Life – it’s like being on speed

Sitting on the decking area of The Two Sisters Cafe just outside Kendal, I think what a contrast from a week ago! It’s a favourite stop off of mine, not least because of the quality of its food (attached to Plumgarth’s Farm shop) but also the friendly service.

As I headed south down the M6 towards the decision making Junction 39, I ponded lunch at either Tebay motorway services, surely the best in the country due to it being privately owned by the farmers on whose land it was built, or the aforementioned Two Sisters. Today it was obviously the latter which won the day, swung by the choice of either the worst road for motorcycling, a motorway, or one of the best, the A6 from Shap to Kendal.

This section of road has been a favourite of mine since the mid 1970s, and I’m so far relieved that it hasn’t succumbed to the trend of slapping a 50mph speed limit on it. However, if today’s traffic flow is becoming typical of the verve by which the motorists use the road, then I fear the inevitable will eventually happen. That being said, I suspect that I was the worst offender of the law. On the motorway I’ll set the cruise control at a boringly just legal limit, but on this section of the A6 such restrictions are null and void. I remind myself that I am no longer the twenty year old riding a 1,000cc Kawasaki, and subdue my enthusiasm with a modicum of age and experience 🤔😬

There is still a juvenile delinquent residing within this creaking exterior, so the mirrors are frequently checked to ensure that even the most spirited of drivers I’ve passed are not lingering behind. As I turn off to Burneside the mirrors reflect nothing but an empty road, the juvenile is satisfied, the adult is…. still immature!

The view ahead is beautiful and I immediately think of Ernie and Jenny, wishing that they could see the lush green drumlins made so bright by the sunshine, this is England!

“What a lovely GS” says the old guy walking onto The Two Sisters decking area, and therein commenced a conversation which lasted thirty minutes discussing bikes, motorhomes, travel and eventually the last two years of my life. I think we parted with a mutual appreciation of life, but my English tea went cold and I was now running late to arrive in Southport. 

Having said that, the time we spend with people is valuable, and if we enjoy that then it’s worth it!