S-Westerly

Yesterday riding home it was great - very few cars until I got to Cirencester then I must have met up with the school pick up mob as the road was clogged with some twit going at 40 mph everywhere and a tailback half a mile long.

If your helmet is too big for your head you really ought to consider ditching it. Too big and it may well not do what it's supposed to do in the event of an off.

Don't really see the point but when I bought my Guzzi I had a choice of plates and unfortunately the one with GZI had been taken the previous day. Otherwise no. Don't see the point.

I always avoid the A1 on busy days or times unless I've absolutely no choice. Going from my dad's in Morpeth to my daughter's in Barnard Castle the A68 isn't a bad way and you can cut across the moors etc. Of course if he's on the flat bit of Durham near the coast you're screwed.

Not really and we had kids young which meant we were relatively young grandparents. I'd never pressurise anyone to have kids though as it's a personal choice and not everyone wants to be a parent. It's bloody hard work for a start - why do you think I buggered off to sea?

Me too. Also quite keen on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Less so the weekends but I am on leave so can do what I like when others are chained to work.

Lexmoto = unreliable, troublesome and nasty.

Collected the Guzzi from daughter's place and rode it home cross country- Shepperton- Pangbourne- Wantage- Faringdon- Lechlade- Cirencester- home. Pure fun especially in Sport mode. Too many 50 mph limits though.

All I would say is try and avoid July and August. These are peak holiday months and everywhere will be crammed and more expensive too. Also the potential for really hot (+30C) for days on end which doesn't make for fun riding especially in heavy traffic.

My bike didn't have a centre stand and I paid an extra 200 odd quid for the privilege. Rather think it was a waste (no chain to oil) as its quite a narrow foot print and not stable on anything other than flat ground. I've used it once.

My wife is volunteering at a primary school and has to undergo some kind of vetting which is fair enough when you are dealing with 5 year olds. Probably terrorist negotiating strategy too given the average 5 y.o.

Riding my bike somewhere anywhere unless it's tipping it down and next week's forecast looks utterly shite.

Good afternoon and it is too. A decent lunch in Bristol on the way home from airport. Son in law reported bike started at first time of asking despite being left with E5 fuel and no battery charger. Collecting it on Friday.

If there's a handy tree Way Out will do.

Good morning from Schipol Airport. Yesterday was a day I'd prefer to forget. Screwed, blued and f**king tattooed. Seriously unhappy bunny until got off ship.

If I'm busting for a pee I don't give a rat's ass what's on the door.

As I understand it a mod 1 is for at least an A2 licence so you can apply for a refund or forfeit.

My son drives a Tesla and I'm rather fond of him.

Que?

Why I don't have a vintage bike. My interest is purely in riding it. Fettling brings me out in a cold sweat and a need to lie down in a dark room.

Insurance has largely shot up in price over the last few years. When I changed my bike in December from a Multistrada to a Guzzi V100S my premium went up to just under £500. Had been £300 for the Multistrada. Smaller bikes are moreoften stolen I think.

Engineering is the backbone of n industrial society. The decline in British engineering is a sad indictment on the state of our economy.

I reckon you're right there or at least its a major part of it. To go through the ridiculous rigmarole that seems the case today you really must have a burning desire to ride a bike. Not sure many do. That said both my son and son in law did and that wasn't due to me having a bike as I didn't then. In fact it was partly them getting bikes that reawakened my desire for one again.

Getting enraged by lying bast*rd oil terminals. Turns out there's two ships ahead of us in the queue which they've known about for a week. Instead of telling me that from the beginning they only told me once I arrived off Rotterdam and anchored. Spent most of last week arranging crew changes and a load of work that needs doing with 7 different sub-contractors which is all now having to be rescheduled for the 7th / 8th. I'm furious; you could even say I'm having conniptions.

If you are going all end of days apocalypse may I point out that the availability of petrol is likely to be severely curtailed. Oil refineries are high priority targets and burn very nicely. I'd be looking for a mule myself.