I’ve been fortunate enough to have visited England a few times on business over the past couple years and each time I’m here, I think about how cool it would be to tour the countryside on a motorcycle. While I was planning my current visit, I did a search on motorcycle rentals in Cornwall and was pleased to find a place called Cornish Wheels in a town called Redruth. I sent an email with several questions to their info address and within a day or two I heard back from David, who runs the joint. He told me about the kinds of bikes they have, the cost (rental, insurance and gear), and what sort of documents he’d need for the rental.
The weather was promising for the weekend so I went ahead and told David I’d be there at 9am on Saturday to pick up the bike. He opened up the shop and pulled out the bike I’d requested, a 2008 Triumph Bonneville America. I’d never ridden a Triumph before, but I’d heard good things about them. Besides, one should ride an English bike when in England, right? He also loaned me a great Harris riding coat, gloves, and a helmet. I would’ve loved to have had my own helmet since the “Large” helmets he had, weren’t. I really didn’t want to lug a helmet across the pond for one day of riding, but judging from the headache I had when I was done for the day, it probably would’ve been worth it.
We got the paperwork taken care of, David did an inspection on the bike and I got suited up for the ride. I told him that I was planning on heading down to Land’s End, so he suggested that I first head over toward St. Ives and head down the coastal highway. He said that the scenery was beautiful and that it was a great ride apart from the tourist traffic and farm vehicles during the summer. David gave me a couple pointers for riding in England, specifically Cornwall, where the hedgerows are walls of rock hidden by bushes. In some parts of the country a rider can possibly make an emergency ditch into a hedgerow. Not Cornwall. You’ll just bounce off the hedgerow and end up getting clobbered by the oncoming threat anyway.
David offered to have me follow him out to the A30, where I started my day of riding. He broke off and I proceeded south for a few miles getting use to the Triumph on a good road. Turing west on the A3074, I moved on into St. Ives. I cruised through town and took in the sights until coming to the B3306 where I turned south again and began to ride along the West Cornwall coastline. I really didn’t have any particular plan on this ride other than to follow my nose and keep the ocean on my right. I had to have the bike back at 6pm, so I had about eight hours to see what I could see.
I’d left the hotel before breakfast was served so by now I was starting to get hungry. Naturally, being in Cornwall, I started looking for somewhere that I could have a “proper” Cornish Cream Tea. This isn’t just tea with cream in it. A Cream Tea is a scone or two split horizontally and topped with fruit jam and a healthy splat of clotted cream (another Cornwall specialty). It’s usually served with a pot of tea as well. Not too far away from St. Ives, I came across Rosemergy Cream Teas. Rosemergy is a small holiday hamlet tucked in below the cliffs of West Cornwall and has a great view of the ocean only about a mile away. I stopped in and ordered a Cream Tea and took a seat outside to enjoy the sunshine and the view. Jane, the owner, gave me several suggestions of nearby places to see.
Heading back out on the B3306, I began to really enjoy the ride as I was getting use to the bike and the roads. The curves were awesome! One thing to keep in mind about “B” roads when riding a motorcycle; you won’t “B” in 5th gear very often, if ever! There weren’t any switchbacks since I wasn’t climbing any hills, but there are both sweeping and sharp curves as the road cuts through the hedgerows that have been there for centuries. Some places on the B3306 were wide enough for two cars to comfortably pass through. Other places aren’t quite so wide. There were several times when I had to stop and tuck up tight to the hedgerow to allow an oncoming car to pass without getting clocked by their mirror. Just about all of the Brit drivers that I’ve come across are very courteous, pulling over to allow you to pass and waving when somebody does that for them.
The Cornish coast is rugged and there are great little towns to ride through. Sennen Cove has a great beach where I saw a lot of surfers, and they also have a working harbor for various fishing boats to use. The view from Land’s End was great as well, but really, the only thing different about it was that it is the western-most point in the UK. There are several shops and café’s, and a sign that pointed to New York with a distance of 3147 miles away. I even had a little vision of home, too, when I saw a guy taking pictures with a Steelers shirt on!
Continuing along the coastline, I broke off of the B3306 to ride down a very tight lane to Lamorna Cove where I saw some divers coming out of the water. I snapped a couple pictures and got back out on the road and rode on into Penzance (as in “Pirates of”). The tide was out, so I took a couple pictures of all of the boats in the harbor sitting up on the mud. Riding on out to Marazion, I parked and walked out to St. Michael’s Mount, about 400 yards offshore. At low tide, you can walk out to the island on a causeway.
The castle was closed, so I went back to the bike and headed off again. Still keeping the water on my right I pushed on toward “The Lizard,” a peninsula in Cornwall which holds the most southern part of England. Lizard Point was a great place to park the bike and walk around. The scenery was spectacular with high rugged cliffs, a big lighthouse, and the western English Channel spread out in front of me.
Pictures taken, I had to start making my way back toward Redruth. Taking a northerly course, I rolled through several small towns and some great countryside. After stopping for a cup of tea (hey, when in England…) and getting a suggestion to visit the Truro Cathedral from a couple blokes in a pub, I headed that way. Truro is a great town and the Cathedral is indeed grand. It’s also relatively new, as far as European cathedrals go. The foundations stones were laid in 1880 and the Nave was dedicated in 1903. I was invited in for a quick look around by a gentleman coming in for their worship service which would be starting shortly.
I walked around town for a short time and took a couple more pictures, then it was time to head back to Redruth. A “petrol” stop set me back around $20, and I pulled back into Cornish Wheels at 6pm.
What a way to spend a day in England! I got to see a lot of beautiful countryside, speak with some locals, and get some serious riding in. The Triumph was a great bike; it's comfortable, easy to handle, and had plenty of power and speed when I needed it. It was probably the easiest-shifting bike I’d ever ridden, too. The brakes were superb, and they got a heavy workout on my ride. In fact, when I was sitting in church this morning I realized that my right forearm was a little sore – probably from all the brake squeezing I was doing on those great roads! The bike (with insurance) only set me back $183, within a few dollars of what I paid for the Electra Glide I rented in Branson this summer.
I had the bike for about eight hours, and I was probably on the road close to six and a half of those. You’d think those hours would pile up the miles, but you’d be wrong. When I pulled back into Cornish Wheels, I only had 118 miles on the trip counter. Even though I was underway for most of the day, I spent most of that time doing around 30 mph. That really indicates what kinds of roads they have in Cornwall; you just can’t open it up without seriously endangering your life. Sport bike riders would have a field day here if the roads were closed for a race, but flying around totally blind corners on roads that are barely single-lane size back in the states would probably not end well.
So if you’re ever in England, be sure and look into renting a bike for a day or two and check out this beautiful country while enjoying a ride that you won’t soon forget. If your trip takes you into Cornwall, look up David’s shop at www.cornishwheels.com.
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