rob m

When you last heard an alarm (car/bike/house) did you go running towards it with a determination to apprehend those who might of triggered the alarm and save the day? No. Nobody else does either. A big f**k-off lock and chain is the best solution. Thieves hate having to work and make lots of noise for their booty.

I think you may have misread the thread title.

Gerontious (Tony) had already started a thread here: https://www.themotorbikeforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=93&t=64113 I thought it would be better to have a separate thread for those who might be interested to read about our trip. Apologies for posting some of the same pictures again. I have lots of pictures so I'm going to write up one day at time. Saturday 24th June It was to be an early start from my flat, which is 74 miles to the Eurotunnel. Tony had already ridden down from Nottingham the night before. We set off at 6am in order to grab a 'nutritious' breakfast at McDonalds at Eureka Park, Ashford, before getting on the train. The bikes were also topped up at Sainsburys. We were booked for a 08:50 departure. We made it on time easily. I have to say it has to be the smoothest check in and crossing I’ve ever experienced. Straight through, no waiting, no hassle even with the extra passport check. There were lots of bikes on board, some touring, some going to the GP at Assen I think. Our destination for today was Avallon and to get there in good time it was going to have to be using the peage/autoroute. The first leg was almost trouble-free apart from Tony nearly breaking the Peage machine and requiring a very pissed off looking Frenchman to retrieve his ticket from the machine. I did laugh One of the things I was looking forward to was eating some French cuisine. So when we stopped at the services, we ordered Gammon (Jambon) and mash Although the mash was that lumpy kind they like over there. There isn't a lot to say about the ride to Avallon other than the weather stayed warm and dry and autoroutes are boring but they serve a purpose. We stopped to fill up on fluids and I had my Camelbak water bladder which was kept topped up with chilled water. Well recommended. Petrol was more expensive but not outrageous. We arrived in Avallon at about 6pm and rocked up at a Municipal campsite, which was cheap (about 8 euros each) but had great facilities. The site owner spoke a little English but none of his staff did. Still, we managed to get what we needed. Municipal campsites can vary in quality but this was a good one. Very clean. The weather was very hot and setting up the tents was a sweaty affair but helped by a couple of cold ones The campsite staff made us pizza which was welcome. The woman who gave us our change for the pizzas said something in French, and said 'Brexit' before laughing So far we had covered around 410 miles from home. It was one of the easier days though! We had a few beers and chatted about getting to Millau tomorrow and riding through the Morvan. It was flipping hot sleeping under canvas that night. There was a few UK couples there in campervans etc who were friendly and who were also bikers so we chatted to them for a while the next morning. Camping wise, we both brought tents but also inflatable sleeping mats, pillows and light sleeping bags. There's no need to be uncomfortable while camping. A stove and kettle to make coffee was essential for us too. The main consideration is how much you can carry on the bike and whether it's needed. Next time I'll drop a couple of items but also use a bigger roll bag. Another thing we did was bring clothes for 5 days and then washed them mid week rather than bring 9 days worth. This worked well. It's down to personal preference but I had a microfibre towel which I thoroughly recommend. They pack down really small. Anyway, we were looking forward to the ride to Millau on Sunday. I'll upload that report soon

Not a fan of gravel at all. Gerontious and I experienced more than a few gravel strewn roads in Le France last week, some involving hairpins. We managed ok but it took some smooth riding to get through. Bit of a learning curve but not something I particularly enjoyed.

The most effective method I've used over the years for bleeding is the syringe method, especially after replacing parts of the brake system. A 50ml syringe attached to 5mm clear tubing works a treat. Fill the reservoir with fluid, attach the tubing to the bleed nipple on the caliper and after loosening the bleed nipple, 'pull' the fluid through using the syringe. Keep topping up as needed. Always tighten the bleed nipple while pulling the syringe. It's quick and easy and is much more effective than the pumping the lever. I've done it loads of times. Brakes have always felt rock solid afterwards.

If there's nothing plugged then no it won't. I have a USB adapter directly connected to my bike's battery along with a Garmin sat nav mount. Neither have caused my battery to drain.

