I do apologise for the gap between instalments!  Much has happened at Bike Bus Towers in the six months since my last blog post.  Well, when I say 'much', I mean we've transported a whole lotta bikes, and that takes a whole lotta time, both in the office and out on the road.  On average, we are moving around a hundred bikes per month, many are for repeat customers both private and in the trade, and these are the backbone of our business - a big thank you to all our customers old and new for getting 2017 off to a grand start.

January saw us commence a lot of work in and out of the Isle of Wight, and although the winter weather tried to interfere with the ferry times, it takes more than that to stop the Bike Bus!

February rolled in and saw our fully kitted up fleet covering the whole country from tip to toe and all places in between - Perth, Glasgow, Lyminton, Chesterfield, Chippenham, Uffington, Shetland, Portsmouth, Kent, Aberdeen, Swansea, Hull, Dundee, Manchester, Turriff, Derby, Chorley - and that was just one van in one week!  The weather turned really bad towards the end of Feb, and 2 vans were caught up in blizzard conditions that brought the Scottish highways to a standstill for several hours, but being well prepared with food and warm clothes, the guys simply rang ahead to their customers and advised them of the delays - no dramas when you have a bike courier that keeps communication at the top of the list.

March saw the start of the new registrations and the drivers were kept very busy!  This month also seemed to be what we will look back on as 'summer' with driver Ian reporting his first sightings of shorts and flip flops when he was out and about!

April was mega, mega flat out - evidenced by the fact that the GITO had to be called out of the office and into the Transit (aka the Original Bike Bus) to complete a special delivery.  A phone call from Smith's Racing saw the GITO head straight to the Grampian Transport Museum to collect the Guy Martin racing Triumph, which had to be delivered to a certain Michael Rutter, who was, at the time of delivery, racing at Oulton Park.  The GITO was up and away very early, mindful of having to meet Michael between practice and race sessions.  Once at Oulton, I was waved straight in by security and had to drive behind a nice lady on a scooter as she weaved in and out of the public.  We picked our way along rows of motorhomes - HUGE fancy ones with all the team racing colours and sponsorship on them, and I was allocated a parking spot next to Smith's.  The guys there took care of the bike while Michael was found and we were introduced.  After his race, I was invited to join him and his chief engineer for a cuppa and a cake in his motorhome.  They discussed all aspects of data and where they could make certain changes to the bike etc.  I felt rather privileged to say the least.  After that, I was free to wander round the pits, talked to some of the teams and mechanics, took a few photos and then had to nip off to meet driver #1 ready for the next day.  Both Tony's LWB Crafter and my Transit were fully booked for the run north, so all in all, a great trip for the GITO!

May and June have once more, seen us covering every inch of the UK, including as far up as Thurso and Caithness in the Highlands, right the way down to Cornwall and Devon, as well as a trip to southern Ireland for a regular trade customer.  Driver #1 got the Irish trip, and the van was full to the brim with three ex-USA police bikes, one complete with a shotgun holster and speed gun (a few pics in the gallery below).  These bikes were loaded in Sussex, and then it was over to get the ferry from Fishguard, which saw him arrive in Rosslare early evening, and it was a race against time to get the bikes delivered to Co. Clare and Co. Cork and then back to the ferry at Dublin in the early hours, to land at Holyhead at 05.30hrs and ready to collect at St Helens before crossing over to Derbyshire, back to Swansea and Fishguard with a stop in Cornwall somewhere along the way - I can't keep up at times!
​
We were honoured to have been chosen by the Ayr Classic Motorcycle Show team to be their preferred transporter to help get a selection of classic Triumphs into and out of, their big show in June. We moved some very nice machines, and for the GITO, being a bit of a closet Triumph fan, that was a great weekend!

Well that's that then!  We were all talking about Christmas and counting down to the Big Day, trying to get jobs planned, bikes picked up and delivered, and then before you know it, it's gone and the New Year is on the horizon.

December kept the Bike Bus really busy, with three Buses out and about, and they were ably assisted at times, by the Girl in the Office in Bus number 4.  One of our regular customers, the Grampian Transport Museum, booked us to transport 7 classic bikes from the west of Scotland back to Aberdeenshire for part of the new season display in 2017.  Driver #1 took the Big Bus (aka the Crafter) and the GITO drove the Original Bus (aka the Transit) because she absolutely genuinely loves driving it.  It's got a beautiful motor, purrs along in top gear and pulls like a train.  Plus it's got an arm rest, the Crafter doesn't, and it's got a fancy 6 disc CD player!  It was an early start that day, alarms were set for 5am and we were away while it was still dark.  The first task was to return a vintage bike and sidecar from the Museum back to the owner up in Morayshire.  It was thick freezing fog on the journey north, but a lovely sunny and crisp day when we got to the house.  With that carefully unloaded and parked in the gentleman's garage, we set off west, stopping for fuel and breakfast at a handy Tesco on the way.

