Mapping out the future
What do you do when you can’t ride? You plan instead...
It’s been a funny old start to the riding season. Well, I say ‘start’, but I’m yet to turn a wheel on my long-term test bike. Like the bulk of the UK, and along with the rest of the MCN team, I’m currently working from home and the only two-wheeled action I’ve seen of late, is my daily hour of exercise. I’ve swapped from an engine to pedal power for that, but at least my fitness is improving and there’s a fighting chance that I’ll fit in my leathers, when the need arises. Talk about bad timing, I was due to collect my BMW F900XR TE the week we went into lockdown. So rather than getting to grips with the parallel twinned beauty, I’ve spent the last few weeks reading the reviews of our Road Test team and busy planning, for when my riding gear can come out of storage. One review caught my eye, the recent MCN250, where the Beemer was pitched against the Yamaha Tracer 900GT, a former long-termer of mine. Our Chief Road Tester, Neevesy, put both bikes through their paces and I was particularly interested to read that the power delivery of the 103bhp XR is far more docile than that of the slightly more powerful, three-cylindered, Tracer. This will be something that should suit my riding style, I’m not a throttle happy rider and love the characteristics that twins offer. But one thing that was highlighted was that the XR isn’t as roomy as the 900GT, which is a slight concern, as I’ve signed up to take part in the Round Britain Rally (take a look at www. roundbritainrally.co.uk if you want to find out more). It will see me spend hours in the saddle, as I tour the country to take snaps of me (and the bike) at landmarks all over the United Kingdom.
I’d paid my £35 entry fee, been issued with the country-wide list of landmarks and with the Rally supposed to start at the beginning of April, rather than the last few weekends being out on the road, I’ve been poring over maps instead. I’ve planned for the XR to come with a satnav, but for now I’m taking my time to plot the best routes the old-fashioned way, working out how I can cover off the most landmarks in the shortest period. As soon as the bike arrives, I’ll use all my technical wizardry to load the satnav with my desired routes, kit up the Beemer with some essentials and then just disappear for a couple of weeks!