Cambrian Tyres

The CT road trip to watch the WSBK at Silverstone

I had hoped for a leisurely morning on the Saturday, a chance to have a bit of a lie in, then go for a run, get home take my time packing the bike up before heading off to the little campsite I had booked just outside Rugby. But no, that was all thrown out of the window when I found out I was rota’d on to work on the Saturday morning.

Not that I mind the Saturday mornings at work, we’re only in from 08:30 until 12:30 so it’s no huge disruption but it was going to mean my preparations were going to have to be a bit more rushed.

If there is one thing about camping I really love, it’s getting the kit ready for the trip. The night before was spent laying it all out and trying to stuff it all into the Panniers.

I have a pair of Heine Gericke Streetline Style Panniers and at first I was impressed with them, they felt nice and sturdy but when I was packing one of them the Zip pulled away from the fabric in one place and the zip actually buckled, even though it wasn’t stressed at all. Not impressed with them. If I had been straining to close the zip with it bursting and bulging then I would have said, fair enough and thought it my own fault for being too ambitious, but it wasn’t full at all. It had my trusty 23 year old Trangia stove in it and my teeny tiny Snugpak summer weight Softie 3 Merlin which packs down to a size not much bigger than a grapefruit.

At about midnight I had everything laid out and ready to go and so I fell into bed ready for the early start and long day ahead. I needed to get up early to load the bike up and get into work as I was planning on setting off straight after work.

Suffice to say, the bike loading did not go according to plan and has made me really want some better panniers and a top box of some description. I ended up having to take out my nice light-weight camping pillow (yes I am a wuss and leaving it was also a mistake as I later found out) and even after that sacrifice I was still lacking in room on the bike and not happy how it was all strapped on. But, time was running out so I had to just lash everything on and get going and worry about it later.

Work passed, I was champing at the bit to get going and the weather was looking pretty miserable outside, but 12:30 finally came and it was time for the off. Another quick check of the straps and luggage and I was off and heading out along the A44. Now, if you have never been along this road then you really need to. It’s one of the best biking roads in the country. Big sweeping bends a couple of decent straights but more importantly it has stunning views.

After nearly two hours of excellent twisty Welsh roads it was onto the monotony of the dual carriageway and then motorway as I headed over to Rugby. I was following some directions I had printed out off Google and never again am I going to trust these things. I followed it to the letter, I got off at junction 2 got to the first round about and took the first exit and found that the road in the instructions did not exist and I was pretty much instantly lost. When I subsequently got back and checked on the bigger scale map it confirmed that the road mentioned in the directions did not exist. So feeling hot and flustered I pulled up in an old industrial unit car park and failed to notice the drainage gully at the side of the car park. Out went the side stand, I got off and the bike went over. It was slow enough for me to see what was going on but too fast for me to catch it. The wing mirror span off in slow motion to lie some feet away in the gravel. I was too hot to be cross.

I struggled to get the bike up-right again, the Tenere is a big tall bike and it takes a bit of leverage to get it standing. On close inspection the bracket holding the clutch lever and the wind mirror had sheered pretty much in half. Enough of it was on to keep the clutch lever on securely but I was going to have to ride now without my left hand wing mirror which is not as bad as the right hand mirror missing, but disconcerting all the same.

I got the sat nav out and it said I was only a few miles away from the camp site so off I pootled, along the very English back lanes to Lodge Farm Campsite just outside Rugby. And considering it’s proximity to Rugby I was pleasantly surprised. It was very quiet and very clean and very reasonably priced. I had been quoted over £25 per night by some of the campsites right by Silverstone, and I don’t know about you but I object to paying that much to camp. A tenner is much more reasonable and not only that but a tenner for a place like this is brilliant.

By the time I got out of my sweaty bike gear and got the tent pitched it was time to get a brew on and have some food. I had decided against tins and packets and just go with convenience so I had brought a few boil in the bag camping meals. I have used these in the past when out back packing and they are great. No washing up, no mess and the food is very good. So I had boil in the bag sausage and beans, some cheese and a pita bread, followed by boil in the bag chocolate pud in chocolate sauce, all washed down with a cup of filter coffee. If you’re going to camp, there is no need to skimp on the luxuries.

The day was still very hot so I got my Thermarest out and lay in the sun with a cup of earl grey and my book and read for a few hours. I was in heaven. Pigeons were cooing in the trees above me, hover flies lazily buzzing about and the sound of a few well behaved children playing on the otherwise quite campsite. This is how life should be. I have always fancied life as an itinerant traveller on my bike with my tent and I think the life would suit me.

