Terry and Mary Ann’s rideout with a difference!

As motorcyclists we have always thought of ourselves and been treated as different from the norm. So when Terry and Mary Ann saw a sign near Brize Norton that pointed the way to a Crocodile Zoo they thought “wow that’s different” and would make a good ride out destination.

So last Sunday saw a few members set off for Pear Tree services to meet up with them for what promised to be a new experience for us all. The day was fine and bright if somewhat on the chilly side, the first thing of note was a good look around Andy’s new 1200 VFR which we all admired and agreed he seems to have bagged a bargain there.

We then set off for what proved to be a wonderful 70ish mile ride Terry had found a route to satisfy and reinforce what makes our passion so great. Several small and pretty villages along the way where riding at the 30 mph limit with the visor up with time to savour the houses, churches and general village attractiveness proved relaxing and good for the soul.

Some nadgery country roads kept our speed down and guessing as to what lay around the corner. But Terry being a true biker we also had several miles of fast sweeping roads where on at least two occasions I saw three figures on the speedo.

We were also treated to some circuit riding what with 2 laps of Chipping Norton so thanks Terry for a great ride. 

We then stopped off at the Burford Little Chef for a comfort break where Andy and Sally took there leave of us before we progressed on to the Zoo.

This turned out to be as good as hoped for with lots of different species of Crocodiles to look at from very small to very large and we were very grateful that we could not get close enough to stroke them, although looking through the glass panels at some very large eyes and teeth gave us the feeling that we could have been diner had the glass not been there. The story of how this the only Crocodile Zoo in the UK came about was fascinating. The owner of the Zoo started his passion for these wonderful and ancient creatures when still at school around the age of 8 and his dreams of running a zoo dedicated to the study and knowledge of these dangerous yet magnificent creatures has become a reality.

I feel that we as bikers can relate to his passion as our passion for biking while not understood by the non-biking majority gives us pleasures that know no bounds. So a day with a difference for Terry, Mary Ann, Erica, Nigel, Tracey, Andy, Sally and myself so trust me it does not get much better than that so thank you Terry and Mary Ann your hard work was well worth the effort.

Colin

Sent from my iPhone