6th March 2022 - Mercian King of Mercia - Loch More loop

 Had a lovely afternoon out and about on the gravel out in the flow country around Loch More and to the west towards Altnabreac. Roads were pretty good and while there was a strong westerly wind at times, it was such a nice sunny day for a change.

This KOM handles this type of rough roads even nicer than my other KOM with the road geo and that was really nice on the dirt. It is to do with maybe fitting that little bit better but must in large be down to the more stable angled geometry. Slightly wider and higher volume tyres on this one, Rivendell/Planet X, Roly Polys in 30mm by Panaracer. The tyres worked well on all surfaces, which range from hard blue metal in the dirt which requires riding the edge of the road where the occasional car flattens it all out through to a sort of slick clay which is very fast and grippy when ridden near the edge then an orange sand type clay mix along with hard packed dirt embedded with big rocks, with all of these being well potholed. It's all relative to being ridden sensibly I must add as I was motoring along but I wasn't racing Strade Bianchi.
The SKS mudguards worked well as when I got home I barely had any mud/dirt on the underside as well.
So a really nice afternoons riding in some nice weather! Long may it continue.

Jamie

27th February 2022 - Non acoustic bike joins the stable - Royal Enfield 500 Classic

 Well a non bicycle weekend this time.

Well a few people know I have had my BMW motorbike for sale for a short while as had been looking at getting something a bit lighter and smaller as my days of doing distance touring regularly are gone. I had been looking for a Royal Enfield 500 Classic for a while but since stopping production they are harder and harder to find. Well I found one not too far away for a very good price and went and rode it, loved it, bought it, yesterday. 700 miles only, as new.

Thanks to my lovely wife for helping me with this.

Not to worry, while I will put up the odd post about the motorcycle it will still primarily be about my bicycles ;)

Jamie

13th February 2022 - Loch Meig ride - King of Mercia - with Brian

 Out today with Brian making the most of the calm weather after weeks of storms, rain and snow showers.

We spent the afternoon out through the quiet backroads and some dirt trails around Meig Dam up here in the Highlands.
Roads were still a bit damp and the dirt a boggy and slippery in places but great to be out after a very quiet fortnight.
The King of Mercia was its usual well behaved and very capable self. The roads were pretty good really with some rough patches, the usual gravel but not as potholed as the busier roads have become. Still lots of debris on the road from all the storms but overall still nice riding.
We explored a few of the trails as much as we could but most were still quite wet once you got well into them.
Thankfully Brian had brought his Thermos with coffee which was very welcome as the temp must have been only a few degrees at most but dropped rapidly as the afternoon wore on.
Another nice afternoons riding.

Jamie

30th January 2022 - Local ride - Mercian King of Mercia Tourer

 A couple of photos from yesterdays ride out once again on the Mercian.

After the storms of the last few days and then pulling out of the Highland group ride with Brian down on the Black Isle due to weather, I thought I should make the most of the small window of calm, non raining weather on Sunday.
I had intended to stick to the backroads and head south west before looping home to the west, but the forecast rain showers turning to heavy rain were closing in from the distance so I actually did a loop in the opposite direction, following a well worn lockdown loop, turning each time I could see the rain closing in, until after a couple of hours I had to hightail it home pretty swiftly. Needed to make the most of it as the weeks forecast is breezy and wet to say the least.
At least I made the most and got a nice ride in, some roads were damp and some were wet from just missed showers but always good to be riding.
I am really enjoying being back out on this Mercian and am glad to say I definitely sold the right one. While I put lots of miles on the other one and loved them, this one just fits better and rides a bit nicer. It was always a keeper but sometimes it is nice to just ride it and confirm your thoughts.

Jamie

23rd January 2022 - Local ride, same roads different bike - Mercian King of Mercia tourer

 A couple of photos from this afternoon’s ride on the Mercian, this time. Same roads as yesterday.

Put some new guards and my old bigger rack from the other Mercian to ready it for winter commuting duties, especially if the weather stays like this.

Runs so lovely and effortlessly, have finally got the setup just right I think. Though I will wait to wrap the bars properly once I am certain.

Jamie