Gerontious

What bike did you go for as your first, with a full licence?

I was forced to pull back on this trip as I didn't know for sure if I would be able to do it this time so soon after my 2 week tour in June. But, happily its now back on track and in fact everything has now been booked and paid for. Tunnel return. Overnight on the Saturday, before crossing on the Sunday morning. Rooms booked at our favourite hotel. There are 5 of us going. @bonio @Bungleaio @smallfrowne @Snod Blatter and myself. (obviously) So, the usual formula. Riding south on the Saturday afternoon. staying overnight close to the Tunnel. We'll be on our way at 8am Sunday morning and arriving in France at 10:55 local time. Nice relaxed ride into and then across Belgium with a long and lazy lunch stop at the usual services. SPY north of Charleroi. Then onwards towards the Luxembourg border via La Roche and the Northampton. somewhere we always stop. So much of this has now happened so many times its become a tradition. I think this will be the 14th time Ive stayed at this hotel... last time during Covid. on my own, a bizarre experience. Since then Ive done other things and so a week in the Eifel has been low on the priority list and the other guys have done their own thing for these past two or three years. Either not taken the risks involved when Covid was in full swing. or done something different. Like when we went to Ireland a few years ago. I can just about squeak this one through on my current UK passport. it expires next April. and Im not going to renew it. Im going to replace it and travel in future as an EU citizen. a little act of rebellion on my part. Our friends at the Hotel are looking forward to seeing us once again as a group. its going to be like old times. Hopefully this time without any seat-off excitement. Im looking at you @smallfrowne so looking forward to it now, that its written in stone. 50 days. tick tock.

That is basically how it works in Europe. you have to have done the full test to ride a 125cc on an A1 license. Its always been different in the UK. CBT + L Plates = Go.

After 8 nights with the perpetually bewildered I’m relaxing with a new friend.

I’ve done 4 types of tours. A fully organised paid for. (Which I hated) With a group of… the most was 10. Though the average is 6. With one guy. Done that 3 times. All members of this forum and I include the much missed snoddy. Plus on my own. And they all have a different vibe. All enjoyable for different reasons. I’ve gone with people who have never toured before. Even (once or twice) with people who had never left the country before. Mostly with people who had never toured abroad before until I asked them, or they saw one of my posts and asked to come along and then, remarkably were keen to join up again and again… and, err… again. I only ask one thing and that’s that you have a bike that is capable of motorway speeds. And that’s it. So.. the smallest capacity was a 250. And he managed quite nicely. A CB250 and that year we camped. No problem at all. Some equally unlikely bikes over the years.. never an issue. In fact over all the years the only bad (ish) experience was with one fella who turned up unannounced. And his maximum speed was 40mph. But he was terminally ill and died later the same year. So we made allowances for him up to a point. Though he rode to the hotel alone… he wanted that. And largely did his own thing for the week, just having a load of friendly faces and company at the hotel. That’s what mattered for him. There is something very special about going alone, but there is also something very nice.. in a different way about going away with 1 or more. With a larger group is great too. I really like that which is why I do it so much. it’s all good.

Still early days.. but, as with anything new. once the popularity (or necessity) increases so will the technology improve.. after all, I can clearly remember the phrase "it'll ever catch on' - when these first appeared. forgive the self portrait, it was after a heavy night.. Im also fairly certain that the manufacturers, especially the big 4 will not rest on their laurels and will produce machines that people actually want to buy.

Walking home after a night with the perpetually bewildered and had that feeling I was being watched.

Just have an eye out for randomly parked transit type vans. See these all the time in the East Midlands. Often parked up on faster roads leading into or out of villages where the speed limit has already dropped or has yet to be increased as well as on faster roads where the temptation for silly speeds is overwhelming. It’s easier in this country than over in the eu as the police there tend more towards random stealth tactics and are almost impossible to see. By comparison we actually have it very easy. White vans and shouty hiviz clothing. Easier to spot than someone wearing a dark green uniform and standing in a shadowy doorway or next to a line of trees. but getting back to the thread subject. If you make it obvious that you don’t really care much about the rules, and few things are more obvious than a small numberplate. You are going to attract attention and it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise if the copper then looks at you and your bike with a lot more rigour. If you want a small numberplate. Buy a short, 4 or 5 digit plate. Preferably with a lot of I’s and 1’s in it.

