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!
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!
RSS Feed