More sunshine meant that a Triumph Bonneville, a Triumph Speed Triple and a Suzuki SV650 needed a trip out again. A favourite run of ours is to Buxton through the Peak District National Park. I also needed to give the Bonneville grab rail a road test. Last time we went out with my daughter and her boyfriend we followed them to their choice of destination, this time we chose the route.

From our home Buxton isn't too far (about a 45 minute ride) and it's such a lovely ride! As my husband and I work from home we sometimes decide to run errands, such as take post to a post office which might not be described as our local branch. An extended lunch hour includes a ride out on the bike and a take-out coffee sitting in the Paviilion Gardens. (I took my husband to see his first opera at the little Opera House there - "The Marriage of Figaro" by Mozart.) I don't mind working a bit later into the evening to make up for catching a bit of the sunshine.

This is probably a good time to explain the names of the bikes, and the meanings behind those names. The Bonneville is named Wiggins. Because it's a British Racing Green Triumph Bonneville it's a jolly British bike and so I gave "him" a jolly British name. The Triumph Speed Triple is named Amor which means "Warrior" - you only need to look at the bike to know that the name suits. My daughter's Suzuki SV 650 is named "Iphigenia" ("Iffy" for short) which is the name of a blue and white butterfly. There's also an operatic reason why her bike is named after a butterfly: In the opera "Madame Butterfly" by Puccini, the heroine's faithful servant is named Suzuki. The logic works for me!