A great day out with Superior Motorcycle Experiences
So, if you had told me at the start of the year that I would be getting up at 5:45am to drive through the tail end of some tropical storm or other to go and ride Enfield Himalayans in Dorset, in a Covid secure and socially distanced manner there's a good chance that I may have suggested you sought urgent medical help, but hey - it has been a very unexpected year.
I went with four other characters with whom I enjoy spending my time, and with whom I particularly enjoy motorcycle adventures. It would be fair to say that we are all used to bikes with a bit more power than the Himalayan.
James, Emily and George are very welcoming, and once we all found the correct starting point the breakfast and hot drinks went down well.
We all then climbed into a variety of amusing bike kit of our own - with some boots borrowed from Superior Motorcycle Experiences and set off somewhat nervously. I have to say that the pair of Sealskinz socks I bought were awesome (www.sealskinz.com) as were my waterproof RFX4 Gloves made by Five (www.five-gloves.com). I may have spent the day looking like a teletubbie, but I was warm and relatively dry.
The day was progressive and as the weather was pretty awful in the morning we didn't see some of the stunning Dorset views we might otherwise have. We did pass through a lot of very picturesque villages and ride some lanes that were pretty interesting themselves in between off road sections.
Morning coffee was welcome out on the road, as was the chance to add a few more calories for fuel, overlooked by the Cerne Giant. One of the Himalayans apparently felt a bit tired at this point and decided to have a lie down - only proving how robust they really are!
Then on for more mud and rocks for a couple of hours before lunch. At one point the sun came out, my spirits lifted, and then James led us in the opposite direction back into the rain...ah well.
There were some wet bits, and some wetter bits.
After a great lunch we headed out for a bit more, the weather continued to improve, and the day ended with some great views.
As a group of almost total novice off-road riders we all learned loads - and James is great at explaining what is coming next and how to deal with it. What we also gained was on road experience riding on lanes strewn with mud, gravel and leaves, recognsising that normally we would either avoid it or feel much less relaxed than we were - great for contining to improve your skills.
The Himalayans are good fun - given that I spent most of the day in 1st or 2nd Gear, and only briefly hit 60mph at one stage (on tarmac!) the horsepower to grin ratio was high for sure.
And the experience? - we all loved it. We'd go back for sure, we'd love to go to the Pyrenees with these guys (which they also do). We were still talking about it days later (and I still ache from all the time standing up on the pegs, but that's my fitness not anything else).
So, thanks again to James, Emily and George. Thanks to the Himalayans for being a right laugh, and thanks to Dorset for being wet and muddy.
Most of the photos are courtesy of James and Emily at Superior Motorcycle Experiences.
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