I read until quite late in the evening until the cool of the nigh and the dark forced me inside and it really was not long before I was nodding off. This is when I was missing my Thermarest pillow. They may only be small, but they make such a difference to comfort when camping. Clothes in a stuff sack do not make a brilliant pillow and where-as I was ok doing this in my teens and twenties, I need more comfort in my more advanced years. But saying that, after some experimentation with a fleece and a shemagh I got reasonably comfy and I did not sleep too badly.

I had another early start as I had to be over at my friends house (@scottynewitt), he just happens to also be a customer of ours Vectis Classic Motorcycles and a jolly nice chap. Breakfast consisted of another boil in the bag meal and another filter coffee sat in the morning sun enjoying the sounds of the world coming to life again.

The bike was easier to pack this time as I was not so rushed and after the discomfort of the journey down I was determined to pack it better to give me some more room on the bike. I also decided to not use the Google instructions and just use the sat nav. Now I don’t have a proper bike sat nav system, I was using the Garmin out of the car and I don’t as yet have any power cables set up so I was purely relying on the internal battery holding out. I have it mounted in a Givi bar mounted sat nav holder and while it’s not the best way to mount it as it takes your eyes well away from the road, it’s not too bad. It’s a compromise and it does me for the time being until I can get a decent set up for the bike.

I got over to Scott’s house I had look at the bikes in his garage, a very very nicely restored (by Scott) LC350 which looks mint and will shortly be up for sale and then we headed off for Silverstone which is only about a twenty minute drive from where he lives and works. The roads were already full of bikers heading to the circuit and upon arrival we were greeted with the familiar queues of traffic and the steady stream of bikes going past us all.

I love going to any race circuit, as you get closer you can usually hear action out on track already and we got there just as the Superstock boys where out testing. The noise was awesome, I love that sound! We waited by the now famous George White balloon for the prize winner sam (@ninja_girl76) to arrive with her lift for the day and then we caught the buss and headed off to the paddock area.

Now, if you have never been to the new Silverstone complex and especially the new Silverstone Wing, it’s hard to get a feel for just how big the place is. The fact they have a fleet of free busses to transport people about gives you a hint. The place is massive! A huge attendance at Silverstone would look like a poor turnout at a smaller venue.

We quickly met up with another of the Twitter group (@emmaxsulway) as she was there helping out her friend on the Shoei helmet service stand and after the Pit Walk where we ogled the bikes and tried to spot some of the none existent riders that usually sit out front and have piccies taken with the fans but today were all absent, we all went off to find a good spot to watch the action, which we did, a perfect spot on a bank overlooking Vale and Club Corner.

The World Superbike race was first up and it was a cracker, we could have done with a big screen to keep up with the rest of the action from around the circuit but we had a chap standing behind us with a Silverstone Radio and he kept us up to date with the goings on. Checa won, with Laverty second and Melandri third.

We wandered over to parc ferme to check out the bikes after the race and try to catch sight of the riders and boy did we ever! We were lucky enough to be right by the victor’s car as it took them over to the SBK Show in the paddock.

I love the vibe in the paddock, the constant revving of engines, mopeds being ridden and daft speeds in and out of the crowds, I nearly got taken out by James Toseland at one point. It feels very alive and very much a place for bikers. Great stuff. We also met up with another of the Twitterati in the paddock, one Jared Earle (@jearle). Jared has the most excellent job of being a photographer and reporter for www.motoracereports.com and his Press Pass will get him to places that most of us only dream of. He took time to have a chat with us, showed off his HUGE lens and then headed back over to the media centre for race two. He’s very kindly provided us with a couple of pictures he took at the weekend (of one of my long time hero’s Haga) and I think you will agree they are very very good. More of his work can be seen HERE.

There were of course other races as well so we headed back off to the sunny back to sit in the sun and watch it all. We had the Supersports and more Superstock and the Ninjia 250 cup as well, which although they sounded great when they went past was every five minutes as Silverstone circuit is immense for little bikes like that.

And then it was time for the last WSBk race and in the glorious baking hot sunshine Checa did it again. In fact the result was exactly the same as the first race with Laverty coming in second and Melandri third. I love going to the races, yes you don’t get to see it all in the detail you get on the telly and you don’t get the commentary, but you miss the atmosphere and the camaraderie you get at the races themselves.

Weekends like that are few and far between, the weather was perfect for biking, perfect for camping and perfect for going to watch the races. What would have been a sweaty arduous drive was turned into an adventure purely by going on my bike than in the car.

Great company, great racing, great weekend.

The rest of the pictures can be seen on the Cambrian Tyres Facebook Page