Gerontious

I must admit to being partial to a pukka snake and pigmie pie with me chips. Just have to be careful of them nose bones. Nothing worse than a pigmie that’s not been boned proper like.

They make great insoles for emergencies and also, keep one in your pocket and you’ll never need to worry about social distancing again. Ever. Guaranteed.

Yeah nice. Handwind unitas is that? Which omega? I too love this AP. 20k nowadays though And only 50m wr!!images (9).jpeg The Railmaster with the blue face, exactly like this: The Glycine is one of the oversized 45mm with a repurposed pocket watch calibre. I like the Aikon, because it takes some style cues from the Nautilus. without the price tag.

I have the "back to bauhaus" antea. exactly like this: beautifully simple and by far the most accurate watch Ive owned in years. I also have a glycine hand wound, that i rarely wear and a japanese JDM that needs a service.. so has been \retired\. But the Stowa is my favourite. If i were to buy a new one, the ideal first choice would be the Omega, but if i cant justify that then i have my eyes on the Lacroix Aikon. which apes, to a degree the AP I also have a real soft spot for Breguet, I really like the Classique 5177 despite it being extremely 'dressy'.. though 'simple' too.

I never knew there were wrist watch enthusiasts! Every day is a school day! Less so now tbh - I bought an omega aqua terra and that does everything. I could buy a new rolex, or a new race bike and I can't afford both soooo... Yeah I'd take the bike. I used to have a tag, die as, nomos dress watch, but hand wind was a pain, leather, can't get it wet... Convenience is king. Coincidentally it's in the shop in Turkey (managed to find an omega dealer) as I got water in it somehow!! They are fixing it for me, but I feel naked You? Another thread perhaps. I really want a Railmaster, with the blue face and steel wrist band. though right now im happy enough slumming it with my Stowa.

No.

I’m not sure why this is an issue. There are two types of Chinese motorcycle producers. Those that do it properly are in it for the long haul, Kymco being an example, a former BMW contractor that went independent. And the “in it for a fast buck” brigade that clone simple Japanese engines and then build bikes as cheaply as possible. I would compare it with a hypothetical. An Apple iPhone that retails at £1000 in an apple store or reputable reseller. And what looks like an identical phone that costs £80 and can be bought only online. My iPhone was made in China, I don’t worry about it. Any BMW single was made in China too. These bikes made for small independent outfits like Mutt in Birmingham and presumably this company in Belgium, I would imagine are from decent enough production facilities in China and then the bare bones machine “finished” here in Europe. I’m not sure it’s fair to compare these with the cheap and fairly awful ‘disposable’ bikes we see problems with all the time. Obviously they don’t have the back up of a vast dealer network and all that goes with it and that can lead to issues. But I don’t think it’s fair to tar them all with the same brush. They are not all the same.

I was under the impression that the Virago was distinctive amongst many cruisers in that it had footrests and levers in the standard (for other bikes) position.

I would stick with pilot roads 4 or the new 5 in the GT guise, designed for heavier bikes.

Those things are huge! To be fair, they do look bigger in the picture, although the 40l & 36l panniers arnt that wide, total width 101cm . however my shit photography still doesn't make it anymore convincing. 20200916_183322 (4).jpg. I have the same, on my bike they are 1” wider than the mirrors. 1/2 per side.

Cleaned the chain with paraffin and then oiled it with gear oil. checked the slack - perfect. a 10 minute job. Beginning to think about suspension upgrades now.

I'm sure quite a few have been plundering in Wales. Looked a good laugh all that did. Apart from the maudlin bits of course. I thought the maudlin bits were a great antidote to your incessant seat removal fetish and constant need to faff about,

If I felt I needed that degree of security for a bike that is normally kept in a garage, I just couldn't see me staying there. I would move house.

A few things I noticed, 3 out of every 5 bikes was a GS, of varying types and ages, A lot of older 1150's as well. Until I entered Italy.. then a big change. The Swiss really like the Ducati Multistrada.. almost every one I saw had Swiss plates. The Italians are absolutely mad about Triumphs. I was really surprised by this. if you saw a Triumph 9/10 it would have Italian plates. And in Italy they easily outnumbered BMWs, If a group of bikes were parked up, anything that wasnt a Triumph was ignored. and they would be going over them extremely closely, pointing and jabbering about this and that. I saw more of the original Tiger than I think I have ever seen in my life, the original Hinckley Tiger - 900. Also they are mad about soft luggage, hardly any corned beef cans for them. I only saw 2 other Ducatis the whole time with italian plates. and they were both monsters, ridden by women. (the monster is considered a bike for women only, in Italy - I was told, with much nodding.) if you are in any way a petrol head.. go to the great Dolomite road. find a good spot and watch what goes past. absolutely jaw dropping. In the heat.. people were geared up with one major exception. No gloves. this was really noticeable as they all wave, or point. or V sign. rather than nod. I really felt like the odd one out wearing my vented gloves. From leaving the tunnel, i didnt see a single UK plate the whole time. so, people were talking to me a lot. much more than usual. of course being alone makes you more approachable, but even so.. there was a lot of comments that could be summed up by "where are the english?' As for the response to Covid. they were all taking it far more seriously than here. to a remarkable degree. if you tried entering anywhere without a mask on they would send you out, and anyone else would just stop what they were doing and stare, or, staff come running out with one for you to wear, if they thought you might not have one handy. people were disinfecting their hands before entering and leaving any building. nearly everyone had their own bottle of instant alcohol disinfectant and it was on sale everywhere, very cheap. €2 for a bottle. Anything you touched was instantly wiped. if you weren't wearing a mask people would give you a wide berth, out doors. It was perfectly normal to take off your crash helmet and immediately put on a mask. coming back here is like being in a different world.

