bonio

If you're going to do a lot of riding in the wet and in winter then the following might be of help. Good tyres are your friend. Make sure your tyres have good tread (it's the tread that displaces surface water) and I'd check out the reviews to see if people say they grip well in the wet. If you have decent tyres, then can trust them in the wet; they won't let you down. But there are some areas that are likely to be slippery when wet, so go carefully on them or avoid them altogether: manhole covers and white paint (zebra crossings and mini roundabouts are the worst), also roundabouts as they attract diesel spills, and they're hard to see in the wet. It's a bit different in the dead of winter (December - February), as the roads are seldom dry, and they can get very slippery with oil from engine and salt and yuck. In these conditions, you need more care than in normal wet conditions, and unless the roads are bone dry, I ride fairly upright and keep everything very smooth.

I learned a huge amount doing mine.

Awesome write-up [mention]Bungleaio[/mention]. I was meant to do it last years but writer's block meant it never happened.

Yes, it's amazing value for money. I was also a bit taken aback by the price of petrol - it's a lot more expensive than I remember it from previous years. .... I now I've had to erase half of what I was writing about how much more petrol had risen in Germany than in the UK. But I made the mistake of looking for some facts to validate my argument. But I couldn't find any... because the facts actually told the opposite story. Looking at the period September 2016 to September 2018, the average price of petrol has gone up 17% in the UK (1), 14% in Germany, and 15% in Luxemburg. I guess I reacted to seeing the whole hike between one visit and the next, whereas at home I've seen the prices rise a penny at a time, which is a lot less noticeable. 1. UK stats: https://www.racfoundation.org/data/uk-pump-prices-over-time 2. Germany stats: https://www.mylpg.eu/stations/germany/prices#chart 3. Lux stats: https://www.mylpg.eu/stations/luxembourg/prices#chart

Stille nacht - Gruber

I reckon I spent £540 in Europe. That includes the hotel, petrol, meals out, drinks at the bar, everything. Then another £120 in the UK on petrol, a night in the hotel and dinner. Then it would be another £70 tunnel crossing, except I got some off with Tesco clubcard.

It's hard to describe the state of the tarmac with mere words. On the best roads, the ones that have been recently refreshed, it's silky smooth, rolled out like fresh pastry, and grippy as hmmm I don't know, grippy stuff. And there's not a stone or piece of grit to be seen, hardly even a lead. One road we went on was bordered by crab apple trees; but someone had come along and swept all the fallen apples off the tarmac and onto the verge. And this was out in the middle of nowhere - not even near a village. Last year we were in France, near the Alps. There scenery is fantastic, and there's no shortage of hairpins, but the roads were shytier than here in the UK, and for me, it took the edge off the biking.

Good grief; is this nonsense still carrying on? Oh well, in for a penny: Row, row, row the boat. Traditional.

Amazing "mini" tour lol

That's a first-class shot. It pretty much tells it all in a single picture.

Me: what a plonker. Took the DRZ to work. Left the heated grips on and they're NOT wired into the ignition. Now waiting while the Optimate does its stuff - hopefully before I fall asleep at my desk.

Too spicy?? I won't want to risk it

It's a great bike. I wanted one too until I went and sat on one and found out that my body doesn't fold up in the right way... if that bike was ever one for me, that day has long gone.

Should be ok for a few weeks. If it were me, I'd want it on a charge if it was regularly left for 4 weeks or so. But supposed it's kinder to the battery to keep it on a trickle charger - I guess you might find the battery lasts longer if you connect it up. Yout dont' need a pucker Optimate, you can use pretty much any motorbike batter charger and save some money. Just fit the lead that comes in the packaging.

Hahahaha. Sound advice there! As for the food, the motorway services at Spy were really the highlight. It no accident that "German cuisine" is a phrase you don't often hear. But what was lacking in finesse and delicacy was more than amply made up for in calorific density and sheer bulk. On Tuesday we stopped for lunch at a Biker Caff, where the portions were large even by local standards, and a linguistic solecism resulted in me ordering three lunches instead of just the one. Back at hotel, this coincided unhappily with "Schnitzel Day". This is normally one of the week's culinary highlights, and involves eating unseemly amounts of fried schnitzel and chips. Plus beers. I have a dim memory of some kind of vegetable making a brief appearance. There was soup to start, and dessert to round it all off. If "dietary assault" was ever a crime, then we were truly victims.

Hmm, I don't agree with [mention]geofferz[/mention] on this one. For commuting, you want something reliable, and probably cheap to run too. For riding in winter, you want to avoid bikes that are finely-tuned, go for something that is stable and easy to ride, because riding on greasy winter roads isn't that great on a bike that's designed for the track. You'll also want something that isn't very beautiful, cos winter trashes a bike. If you can do most of the commute at under 60mph, a 125 will be perfect: Just get the CBT and then buy yourself a 125 that's a decent size, from a reliable manufactory such as Honda or Yamaha. A Yamaha MT125 isn't a bad call, or a Honda Varadero 125 - both fit the bill. But if you have to go on dual carriageways, then a 125 can feel really underpowered, and you'll be happier getting the full licence and a reliable, practical 600 - there are dozens that fit the bill. This route will cost more on training and insurance, but the bike will probably cost less (depending on what you get).

Good to see that the visor has nauralised Oh noooooo. Kwaks.....!

That's a good ride I clocked up 411 miles, all done on 3 or 4 hours sleep. My stats for the whole week are Total miles: 1900 Weight gained: 4lbs

I have a hazy recollection that the photos represent the "supper" part of fish supper.

This is "Matt's Road", near Cochem. Worth going all that way for this road alone.

Tunnelling under the sea A break in Belgium. Fortunately we can't read French. Bendzzzz More bendzzz Hairpinzzz This picture has no explanation Luxembourg A tradition Fancy pub. Fancy bikes. A relaxing moment And another Group photos

If cameras were about making money, they'd be painted dark green, so you can't see them clearly - like they are in Germany. Or they'd be deliberately hidden behind street furniture so you didn't have a hope of slowing down for them - like the ones we saw in France this week. Or the government would make it illegal for sat nav manufacturers to put the camera locations on their map - as is the case currently in Germany again. But in the UK, we put up signs to say that cameras or mobile cameras are in use, your sat nav tells you precisely where they are, and then paint them bright yellow and, with a few exceptions, we site them in full view of the carriageway. Of all the ways of using cameras I've seen, ours seems to me best designed to slow people down. And the upshot - the UK one of the lowest RTA records in Europe - coming just after Norway, Sweden and Switzerland - and yet without resorting to the draconian system of on-the-spot fines-or-your-vehicle-is-impounded that citizens of those countries live under.

So we had a rest day, which meant a 200+ mile round trip to France and back, with the fastest miles saved for the end of the day. Far too much food as usual, but with no time for cake it's wasn't the complete calorie disaster of Tuesday, from which we are still recovering.

Change job? Move house?

Me too.