Well, looking at what Eric listed, I wonder how anyone could manage more … but when you start to list what’s there, it’s surprising how much it’s possible to have with you, tucked underneath. I do of course have a big advantage in stashing stuff away ……… but more on that shortly.

So, I could list the stashed stuff by order of importance, but I am going to start with the most used items and work down to those I carry but have never needed (yet!).

Sunglasses. My best friend! Not having a helmet with a retractable sun visor, and not carrying an interchangeable tinted visor, my sunglasses are an absolute must and I am lost without them. It has to be really, really gloomy for me to take them off. The visor on my BMW System 4 helmet rakes back a long way, creating a great range of vision but also letting in loads of light and glare. Dark glasses mean that I have a great view but don’t have to squint. I really look after the pair I have got. I went through several different pairs trying to get a fit that was comfortable within the helmet and didn’t create pressure on my ears, nose or at the back of my head. Finally I found a very good quality pair that are brilliant and supremely comfortable. They were in fact a pair of Raybans belonging to Brian, who wasn’t actually planning to give them away, but never mind, I can be really persuasive and after all, he did once say to me something about sharing “all his worldly goods!”

Mobile Phone. Well, I guess most of us have one of these along somewhere when we’re out. I haven’t yet had to use it to summon the cavalry, but the thought and comfort is always there. Provided I am not too deep in the Welsh Hills to get a signal, I should always be able to talk to someone should I need to. Under my seat it is of course safely protected but also immediately accessible - but the best part of all is that when I am riding the miles and tasting a little freedom, I simply can’t hear it – so all boring requests or reminders just have to wait until I choose to return to reality.

Wallet. Not essential of course, if you are only planning a local hour – but knowing how an hour tends to lengthen once out there, then all too often coffee and fuel becomes part of every ride. Tucked into the wallet are the essential cards which include my Driving License and my BMW Roadside Assistance card. This will supposedly rescue me from any tricky mechanical situation in this country or abroad. Not yet tested out!!

Visor Cleaner. This becomes almost as essential as the sunglasses – and I haven’t yet worked out which obscures vision the most quickly – insects at dusk in the summer when riding between fields full of sunflowers – or a layer of liquid mud evenly applied in the winter. We live on the Welsh border, but our address is actually Herefordshire, and Herefordshire, known as a farming county, has the reputation for the muddiest roads in the country. Winter riding often feels like we have been sent out purely to test this statement.

Roadcraft and Highway Code. Not actually along with me in case I want to have a quiet read in a lay-by. As an observer, I always await a debate arising when I am out with an associate where I may not have the definitive answer – so I carry some reference material along. The alternative would be to have Andy Downs under the seat, since he can be relied upon to always have the correct and common-sense answer to any issue or debate. Unfortunately he won’t fit!

Pen and Notebook. For making notes, leaving messages, jotting down directions...

Cargo Net. Well, I am female and I do have cards with me – so for that unplanned purchase, there is always the option of strapping something across the back of the bike, secured by cargo net. This has been very useful on many occasions.

Sidestand Footplate. So, you have a biking partner that has a habit of leaving behind good A and B roads, and even the unclassified, to take to the Drovers Roads. We also go camping several times a year. Leaning the bike on its side stand on soft and boggy ground, it always feels comforting to slide a plate underneath to prevent it sinking in. A few years back we were in France, camping on the bikes with our youngest daughter Jo (then aged 15). We passed away a torrential thunder storm in the tent playing cards together. We were warm, dry and very comfortable – so also, we found out, was Brian’s bike which was lying happily on its side when the storm had passed and we emerged! We haven’t forgotten since.

A5 Roadmap. Did I say he liked exploring all sorts of roads? I have therefore developed an equal fascination with working out where we are and how to get home.

Camera. When like tonight, its cold and dark and wet outside, its great to look back on pictures taken during days out on the bike this year, to be reminded of the warmth of the sun on your back and the smell of hay in the fields.

Head Torch. Always extremely silly to look at but an excellent aid for hands-free vision after dark. Not the greatest when you haven’t got one and are with someone else wearing one of these – they are either turning to talk to you and totally blinding you, or looking away and leaving you in darkness. You definitely need to have your own along.

Owners Manual, Technical Information and Service Booklet. Safely wrapped up, these may well provide an answer one day to a question that crops up. Haven’t needed them yet, but they’d be no good at home if something goes wrong.

Tools. Likewise, these are well oiled and safely wrapped in a neat roll. The kit supplied with the bike seems quite comprehensive and there has always been a tool for anything I have wanted to do. But then I haven’t had to test this out to any serious extent. Perhaps I have been lucky with the 4 BMWs I have had.

First Aid Kit. Its there, just the bare essentials, should it ever be needed.

Under Seat Compartments... So, by now you are maybe wondering how I manage to fit all of this under my seat and perhaps thinking I exaggerate a little? Not so. As I rarely take a pillion, I usually use an alternative seat I have. Made by BMW, the pillion space has been converted into an additional watertight lockable compartment. As this also has two lugs on each side for securing gear, it forms a really useful flat platform in front of the tail-rack. When we go off to the continent with camping and climbing kit shared between us, a couple of roll bags fit easily across this platform, leaving both panniers accessible. The centre of gravity stays low, so that even fully laden the bike still handles superbly through all of the hairpins the Pyrenees can offer.

This also means that on a day out from home, with what I can fit under my seat, I rarely need the panniers on. So I filter my way through any queues of traffic and find the lovely wide open roads with the long, long sweeping bends that raise a grin from ear to ear - and I remember once again why I love motorcycling quite so madly badly!

Ride safe and happy!

Sally