once I'm out of The Trough Of Bowland the A59 just drags on and on and by the time I have to make a choice between the motorway or another set of twisty roads, I choose the motorway. Not very rock-n-roll I know, but the weather's closing in and I'm too tired to play any more. Another 20 miles of 55mph left lane riding and I'm back home. And how much petrol have I used on this 140 mile trip? I reckon just over a gallon, probably about 7 quids worth. I reckon that's a small price to pay for an afternoon out.
Reader's Comments
Nikki said :-
Lol ! Would have loved to see your face at the 20 p pee stop ;-p
Never been to Heysham , may just try now . Only thing you did wrong was coming home via a59. ! Should have done Caton and Quermorre ! Nice fast roads . Oh forgot ! Your on your 125 ;-p x
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Tom McQ said :-
You make riding a 125 sound very inviting somehow, lol. Especially the part where it only cost £7! I was just looking at my "Fuelly" record for September and I've spent £126 up to now and we've still got another 12 days to go!
I also like how you just go out there with no particular destination in mind. I buggered off out on the bike recently and somehow ended up at Sunderland Point! Visited Sambo's grave and then went found myself at Devil's, then Dent and on it went. Love those days.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Name
Comment
Add a RELEVANT link (not required)
Upload an image (not required) -
Uploading...
Home
Travel Stories