Throttled

Whenever there is a run of plus degrees weather, where the roads have not been salted for a day or two, ride it. Even in the coldest of winters, I have never gone a month without getting out for a ride.

I have a large battery powered remote controlled lantern. It means all I need to do is carry the remote with me. I am thinking about a dolly; https://www.sealey.co.uk/product/5637755314/motorcycle-centre-stand-moving-dolly as it would be good to turn the bike inside the garage, so I can ride staright in and out.

The housing association are replacing the garage door, since they thought it was locked, but I was able to open it easily. I am going to go for anonymity as best security and just leave it as one of the garages in the row that has a new door. None of the other new doors has extra security. Sadly, that delays me getting access, as it will be in the new year before the work is done. I am not planning on doing any more work that oiling the chain or replacing a bulb, so don't need much light. Only the local residents who use the communal parking in front of the lockups will walk past, so it is pretty quiet.

I am anticipating that. I timed the walk as 1m 20s and the lock-up is overlooked by two houses and below flats.

I am going to measure the garage width and the bike length to see if a centre stand dolly would work. It would be handy to be able to ride into the garage and turn the bike to ride back out. I have noticed a car usually parks outside the next door lock-up, so its bonnet partially blocks mine, which is not a major issue, since there is space for a bike to pass.

I watched a video about fitting them. Even I think I could do that!

The row of lock-ups all look the same and anything more than a basic bolt is going to stand out and say, there is something very valuable inside. Security is not my concern. I was wondering more about anything anyone has found particularly useful in preserving the bike or a garage gadget.

I will ask about that, but I knew someone who did have a lock up and he said they were not allowed to drill into the walls, floor or roof.

This needs up dating!

Empty lay-by, Kyle of Tongue

When I got my bike licence, 10 years ago, I applied for a lock up garage with the local housing association. I was told the waiting list was years long and a few years ago I called to see where I was on the list, to be told they did not have me registered at all. I gave up, so it came as a surprise to get a phone call and the offer of a lock up within a few minutes walk of my house. It is in a row of garages below flats. I was told the door was locked, but when I checked, it opened easily, so the housing association are going to put a new lock on it. Some others have a bolt, but most just the basic lock with a padlock through it. We are a pretty low crime area. It appears to be bone dry. There is no power. I plan to keep my bike, with some free standing shelves for the panniers and a few tools, but not much else. At most, I will do chain cleaning and maintenance and very minor work, such as change a bulb if one blows, but not much else. I have a massive chain lock that I plan to warp round the back wheel and frame. Is there anything else that others have found useful when storing a bike in a lock up garage?

It is now at the point where the best way to spot if a Versys is the 650, or 1000, is to check out the exhaust. The rest of the bike is virtually identical.

This hairpin bend caught me out. It is in Derbyshire, near the Barley Mow pub which was a tag for the Challenge, which was in turn was near to Bull I Thorn pub where we had a couple of rallies. I had to do it like a three point turn. https://www.google.com/maps/@53.1203805,-1.5951187,3a,75y,356h,95.19t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sORo13-R1CgvC5ostpCVIug!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

I considered bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and have a friend who knows his stuff. I did not bother because the returns for a small investor (less than £1000) are negligible and all you are really doing is making money for the currency sites and larger investors. Buying a means to keep your currency safe wipes out at least a years possible profit.

Done, for the helmet I use most often.

My hairpin bend tips, based on what has worked for me. It is often not possible to ride the inside of a hairpin bend, without crossing onto the other side, so it is best, as much as is possible, to enter the bend on the wrong side of the road and leave on the right side. Be prepared to stay on the brakes the whole way round a down hill bend. Be prepared to just stop and wait for a bend to clear of traffic.

South of Scotland tags at Crossburn Kitchen, Lead Mining Museum, Hamans, the Burning Tree and Kirroughtree done.

Fifth tag done at Kirroughtree visitors centre which has a great cafe but it closes at 2 so just made it. Was going to have lunch at Hanans near Dumfries but it is closed down

On the road and at the Crossburn Kitchen tag. Plan to do 4 or 5 today. The sun is out.

I type "have" as "ahev" which even spell check gives no options for.

I type so much, that I can two finger touch type. But there are some things that just keep on happening. I type "shirt" instead of "short" (just did it in another post) and often hit the "i" when I mean to type "o". My other habit, is when typing "a", I keep on (just did it again, typed "in and had to correct to "on") I reverse the "a" first, so "band" appears as "bnad" and "Paisley" is usually "Piasley". Are any of you trained typists? Are there certain (typed as ceratin) typos that you just cannot stop doing?

Took advantage of a rare dry spell and had a short ride, between finishing work and going out for our first meal with friends since all this bollocks started.

I think tail tidies do the opposite and make the tail look wrong, stumpy and out of proportion with the rest of the bike.

I have scraped a peg once, going round a hairpin bend with a pillion. I ride adventure style bikes, with ground clearance that mean if I get a peg down, I am more than likely going down.