Not formulaic at all.

Likewise. Never bought anything with delivery from china. Just the same as I’ve never bought anything direct from America. I now try to avoid buying from the EU since the brexit disaster. I just can’t be doing with the hassle or wait. I’d rather pay a little more and have it arrive next day or within a couple of days. I guess the one exception is Amazon. I couldn’t care less where they are despatched from as long as the delivery date suits my rather odd lifestyle.

Theres a reason for that.

So did we manage to drive away another new member looking for encouragement? Ah well. Plenty more where he came from.

Hmmmm.

I don't use apps. if by that you mean touring specific apps mostly aimed at mobile phone users. I use paper maps, Michelin guides and for laying out the routes Garmin basecamp. which I find very simple to use, though most people seem to think its too complicated. I transfer the gpx to the SD card in my zumo xt and off I go. I also tend to use other peoples routes if they look interesting (and avoid major cities) there are loads of sites on the internet full of routes, often with the option of viewing them as an overlay on a proper map... an obvious example for the UK being BBR. though as that's now worldwide it can be useful for timing the best roads together for a longer day out. Though for my purposes the best sites are German. Kurviger. Kurvenkonig etc. But at the end of the day you can't beat paper maps.. either in hand or online. they offer the best overview so you can see worthwhile points of interest that might mean a slight diversion for the route being planned at that moment. I still use maps from ADAC in Germany as they do offer a very easy way to plan a route and have a great emphasis on great routes, with good tarmac and great views... very easy to transfer too. eg.

And normally the police will not care. Until, that is, they stop you for something more obvious and then start digging. or if they have the experience, examine the bike more closely looking for other examples of naughtiness.

There’s actually a very low miles red one on eBay right now.

Wow it has a beak. It’s good to see these manufacturers taking a novel approach with their designs. Innit.

More a curiosity than anything, but going through old papers I came across this price list hidden in a brochure Ive had for almost 30yrs. back in the day when Triumph was yet to make a profit and only made 2 engines and 8 different bikes at the Hinkley factory. I bought the Trident 750.

Today I had a ride up to snodland. All is well in the land of snod. I asked him about Germany next year and the answer was yes definitely. @bonio

"Sky" and "smart" and "TV" in the same sentence. wow. fortunately I have a pen and some paper to hand so I've written that down and will pin it to the wall and when I have an off day will ponder it to the max. mulling over the lucky escape I had way back in 2000 when my TV fell off its stand. and sent up a very picturesque little faux mushroom cloud. and at the time my financial situation was so dire I couldn't afford a replacement. oddly enough it only took a couple of weeks to realise I didn't want a replacement. beats listening to Enya (on repeat) in a darkened room. obviously there's a downside, I don't have the fun and excitement of endlessly flicking through channels while complaining that "there's nothing on!!" or taking part in the current addiction which is watching Matt Hancock eating random marsupial genitalia. and saying "Doesn't Boy George look old" while waiting for him to punch the afore mentioned former health secretary in the face. it's a constant struggle.

Maybe we should have a whip round and buy you a novel invention called an electric kettle.

Alas that it’s November and I’m too busy saving up for Easter eggs.

hence my disappointment was so profound. so much so that I had to have a little nap. I recovered while listening to Zappa waxing lyrical about catholic girls.

checked the oil and was marginally disappointed to find it didn't need any, which, on reflection was a good thing as I don't have any and its windy and cold and I just can't be bothered as I'm at work tonight. its a struggle. a daily struggle trying to find things wrong with this bike. obviously the biggest disappointment of all was that the dipstick doesn't need a torque wrench to do up correctly. I feel like writing a sternly worded letter to Honda. never mind... nearly bedtime.

*hides wallet. Ive not been so paranoid since I was sneaked out of the back of Manchester crown court and ferried to an undisclosed location - aka stockport railway station. those were the days. when life was occasionally exciting and nobody cared about whether you owned a torque wrench or not.