Gerontious

Strange thread. What’s it about?

Dont tell them.

On Nights and looking at hairpins before bed.

They sound as good as they look. Nice one,

Added a pair of Kriega fork seal covers

And we have a plan of sorts... Saturday starts easy with a 180 mile ride to Eperney in Champagne and stay overnight at the rather good Municipal campsite on the edge of town. Sunday, an earlyish start and then a fairly rapid ride across to the Alsace and the Vosges mountains, hopefully to the top of the Grand Ballon and a view of the Alps on the southern horizon as well as the Black Forest to the east. Monday, south through the Jura and into the Alps to the south of Lake Geneva... to another Municipal near Cluses that is right on the RDGA. Tuesday.. a treat, I have a route that goes round Mont Blanc, A day to take it easy and get reused to riding in the mountains. see a bit of Switzerland and Italy. over the Grand Bernard Pass. And along the Aosta valley. (eat pizza) Wednesday/Thursday and Friday.. wander down the RDGA to the sea at Menton. taking it very easy. see the sea. Saturday. get on the motorway to get past Monte Carlo and Nice and then turn north, following Route Napoleon to the Gorges of Verdon and then onwards to le Camping Moto in the Vercors. Sunday.. a day off. get pissed as farts. Eat cake. Monday/Tuesday.. explore the Vercors. return to Combe Laval and see the sights. Wednesday/Thursday and Friday. Not really sure.. but i wouldn't mind having a wander through the Auvergne, buy a bottle of Volvic in Volvic and see some Volcanos. then north and west stopping about 200 miles from the Tunnel, maybe at Eperney again. And book a ferry return. Saturday.. ride to calais and then home. we may have an extra day and return on the Sunday. bit of a back of an envelope plan that.. revisiting places ive been before and are more than happy to see again. old and new. familiar and unfamiliar, 42 days

I’m not bothered about the rating, it doesn’t matter if you’re only staying one night. All that matters to me is the water hot in the showers. Do they need a token! And what time is the office open in the morning so we can get going. If I arrive at a decent campsite then I might stay longer..,, but for my upcoming tour, I’ll be much like the OP. Just turning up, spending the night and then be on my way by about 9am. In most cases Archies gives a star rating if that’s important to you. I’ve only ever had one bad experience and that wasn’t an issue with the campsite but with the rather rude and intolerant owner. We left the next day and I won’t go there again, even if I could remember exactly where it was!! Somewhere north of Monte Carlo (ish) We were given free beer by another guest who heard the commotion. And that, free beer, soothes and smooths every upset.

very easy.. i can only talk about camping. I have 'Archies camping' on my sat nav and when time begins to run out. i just look up the nearest campsite and go there. if its late and the office is closed - with no obvious contact, find a pitch and pay next morning. or if i intend staying a day or two, let them know. https://www.archiescampings.eu There has been a lot of discussion on the various FB touring groups about the current situation and the consensus seems to be that the locals are positively eager for Brits to visit ever since restrictions were lifted. just be aware of the need to wear masks as and when that is demanded. It should be obvious as there will almost certainly be a sign.

Im decidedly old school.. currently have a Mission Cyrus 1 amp feeding Linn Index speakers with my Mac Mini as source. But.. if that was to suddenly go pop. I probably wouldn't look much further than Denon or Marantz. and be perusing the Richer sounds website. or even another cyrus.. second hand, but rather more modern than my 1984 antique.

looks a bit neff to me.

So, today Austria has relaxed the 4 day rule for 30 countries. but NOT the UK. So thats that. I can forget about Austria for this year and carry on getting ready for the French Alps.

