Gospel Pass, Feb 2016

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  • #15766
    elessimo
    Participant

    I needed to do a proper ride-out to see how the new K&N filter had affected the Yam’s fuelling, so set out on a cold Sunday towards Hay-On-Wye: applied a few psi to the tyres, donned a pair of shades to counteract the grey gloom of the February clouds and chose a mostly B-road route.

    First stop was the trusty Steel Horse Cafe for a coffee, but I never made it through the door. Instead I got waylaid by a 6’5″ Polish biker called Big Bart, a Super Ten rider: had a good chat about the intrinsic superiority of Yamahas over Beemers then ended up showing him the scenic way to Hay.

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    Steel Horse Cafe

    This was back to my old stomping ground from when I lived in Hereford: one year we kept 24/7 watch on a peregrine scrape on the cliffs at Cwmyoy for 4 months, suspecting egg-stealers – we were tooled up with radios from the SAS, a powerful loudhailer and searchlight torches: scared a few innocent climbers shitless… then found that the tiercel was playing away, regularly deserting his Cwmyoy falcon and clutch of eggs to go off with a gorgeous looking female for days at a time. So much for raptor life-long pairing! ;D
    Think the H2R is fast?  Peregrines have been recorded stooping at 242mph…..

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    Cwmyoy cliffs

    After winding past Llanthony Priory  and Capel y-Ffin through the narrow, mud-covered lane and over the cattle grid, the view opens up – Twmpa, more commonly called Lord Hereford’s Knob, on the left with Hay Bluff on the right.

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    Going up Gospel Pass

    Up through Gospel Pass and down the other side, overlooking the Vale of Ewyas, (near Hobbiton, apparently).

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    The Vale of Ewyas

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    Under Lord Hereford’s Knob

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    No traffic…

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    It’s all downhill to Hay-on-Wye

    Into Hay then back down the Golden Valley, where Bart split off and made his way back to Evesham. Past Kilpec Church, ignoring the call of those sexy sheela-na-gigs, down into Monmouth and back up into the Forest: 90 miles of muddy B-roads, not a dual carriageway in sight. And still no rain. Result!

    Well, the fuelling seems pretty good: that K&N filter improves pickup so that the last remnants of snatchiness are almost gone…. But the tyres are still on their way out: one slide on gravel (allowed) and one on dry tarmac (not clever) reminded me not to skimp on rubber this year….    8)

    #69040
    Radar
    Moderator

    Great to see the K&N’s have done the trick. Looks like a decent ride out too, great pictures. Itching to get out there myself!

    #69041
    elessimo
    Participant

    Great to see the K&N’s have done the trick. Looks like a decent ride out too, great pictures. Itching to get out there myself!

    Radar, you’d have loved the lane leading to Gospel Pass: the tarmac getting proportionately less as the ratio of red mud and gravel increased…. Your Ducati would have loved it….  ;D

    Lovely ride though….        8)

    #69042
    Radar
    Moderator

    Great to see the K&N’s have done the trick. Looks like a decent ride out too, great pictures. Itching to get out there myself!

    Radar, you’d have loved the lane leading to Gospel Pass: the tarmac getting proportionately less as the ratio of red mud and gravel increased…. Your Ducati would have loved it….  ;D

    Lovely ride though….        8)

    Thumper has a habit of heading off down dirt tracks on his sodding GS leaving me floundering on my Italian thoroughbred…I could do without you getting up to the same antics!

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