Cylindric

Nice one Time for some nice long rides in our glorious summers. But get some waterproofs just in case...

Who doesn't?

Ah, it's nothing - just once you're used to one platform a new one looks wonky, then when you get into that it's the next one that does :-) it's the community that matters* (* and clearly an XJ6 community beats any other)

That "proboards" one? I'll go have a look. Not a big fan of the proboards layout, it must be said... Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

I think I'll also have to look into some sort of luggage options, because I don't really fancy spending 2x9 hours or more on the bike riding with a big heavy rucksack on my back. From what I've seen, hard luggage isn't an option as it looks too expensive, but perhaps some sort of throw-over saddle-bags or even just a bigger tank-bag. Even a top-box requires a mounting plate as the XJ6 doesn't have a rack on the back already. Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Heh, cheers, that'll explain why Google didn't help me much.

S-M-D?

Yeah, not an option really. Tickets are booked and time off work is limited too. I'm tied to Calais now.

The default route suggested by Google (the bit after Calais anyway) is 200 miles and takes about 3½ hours. I'll be getting to Calais at about 09:11, so allowing time to de-train I'm guessing about 09:30. There's no set time I need to be in Leiden, it's an informal social gathering, but I think I'd like to get there for 2pm at the latest, as that allows a bit of contingency for little diversions. So that gives me about 5 hours. That'll probably mean sticking to the main route most of the way, and popping off it for one or two stretches where it looks more interesting. I think that puts my options at: going a bit more coastal to Oostende, then over the Western Scheldt, through Flushing. going a bit more in-land The trick will be finding a route that isn't just all hard-core industrial regions

Yeah. Previous longest trip was a London-Hastings thing, about 230 miles in the day. I have been to Leiden many times by air and once by car. Challenge will be to find a nice balance between staying off the motorways and not taking forever to get there. Bit of both, I guess. Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

I always nod, although less often if it's a scooter. What can I say? I'm a bit of a snob. Any bike though. I got plenty of nods from big bikes when I was on my 125. In bad weather I'll nod to damn-near anything moving that's not got a roof. Was in the car a couple of weeks ago, and out of sheer habit nodded at a biker coming the other way. He gave me a positively confused nod back, but I guess he worked out I was just a caged biker Stop and get a number?

So I'm supposed to be going to Leiden in August to meet up with some pals, we try do this once a year or so. Now that I have my grown-up bike, it seems like an ideal opportunity for a little road-trip. I have two choices really, with the current availability of transport: Ferry: Dover-Calais Should cost about £150 in tickets and fuel, about 650 miles of riding in total (half on Friday, half on Sunday) EuroStar: Dover-Calais Should cost about £120 in tickets and fuel, about 550 miles of riding in total (half on Friday, half on Sunday) Those are the direct routes using mostly motorways etc. I'll probably end up ditching that plan and go on more interesting roads. Basically it looks like this:

So it's going to be a great weekend, weather-wise, compared to what we've become used to recently. Is anyone aware of anything interesting going on down in the Home Counties-ish area? Otherwise perhaps a little visit to Box Hill or thereabouts might be in order.

Any chance the calendar could be updated so the date drop-downs aren't limited to 2004, 2005 and 2006? I can type a date in (in US format ) but it would be nice if the date-picker worked, and it might be putting some people off adding events.

Is the calendar just for YOC-specific events, or any bike-related events?