Steve_M

I would add one caveat to buying used/secondhand/preloved (?) and that is not to buy a used crash helmet. You won’t know its history. If it’s been dropped, for example. There may be structural damage which may not be obvious from a visual inspection. I usually go to Infinity Motorcycles when buying a lid as they go to a lot of trouble to ensure the helmet is a good fit, an essential requirement for safety. Even though I’ve owned many crash helmets over the years, and know what to look for, I still prefer having someone to guide me through the process.

Welcome. I’d say hello but I’m not clever Just a thought. Will you be providing updates on progress? Sounds an interesting project.

In fairness, my neighbour couldn’t screw my bike up any more than my potential for screwing it up. Which is why I have Green Flag and pay for someone else (main dealer ‘ cos no independent around here) to service it.

My 2023 biking year wasn’t too shabby. A number of day rides around the Scottish Borders, Northumberland, North Pennines and Cumbria, plus trips to Glasgow and Norfolk to visit grandchildren (the Glasgow trips usually entail some DIY, too! ). In addition we had a couple of weeks away pottering around the French and Swiss alps, the Dolomites and Tyrol region.

Good afternoon, and welcome to the world of riding a motorbike. Practice and experience will aid how you deal with the behaviours and issues you’ve encountered. However. I’ve been riding a little over30 years and the bike having a little lie down at standstill still happens occasionally. It’s always when I haven’t noticed that there’s a camber or similar making the ground further from my seat than usual such that when I put my foot down it isn’t where I expected it to be. With a tall bike (and pillion, fully loaded with luggage.. *cough*) this is a bit embarrassing l

Judging by your nom de plume I’m guessing you’re from around Glasgow. Assuming my guess is right then have a look in on Infinity motorcycles on the Great Western Road. I’ve used them several times and have always had great service.

That was an interesting couple of days down south. Our usual excursions involve a central London hotel, a trip to the theatre and a visit to a museum, Kew or some touristy thing. This time I stayed in and around Barking, with a stroll to and from the University of East London to watch some judo (my son was competing but had a bad day at the office so we’ll gloss over that). Some things I noticed. The local shops are present in abundance and appear to be doing a decent trade. There’s much ongoing development of residential property - mostly flats/apartments. There is a real “buzz” to the area - it isn’t for me but I understand the attraction. There are numerous cycle paths, the verges of which seem to being used as secondary landfill. Electric scooters seem to be the transport of choice except for Just Eat / Deliveroo etc who use electric bikes. There are more electric scooters on the cycle paths than cycles. KFC food is awful (I resorted to eating in the Barking KFC for what appeared to be a good reason at the time but I don’t remember the rationale. Suffice to say it was flawed).

We tend to avoid cities, but we did pop into San Sebastián when we were in the area (we’ve stayed at the Agroturismo Maddiola a couple of times. Recommended) and rather liked it. The old town had some interesting buildings.

Good evening. Today has been a good day. Completed installing the last of the laminate flooring. I hope never to need to lay laminate flooring again. Now on to the fun of architraves, skirting (wobbly walls) and thresholds. EDIT: taking the weekend off with a trip to the University of East London to support my son and friends who are competing in the British Masters event.

Humour is subjective. I found it amusing, others probably more or less so. It’s a matter of personal preference.

True story, allegedly

I’m often in the doghouse for turning lights off in the barn / garage / workshop which my good lady has to pass through to return to the house from the veg garden. One of those would be so handy… and keep me in her good books.

It’s my default setting.

Carry another couple of bags to help putting on the overtrousers?

Putting the bags over your wet boots makes it easier to put on waterproof over trousers, too.

I dislike having a dirty visor so I carry A small spray bottle of visor cleaner and a soft cloth.

One upside is not being able to wash up. We were aiming to get the current sub-project finish for Christmas when the house gets invaded by grandchildren, so a bit of pain. Also, my son is booked to compete at a judo competition and he likes me to be his uke / warm up partner. That isn’t happening.

I’ve been told by the hospital to keep a splint on my hand, to immobilise my thumb, for four weeks . No riding the bike, so the already long overdue service and MoT have been rescheduled. The bike is now SORNed until December when I should be allowed back in the saddle.

We’re scything our wildflower area… when I say “we” I mean I’m supervising due to being incapacitated. I have been mowing, though (the joys of a ride on mower)

There are these, of course. £200 new but even at This eBay price… I’ll struggle along without.

I’ve just been poring over my bike to see if there’s a lace to fit something like this to hold all the stuff you need to take on tour but are a pain in the neck to have in panniers/topbox (Eg. Puncture repair kit). Nope, nothing. Shame, ‘cos it’s a fine idea.

Only another two days to Monday…

Not so good. I managed to apply a tenon saw to my hand rather than the laminate flooring I was supposed to be cutting. Arrived at A&E at 2.40pm, left at 10.40pm. It seems I managed to slice into a ligament so had to wait for an orthopaedic doctor to become available to carry out running repairs. Now sitting with a rather sore hand …

Coincidental that I’m looking at Northern Spain at the moment, close to the border with Portugal, with a view to popping over the border for a day or so to see if it’s worth further investigation.

There were several on the Stelvio and one on one of the Italian passes. We’ve bought a couple from the Stelvio to go with those we have from the Col Du Tourmelet and Col de la Bonnette. I think we’ll stop now. None were using flash - or if they were I was too busy enjoying the road or dealing with traffic to notice.