Trooper74

The “Patina of Age” .... just leave it alone ....

The header on my Himalayan has gone a light brown, like most Himalayans. Stainless steel but possibly not the best grade ... looks ok though.

Perfect working order .... good external condition, surplus to requirements ... Free to collector Rotherham, Junction 1 M18 ....

I’m going into work as advertised ... on the bike .... 14 miles there ..... 85 miles back ...lol lol

Rained overnight but forecast for glorious sunshine. Told work on Wednesday I would be late in Thursday .... So that will be Friday then ..! 251 Miles of fun and games ... M18 / A1 to Wetherby then the loop as shown; It was bitterly cold ... but how could anyone complain ; However the SPAR at Grassington has great hot chocolate ...

Shell Super .... big singles love it .... mine does ...

I trust to a Kriega rucksack with a MacBook Pro 15 inch in it as my spine protector ..

I bought a Oxford Hinterland 5 months age ... totally waterproof throughout the “summer” , but as its so short .. (but super comfy) its a summer / autumn jacket only ..I’ll go back to my super cheap. “sort of Chinese Gortex ebay” jacket for the winter as it sits much lower over my trousers. But the Hinterland is a great jacket. I bought mine as clearance stock from CMC Motorcycles at Clay Cross for ........ £100 ... !

Just been watching Ross Kemp in Afghanistan with 45 Commando RM .... sobering .... Night Chaps ....

A pedestrian, a Woman, was hit by a car in a road near by ... badly bleeding ... the Air Ambulance was transiting the area and were called in to get a doctor on site fast. She was taken by ambulance to the local hospital .. before the crew had even finished stowing their gear they where tasked to another incident. Top Chaps all. Pilot, ex Army. 2 Senior Paramedics, Doctor.

Morning all, the field behind my house approx 1900hrs last night ,,,

This weekend is going to be a bit different; Julie is off to Lanzarote tomorrow ... with her friend Lesley .. for 10 days .. Without me .... !!!!!!!!!!!! I’m looking after the children ....... Which is good ..... All 4 of them ... SO .. I have a cunning plan; After school on Friday we are all off to Haxey Quays Camp Site. The girls and lad can run wild ... sort of lord of the flies .. and me and Connor can sit and chill ..ish In the tent Friday and Saturday night, on Saturday we are off to Cadwell to watch the motorbike racing and and eat junk food. Sunday we are off to the Normous Newark Autojumble. At the campsite the girls will play out well after dark with the other kids on site and a great weekend will be had by all ... Thats how it usually works ... BUT .. Julies missing this time .. I’m sure it will work out well.....

TOB Cycle race has been a fantastic opportunity for fans to see the greats of cycling in action. But most of all I was so happy to see Pippa Yorke presenting ... as Robert Millar she was an inspiration to me as a younger cyclist.

My son John went missing. The whole estate was out looking for him ... We called the police .... After 3 hours he was found .... asleep under his bed. We hugged him and after a few tears we all went to bed... In all the fuss and upset, for the first time ever, i did not put the locks on my Yamaha 350 YPVS. In the morning it was gone !! I’ve never forgiven him !!!!

My new one ... Picked up from the Ribble showroom in Clitheroe yesterday afternoon;

Keep away from cars. Keep away from Buses. Keep away from lorries. Keep as much space between yourself and other road users.

Nonsense ... theres no hard border ... just drive across it like i did 4 weeks ago ... and back again the next day ... unless you wear your yellow star who would know ...

Also bear in mind that if you travel to Belfast or Larne from Scotland by ferry there is no jab requirement to enter Northern Ireland or to cross into Ireland .. for those unjabbed for whatever reason.

Child free this weekend, combination of sleepovers, hols with family and the Swiss cheese model has lined up !! Started the weekend by call ing work and telling them i would be late in ... Monday! At 0700hrs this morning i set off from Braithwaite to cycle to Selby, 31 miles of joy. Front garden in Sykhouses ... really... Snaith Bridge ... with Drax in the background ... green power in action .. NOT !

Give it 10 minutes and there will be bypass kits available on EBay ....

There’s a fair bit of MZ in there i think ...??

Off to Belfast ..... Sunday morning 5am, bike packed up the night before set off along the M18 / A1 north bound. Warm, but cool air full of moisture and the smells of early morning sat around 65 mph ... no rush, 1530 ferry from Cairnryan, breakfast planned for the Rooster in Penrith. Filled up Scotch Corner then off along the A66 to Penrith. Got to Penrith a lot earlier than planned to find the cafe closed .... Got to Carlisle a lot earlier than planned to top up fuel .... Realised that even with my gentle progress i was going to arrive at Cairnryan just after 10.00hrs ! THE 11.30HRS FERRY ... Arrived at Cairnryan, went to check-in, explained i was early , the nice people at Stena sent me through onto the ferry ... result. Off at Belfast. Ride 30 miles to sisters. Drink beer and eat food with her and her husband Steve. Bed for midnight. 2 meetings with railway companies on Monday morning then Janet and I went down the Ards peninsula to a small beach just south of Cloughy and spent the afternoon swimming. Home, beer, food, bed. Lovely day. 5am Monday. Ride to the ferry port in Belfast ... empty roads and soft warmth. 8 other bikers on the return trip, including 2, 12 year old pillions, off with there dads touring around Scotland for a few days. We pushed some tables together in the ships cafe and all had breakfast together chatting, sleeping and marvelling at people walking around the outer decks of a ship in the middle of the North Channel wearing masks ... must have been anti- mackerel masks we decided. The ride home was hot, sweaty and uncomfortable .... 32 deg c air temp, engine temp steady between 39- 41 deg c, usually 24 - 26 deg. Glad to get home strip off kit and jump in shower ... 611 miles of motorcycling pleasure .... made a change from getting rained on ...

Outstanding .....

When i first saw the post my reaction was “Really ! “ But it’s a human factors thing, most of us have minor issues when riding a bike after a period off it ... it takes a few miles to “ get back in the groove “ . But at least most of have a groove to get back into .... As a new rider that groove will be established and the anxiety will disappear. I have to fully agree with the previous posting, “ I’ve loved every second being on the bike through my riding life. “. All 50 years of it ...

Is this at their place at Conisburgh ?