I was detoured in Dove Holes heading for Buxton on Sunday morning due to the road closure for one of the accidents - guessed it must have been a bad one due to the closure. At the point the diversion returned us to the main road, the Police were just letting a group of a couple of dozen or more bikes out of the closed access area.

The road there is, at most, a 50 limit & not that many side roads or challenging bends. The Buxton-Leek road is also a 50 limit while within Derbyshire - it goes National Speed limit when you cross into Staffordshire.

Increasingly seems that many motorcyclists think that any limits, road markings etc. don't apply to them & rely on oncoming traffic to take avoiding action to miss them when they ovetake into blind bends on the wrong side of double white lines. The Dove Holes detour was along a narrow, twisty back road with dry stone walls close to the road on both sides. Traffic was heavy and slow moving, but that didn't stop several bikes pushing past when they could not see what was comming & with no where for them to get out of the way of oncoming traffic. Later on that day had another bike overtake in a 40 area on the wrong side of double whites over a level crossing !

There are some nice roads around there, but I tend to use it as a corridor out of my neck of the woods to get south, rather than as a destination in itself - particularly at weekends. Dawdling "Sunday driver" cars & aggressive bikes don't make for a relaxing ride.

Our ride was a back roads bimble to Ross on Wye for an overnight stop, then return the next day. Still running in on the Himalayan but up to 4000 rpm now, so comfortable cruising at 50 mph. Apart form a bit of drizzle in couple of places, stayed far enough East yesterday to avoid the rain that arrived an hour or so after we got home.

With nearly 1000 miles on now the Himalayan is feeling noticably freer. The riding position is more comfortable on my duff hip than the Classic 500, but seems a bit harder on my hands. The seat is the biggest comfort issue, though - too soft & compacts down after a couple of hours so I'm sat on the seat pan. You would have thought that in 2024 it would not be beyond the wit of a manufacturer to make a comfortable seat !

Nigel B.