I would just hire a storage unit.

it hardly matters with those kinds of miles. base your decision on condition, though they should all be mint. upgrades that might suit you and service history, is there an expensive service round the corner. Go for the one you like the best at a price that suits your wallet. if they are all the same bike model.. check if there were any model upgrades.

with helmets there is a baseline 'quality' where it has to meet the standard. over an above that you are paying for care in design. safety over and above the baseline. A longer service life. small things like replaceable or swappable parts that improve 'fit' or washable parts. A level of Quality control the cheaper brands cannot manage. A meaningful warranty. Even a larger choice of sizes in smaller increments. proper testing for the real world. With clothing (excluding leathers) much the same applies. I tend to go for the best that I can afford.. high end. because it lasts and lasts, I ignore waterproofs that do not employ Goretex. because their lifetime guarantee is worth having. AND because they are incredibly fussy about who they allow to use their product. because they back everything they make they insist on the best workers and quality control. Unless i get lucky at sale time I wouldnt even look at anything at the low end price-wise. because i want materials that can protect my skin, bone and muscle. I wont touch anything from Amazon, because i want to examine and try on, before i hand over my hard earned, Though i have been known to try on and then seek out the exact same item online at a marked discount. i do tend to get my moneys worth.. the most expensive item of clothing i have ever bought is now 10 years old and as good as new. It has never leaked and kept me comfy at 3c and tolerably 'temperate; at 30c. I also tend to buy more of one thing.. ie gloves. i have gloves for all conditions and chop and change them.. which means they last donkeys years. I have 2 season winter gloves. Gloves that are spring.autumn. (both goretex) and 3 other pairs to fill in the gaps. Nearly every pair of gloves i have were bought in sales. heavily discounted. Om the type to buy end of season winter gloves in April that wont be worn until the following November. Or summer gloves bought in October. and so on. thats what i do.. what you do is up to you. its your cash.

Getting to the south of France involves a lot of motorway, too much motorway. Maybe on your routes, but there are other ways, as you probably know. yep. its all sorted.

It’s just an idea at the moment that may come to nothing. I’m hoping for a change of policy in Austria and that’s not just because it was the original plan. The biggest plus is the journey there. It’s very pleasant once we’re away from the north east corner of France. First there’s the route south east to the Vosges and then the Black Forest then across lower Swabia to pick up the German Alpine road. Getting to the south of France involves a lot of motorway, too much motorway. So, it depends a lot on whether there is an alternative that’s a pleasure to ride. Through a landscape that’s varied enough to distract from the miles we need to cover. I don’t go on holiday to spend day after day on motorways. We did that a few years ago and never again. If we do head for the RDGA then I will probably spread the journey over 2 days from our first stop at Eperney. If we head for the actual start at Thonon that’s 300 miles, though I would be inclined to join a bit further south, at Cluses perhaps. Anyway plenty of time to sort it all out.

Alps here we come, but which ones? Slight hitch as far as Austria goes. They have decided to be difficult. They are currently demanding that visitors from some countries including the UK have a negative test result, In itself, thats quite easy to achieve. However, they are also insisting that it is at most 4 days old and thats rather more problematic. I can probably manage that... but the trouble is it would then put us under a lot of pressure to get down to Austria within those 4 days and Im not sure thats even possible. Its not really a disaster.. going at all has been touch and go for such a long time, that being able to go anywhere at all seems like a major triumph. And theres always a chance that the Austrians might change policy in the next 7 weeks. That would be great. but Im not holding my breath. So.. Plan B. If it turns out that we have to miss out on one truly iconic road.. then its only fair that we ride another. The Grossglockner in Austria is a day out, 30 miles from end to end, But its the sort of road you cant just ride once, you really need to go back and forth. with stops in both directions to take it all in. So, if thats out of the question, what to do? There is another iconic road.. actually a route. Though this one is just a tad longer. And is admittedly a little bit longer. 447 miles. And runs from the southern shore of Lake Geneva to the Med, a few miles along the coast from Monte Carlo. . I have the entire route all ready to load onto the sat nav... we'll have to see, watch this space (as they say)

I was so thrilled I had to go and check the dates on some coleslaw I bought on Thursday.