I bought a Garmin Zumo 340LM last year after using the phone/headphone method for a few years. I'd never go back to using a phone as a sat nav. The Garmin is fully waterproof and visible during downpours (no need for a waterproof cover), glove friendly, lifetime map updates, many more features than phone based sat navs, editable routes using Basecamp etc etc. When riding I don't have to stop and adjust a route on a phone, I do it on the fly which is much more convenient. There's no comparison with a phone based satnav IMO.

It was a great 9 days away! Great roads, great company and lots of laughs. I'll try to write a report this week

Thanks all, we're having a blast! We rode the Combe Laval this morning http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/1A0A8A91-9DAB-43D1-93D6-139DE9E231D2.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/E83FE0BD-99A0-4751-8D18-DDE787732EEC.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/8AC3D077-6757-4181-BEB8-9ABC04E7D02F.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/C8012237-DE3C-4939-B025-CA12AB5E06D7.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/D0D2B809-37D8-4520-B858-1DC9C70C235F.jpg

Hello! We arrived in Millau yesterday evening. Staying on a ok-ish campsite. The owner fancies himself as a comedian but we weren't impressed. Weather still hot last night but not too bad today. We rode through the Gorges Du Tarn and very nice it was too. The D996 and D907 are the best roads I've ridden in France so far. Stunning. We also found some gravel strewn roads with extreme hairpins that had the bum clenching once or twice. We've spent the evening having a beer or two and putting the world to rights. Tomorrow, the seaside! Here's a few pictures: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/43D73A6B-BC6A-4248-9C68-8E9C5989693E_2.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/D14C47D1-2F05-4693-B442-9BE594475C72.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/C9D5A9E4-2A87-44EF-BD73-EA03A6568C56_1.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/41B691DF-9A35-4FB1-A65F-353A15C0FA8C.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/9BC87FC5-7E5C-49B4-99DF-C534B7370A1E_2.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/910740EF-C20F-4A65-A163-C8D876910BB9.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/65CEC8F0-D02D-483A-8382-4C375AB4C885.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/286C2871-EF72-4B2C-862E-A76711E971CF_1.jpg

Bonjour from Avallon! We arrived here yesterday at 6pm after a trouble free ride from Calais, well apart from Tony nearly breaking a peage machine 336 miles. Lovely little campsite, 9 euros each. Avallon is a pretty town. It's very hot down here and likely to increase. Anyhoo, we're riding to Millau today through the Morvan National Park. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/50EA122B-7D25-4374-BB3D-6C2095FE9F31.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/441DD327-0A58-4582-969A-7BC66C36CFA7.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/france%202017/08A83F36-F2AF-468E-9857-C69946D4C485.jpg

Looks like a great trip Geoff

Happy Birthday

Maybe he's preparing his manifesto for the second attempt.

The Nicky Hayden tribute was moving. I wouldn't be surprised if Rossi puts in an extra effort to win and dedicate it to NH.

http://i4.liverpoolecho.co.uk/incoming/article12241407.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/JS106067646.jpg

Replacement. They'll only get worse otherwise. Factor in for labour charges or if you are willing to have a go yourself there is plenty of info on youtube. Delboy's garage is a good place to start.

Space saving is good. Compression sacks are also useful even if you're not going camping.

Great advice Stu. Bought one myself for an upcoming trip. My mate used one last year on our Pyrenees trip and I was envious that his dried out in half the time.

https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/pink-floyd

I could share my saucerful of secrets but they're on the dark side of the moon.

Speaking as long time PF fan myself, I was keen to visit 'Their Mortal Remains' exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum in that London. So I did today. It was brilliant. Well recommended. That's it. Just go

Tragic. RIP.

For a start only use 32GB Class 10 mem cards, they work better than other sized cards and are recommended by Drift. I use Sansdisk and they work fine. Settings wise, I record in 1080p at 60 fps with 'HB' selected.

I think Joshua is ripe for the fight. However, Wlad has a lot to prove after the Tyson Fury fiasco. As said before, Joshua has been unsettled by Whyte but then Whyte doesn't have the firepower that Wlad has. If Klitschko is up for it, I think Joshua may dominate in the early rounds when he is fresh then if Wlad can land his left hook and gain confidence then it could be a long, hard night for him. Klitschko is a proper hard bast*rd and on his night there's nobody who can match him, even at his age. Heart says Joshua. Head says Klitschko.