The GSX 1400 Goes To Essex

This weekend we took the gsx1400 on is first 'tour'. I use the word loosely as it was really just an excuse to see the family in Essex (300 miles away) and try out the hard luggage.

The main problem we found was that with the luggage, the bike was nearly as wide as a car, which meant filtering 2 up safely would be darn near impossible. This was a shame as filtering would have come in handy on the A303 as it was solid traffic for 10 miles and put us 1.5hrs behind schedule, getting on the M25 at 1530, just in time for rush hour. Much swearing ensued.

The bike itself was brilliant, through all the stopping and starting it didn't miss a beat or overheat, it just took it all in its stride. The same could not be said for the riders unfortunately. Slow riding, especially 2 up stop/start is just about the hardest thing to do - your clutch hand is knackered and you've got to keep the bike balanced and control the speed with the back brake. Not fun for the driver and very tiring, so we had to stop more often so he could have a break and we both needed to stretch.

Anyway, we got there after a record 8.5hrs and the sat nav worked well, just 1 little hiccup when after our first pit stop it decided it wanted to go home, but that was easily sorted and only took us out of our way for a couple of miles. I'm sure we would have gone wrong without it in the back and beyond of Essex, it gives a lot of security knowing for sure that you are on the right road as well as counting down the last miles of the trip.

The trip back was better, just some Sunday lunchtime traffic on the M25 to contend with, smooth sailing apart from that. It took 6.5hrs to get home, but this was because we stopped for at least an hour for lunch and our other stops were quite leisurely. Once again the GSX was perfectly behaved, we are really pleased with it.

I have suggested that for future small trips, we take the soft luggage, tank bag and top box so we can filter through traffic easier and just use the panniers for longer journeys.

Car Hire at Heathrow Airport?

What's the easiest way to get to Heathrow airport?

I'm not too keen on allocating ridiculous amounts of money on parking for two weeks and I'll probably be worried that something will happen to my car whilst I'm away. I think I've been watching too many 70's cop shows where bad guys nick cars from car parks with little effort. I'm sure security is perfectly adequate though and I'm being paranoid, but I can't help it.

I also can't find any buses or trains which will get me there when I need to be, I'm not good at waiting about for 6 hours in airports, I get frustrated and annoyed.

I was thinking I might have to take the plunge and hire a car to Heathrow airport. At least I can have more of a say in when I travel. It'll also give me a chance to drive a new car which will be interesting. I'll probably need something quite roomy with all the luggage I inevitably end up taking away with me. I probably wouldn't be able to see out of my little car once it was loaded up.

Luckily the holiday isn't for a while yet so there's time to consider my options.

How To Cool The Climate

With all the talk about global warming these days, msnbc have done a little featurette on some of the more desperate measures scientists have come up with to cool the planet.

It contains ideas such as sprinkling the atmosphere with volcanic dust, carbon sinks, seeding the ocean with iron ore, building huge artificial trees to trap CO2 and launching solar umbrellas. It also explains briefly the idea behind each one and their respective drawbacks.

It will be interesting to look back later on and see which, if any were used and what other methods were employed.