biking in lincolnshire

[Yarders91]

Im moving from the NE of Scotland down to Bardney in Lincolnshire to start work at a new workplace in October this year.
ill be using the bike alot more for commuting whilst im down there but i know nothing about the local area.
can anyone recommend decent bike shops, places to get MOT's without being ripped off, popular biking meeting spots and roads etc?

Id be extremely grateful for any info about that area.

thanks in advance.
Yarders

[bogie]

I will admit to being born in Lincs and still being close by, a few miles across the border

Bardney is a nice location with some good roads in/out of the place. Horncastle is a typical market town and you have Lincoln to the West for all the usual city facilities

Bike shops, for MOT and tyres. There are a few in Lincoln. A mate uses Webbs the triumph dealer, also theotherbikeshop, Jack Machins I know people that go there. There are also a couple of Italian bike dealers, not used them though.

Download the schedule from http://lincolnshirebikenights.com/

Every week multiple pubs across Lincs are running these popular nights, just take your pick for a run out, there are nights specific to cruisers and sportsbikes, sometimes joint nights (at larger venues) These nights are often so busy its a queue to park at 6.30pm at some pubs

Bardney to Willingham (Market Rasen) is a nice run, but not very far, you can go on and do a big loop around once you know your way around. Willingham woods is probably the biggest biker meet in Lincs, Wednesday night is popular, but usually hundreds there any day of the week if the weather is good

http://www.willinghamwoods.com/

There are loads of nice roads across the wolds around Cadwell and beyond. There are no real boring main roads other than the M180 in the North and the odd straight bit of A road. The coast is busy in summer, but stay off the main coast roads and its light traffic. Less than a million people live in Lincs, its one of the least densely populated counties in the UK and generally a nice place to live. So long as you have your employment sorted, which you have

Enjoy the summer exploring...whats left of it, October might still be OK

What bike are you riding ?

Edited by bogie on Wednesday 29th July 18:10

[Yarders91]

bogie said:

I will admit to being born in Lincs and still being close by, a few miles across the border

Bardney is a nice location with some good roads in/out of the place. Horncastle is a typical market town and you have Lincoln to the West for all the usual city facilities

Bike shops, for MOT and tyres. There are a few in Lincoln. A mate uses Webbs the triumph dealer, also theotherbikeshop, Jack Machins I know people that go there. There are also a couple of Italian bike dealers, not used them though.

Download the schedule from http://lincolnshirebikenights.com/

Every week multiple pubs across Lincs are running these popular nights, just take your pick for a run out, there are nights specific to cruisers and sportsbikes, sometimes joint nights (at larger venues) These nights are often so busy its a queue to park at 6.30pm at some pubs

Bardney to Willingham (Market Rasen) is a nice run. Willingham woods is probably the biggest biker meet in Lincs, Wednesday night is popular, but usually hundreds there any day of the week if the weather is good

http://www.willinghamwoods.com/

There are loads of nice roads across the wolds around Cadwell and beyond. The coast is busy in summer, but stay off the main coast roads and its lightly populated. Less than a million people live in Lincs, its one of the least densely populated counties in the UK and generally a nice place to live. So long as you have your employment sorted, which you have

Enjoy the summer exploring

Thankyou very much. I know this one sounds paranoid but what are bike theft crime rates like around there? the house im moving to doesnt have a garage so my bike will be left outside in the back garden untill i can get a shed sorted. am i safe leaving my bike parked up anywhere. or are there any areas to avoid doing this?

im currently riding a mk2 1200 bandit

Edited by Yarders91 on Wednesday 29th July 18:15

[bogie]

Crime in general is very low, and probably one of the cheapest areas for insurance in the country because of that

However, that does not mean your bike will not get stolen if left outside overnight, unlocked in a major town centre. 2 friends and myself have all had bikes nicked in Louth and Lincoln. This was in the 80's and we were a bit naive with security i.e. none other than steering lock

I would like to think that in Bardney, in a back garden, with a cover/chain it will be absolutely fine and no-one will even notice its there

When you are out and about in Lincoln its like any city, I would just just a disc lock if you leave it anywhere

Will keep an eye out for you later in the year then. Theres often a few guys off the forums on modded Bandits together at Willingham....

Edited by bogie on Wednesday 29th July 18:20

[Yarders91]

bogie said:

Crime in general is very low, and probably one of the cheapest areas for insurance in the country because of that

However, that does not mean your bike will not get stolen if left outside overnight, unlocked in a major town centre. 2 friends and myself have all had bikes nicked in Louth and Lincoln. This was in the 80's and we were a bit naive with security i.e. none other than steering lock

I would like to think that in Bardney, in a back garden, with a cover/chain it will be absolutely fine and no-one will even notice its there

When you are out and about in Lincoln its like any city, I would just just a disc lock if you leave it anywhere

thanks. tbh when i ran the insurance quote i was surprised by how much my insurance goes up. but then again insurance up here is very cheap. cant do much about that so hey ho.

[bogie]

wow, you really must have been in far reaches of Scotland if your insurance went up for Lincs !

[StuB]

Some fabulous roads in Lincs, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Some excellent advice already.

