bonio

Run some online insurance quotes. It could narrow the field.

Welcome in! What bike you got?

No need to redo the course. The only thing that counts is collecting those passes. But quite which you need to collect, I'm not sure. As said, best to call a school for advice, even if you don't book any lessons.

so there?

twice nice

The Schloss? Here are my thoughts. In the words of one of the local kids, it's "old-school". It's not luxurious. It's a bit dated. But it's clean and very, very friendly, a family-run place. They've a bike garage if you want, but there's no need to use it - it's a very safe area. The rooms are spacious, and have en-suite showers. At 55 euros a night half board it's not pricey, and although the cuisine isn't going to feature in Delia's Central European Tour, you will definitely not go hungry. And all the roads in all directions are 100% fun. It's a great base for a holiday.

When my bike got nicked, the insurers passed me straight over to deal with the underwriters (Markerstudy). They were fine, settled in a fortnight. But the issue is this: if what happened to me is the norm, then your experience is in the hands of the underwriter, not the insurer. And there's zero information on which underwriters are ok. Where the insurer makes a difference is what they do to you when you come to change your address, replace the horn, add go faster-stripes to the wheels and so on. General word on the ground is that they're all basically ok except MCE. I don't have an MCE horror story myself, but some here might contribute.

I see a white bike there.

I found the bigger bike a lot more confidence-building. It holds the the road better and you no longer feel like your rightful place in the gutter. You'll do fine on it. I'll give you 15 minutes and you'll wonder you didn't do it sooner Bikesafe is a great course: a chance in a lifetime to ride with (and hopefully a bit like) a copper.

If you end up in the Eifel, then here are a couple of great circular routes starting in Neuerburg. All you have to do is sign up for a free MRA account, and you'll be able to see them and download in GPX or however you want them.

Did mine yesterday

Wowzer. Scenery on speed.

Yup the MOT thing shows at best he's not always 100% accurate... which is the opposite of what you want from someone who's been servicing the bike you're about to buy. It would put me off. If the bike was close by, I would go to view it, and look out for things like, how tidy the garden is, and the garage or shed, and take a punt from there on how tidily they've kept the bike. And if I'm 85% happy with the outcome, I hope I'd walk away. About the dealer bike, a lot depends on the dealer and how reliable they are. But here at least you've got an internetful of reviews to check up on. Good dealers in the main get got good reviews in the main.

I ledt London 30 years ago. One life's best decisions. But I wouldn't mind going back and living there if I had £5m to blow on a little 2 bed flat in Holborn or Mayfair. But downsizing is hard....

Ditto. I chalk it down to karma

Any idea who did them for you?

Cheers for the tip. I think I'll give them a try before going down the custom route again. It's good to know that you lot have found the custom ones uncomfortable too. Thought it was just me.

I tried the smallest bud, but I have tiny ear canals, so perhaps that the issue. I'll give them another go and put them in more gently.

A couple of years. Might be a poor fit. Might have another go at customs from another company.

I have a pair of custom silicone ear plugs. They do a great job at keeping the noise out, but they're sodding uncomfortable. I always use them with some kind of ear lube, and like that they're fine for an hour, and even not too bad for a day on the bike, but after a few days of touring, my ears just can't take any more of them. So I read the reviews here on the Quiet Loop earplugs and bought a pair. Oh sooo soft and downy. But no good at keeping the noise out. Don't really know what to do... am I doing something wrong? Do I need to boil the Loops before they become properly quiet? Or should I boil the customs? Are silicone ear plugs really meant to be that uncomfortable? Any advice welcome.

Nice one @rennie! Clearance can take ages, but go and make the most of the next few weeks off before you start.

If he just keeps on at it he'll get his pass in the end and prove them all wrong.

Nothing could be easier. You can start by telling us what bike you ride. And then we will ask for a picture.

That section of road from the bridge and on into Germany is a cracking road. At it least it was when I rode it in June

Wowser. Route planning suddenly becomes 2 times easier!