Steve_M

I was lucky in Norfolk. There’s a guy in Acle who I’d trust with all and any bikes regardless (except Chinese - he won’t go near them). There’s a distinct lack of independents within easy ride around here so I’m stuck with main dealers. It was almost tempting to get him to service the bike while I was in Norfolk on my way to Harwich last year.

A relative of my good lady works for the Halo trust.i’m not sure he’d approve. Also, with my memory, I’d forget where I put them.

I tried to hide it with the Norton. There was a rather nice Guzzi V100 there (no photo). I rather like the look of them but I don’t know where I’d get it serviced should I buy one.

I test rode a Goldwing. I forgot to ask how the stereo worked on it so no idea how to turn it off. That was half an hour of some god-awful music I had nightmares about for days after.

Just a passing thought. If you chose to give it an ICE motorbike sound which would you choose? Imagine choosing, say, a Ducati. Turn up to your local bike meet, heads turn and… what a disappointment. And how much ribbing would you get? This, though, could be an option.

I have stones on the side with the drainage ditch - we allow that to run a bit wild and I run the strimmer over it from time to time. The other side I need to mow - even a small wall / stones (quarry? We have a great pile that we’re keeping to build a retaining wall along one bank of our stream) would add to the hassle when mowing.

I’ve ridden a selection of electric bikes and really wasn’t bothered by the different sound they make. However… The sound from the air box of my ZXR 750 when the revs hit 10,000 rpm was practically musical - and potentially licence shredding. Something I wish I’d explored on a track day - the A47 Norwich by-pass had to do (in first gear only, honest officer). My VFR 800 (and the 750 before it - keep forgetting I owned the 750, too) had, for want of a better word, a growl as it was revved reasonably hard - and, yes, I did explore that on numerous track days. My other bikes were MEH (down with the kids there, eh? ). Until this one. I will admit to the exhaust sound being a bit of a selling point on the R1200GS. The tale is a long one and I’ll try to précis. 1995 - Brands Hatch, Carl Fogarty et al on Ducatis with that glorious bass exhaust note as I sat and watched - and listened - as they hurtled down from Paddock Bend. 2018. We were having a picnic by the side of a stream not too far from the road on the Maloja pass. Several BMW R1200GS bikes came past and their exhaust note brought back memories of Brands Hatch. Not the same note but a resonance. My good lady also mentioned they sounded better than the dreadful FJR1300 we were on at the time, I’m not sure if that helps…

It’s a lovely day here so far. Time to clear the drive of leaves and other debris. This is quite a task given that there’s a lot of trees surrounding it and the drive is long and not well surfaced - part has been compared to a rally stage. It’s quite hard work and I’m both knocking on I years and suffering from last night’s judo training session. I’ve cleared around 30m so far and I should do another 20m this afternoon. However, I’m constantly bugged by the fact that a few delivery drivers seem incapable of negotiating the drive and keeping their tyres on the tarmac. The verges either side are soft and their tyres just cut a deep groove into them. I’m repeatedly having to tidy (as far as it ever will be tidy) up the verges, filling in the ruts made by these so-called professional drivers. Venting over… back to the grindstone.

I really can’t think of a worse choice of holiday - perhaps going on a cruise with my ex-wife… I will make an exception for a boat trip / cruise around the Norwegian fjords as long as I don’t have to mingle or partake of the ship’s entertainment.

I get lost in Brum and I spent the first 38 years of my life living in and around the city. Mind, a lot has changed in the intervening 30+ years.

Good morning. Ish. Once again we seem to be heading for disappointment in a tradesman. Said he’d be here on Saturday then cancelled last minute because “his apprentice had to go to a wedding and only told him last thing”. He then said he’d be here today “about half past eight” and it’s now…9.30. I blame Tony Blair…

My first day out on the bike since returning from our tour in September so I joined in with the local RoSPA group ride. The weather was a bit “fresh” and some of the road surfaces were … interesting. We stopped, briefly, at Route 59 cafe, near Skipton, but there was a long, slow moving queue for refreshments so we continued to Goat Gap cafe for a cuppa before wending a route home. Interesting to spot the Norton at Route 59… in lovely nick. Probably quite rare now.

