Please Help The Birmingham Branch

Knocked the door but there doesnât appear to be anyone there! Three emails and no reply.

The Home of Norton and no Branch c'mon guys, what's happening are all the classic and vintage machines now owned by investors?

For myself, I've never seen the attraction in sitting in a pub with the same bunch of people having the same conversations month after month.

Forums are a godsend to me as I don't actually have to meet anyone!

Having said that, I do often enjoy the accidental conversations that are struck up when you park the bike.

I sometimes worry that the internet brings out the worst in people (including me I suspect), and face to face meeting brings out the best...

Previously ian_soady wrote:

For myself, I've never seen the attraction in sitting in a pub with the same bunch of people having the same conversations month after month.

Forums are a godsend to me as I don't actually have to meet anyone!

Having said that, I do often enjoy the accidental conversations that are struck up when you park the bike.

Well, Ian difficult to answer your post... are you the "Taciturn Lone Rider", who... cannot abide people in social occasions, I have heard rumours, that such people exist in shadowy, isolation!

Is this enforced isolation a re-action to mixing with lesser mortals, who exhibit less intelligence?

Perhaps, you prefer the odd spontaneous interaction, because "accidental" conversations are focused on you and your machine and not others! Bit of a rabbit-hole situation, I guess, but then I am not a qualified psychologists, so who really knows and passing judgement, thankfully isn't one of my best fortes!

How do "Greens", interact with one another I wonder? Do they have to wear carnations when they meet?

I am that lone rider!

Almost all my riding has been done alone. On the odd occasions I've ridden with others, it's either a bunch of hooligans risking everyone's lives or a crowd of old duffers creeping along at 25 mph. Nobody here falls into either category I'm sure.

I've toured all over western Europe, as far as Greece and the north of Scotland solo. The advantage to me is that instead of being with a group which often doesn't interact with the local people, if you're on your own you have to engage with them.

I have no view on other members of this forum or the NOC as regards intelligence, but have read a number of posts with which I disagree violently. In general I manage to restrain myself......

I'm not sure what your last reference is intended to mean.

I like solo riding too, had some of my best adventures riding on my own! ... only as far as Italy though. I did hitch hike to Greece once, through Yugoslavia, ...... that was interesting!

From Birmingham to Greece in 8 easy posts!

George

Not hard to go off topic is it!

Previously ian_soady wrote:

I am that lone rider!

Almost all my riding has been done alone. On the odd occasions I've ridden with others, it's either a bunch of hooligans risking everyone's lives or a crowd of old duffers creeping along at 25 mph. Nobody here falls into either category I'm sure.

I've toured all over western Europe, as far as Greece and the north of Scotland solo. The advantage to me is that instead of being with a group which often doesn't interact with the local people, if you're on your own you have to engage with them.

I have no view on other members of this forum or the NOC as regards intelligence, but have read a number of posts with which I disagree violently. In general I manage to restrain myself......

I'm not sure what your last reference is intended to mean.

Apologies Ian it was a tease, what I meant if all the Greens were loners like you and necver saw each other, they would have problems recognising each other if they ever met without a mark of identification!

Use to ride alone most of the time, now have a riding buddy most of the time, and it is amazing what one of us sees and the other doesn't, scenery wise and traffic behaviour wise too!

It is nice when you get somewhere to sit with someone, "chewing the fat", rather than wandering round alone carrying your gear and being looked at by the non-faithful like you have just dropped in from Planet Zog!

It also fun leaving my buddy behind in towns and tricky situations so he has to use the extra 880cc he has to catch me up when the roads are appropriate! Lightness and agility of a machine can pay dividends over absolute cc!

Many TT results prove this too, in Lap times!

Let us all ride to Birmingham individually and then morph into a single sigularity organism of riders to keep the loners happy! Elon Musk has a lot to answer for!