Steve_M

Good. I have a vested interest - I didn’t get a dividend last year so I need Aviva to make shed loads of profit this year to compensate.

Good evening. My good lady has been summoned to care for one of the grandchildren during tomorrow. I have a choice of tasks around the house and garden, including planting trees and putting up fences. However. Tomorrow I will be riding my motorbike. YAY!

I understand that the law (FCA Rules?) is being changed to stop them charging existing customers more than new customers. Mind, that assumes a lot about individual circumstances.

I buy Shoei helmets as a matter of course. They fit me well, and are comfortable, quiet and have excellent ventilation. The fittings are good quality and work well. I guess you could say that I have confidence in them. I’m on my second Neotec and will be buying another as a replacement later this year. They cost IRO £500 and I change every five years (I would add that my good lady also has a Neotec for the convenience at passport control at borders - the pandemic kinda undermined that benefit). To my mind an average cost of £2 a week for those features is well worth it. Would I buy a £100 helmet? Only if my circumstances changed drastically. As a good friend says, buy cheap, buy twice.

Painting is my good lady’s domain, as is tiling. She’s been busy painting the walls and ceiling in the master bedroom over the last two days. I did paint three of the roof beams and part of the ceiling that should couldn’t reach (scared of heights) in the en suite. I laid the OSB down in the en suite yesterday and now we’re waiting for the experts to lay the finished flooring (Karndene)

Good morning. I hope you’re all having a fine dat. Me? I’m drilling holes in porcelain tiles to fit a shower. I know how to have fun.

Oh, the joys of being retired. I chose August because we have other things going on on the other dates. I may still not be able to go as two of our kids are likely to produce grandchildren around that time. One two weeks prior, another two weeks after. Knowing my luck they’ll appear at the same time… two weeks late and two weeks early.

I’m booked in for the 22nd August. I’ve opted to go in the A group even though it’s been a while since I’ve pottered around Cadwell. I’ll opt to go in the last (supposedly slowest) sub-group within the A group just to give myself a few laps to get up to speed, so to speak.

I bought a tatty Honda CG125 when I was 32 but I wouldn’t describe it as “getting into biking” as it was for the sole purpose of commuting and house hunting in an area I was unfamiliar with. I used to cycle 14 miles each way to work and back each day and wanted to move closer. I sold it the moment we moved. Subsequently, having relocated to a village in Norfolk, and working in Norwich, I bought a Yamaha RSX100 to commute on - I was sick of cycling 14 miles each way to and from work (will I never learn?). I always felt vulnerable riding the bike (both pedal and the Yam) so upgraded to a CX500… and then I got into biking.

I hope they’re both ok. All the best.

Thank you. I do have a compact digital camera that I should take with me but forget. I think the evening mist is atmospheric

Dear Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway / Scottish Borders). Thank you for not raining on my route today. It would be nice if you were a bit warmer, though a coldest temperature of 5 degrees isn’t bad for this time of year. Now if you could just clear all the mud, gravel and various bits of detritus off the road surfaces, that would be excellent. Cheers, Steve

The Conservative party now wish to be called the Conservative Work Do. BOYB

A large section of Route des Grande Alps was a major part of the first tour my good lady and I did together. It’s what hooked her on bike touring. We’ve now used sections of it on three tours as a link route to get to other areas. It is su-bloody-perb. My good lady took a few photos…

I’ve had a little tootle around those and the Vosges. Unfortunately the weather was awful for each. We may go back but unlikely as they lack the grandeur of the Alps.

I enjoyed both France and Switzerland and will return once we’re able. Both have been very welcoming and I have never encountered any ill will. My two encounters with the gendarme in France have been positive (once post-crash, once after being seen filtering). We tend to aim at the lumpy bits (the alps and Pyrenees) so are prepared to hurtle done on autoroute / autobahn rather than amble on the smaller roads to give ourselves more time riding the passes. I’ve found the roads and scenery in the mountains generally excellent and we’ve had (mostly) little problem finding good food and accommodation.

I said to my other half that I’d want to die during sex. She replied that at least it would be quick.

You’ve picked the right colour… but the wrong model.

I used to live in the village of Acle in Norfolk. Friday night was bike night at the White Swan in Gt Yarmouth and accessed by the A47 “Acle Straight”. The first 2 1/4 miles from the roundabout to the Stracey Arms is dead straight and pretty well directly in line with my house. There is a slight bend at this point and then the next 4 3/4 miles is also dead straight. In my lounge I could hear bikes throughout the length of this stretch of road and knew when they reached both the Stracey Arms and the holiday park at the far end. I hate loud exhausts. There is no need for it and all it does is piss off the public. My neighbours used to ask why people have loud pipes. “Cos they’re dicks” was my usual answer.

Thank you. I’ll look more closely at those later but initial thought is they look interesting.

We would, ideally, like to revisit Switzerland, I (notice the singular) would like to combine that with a look at the Italian lakes and the Dolomites. Hopefully we’ll be allowed to pass through Holland and France or Germany to get there. We would need at least one night in either France or Germany on route either way. Fingers crossed it all works. The only thing we’ll book will be the ferry, then it’ll be all “make it up as we go along”.