[Fleegle]

bogie said:

Willingham woods is probably the biggest biker meet in Lincs, Wednesday night is popular, but usually hundreds there any day of the week if the weather is good

Also popular with the dogging community

[Wedg1e]

It's very flat (apart from Lincoln itself which is built on what anything of that height anywhere else in the country would be termed a wart ) but that has the advantage that you can see what you'll hit from several miles away...

[Yarders91]

bogie said:

wow, you really must have been in far reaches of Scotland if your insurance went up for Lincs !

Not that far in the sticks. Elgin is a city aparrently. Gutted to be leaving as im spoilt with all the good roads on my doorstep.

[bogie]

Fleegle said:

bogie said:

Willingham woods is probably the biggest biker meet in Lincs, Wednesday night is popular, but usually hundreds there any day of the week if the weather is good

Also popular with the dogging community

thats the other side of the woods where its less busy, I can show him around there later

[Yarders91]

bogie said:

thats the other side of the woods where its less busy, I can show him around there later

I dont think the mrs would approve lol.

[bogie]

Yarders91 said:

bogie said:

wow, you really must have been in far reaches of Scotland if your insurance went up for Lincs !

Not that far in the sticks. Elgin is a city aparrently. Gutted to be leaving as im spoilt with all the good roads on my doorstep.

Yeah, Scotland has some of the best roads and again, few people ...maybe 1/3rd of the land mass and 10% of the population = great for petrolheads when its not raining ...havnt been since 2010, had a great 10 days driving holiday last time

here is your new playground. Most of the yellow roads are good, everything that joins them together is better. The green coloured bit is not quite the Highlands, but theres *some* hills

Bardney bends are well known and good fun early in the morning when no-one is about you have the place to yourself, same with pretty much all roads heading out of Louth, except A16 North

Edited by bogie on Wednesday 29th July 20:57

[Fleegle]

And lets not forget how close you will be to Britains best seaside resorts...Cleethorpes and Skegness


You lucky bd

[Yarders91]

bogie said:

Yeah, Scotland has some of the best roads and again, few people ...maybe 1/3rd of the land mass and 10% of the population = great for petrolheads when its not raining ...havnt been since 2010, had a great 10 days driving holiday last time

here is your new playground. Most of the yellow roads are good, everything that joins them together is better. The green coloured bit is not quite the Highlands, but theres *some* hills

Bardney bends are well known and good fun early in the morning when no-one is about you have the place to yourself, same with pretty much all roads heading out of Louth

sounds like summer commuting will be fun then. My workplace will be in tatershall if thats any good indication of some nice roads?

[battered]

It's biker heaven, you will be fine. I grew up near Horncastle, my parents lived there until this year. The crime rate is very low, as others have said once you get out of the larger towns like Lincoln and Grimsby.

One great run out is Horncastle to Caistor up the Caistor High St, lots of sweeping fast bends, mostly good visibility. Just watch for the lorries. Once there it's a short hop to the bridge and Yorkshire or anywhere else.

Also, if and when you go to Cadwell, watch your speed when leaving. The Plod do like to hang around on the main roads N and especially S, watching out for anyone who thinks he's Kevin Schwantz. The accident statistics make sobering reading. There are not many accidents but a large proportion of them are fatalities, and a good number are single vehicle accidents. It reflects the fact that when people leave the road around there they tend to be travelling at some speed, so it's generally more than just a new mirror and a grazed knee. Louth Hospital is no place to be when you have serious injuries, and it's a long way to Nottingham, so ride well within your limits.

[bogie]

Fleegle said:

And lets not forget how close you will be to Britains best seaside resorts...Cleethorpes and Skegness


You lucky bd

No need to go that far east leave those places for the local sheeple, any sign of sun and all roads in and out will be rammed

Mablethorpe during off season for bike sand racing is a good day out though....

Your commute will be great to tattershall, Horncastle and you will soon find longer ways to go around, just dont get too carried away too soon

Like Scotland, when you see white and black chevrons on a bend, it really means a bend

And in some of the flat areas at the sides of the roads are dykes large enough for cars to go in and be undiscovered for days ....many have died over the years in them, as a minor off when no-one is around and you have drowned

Thats enough of the sobering stuff, there are some great routes and its a very biker friendly place. Louth is home to Honda and other race teams, and has big bike events. Theres always something going on at Cadwell at the weekends and evenings too....

Edited by bogie on Wednesday 29th July 21:28

[bogie]

this is your new commute :

http://www.bestbikingroads.com/motorcycle-roads/mo...

your route to the biker meet at Willingham woods

http://www.bestbikingroads.co.uk/motorrad-routen/v...

there you go, you are all sorted for your new job, something to look forward to

Edited by bogie on Wednesday 29th July 21:41

[Yarders91]

Been studying the route google maps has been throwing up and following it on sattelite. Must admit it does look like a fun commute with some nice twisties. But seriously 25 minutes to commute 9 miles? How narrow and congested are the roads round that way?
Also gonna suck doing the twisties in winter. Then again a scottish winter and an english winter are probably very different lol

[bogie]

there is no traffic, it might just be you on your 10 min commute ..roads are plenty wide enough for 2 cars