Steve_M

Norwich / Norfolk has been doing that for at least the last ten years. Back to fuel… I buy wood for the wood burners locally and they arrive in a dumpy bag. The last lot wasn’t properly dry so they delivered a new lot FoC. Bargain! We’ve lost several trees in the storms which will supply us with wood for the next couple of years once it’s seasoned. We also have wood from trees we had felled two years ago but are still too moist. Luckily we have plenty of storage space. I’ve mentioned before that we’re having solar panels and battery installed - break even should be around 8 yrs if electricity increases by 5% pa after this year. With the kitchen refit we’ll be looking at running costs of the appliances - we have an induction hob already and have suitable pans etc. so will just buy an updated one. The big unknown for us is the cost of LPG. We were paying £200 a month, now £260. The tank was filled in January so we’re hoping it lasts long enough for the market to have settled, if it ever does.

Or the Peripherique around Paris. It’s felt like I as in some mad video game or watching people practicing to be the next Ghost rider (remember that video?).

My thoughts exactly. I’ve tried Motogymkhana a couple of times. The navigation should be easy as the coloured cones act as a guide but once the red mist descends… The cylinder heads on the GS also make slaloming trick as they clip the cones. Well, that’s my excuse.

I’ve ridden a few Crosstourers, both DCT and manual. I agree with all you said, and when I was looking to buy I dismissed them for much the same reasons you give for selling yours. I bought an FJR… Poor decision. Smoother power, lower seat, but still heavy riding at low speeds. You’ll see I ride a BMW R1200GS. Still a heavy bike to push around, but all that weight disappears once on the move. A mate who’s 5’ 6” sat on it and said it was ok for him to ride (he subsequently bought a R1250RT). I would advise just getting out there and trying some.

Yes. I’ve ridden that way a few time. I’m less familiar with the south west of D&G, which is relatively accessible to me, so trying to add that to the mix. As an aside. I rode the A712 heading east from the B794 today. It’s just as much fun that way.

Assuming I can treat today as part of the weekend (being retired I never know what day it is anyway), today I have been mostly riding along the coast of Dumfries and Galloway. The roads are a mixed lot, from remarkably tedious to pretty good. Similarly with the scenery. Did anyone see the film Wickerman?

I worked for a guy who had been with his partner for around 9yrs, living together. They got married. She decided it wasn’t working inside a year. My good lady and I have been shacked up for 20yrs, after “courting” for four years. Our friends often asked if we were ever getting married, some accusing me of being scared of commitment. I once got down on one knee in front of them and seriously asked the question. Her answer? “Don’t be a twit” (yes, twit… I checked).

I got married once. In a registry office. A few family members and friends of my wife to be as guests. Sod doing that again.

Tank scratching devices designed to hinder refuelling. Loathsome things. I used to tour with a mate who used one and he loved it, filling it so full it acted as a windbreaker on his naked bike. I may consider selling the one I have from years ago that’s been used only a few times… What ever happened to motorbikes having a small, lockable compartment in the fairing. My CX500 had one, as did the FJR. Just big enough for a wallet phone and Mars bar.

The GS occasionally produces a little pop on the overrun. The first bike I’ve had that does that. It’s kinda cute… Would piss me off if it did it all the time, mind.

I did those on my one serious jaunt over there. There’s a small, quaint tea room in Straiton which serves proper tea. The tea is brought out in a tea pot, with an egg timer - instructions are not to serve the tea until the egg timer runs out. I do enjoy finding small, unclassified roads through scenic areas. I’m done with riding where the only thing I see is tarmac and other vehicles, with only the occasional glimpse of scenery. This is probably why I like the roads in Asturias so much (away from the Potes triangle).

I have considered putting 59/50 road/off-road tyres on for that situation, but I question whether I really would be doing that much (gentle) off road to warrant them.

I’ve only found my way to the west of the M74 a couple of times. So fa4 it’s been good. I’m looking to ride around the southern coast roads, along the Solway, this time.

Pushed it outside, parked it. A couple of hours later I started it up, rode a U turn and returned it inside. Hopefully the weather will improve over the next few days, I will have opportunities to take a break from my DIY work and I’ll be able to explore some new-to-me roads and locations. Thinking Dumfries and Galloway…

An oldie but …

Thanks for the thought. The tiles on our barn roof aren’t perfect but it’s a barn roof, so it’s not really a major issue. I have to go up and do some prep work so I’ll double check as a matter of course.

7.8Kwh Panels are 6Kwh total

My daughter doesn’t drink a lot of coffee, but any she does has to be strong enough that the spoon stands up in it.

Ours are SE facing, though due to the topography of the land and nearby trees, won’t get the longest period of full light. We’ve taken this into account in our calculations. It still appears to be worthwhile.

A good point, though they’re being fitted on the barn which has a visibly quite substantial structure.

We’ve just coughed up more money for a set of solar panels and battery than I paid for my first house. ROI at pre-increase electricity prices was 12yrs, the recent increases have probably knocked three years off that. We have also reduced our carbon footprint by quite a bit - I’ll just go for a ride on the bike to celebrate. The interesting part of today’s conversation is how much the recent increase in electricity prices has increased demand for solar panels (we got our quotes before demand went up, so we know it wasn’t a sales pitch).

I went* to the Lazy Hill fish bar on the Walsall Wood Rd in Aldridge, West Midlands, to buy our lunch today. Haddock was £5.20. * I hasten to add that I didn’t travel all the way from Cumbria just to buy lunch there.

The guy who emptied our sewage treatment plant had “Stool bus” painted on the back of his truck.

Oy. I resemble that remark. Rear brake. A great aid to slow speed manoeuvring and for minor adjustment to speeds generally. Useful, too, for showing a brake light as information to a following vehicle that you’re slowing down, primarily using engine braking. Honda linked brakes. In my experience the harder you brake using the front brake, the less force is applied to the rear by the linking. It is possible to slide the front tyre forward by braking hard using the front brake and driving the bike forward with the engine in first gear. I did it as part of the Martin Hopp advanced machine skills course - do not try this at home Using the rear brake will apply force to the front though not really as efficient as applying the front brake it will bring you to a halt reasonably well - yes, I experimented to see how effective it is.

We’ve been going to the Lakes for walking holidays every year for over 20yrs (my good lady for nigh on 50 years). May is probably your best bet for dry, but I wouldn’t care to predict that with any certainty. We now live about an hour from the Lakes so I can get to play on dry days. Photo is in Martindale last November.