Steve_M

43 (in Hexadecimal).

A mate of mine retired at 50 having watched so many people finish work, plan for retirement and then pop their clogs. He did occasional work as a motorcycle instructor, helped me out with my gardening when I had a two man job on but, otherwise, has lived a life unencumbered by work. I get a previous employer’s magazine for retired staff and I see former colleague’s names pop up in memoriam. My aim is to outlive the lot of them.

No bike touring plans for 2021. 2020 proved that a plan is a waste of time (though planning is essential, to misquote some military leader or other). Having moved to Cumbria from Norfolk, I’m keen to continue my familiarity with the roads, lockdowns etc. permitting, a few days in Scotland - as a couple of the kids live around Glasgow we could couch surf at their place. Away from the bike we’ll try to get a bit of time walking the Lakeland fells, and continue renovating the house. If it goes really well then Switzerland on the bike, though I’m not holding my breathe.

A really good place to stop for a cuppa and good food (the biker’s breakfast is a challenge to finish well worth rising to). The staff are friendly, helpful and the service is excellent. The owner, Christine, is a keen biker so understands the “biking scene” (my words, not hers). it’s quite near Snetterton, too, which is handy if you’re attending an event there.

I saw an illustration of this some years ago. Returning from the WSB round at Brands Hatch with my then 12yr old son on pillion, easing my way gingerly through the logjam on the motorway, a guy went past much quicker, only to be taken out as a car changed lanes, into the space to the car’s left. Ouch!

It is, indeed, ultimately a valid point. The preamble, though I think you’ll agree, was not as well presented as your case and was a bit of an attack on other people’s perspective with reference to a previous post. It seems my posts will now need to be approved by a moderator. It would be interesting to understand the logic behind that decision.

Oh dear. I may have joined the wrong forum. My bad. I thought this was about a shared interest in motor bikes, and having adult conversations, not a place for juvenile, willy waving machismo, ego trips.

It’s by one of the contributors to the original Roadcraft, which was even more geeky manual than the current easily read version. It continues in that vein and has numerous bits of useful advice on a number of specific circumstances (EG. filtering - see attachment). You’d hate it. Image taken from Google books.

I built some storage for my luggage from some offcuts of wood I had. A mate reckons I need to lift the lowest one because, “She’ll get a cold damp butt”.

Err. How do I delete triplicate posts (I hit the post button three times in error)

My cousin’s lad has just gone through this pain. We went through this process and came up with a short list. He then went and bought a bike that missed at least two of his original criteria. I will add that he’s a mature, intelligent 37yr old. He saw the bike, and got it new at a good price. Sometimes your heart (wallet?) rules.

My cousin’s lad has just gone through this pain. We went through this process and came up with a short list. He then went and bought a bike that missed at least two of his original criteria. I will add that he’s a mature, intelligent 37yr old. He saw the bike, and got it new at a good price. Sometimes your heart (wallet?) rules.

My cousin’s lad has just gone through this pain. We went through this process and came up with a short list. He then went and bought a bike that missed at least two of his original criteria. I will add that he’s a mature, intelligent 37yr old. He saw the bike, and got it new at a good price. Sometimes your heart (wallet?) rules.

I want to keep the crap (literal and metaphorical) off it. It’s amazing how much dust is created by a mitre saw, circular saw, or angle grinder (the messiest tools, though the drill and jigsaw add to it). Then there’s the fact that the building is a 400 yr old barn which has accumulated 400 yrs of detritus in its roof space much of which seems to land on the bike. Then there are the birds that fly through the barn, and sit above the bike and defecate on it...

There y’go. The answer I wouldn’t have thought of. Breathability. Which is daft ‘cos I’m renovating a 400+ yr old stone farmhouse and the first thing we did was to ensure the walls can breath. D’oh. I’ll see if we have an old duvet cover (as in, ask my good lady). cheers.

I keep my bike indoors in a building I also use as a workshop while we’re renovating our house. The building is used for a variety of projects, most of which cause a fair amount of dust in variety. Birds also fly through it and occasionally leave deposits . The bike needs a cover of some sort. Any cover I use does not need to be waterproof as it will never be stored outside, nor does it need to be secured particularly well. Is there any good reason* not to go with throwing a cheap polythene decorator’s dust sheet such as sold at screwfix for £2.99? * yes, other than keep it away from hot components.

I’ll have another look.

Spot on. I like the perspective you’ve brought to the conversation. I’ll pass that on...

I thought the story line was rubbish, no plot, no characterisation and no flow. However, having persevered, my riding is somewhat improved. I must be the idiot that it was written for. PS. You’ve obviously not read any Prince 2 project management manuals, or SSADM, come to that. Someone mentioned “Not the Blue book” earlier. I lent my copy to someone years ago and can’t remember who. I’ve tried to find a copy but so far failed. If anyone has one they’d like to sell...

After retirement I started a small gardening business. I bought a job lot of tools, including a small Echo chainsaw. I realised that I wasn’t trained in its use so couldn’t use it in a customer’s garden due to public liability etc. so I sold it. I now need a small chainsaw to use in our garden (includes about 3/4 acre wooded). For the gardening work I used Stihl battery powered kit, which has proven to be, light, robust, easy to handle and reliable. Looking at the Stihl range their chainsaw appears to use a different battery. Which brings me onto my point. Battery powered stuff is fine but there’s little or no standardisation on design even within a single manufacturer (Ryobi, possibly, excepted) which means multiple batteries and multiple chargers should you want to extend your range of tools.

Thanks for the warm greeting.

That was my good lady pillion holding a Canon compact digital camera. She takes most of the shots from pillion, very few videos. I have slideshows on my YouTube channel. Boring but handy to share with family.

Ahem!

He’s about 6’ and has a wicked right cross from playing racket sports at regional level.