Page 42 - 2022-08-01 RiDE

THE RIDE
OFFEE ALWAYS TASTES better
when accompanied by a view. Little
wonder then that my Americano is
going down so well as I lean back
on the bench outside The Man of
Ross public house, transfixed by the
sight of the river Wye’s flood plain
C below. The view is framed in the
foreground by pastel-coloured Georgian houses and, to
the north, by a ridge of hills rising up from the distant
river valley. And that’s where we’re heading, for a
100-mile jaunt through the spectacular scenery of
Herefordshire and neighbouring Worcestershire.
I’ve travelled through this area many times on route to
South Wales but I’ve never actually taken the time to
explore this western edge of England — much to my
shame. It’s an area rich in ancient landscapes, feudal
history and, as photographer Jason and I are about to
find out, roads well worth making the effort to ride.
We drift out of Ross-on-Wye, across the river we’ll
encounter again several times throughout the day, over
the busy A40 and onto the more interesting A49 that’ll
take us north to Hoarwithy and Hereford. The 49 is the
perfect start to our mini tour — a flowing trunk road with
ample overtaking opportunities, peppered by enough
long-radius turns to keep things interesting.
Although the surrounding countryside is distinctly
English in feel — lush hedgerows separate fields, now
two-feet deep in ripening wheat or barley — every now
and then we pass a road sign confirming just how close
we are to the border with Wales: Abergavenny 10;
Llangua 5. But we’re not stepping outside England today.
The traffic’s light as we waft towards Hereford; it’s
mid-week in term time, so caravans and tourists have
yet to clog the county’s arteries (it’ll be a different story
42 SEPTEMBER 2022
ü Suzuki’s throughout summer…). Only the occasional delivery van
GSX-S1000 GT is or farm vehicle threaten to frustrate our pace. Not that
perfect for a ride any of the aforementioned are an issue for the bike
across England
then to enjoy the beneath me...
local roads I’ve borrowed editor Matt’s Suzuki GSX-S1000GT for
the trip, so surgical overtakes are only a twist of the right
grip away. Imagine the stomp of a superbike and the
handling of a seriously sorted roadster coupled with the
comfort and practicality of a tourer and you’ll
understand the GSX-S GT. By the time I get home, I’ll
have covered more than 900 miles in two days on this
Suzuki — every one of them a delight.
Soon we’re in Hereford, once the Saxon capital of West
Mercia. The city’s location has been a curse as much as a
blessing over the centuries — this strategically important
settlement was razed to the ground by a Welsh-Viking
alliance in 1056 but luckily, conflict is no longer a worry
for the 60,000-strong townsfolk.
Today we’ve no time to explore (if you’ve got an hour
or two there’s much to see, including the magnificent
cathedral). Our route demands that we again cross the
ü Ross-on-Wye river Wye before steering around the town to pick up
retains plenty of the A438 for Dormington and Stoke Edith. The 438
character from offers a similarly fluid pace to the A49 but with wider
days gone by
vistas of the river Wye’s flood plain sandwiched
between ever-more impressive hills that now feel
within touching distance.
By Dormington, hedges start to make way for dry-
stone walls and wooded verges that envelope the road
in vivid green canopies. The GSX-S makes light work
p Making the of the frequent straights so, before long, we’ve reached
most of the fast Perton and our cue to leave the 438. We hang a left
and flowing A44 onto a well-surfaced minor road to Yarkhill. I’m
on the run down
through having a blast on the Suzuki but limited visibility, due
Knightwick to high hedges and the risk of encountering a