The next stop was at Harry fairbairn BMW in Inverness to deliver a BMW and then we could get our heads down and make progress.  We arrived at the House of the 7 Classics by early afternoon, after a stunning drive through autumn colours and alongside Loch Ness.  This late in the year, this far north, the leaves have usually long since disappeared from the trees, but this winter has been mild, by comparison.  After a welcome coffee and a chat, the paperwork was completed and we set about loading the bikes.  In the GITO's little Bus went a 1923 Francise Barnett, a 1954 Manx Norton Triton and a 1925 ex-works Levis racer, whilst Driver #1 took the big beasts.  Much of the drive back was in the dark,  and we finally got some hot food just bofore the chippy shut in the village, so I guess that must have been around 9pm.  A long day in the wheel house, as Driver #1 would say, but very enjoyable too.

​Because we know how much hard work it is, we thought that Team Bike Bus deserved a bit of a Christmas get-together, so we arranged for our franchisees, Ian and John, to bring their wives and join us at the Ythan View in Methlick for a pre-Xmas meal.  The food was fab, the open fire and decorations twinkled beautifully, and we all had a good catch up about each others favourite bike they've moved, hardest place to find, all that sort of stuff, rounded off with a bit of a competition.  All the Drivers like to think they've moved the Biggest Bike, so the GITO compiled a few stats for the boys.....

HEAVIEST BIKE
Goes to Driver #3, John, for the Indian Roadmaster he transported from Edinburgh to Aberdeenshire, weighing in at a whopping 428KG.

WIDEST BIKE
Goes to Driver #4, Ian, for the Kawasaki VN which has bars stretching to a massive 39.6" and after unloading he had to help the owner get the bike into the house....with a doorway that, shall we say, wasn't quite as wide as the bike.....

FLASHIEST BIKE
Was of course won by Driver #1 with the splendiferous Honda Goldwing bedecked with over a million flashing disco lights.  Transported from Dundee to London, collected in the dark and delivered in the dark, quite some spectacle.

LONGEST BIKE
Well of course, the GITO wants to win an award too.  The Steam Bike that we transported to the Grampian Transport Museum in the Transit, measured around 10' long....did we measure it?  Nope, we just know that the load area is 10' long and the bike used all of the available space!

And so to the Serious Stuff.  Without you, our loyal customers, the Bike Bus would be nothing.  Without our two franchisees, we would not be able to offer the tremdous service covering the whole of the UK in the manner that we do.  In 2016, we have moved bikes for Guy Martin and Niall Mackenzie, we have been involved in charity events, worked for our local transport museum on a repeat basis, set up two franchises, and quadrupled the Bike Bus fleet.  We look forward to working with all our trade and private customers again in 2017, best wishes, Tony & Jacqui.

November, and another busy month for our lads on the road.  Tony, Ian and John were all kept busy and now that all the vans in the fleet are suited and booted with winter tyres and / or snow chains, even the bad weather in the north of England didn't stop the wheels from turning.  Both Driver #3 (John) and Driver #4 (Ian) reported serious snowy conditions as they headed south a week or two ago, and when Driver #3 got to Wales, well, it was just as the mini tornado hit!  The main priority is for our drivers to stay safe and to keep the bikes safe and sound too, so no risks are taken in severe weather conditions.  

One of the biggest factors that impedes our work is traffic - and boy is there plenty of that out there!  Roadworks on the major motorways are pretty much factored in to timings but when the authorities do things like closing a whole section of the M74 on a Friday night, in order to demolish a bridge, well, that can cause a few hiccups.  Fortunately, John was on his way home when he got caught up in the chaos, and not trying to get to a customer!

This month has also been busy for the GITO and Driver #1 in a non-driving capacity.  We really believe in offering the very best service possible, and to do that, our business has to run as smoothly as possible, so we regularly attend seminars and speak to experts in the field in order to gain insight and knowledge.  We recently attended a brilliant seminar in Glasgow and met with specialists and legal experts.  All in all, a good trip.  Another good trip was to the Motorcycle Live show at the NEC in Birmingham - many, many mouth-watering machines on display and a positive response from our contacts there.  

The 500 mile drive home included collecting some bikes of course, and a Suzuki engine - any bike related parts and spares can be transported by the Bike Bus for a nominal amount.  We also ran into flooding, snow, icy roads and plenty of mud on the way north!  Stuck in a jam on the A1 at Catterick for over an hour, we were pretty desperate for food as we got near the Border with Scotland.  Each village we passed through was searched for somewhere to get some hot food, and finally, just as we thought we would have to eat our own fingers, we happened upon a chip shop in Coldstream.  One of us needed to find some facilities,  and so we nipped into the pub next door and were mistaken for attendees of the darts match!

So, with this month nearly over, and just 3 and a bit weeks until Christmas, I'd better just mention that if you're looking to have a bike transported before the big day, please do get in touch as soon as you can!  Driver #3 has very kindly volunteered to do any Christmas Day deliveries - complete with Santa hat!  Seriously, if you want your bike delivered on the 25th Dec, either as a pressie for yourself or a surprise for someone else, the Bike Bus can oblige!

Thought you might like an insight into what goes on behind the Bike Bus scenes - this might not be a regular feature, as you will gather we're pretty darn busy, but we will do our best to write a few entertaining or informative words now and again :D