When we’re next down visiting the Bethnal Green MUTT store where else should we check out? Any good boozers, pizzas, London ride-outs?
Ooooh did you say pizza!! I love pizza. There is Yard Sale Pizza on Hackney Road which does the best pizza, they also do an amazing Marmite and cheese garlic bread. Just behind the shop in the railway arches is Sodo Pizza which is also really good and very close.
Booze wise, we have Satan's Whiskers cocktail bar along the street and The Hare is further along towards Hackney, this is a proper old boozer.
My favourite pub is the Lord Morpeth which is a 20-minute walk from the shop, in Bow. They do really good sourdough pizza, so you can get beer and pizza in one place which is always a winner in my book. I often go there on summer evenings after work.
I tend not to ride in London only out of it as traffic is hideous. The roads out around Essex and Sussex are lovely, I'm quite partial to stopping at the Tea Hut in Epping Forest for a sausage sandwich, it's been there for years and years and you can always find loads of bikes there.
"I have already done so many things in the years I've been riding so it's hard to pick a favourite, but riding in France through the Pyrenees mountains while at Wheels and Waves was pretty amazing"
What have been some of your favourite road trips/motorbike experiences?
I have already done so many things in the years I've been riding so it's hard to pick a favourite, but riding in France through the Pyrenees mountains while at Wheels and Waves was pretty amazing, The scenery was spectacular and we encountered mountain bulls and cows that were just in the road and we had to go around them. It was a bit terrifying as I had only had my full licence for about a month, but it was an unforgettable experience.
Doing my first track day last year on my own bike is pretty high on my list as well, learning what my bike is capable of in a safe environment and being able to push myself that little bit further along my motorcycle journey. It's safe to say I've now got the track bug doing five days last year and in April I finished building my own track bike which will be used this year.
I'm looking forward to more track days and some longer trips including riding around Spain.
Where's the first place you're jumping on a MUTT and riding off to?
The first place I'd love to go to is to see our friends in Bruges who run a really cool restaurant and shop called Hermanus. We've not been able to see them for so long as we had to cancel our visit we had planned last March. We ride to Dover and get the ferry to Dunkirk then ride through France into Belgium, it's always a great ride on large open roads and people are so respectful to motorbike riders. It's just a pleasure riding there.
Which Mutt would I take on this trip, hmmm, I think the Akita is probably my favourite at the moment, so it would be the 250cc version in black!
If you find yourself in the bike smoke, pop in and say hey to Saffron and the crew:
📍 399 Cambridge Heath Rd, London. E2 9RA
⏱ Open Tuesday - Saturday 10:00am - 6:00pm