3, that i can remember. I have U turns turned off... so when it demanded I do one, it means business. In two cases it was a dead end road, up a blind valley. And in the 3rd a wooden bridge that had... shall we say, a few bits missing!! I don't like wooden bridges at the best of times, but that one was a horror. it also had a sign that was unpronounceable but also unmistakable. I turned around and went around. But, its fine on this bike the turning circle is tiny. Not something that will be happening next year in das eifel. Not all that many umleitungs this year either,.. and those i did encounter just lead to better routes. Like the wonderful B50.

Just before riding away from my home, I reset the ODO on the sat nav. so total distance is:

Cleaning it, once I can get motivated.

Decided I couldn’t wait for south mimms. Needed coffee and loo so currently at a McDonald’s at lakeside. Just past dartford crossing. M20 was a ‘mare. Roadworks almost all the way to the crossing, made a whole lot worse by a breakdown.(Sigh) I’m in no rush anyway. It’s been a great couple of weeks and as I’ve not been told otherwise, no need to isolate for 2 bloody weeks!! Even though I was told repeatedly that I would have to by armchair experts. I’ve told the Krufts we will be seeing them next September, so that’s already written in stone. Probably the weekend after August B/H. Few things I noticed. A new speed cam on the B50 in a short stretch that’s got a 50 limit. The polizei were setting up a speed trap on the B410 a few miles from Dasburg, which is something we will never see during the week. The Dasburg hairpin was barre ferme. So hopefully being resurfaced - something to look forward to. The schnitzel was as good as ever. The Schloss was just the same. The L4 south of Sinspelt was also being resurfaced and the umleitung took me to the B50, so something more to look forward to. I went through Seebach but didn’t stop or divert to the Williams, it was very odd riding down that road though. On a bike that wasn’t horribly damaged!! Before crossing I went to look at the Wormhoudt massacre site, which was very emotional. I also went to the CWGC cemetery close by which is mainly WW1 plus the massacre victims in a mass grave and there stones with “buried nearby” markers. They have planted 84 (I think) oak trees with seeds from England for each victim. Below are the photos I took. As per usual I sought out the unknowns.

No. Still under the sea. No eureka today. I’m really thirsty so Sainsbury’s first for cheaper (than mimms) drinks. There are 5 empty carriages between me and the last car. Really peeved that the form was such a bloody waste of time. Nobody has asked to see it. The man has just been through to scan my ticket and he said nothing. I can’t see how they can stop everyone as they get off. So, it’s been all for nothing. And daylight.... Just noticed this: ha.... bit late.

I’m there now, but as per usual, last on. Place is practically dead. Only one ticket Hanger Lane open. Straight through. In minutes. Nobody has, as yet asked to see my return to UK form, seems that was a wasted effort filling that in. Ho hum. Told me to wait in the most bizarre place too. Through the final barrier in the middle of the driveway to the ramps. I’m the only bike. Billy no mates (again) And we’re off.....

Still in France as there were a few places I wanted to have a look at related to the Dunkirk escape. also wanted to see the white cliffs from the French side. Just had the most fabulous salad. And once that goes down I’ll make my way to the tunnel.

An old friend...

A very busy dining room this morning. But that’s it breakfast demolished and I will be in my way in the next hour or so. Always a sad moment riding away from this place. Which appears to have had twins overnight! Not much to do, in fact I’m all ready. Popping to Dasburg first and then a gently bimble via Clervaux to see the Northampton at La Roche, as I missed it out, coming, which wasn’t right at all. Filled in the returning travel form last night which is a bit of a pain. I have a flexiplus ticket so just turn up and board. Finally, a couple of shots I took last night of the guest house. So, farewell to the Schloss, see you next year!

Isn’t there some sort of “uniform” boot for Harley riders, with a standard boot style. With the HD logo for extra kudos and who cares about safety.

Because this region is so fantastic and easy to get to, we tend to come 2 years running and then a year off, where we go camping usually. Obviously this year was our year off. But Covid has ruined everything. But even alone I couldn’t resist coming here at the start and now the end of my tour down to Italy. Even the destination implied by the thread title became impossible. I had to dash through Austria without stopping and my goal of riding the Glockner will have to wait for better times. We will be back here at the Schloss next September.