Manufacturers who sell a “comfort seat” as an upgrade. Just make the original comfortable, for crying out loud. Lack of easily accessible storage for (for instance) toll tickets / credit card/Mars bar . My ST1100 had a neat little cubby hole suitable for just this (see photo) High level exhausts making one pannier smaller than the other to accommodate the end can.

Very nice, though I can feel my joints seizing up from just looking at the photo.

That happened to me in France in 2022. The bike was fully laden, complete with pillion who, after the event, found it amusing that she could just step off the bike due to the engine bars preventing it falling right on its side. She didn’t find having to help lift the think back up quite so much fun. Back to today. I’ve washed it and taxed it (yes, from the start of January after putting it on SORN from October - hand injury and house renovations meant I haven’t ridden it in the intervening period). Tomorrow I ride (a local RoSPA group ride - to see if re-joining RoSPA is something I’d enjoy).

Good morning…

What a morning. Two hours on the phone to Vodafone trying to sort out my phone contract. A great result, though, halving my mobile phone bill.

We’ve encountered quite a few similar when wandering the fells. For example, we once met a couple who were, in our view, inadequately dressed with no map, one early evening on the Corridor route. They were heading for Scafel (not Scafel Pike) as we were heading down from the same. The ascent to Scafel is unpleasant scree and tiring and we advised them that they might wish to reconsider as it would be dusk by the time they got to the top, and dark for the descent. Our opinions were dismissed. You can only do so much…

The report suggests MRT made their way up to the idiots then brought them off the fells (in their words) crawling back down. The windiest we’ve encountered was on Harrison’s Stickle a couple of years ago. It wasn’t too bad on the way up - a bit breezy is all. The last twenty metres or so, though, we got to the cairn on our hands and knees before getting off the top. We abandoned our planned walk to High Raise and made our way down Stickle Ghyll for safety’s sake.

As someone who walks Lake District fells from time to time I periodically pop some money to the mountain rescue teams to support their work. I also keep an eye on what their challenges are. Most call-outs are genuine and happen as a result of a the casualty having a mishap - a slip or a fall. Some are due to being unfamiliar with the terrain and being ill equipped both physically and in terms of kit for the task. These latter I find a bit annoying ‘cos it’s all pretty basic. Last night’s call-out for the Langdale and Ambleside MRT, though, I found unbelievable and felt more than a little angry at the absolute idiots who created the situation requiring rescue. As the well publicised and anticipated storm Isha developed, a couple chose to walk the Fairfield Horshoe. Part way around they found themselves pinned down and having to take shelter behind a wall. Then they called the MRT who dispatched a team (aided by an RAF team who were training in the area) thus putting more lives at risk through sheer stupidity.

Welcome. Definitely not disqualified as a rider - I’m sure there are many of us who’s riding more “fair weather” than “all weather”.

Self nomination. Took my glasses off to get changed from working clothes to casual wear. Sat on the bed to put on my trousers. Yes, I need a replacement pair of glasses. Currently wearing a previous prescription as I can’t find my spare set. Luckily the difference between the two prescriptions is minimal so I’m fine for now.

It feels a little like when I was working in an IT department. When talking to the techies I understood most of the words, many of the phrases, some of the sentences but rarely the whole exchange of information. Back to the original question. I can’t get Spotify (other streaming services are available) on my Denon kit, so it’s back to the content of an old iPod which has a quite eclectic mix of music in it. Brooke Benton, Lindisfarne, Cat Stevens, Beatles, Kinks…

I wish the EU passport had been an option for me. However, the queues for our last trip were only an inconvenience, not really too much of a delay / hassle. I prefer to book early - the cabin options on the route seem to be more limited as time goes by. As it is we’ve had to go for a 4 berth cabin for the two of us on the way out. It would not go down well if only reclining seats were available. It also gives me incentive to start saving and loading up my FX card - I’m an expert at prevarication (and impulse buying) so a deadline tends to focus my mind. Route planning… we have an outline plan - An amble around Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria then across the Pyrenees, then wend our way back to Rotterdam. We’ll work out the detail as we go along. Now I can concentrate on priorities with fewer distractions. Lime plastering anyone?

Ferries booked for our September jaunt “sur la continent”. I may cry next month when the credit card statement lands.