Mississippi Bullfrog

To be fair the promenade between Perch Rock and the Seacombe ferry is quite nice on a sunny day. I remember the days when the only sealife you'd find would be Mersey Goldfish. These days the pools are full of starfish.

I was certainly very much swayed by the sound my Triumph Bobber creates. The soundtrack is a key part in the joy of riding it. Triumph spent a lot of effort getting it right. My CBF by contrast has no character in terms of engine noise. Riding the two bikes is totally different. In traffic a lot of motorists will cheerfully pull over to allow the Bobber through with a wave. The Honda gets ignored.

Sunny Birkenhead....the riviera of Merseyside.

Apparently we are in for a very interesting weekend - looking after both granddaughters at once. One is 3, the other 18 months. Together they find life totally hilarious. I think by Sunday evening I shall be lying down in a darkened room with a bottle of medicinal single malt.

The winter weather hasn't been kind to my CBF. The led aux lights died and also my chain oiler is now leaking. The chain oiler is a Gidibi which so far as I can tell is made in the same factory as the Nemo - they are identical. It has been brilliant, dead simple and very effective. But it relies on the reservoir holding vacuum and mine now clearly doesn't because the oil is constantly dripping. Riding in all weathers means a chain oiler is handy but having had a Scottoiler I didn't find the expensive system worked any better than some of the cheaper products.

Not going to happen. I might be interested in an electric pedal bike but not a car. Not practical for the driving I need to do.

I would never buy a car without some means of physically checking the oil level. And I do frequent oil changes using a pump that uses the dipstick tube so it's kind of essential. Plus I suspect the cars without dipsticks tend to at the more expensive end of the market whereas I'm at the rent-a-wreck side of things.

On the contrary - the nickname stuck because he was mean enough to drag the poor fellow (and the dog) all the way up to Copperas Hill police station. He was on duty at the same police station when I got pulled in Chester and given a producer.

I dislike cars that don't have a temperature gauge. Being able to see the coolant temperature is essential in my book. By the time a warning light shows its usually too late. My wife's Skoda Citigo has a detachable screen that can be used as a sat nav or to display various sensors. It's a handy way of doing it.

7 and 6 is about 37.5p in this new fangled money. I used to shoot with our local police on a farm. One of the coppers went by the name of Dog Licence. This stemmed from an occasion when at the end of shift he found himself down at Liverpool Pier Head and a long walk ba k to the station. So he spotted a bloke with a dog and demanded to see his dog licence, which the guy didn't have. So the copper nicked him and summoned a black maria to transport the detained criminal back to the cells. Hence he didn't have to walk back to the station and got to clock off on time.

Having not ridden the Bobber for a while I had forgotten how helpful motorists tend to be when I'm coming up behind them. It's totally different from riding the Honda. There's something about retro bikes that people seem to respond well to.

It is not raining. The salt has been washed off the roads. Likewise the mud. I might swap the Bobber for the CBF today. Update....the rain and salt have gone but not the wind. 'Twas somewhat breezy on a Bobber this morning.

I like dogs. No point having one with the hours I work. It's the owners who hang the poo bags on trees or fences, or just throw them into the undergrowth that annoys me. Why bother picking it up in the first place if you're just going to hang a plastic bag full of crap in plain sight? Better to just flick it in the hedge with a stick. At least it will decompose. The paths round here are lined with bags that stay there for weeks.

After the recent bad weather the CBF was more salt than bike so today it got a major clean. Also removed the auxiliary leds that had died.

That's a bit steep. Was that import tax? I've had bike bits from the States that were clearly labelled as motorcycle parts and they just went straight through.

Stuff it into a bag! Have you any idea how much this thing cost me?! It shall be loving rolled onto a cylinder of the finest gossamer to keep it safe.

Very nearly dropped it just sitting at traffic lights. A gust of wind caught me just as I was slipping it into gear. I rode down the motorway like a grandad.* It was an unpleasant journey. *I am a grandad but I don't usually ride so cautiously.

It is a new sail for my Streaker. The mast is something like 30 foot. Fibbing is really just way of sparing her the stress and anxiety. What she doesn't know can't hurt her. So its an act of kindness really. Unlike when I hid a set of Rostyle wheels under the sideboard and they were discovered.

I managed to get a delivery whilst SWMBO was at work. Any suggestions how I hide it? Its about 10 foot long.

The recent bad weather, salt covered roads and last night's storm have finally killed the led aux lights on the cbf. So I'm looking for budget friendly replacements.

I also wear two-piece waterproofs. My current gear is an Oxford Rainseal jacket which was pretty cheap and I didn't expect much. But it's kept me dry on 4 to 5 hour motorway journeys in appalling conditions. Coupled with Oxford Montreal trousers. I know a lot of people look down on Oxford kit but when it pours that's what reach for. I was out in it last night in the storm. Came home bone dry. I've tried Richa gear and found it leaks.

It was a rather wet and breezy ride home this evening. I was rather hoping for lots of rain, to wash all the salt off the bike. Mission accomplished. As a bonus I scored a personal best on the speed device in a local village. I clocked 188mph. (Sadly I suspect that may not be accurate. )

I used to worry about such things but it played merry hell with my blood pressure.

Interesting airport at Madeira if I remember right.

Yes, but baked bean cans are thicker for doing a proper professional job.