S-Westerly

So got the medical out of the way and as usual got lost in Birmingham. Benighted city. Ended up in Kidderminster then had a reasonable tootle but dark skies rather dampened my enthusiasm so came home earlier than I expected.

After a glorious weekend without my bike today the weather is grey and I have to ride to Birmingham for a medical. Quick blast up the M5 but plan something more pleasant for the way home. Now queuing.

I've got an unused Nemo (original) free to good home apart from p&p.

Trouble with EV is that if everyone magically got one tomorrow the lights would go out. Try charging at a busy motorway services on a bank holiday... think I'll fly somewhere far away instead.

Probably I should rephrase that to "London cyclists" and I'm sure they aren't all pestilential just the ones I've had the misfortune to meet.

If we are going to talk about obnoxious gits imo it has to by cyclists, especially the ones who scream abuse at you if you have the temerity to step onto a zebra crossing and impede their god given right to proceed like fuckwits at all times.

One of the reasons my company bans them from ships.

My aunties and cousins being fully paid up members of the cat protection league would have been coming up your drive with the pitchforks and burning torches.

Bikes with no proper rear mudguard which means mud and shite plastered everywhere. A decent rear hugger / mudguard could be combined with a number plate holder. Rarely see one as stock.

Driving out with the wife today down into deepest Somerset saw quite a few bikes as it was a glorious sunny day. Felt really envious tbh.

Our Patterdale gave every evidence that in his mind he was a full on timber wolf and everything was prey. Got very frustrated.

The large dope we regularly find in the kitchen sink looking guilty. He's eaten all the wooden spoons.

Couldn't agree more, it really winds me up.

I've used All Year Biker for a while. The guy I use is the nearest to me and is down near Marlborough. Does a really good job and I suspect was one reason I got a decent trade in on the Ducati. When I can fit it in I plan to get the Guzzi done as well.

When I first got the bike I was a bit ho hum about these tyres but I think that was mainly due to them.needing to be scrubbed in and probably me familiarising myself with the bike. Since then.and I now have over 1500 miles on them I find myself regarding them more highly. They warm up quickly (I've ridden in temps as low as -4 C) and have decent grip in wet and dry conditions. I'll see how they wear and for future use I'll be considering Metzler Roadtec 02 or Michelin RP6 as well as the Pirellis.

Having a weekend away with my wife for her birthday. Healthy eating going to get a good kicking.

Lots of pubs and cafes in my area allow well-behaved dogs. Not witnessed any issues with them so far. Joggers and cyclists though are often a pain in the arse not all but a sizable number.

The family now have two dogs - both crosses with poodle in the mix. The larger one which is still a puppy and really friendly (likes to jump up to greet hence lots of muddy coats but is being trained out of it). The smaller looks like a cuddly Teddy bear but hates being approached by strangers who frequently especially children need to be warned off as they want to cuddle him which he won't tolerate at all. Previously we had a Patterdale terrier who was a typical terrier but loved children. People were nervous of him but if a child approached all he'd do would be to lie down and roll over for a belly rub. Of course he'd do that in the filthiest path you can imagine but....

As has been discussed many times before - what licence do you have? If you are riding a 125 cc bike on a CBT and provisional licence you will be breaking the law if you increase the capacity. Also your insurance will be invalid and this is really not a position in which you want to find yourself.

Not really to do with design etc but something I really don't like - has anyone else noticed that brand specific forums (my recent experience limited to Ducati and Moto Guzzi) treat any perceived criticism as heresy? Ask a question that maybe interpreted as being critical of the brand and you invite a pile of abuse. Particularly noted this with the Guzzi to a ridiculous extent and that's a subscription site. Needless to say I won't be renewing!

As for things I don't like - buttons and switches on bikes which are close together and when wearing gloves are too liable to be inadvertently operated. EG on the Guzzi the cruise control is right next to the full beam light switch. There's been a few folks thinking I'm flashing lights at them when all I'm doing is trying to set the cruise control.

I've got at least 6 pairs of gloves and they are all comfortable and mostly with external seams so they don't chafe my fingers.

It was labelled as bike parts but it was also values as $350 which unfortunately put it in the dutiable (20% VAT plus 2% on the value) bracket. Government never misses a chance to screw you over.

Quite like the green on my Guzzi if you don't mind. As for cars colour who cares? As long as its not some version of silver - that's just bleah.

This morning the long awaited package from the USA arrived and my bike once again has 2 panniers. Had to pay over £80 in "fees" to get it though.