Bob & Betty go British

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

Today we took part in an annual motorcycling event run by the Ace Cafe. The Ace Cafe is an institution in London that attracts motorcycling enthusiasts from all over the world. Every year they have a huge ride to Brighton and take over the beach front with stalls and motorcycles. We made our way up to the Cafe for 10am and found thousands of bikes ready for the big ride. We took off pretty much immediately and headed off down the motorways. People lined the side of the roads and stood on the bridges over the road to wave and cheer. It was sort of cool and very very loud. We tended to create traffic jams where ever we were. With so many bikes in the one place, plus the usual Brighton crowd, plus the fact that it was a beautiful day, it was a little busy.

Brighton was not as nice as I expected. It actually seemed a little shabby. There was a distinct lack of greenery and lots of very white buildings which would make the place quite oppressive in summer. Perhaps we were in the wrong area, but it was definitely down market. The beach has no sand, although the council had shipped in a bit to keep the kids happy. The sea was blue and sparkling and there were lots of little sailing ships on the water. The Fun Park on the Pier was also in full swing. We got some fish and chips, wandered along the water front and then decided that it was too hot and crowded and we'd be better off heading home. We drove along the coast for a bit and saw some white cliffs and possibly the more salubrious areas of Brighton - the houses were whiter, and the cars were more expensive. Golf and kite flying seemed to be the sport of the day.

After tracking down a toilet we headed for home. Robert set the Satellite Navigation system to take us home without the motorway (Robert's latest toy purchase, the Tom Tom Rider is specially designed to be mounted to a motorbike, is waterproof and has a special helmet insert so you can hear the instructions. Of course, you can use it in the car too!). Now we're completely exhausted. I think we'd better have a quiet week or our weekend in Brussels at the 5 star hotel will be spent in bed sleeping.

Oh, and I forgot to mention a couple of things. I got on my bicycle for the first time last Sunday. The weather was improving and so we went on a ride around Chelsea and Battersea. That's where those photos came from on Flickr. Also, yesterday we went to the Wimbledon Farmer's market. We bought lots of cheese (including buffalo), tasty non-wheat bread, organic vegies, pork, lamb and bacon. Looking forward to the difference that all this organic stuff is meant to make to the taste of things. If nothing else we can feel good for buying from the small producers rather than the big retailers.

After a weekend of almost perfect weather, I just hope we get more of it for a few more weeks yet. At the moment it seems that summer is back for a little while.

posted by Elisabeth @ 9:18 PM