Welcome to the world of
MJR PRODUCTIONS
MJR PRODUCTIONS
Welcome to the world of
MJR PRODUCTIONS
MJR PRODUCTIONS
Original Design by GOEMO.and enhanced by M.J.Roberts
Some people have heated grips on their bikes but as I don't suffer from cold hands I have never felt the need. However, toes are a different matter altogether. As little as a half an hour's riding will have my feet completely numb. Over the years I've tried all sorts of socks and boots, never finding a remedy. The best I've found are my latest addition of Biker socks (and knee tubes) made of Gortex WindStopper material. As good as they are in weather below 10 degrees centigrade I still suffer.
Toasted Tootsies
Suffolk Fire Station Tour
Saturday, 30th August, 2002 - Myself and and my friend Keith Gilbert meet at Princes Street Fire Station in Ipswich to begin a challenge laid down by Suffolk Advanced Motorcyclists' Chairman. Our mission - to visit all 35 fire stations in Suffolk, IN ONE DAY!
To be fair it had started off as an invite from Pat Goodchild (the SAM Chairman) to all SAM members to take part in a sponsored event to raise money for the East Anglian Air Ambulance. The original idea was to visit as many stations as possible during August but being 'quick of mouth' Keith and I voiced the opinion it was too easy and that it could be done in a day. "It'll be at least 350 miles of back-roads" says Pat. The challenge was set.
First thing all boy scouts know - "Be Prepared", so armed with my trusty internet connection I started planning our route. Where the heck are the 35 stations in Suffolk? A quick look on the Suffolk Fire Service web site provided a nice list, complete with addresses and more importantly their postcodes. Next I went to MultiMap's site and entered each of the postcodes and was presented with a map showing exactly where the stations are (well the centre of the postcode area actually). The maps were collated and all that remained was to link a route together to visit them all. This had to be done the old fashioned way with an OS map (and a bit of local knowledge). There are a couple of sites on the internet, and some PC applications that will work out routes for you from A to B but they all tend to either concentrate on main roads or give you so much detail it becomes unmanageable. The order I ended up with was:-
To be fair it had started off as an invite from Pat Goodchild (the SAM Chairman) to all SAM members to take part in a sponsored event to raise money for the East Anglian Air Ambulance. The original idea was to visit as many stations as possible during August but being 'quick of mouth' Keith and I voiced the opinion it was too easy and that it could be done in a day. "It'll be at least 350 miles of back-roads" says Pat. The challenge was set.
First thing all boy scouts know - "Be Prepared", so armed with my trusty internet connection I started planning our route. Where the heck are the 35 stations in Suffolk? A quick look on the Suffolk Fire Service web site provided a nice list, complete with addresses and more importantly their postcodes. Next I went to MultiMap's site and entered each of the postcodes and was presented with a map showing exactly where the stations are (well the centre of the postcode area actually). The maps were collated and all that remained was to link a route together to visit them all. This had to be done the old fashioned way with an OS map (and a bit of local knowledge). There are a couple of sites on the internet, and some PC applications that will work out routes for you from A to B but they all tend to either concentrate on main roads or give you so much detail it becomes unmanageable. The order I ended up with was:-
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I won't bore you with the details of each leg of the journey, only tell you it was a great day out, the weather was lovely and by starting early in the morning the roads were free from traffic (well at the start of the day in any case, and we won't mention the caravans and horse drawn wedding carriage on the A140). When we stopped at Debenham we had just parked the bikes on the station forecourt when we were joined by a guy on a Suzuki GSXR (750 or 1000? - they look the same) as he ran out of braking room for an on coming Land Rover and had to take avoiding action. Yes, the motorcyclist (biker?) was at fault as he was coming round a blind, single track, corner and the Land Rover was hardly moving. With a cheery "Hello" he was on his way again.
Most of the stations were where they were advertised to be, but some of them still took a bit of finding (the ones at Clifton Road, Lowestoft and Clare are little more than what looks like an old garage). Those great big aerials and practice towers were useful on more than one occasion.
We started at just gone 7:00 and finished in Holbrook at 20:00. That's 13 hours including stops for coffee, fodder, petrol and solving some of the clues that had been set for each location. The overall distance was 348 miles!
Most of the stations were where they were advertised to be, but some of them still took a bit of finding (the ones at Clifton Road, Lowestoft and Clare are little more than what looks like an old garage). Those great big aerials and practice towers were useful on more than one occasion.
We started at just gone 7:00 and finished in Holbrook at 20:00. That's 13 hours including stops for coffee, fodder, petrol and solving some of the clues that had been set for each location. The overall distance was 348 miles!
People's generous contributions meant that I raised a total of £110.
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