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Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 4
Ride Date 21 August 2021
By Rev. Mick!
If you were looking for a County in England that had miles of little lanes and B roads, very cute villages oftentimes featuring thatched cottages, old fashioned pubs and churches then Dorset seems to tick all of those boxes. Perfect in fact for a 60kph journey on an Innova and so it was that I set out to see my good buddy Nige who lives in Wyke Regis outside of Weymouth.
My brother in law told me the night before it might be worth having a lie in next morning as the forecast was giving very heavy rain, it was however set to clear in the afternoon. Thanks David - always happy to oblige. It was 73 miles to Wyke Regis so at 40 mph I think maybe four hours, including stops to look at things.
By midday on day 4 it must be said the torrential rain seemed to be lessening down to merely pouring, and small patches of blue were to be seen. So on with the Oxford Montreal suit, load up the bike and it was down to just spitting. At about one I set off.
The open bridge in Bath to cross to the south side was closed for works so I had to use the toll bridge in Bath Eastern. The queue was massive. I did smile as the Innova drifted past the Range Rovers, Porsches, Jags and nowadays Teslas that are common in Bath, to the front of the queue. To make it worse it seemed to take me ages to get the toll from out of the suit. I could feel those Range Rover eyes on my back. I noticed I paid the same toll as the cars.
Call it Karma, within 200m of the bridge the heavens opened to deluge level and soon rose to biblical. As I rode up a steep hill it was as if I was riding up a powerful white-water river. With feet down for balance they were getting swept back by the pressure of the water. The drains just could not cope so the overflow used the road surface. Up past the University entrance, on to an equally steep hill down which was worse. I hid under a tree.
Things subsided fairly quickly and I was away tentatively on wet roads heading for Froome. The biggest problem now was spray off lorries and cars though no hearses.
Around Froome I picked up what turned out to be a lovely lovely B road, the B3092. This runs through from Froome to Dorchester and all of the above mentioned scenic villages.
We went to Somerset
Into Wiltshire
And finally on to Dorset
I stop on the way for a snack in the small town of Gillingham. The road is sublime.
It takes me nearly all the way to Dorchester. The weather by this time was getting better and there were points where I was wishing I had an empty top box so I could stow my heavy duty Oxford Montreal touring outfit, which while brilliant in performance does not pack up that small.
After Dorchester things stared to get busy with August south coast holiday traffic. So it was in with the left ear Bluetooth bud and Molly Google whispered me all the way to Nige's place in Wyke Regis.
Good to see Nige, a man just recently back from his third tour of places we can't talk of, helping the British Army. We spent the night catching up in the social club.
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Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 1
Mick's first day is a simple affair. Load up the Innova, head out and ride.
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 2
Rev.Mick! sums up his arrival back into Wales.
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 3
Mick is having a ride out with a friend, into the wilderness of Bristol. Can a vintage Velocette and a 125 complete the epic crossing of the Severn River?
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 4
Mick receives the soaking of a lifetime before finding the wondrous beauty of Dorset. Beyond that he could tell you but he'd have to kill you.
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 5
Mick finds his way around Dorset using every back road he can find. For himself and the Innova this is a perfect match made in heaven.
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 6 (And 7 And 8)
Mick is having one of "those" days as his tour of south west England continues. Not to worry, there's still much to see and think about before reaching the haven of family.
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 9 (And Some 8)
After trains and repairs Rev. Mick! is back on two wheels. He seems to be having a fabulous time returning to the haunts of his youth.
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 10 (And 11)
It looks as though Armageddon is on Rev. Mick!'s horizon and yet another fine day is to be found on the UK's roads. When you're touring Innova style there's nothing can stop you.
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 12
Heading homewards Rev. Mick! takes us to a special place in his motorcycling career - "The Road" - after encountering a town filled with drunkards and streets laced with MAMILs. Nothing seems mundane in Mick's world.
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 13
In typical chilled out fashion Rev. Mick! is making his way slowly towards the ferry. There's still plenty of time to explore ever more back roads and to dine well. It's a hard life.
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 14
After an epic 2 weeks of touring southern England Rev! Mick is making his way home.
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Travel StoriesFarewell to England Tour 2021