Insurance is always an odd one.. for me, Devitt were the 3rd cheapest after MCE and Bennetts. I was with Carole Nash for getting on 15 years and throughout that time were very competitive. but that ended abruptly when I got the Africa Twin and i was forced to look elsewhere. The best they could offer me was almost 3 times the amount I pay Devitt. Another year when the bike hits its 3rd birthday i will try them again. My NCB dates back to 1997 in real terms. but, apparently the Africa Twin is highly desirable for professional thieves and CN are known to lean always towards the lowest risk owners and bikes. So, unless you tick all their boxes they just don't want to know. Only a few days ago someone posted elsewhere that they had asked him for a £1000 + fees, to add a bike to a £250 multi-bike. it was a HD and obviously one they didn't want to touch. Just my opinion, but, in most cases its best to treat insurance as a tax on ownership and try to never, ever claim. I would only claim if the bike was either stolen or written off.. anything else and they will claw-back every penny they have paid out in increased premiums. if the bike fell over awkwardly and i needed say, a new tank costing £1000. I still wouldn't claim.

just because you have a new camera doesn't mean you have to ride everywhere with your knee down. (bloody kids)

I have just updated my map file on the Zumo and it went very smoothly, which I think is quite remarkable for a device that is now 11 years old, August 2009 as a birthday present. even for the model it is, its ancient, there were at least 2 updates that Im aware of to the device before it was replaced in 2014. at least twice - onboard memory was increased with the final update including lifetime maps. I have only once had a problem with it.. there was a glitch in the software, maybe 4/5 years ago, where a software update that the website said was fine for my device, actually bricked it. This update was required before i could update the internal maps. So, I sent an email to their support place and a speedy reply, send it to us. I did so and after a couple of days got an email. Please pay £15. For that £15, I got the device returned to me by courier. it had the update performed and the mapping updated (usually £50) a new battery. And a new 32Gb sd card installed. with the 4Gb card that was in it, in a cute little case in the box. and a new 12 month software warranty. by modern standards its quite basic, though it pairs with my brand new phone, perfectly. its also tough. and I really do mean TOUGH. i just had a look on ebay and there are a few for sale.. for not a bad price. And when you consider these are still fully supported after such a long time... well, better than risking my new phone I think. I wonder how long it will actually live for? or when/if garmin cease support, change to software/mapping it can no longer accept.

@Stu If you listen really carefully you can hear @XTreme googling "green lane" The only way I'd get a green lane is put down some Astroturf! Or heard towards the north west of Spain, España verde!!

perhaps, for Harley Davidson bikes. I have no idea.. maybe [mention]fastbob[/mention] can answer that. its definitely not like that for the BMW F800+ series bikes that have it.. all but 1 model were belt drive. I had an F800S for a few years, 15 minutes to change the belt. a video. (not me)

you cant really go wrong with any modern shaft driven bike. But you do need to be fussy with BMWs. and not because of the shaft. Avoid any modern BMW with servo brakes. And don't be surprised if you see bikes that have been converted, servo removed. with modern K bikes, ask [mention]rob m[/mention] Ive only ever owned one.. and that was an older 'brick' I had to get rid of it because my license was in danger. it was so well designed speed became impossible to gauge except by looking at the speedo. when you think you're pootling along at 60 and actually doing over 100. its time to reconsider.

I really wish (sometimes) that the Africa Twin was a belt drive. All the benefits of a chain with none of the downsides. Once its fitted it, never needs adjustment. lubrication or anything at all aside from an occasional exam.. you know its starting to wear out when it loses a tooth. (block) Sprockets are eternal. It weighs next to nothing. doesnt suffer from 'snatch'.. very smooth. very smooth. and will last at least 30,000 miles or thereabouts. changing the belt is the simplest job of all. take off covers, pull old belt off. push new belt on. check tension. done. Occasionally.. rarely shit happens and these things can snap. just think about what can possibly happen when a chain snaps. just think about that for a moment. If a belt snaps.. it just drops off the back of the bike and the engine redlines. and you roll to a stop. but the chances of that happening are next to nothing. not even worth worrying about. just have a look at the belt every month or so. make sure its intact. no missing teeth or signs of perishing. Shafts are extremely reliable.. when maintained properly. and thats all about using the correct spec gear oil and following the schedule. However.. when they break. That means parts, parts that you cannot usually pop to your local bike shop for. I can get a new chain and sprocket for my bike tomorrow morning at 9. Cant do that with a shaft. and you need equipment to fix a shaft if the bike doesn't self support on a main stand. its not something you can easily do at home. back yard. etc. but that wouldnt (never did) put me off... of all the things that went wrong with my GS over the 20+ years I owned it.. the shaft was perfect. maintenance cost me £10 a time.. a bottle of GL5 gear oil.. and a couple of sockets. and 10 minutes.