Slowlycatchymonkey

Finished ‘Our Ridiculous World Trip’ and ‘Hells Angels the life and times of Sonny Barger’ Our Ridiculous World Trips worth a read just because it’s fresh and honest. They don’t pretend they’re tough or hardy, they don’t eschew modern technology and they’re not running away from their problems like a lot of round the world travellers are so you don’t have to read a lot of hand wringing. They just wanted to do something. It’s not scintillating but it’s enjoyable and as a result of reading it I will never be going near Russia in the wintertime.. EVER I read the Sonny Barger ‘Hells Angels’ before I start the recommended Hunter S Thompson ‘Hells Angels’ because I wanted to hear his version of things before reading what is a journalists account. It gives an insight into his approach and the way he likes to present himself and events. A lot of it’s believable, some of it really not. There’s a lot of “I had no idea that had happened” which mostly doesn’t fly but I suppose he wasn’t about to write a book incriminating himself for anything that wasn’t already a matter of public record. There’s no flowery language, very plain descriptions and it reads like someone you know just telling you what happened. The oddness of being “patriotic Americans” who “value respect and freedom above all else” is in my view completely at odds with the violence and fear they’re happy to use to curtail other peoples freedom but hey we’re not talking about a balanced person from a pleasant background. Enjoyable in a horrible way. Worth a read. Oh and he really cannot stand Hunter S Thompson, according to him he’s a complete “chicken sh*t” who sensationalised things to sell a book. That’s my next read so let’s see?!

Ah now that is nice. Nice blue too. Congratulations @elizabethf I look forward to hearing all about it

But do you use a double envelope style one for bike camping? They are quite bulky.

When you get it right with the right kit it’s all well n good, no dampness, no discomfort and no regrets. I’d go as far to say then it’s fun. It goes south when you insist on camping in miserable conditions (wet/cold) or have the wrong gear. There’s something to be said for bunkhouses, B&B’s and hotels. Campings advantage is it detaches you from time, there’s no need to get to breakfast or dinner for a certain time, you come and go when you please and eat when you want. There’s also no staff to deal with (can be particularly irksome in B&Bs when they are run by the owners), no housekeeping knocking on the door when you decided you wanted a lie in. Your room is always a suite with an outdoor seating area and in the sunshine with a kettle or a frying pan/BBQ is blissful. So when you tot up the advantages of being in a tent and then add the cost of hotels it turns out to be a surprisingly fine experience. But it does for me all hinge on being comfortable and sleeping well. I was amazed how many people said to me “You? YOU CAMPING!?!?” cos I’m not known for tolerating a rubbish time. Not in a horrible way, just life’s too short to waste on poor experiences but it turned out (with the help from people on this forum) to be a very pleasant experience indeed. Just keep your eye on the forecast!

Their upper price range is premium, but it seems you can pay crazy amounts more. Washable and it’s ability to recover from the wash is also important to me. I’ll stick with the manmade filling, plus a mild feather allergy puts me off even if down is supposedly hypoallergenic I think the cotton sucked the moisture from the air like blotting paper and had I of thought about it properly I would have realised this as no-one exercises in cotton for that very reason. heyho. Everyone’s body temp naturally drops when they sleep, by how much can vary a lot from person to person, some people are genuinely more cold blooded than others, I’m one of those people and one who I’ve discovered needs a MUCH warmer sleeping bag than usual. Thanks for the info it’s appreciated

I’m now wishing I’d asked the question before I purchased. Snugpak is the sort of thing I was looking for, would have saved me the frustration of getting to the point of “buy one any bl**dy one” just so I could stop looking Vango one being delivered tomoz (impressed with Attwoolls only ordered it late last night) so I’ll have a look at it and if I don’t think much of it it’ll go back. I read down sleeping bags can suffer with dampness from condensation same as cotton so I was going to stick with polyester is that right? And if I was moving into premium brand money would you stick with snugpak or do other brands come into play?

or is he?

Sibling, spat and daily Mail in the same sentence- shudder.

Great news. About time. Happy for you

Yeah I really like that too but I don’t agree about the ugly duckling part. Mind you I’d probably have a bike of every type and shape if I could do my opinion doesn’t count for much

Lol that’s how I viewed the r9t, I kept looking at it thinking Hmm it’s like Woody Harrelson, is it attractive or not, I can’t make up my mind

We’ve not yet found a much to assassinate, don’t worry we’ll keep searching and as you accidentally share more your file will plump with potential mwah ha ha haaa

It’s still a very bright green. The kwak green colour is a bit of a marmite thing. When I think of Kawasaki I immediately think I’d like one.. but that green is And yet I don’t mind other bright colours or other (usually darker) greens. Personal taste is such a weird thing. Something that delights your eyes can make someone else nauseas

