Back to Basics

This weekend didn't exactly go as planned. I was going to get back to the woods around Netherfield and the Darwell Reservoir with Matt. We had been talking about what to take and about how great it was that the fine weather had lasted this long, but unfortunately the fates seemed to conspire against us. To cut a long story short, it would appear that I'd caught a flat tyre that morning on my way home from town. Drat. We had to wait for quite a while before the RAC mechanic (who, it turned out, was a nice chap) arrived since I was at home and not in any sort of emergency. When he plugged the hole I spoke to the guys at the nearby garage but of course they were closing up shop and wouldn't be able to order a new tyre on Sunday, and they don't open on Monday.

So I've got to wait until Tuesday before I can leave the bike with them, and goodness knows when before I they get a tyre, fit it, and let me know it's ready to be picked up. Between then and now I've got to ride my CG125 to work... how on Earth did I do it comfortably before? At least I hadn't gotten rid of it; otherwise I would have to ask for a lift every day from a colleague or three who live in the area. But riding the CG to work this morning, I saw the stark contrast between big bikes (500cc and up I suppose) and 125s. I believe I may have mentioned how horrible the Zoomer was to ride? Well the CG125 is, of course, a hundred times superior; but after riding the Versys for so many weeks now, I can see how much more control those big bikes really give you. There is the vastly-superior engine braking, the regular braking with a sharper 'bite', the power in the engine takes you to whatever speed you want as quickly or as slowly as you want without complaining, struggling, or simply refusing to go that fast. With a big bike you really do have a hundred times more control over the machine.

When you get your first big bike, your mum will have a heart attack and keep telling you to be careful and to ride slowly and to look out for those idiots on the road; but to be honest she should have been more worried when you were learning how to ride a low-powered machine because once you get a big bike, sure you've got loads of horsepower and torque and perhaps a crazy top-speed, but the bike itself has the capability to keep you safe and stick to the road. Riding to work this morning I felt the CG wobble around in the slightest crosswind, compared to the Versys it takes forever to get up to speed after a corner or from a junction, and I don't think I could take one onto a motorway or dual carriageway with nearly as much confidence as I can with the Versys. That's not to say that the CG is a bad bike or not worth looking at twice; if I had to choose a bike to break-in my riding abilities then it'd be the CG125. It might not be as good as a 500cc+ bike, but it's still safer and more reliable than a scooter or a moped.

In other news; dungeons and dragons went well enough yesterday. I think the guys understood that the adventure was more of an interactive cut scene and less of a traditional adventure. They attempted the assassination of an orc warchief, but found that the warchief was not all that he seemed. I think they may have been a little frustrated because they expected to face an enemy that would be challenging, but still killable. Of course, they had to flee the scene of the orc camp to live to fight another day... but the price of their actions hasn't been measured yet. And they do not yet realise how important these events are to the plot as a whole.

Also, Nick suggested I buy some 40k orks and put together a GorkaMorka mob since he and some others from his d20 Modern/Dark Heresy/WFRP group are planning on starting a GorkaMorka campaign. It might be fun so I said I'd think about it.