Camping gear upgrade sorted. I think. For anyone bored/interested links included below. Ground sheet fabric for new weird pop up and down tent ordered. The tents slightly bulky but really does pop up and crucially back down ridiculously quickly so I’ll give it a whirl. The mechanism makes me think it won’t be long lived but comes with 5 years guarantee so we’ll see. When it gives up the ghost I’ll probably be ready for a swanky upgrade Cobb frying pan ordered. Its very flat and has detachable flat handle. It’s harder than I thought it would be to find a large flat frying pan with detachable handle so hope this’ll do. Most camping frying pans are imo far far too small to adequately fry up enough breakfast. New sleeping bag ordered as the current one is cotton and feels damp if the temperature difference causes too much condensation- an expensive mistake on my part. Not sure about the sleeping bag I’ve gone for as I started off from the basis I definitely didn’t want a cocoon shape one and ended up buying.. yep a cocoon shape one I just couldn’t find toasty envelope shape ones with reliable reviews. The way they rate them seems very hit n miss until you move into the territory of the very pricey. I’m currently not going to pay for an expensive one until I know if I get on with the cocoon shape. Wondering if others here have used cocoon shape sleeping bags and how you’ve found them or have I made another mistake? https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/camping-tent-2-seconds-easy-fresh-black-2-person/_/R-p-308355?mc=8553541&c=WHITE&orderId=gb311262826 https://www.attwoolls.co.uk/cobb-frying-pan https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15896936/vango-nitestar-450-sleeping-bag-15896936

A rather brutal and insensitive approach. A pencil pusher will have figured out saves them 0.5% Anyhow that doesn’t help and your doing a good job of managing this

Beautiful though.

I do sometimes, gingerly with extreme caution on the understanding if it goes wrong it’s entirely my fault. Say if I was stuck at a junction for a long time and the vehicle that flashed had slowed enough to mean I could pull into the gap - but it has to have slowed to the point that regardless of whether it continued to slow or sped up I could still safely get out.

Congrats Jamesinbrum. I would have looked it up decided it was too much and run crying to my mechanic so hats off n all that!

Glad you managed to get your licence considering everything that’s going on. What’s up with the Bullit?

Assumption is a tricky thing isn’t it. You know the junction so don’t assume you having priority will keep you safe which I suppose is something most bikers get used to very quickly. I don’t see there’s a lots you can do about it other than slowing just in case. Roundabouts are the classic one, your sitting there waiting and waiting for a big enough gap and someone’s indicating left to exit before you which would leave the way clear - so long as the left indicator means they’re really going left so... do you, don’t you? You know it’s a risk when your not certain of their course but most of us risk it sometimes.

Welcome Slysi84 Have you got your full licence or are you in the eternal queue of frustration created by the DVSA?

I don’t know if indicators are really a help or a hindrance. After riding in a country where they only used to let the person behind you know it’s ok for you to overtake (which at first is completely alien) you discover any vehicle can go in any direction and you ride accordingly. You can easily tell where someone’s going cos the vehicle wheels point that way. First ride back in the UK indicators seemed quite dangerous because the person may well not go in the direction being indicated and you may well make a mistake assuming they are. I know this sounds unlikely but I bet anyone else who’s ridden in a country where indicators (and most road rules) aren’t used will have wondered the same.

Dynax I’m sorry to hear that. I hope the time passes as painlessly as possible. Look after yourself.

I love the sound of this bike (and the enormous mudguards). Is it an emissions/exhaust thing that bikes don’t sound like this now? I’m aware the timings different but that can’t account for the sound surely?

TLDR Yeah it’s a certainly worth trying. Cheers Neil and all power to your kids elbows. Different strokes for different folks. It’s something you have to try to know if it suits. I went to Guildford and tbh coming from a very very bad state school it was a bit of a culture shock. They seemed sooo confident, sorted and did the work easily while still partying. But I just reminded myself I’d been offered a place and was there even though I hadn’t had a leg up like the others with public schooling and wealthy parents, I felt proud I’d made it into this privileged world that wasn’t meant for the likes of me, like I deserved it maybe even a little bit more than the others there which might sound odd but it was very helpful when those moments occurred when my background left me feeling exposed for not knowing or having experienced the same things as them. I look back on it now and realise it fundamentally changed the way I viewed people, privilege and wealth. By the end of the first year I realised plummy accents, large bank accounts and expensive educations meant nothing when it came to intellect or ability. What they had in spades that I didn’t was the confidence that they could go anywhere and do anything (plus some great contacts). The world was open to them and they were entitled to take part in it. That rubs off on you and suddenly your also a go anywhere do anything person too and that is absolutely priceless. By the end of the second year I wasn’t phased by anything, I could easily talk to a professors or a millionaire like they were my equal and I did because I’d transformed into someone who valued myself differently. The snobbery was a bit annoying though but such fun to prick the pomposity of silly people. So yeah sorry it’s such a long one but I vaguely remember you saying something about your daughters confidence and if you approach it the right way you leave full of it!