Leaderboard

Did an inventory, seems i;ll have issues sometime in 2022

Picture 1, washing the dust off. Picture 2, I cannot for the life of me remember who the bloke in the yellow coat is, but I promised him mud and mud he got. He never came out with me again.

Fuck no. Bug out time!

I did a trip to the old Railway Station in Caniles earlier in the year but I wanted to revisit it on the Beemer.......and I've got a better camera now. So much easier manoeuvring around the platform on the Beemer......this thing is bloody brilliant! Caniles and back is 70 miles.......and the Beemer did it using one gallon of petrol while going at motorway speeds. So the run this morning cost less than €5.

Very excited today.....haven't been on the bike for 5 days and it seems like a long time. Servicing is done and I'm off for a ride today. Then to add some sprinkles to the cake the LOGGING sign has been removed on the road where I almost died in the spring.....lol. So we need to go check that out...... ?

Well, the mystery has been solved. It’s been helicoiled before with a metric insert as you would expect but it seems the sump plug is an imperial sized one. That was bound to give way at some point so just glad I got it home. Repair in hand along with preparation for matriculation onto Spanish plates.

?. I thought 10,000 km was a pretty standard bike service period these days. it is fun to be able to do it youself though, i enjoyed doing the transalps services but i really cant deal with the tiger and dont have the tools. Also if i did have the ( electronic) tools i’d only balls it up...?. There are definaty some circumstances where “old school rules”

My local Stop and Stab has been sold out all summer. Crazy times when Spam production doesnt meet demand. Even WWII dint have this effect.

That moment, you know, you belong.

Wow, so is it all abandoned? I can see the old old buildings fine, but some of the buildings look like they are in great shape, the one looked like a visitor centre or something. So strange and interesting. ?? Every time I see your bike on the side stand I get side stand envy (is that a thing?) , the one on the Himalayan sucks donkey balls. ?

Fried spam and fried spam, and a side of fried spam please...

I got a new genuine. I've now got myself a dial gauge so I can see how much run out there is on both sides. I've also been told I can rotate the discs on the wheel, that is move to a different bolt hole to hopefully improve said run out. That ones beyond my logical grey matter as you'd assume the wheel is all machined the same but what do I know.

I like it here, with most of the old crowd and some new blood too, I do use facebook but in a rectricted manner and prefer the format of forums. I just ealised that it works a bit like a terrorist organisation, with a hard core at the centre and various levels of implication within the whole, whilst everybody knows "virtually" most of the others, no one person has actually met more than one or two of the other members...? I've met Bob and Cattee, Bruce helped me out in a big way when I was struggling with computor problems though i've never met him. I struggle to think of anyone I could invite as so few of them speak sufficient english. There is one I could try... but he rides a harley now...

I've been tier two-d apparently, along with most of Essex. I don't feel any different? Can I pop to Suffolk just up the road or will a rosy cheeked bobby jump out and arrest me? Only my crash bars have arrived at the shop and I has to go and get them.

Ready for the wrong way around world tour me thinks.

So today my tree was brought home. Maria picked a handful of Argan nuts off the floor in Morocco, and about 3 years ago I one of them started growing with a little help from myself: Yesterday, aproximately 3 years since it started growing, I wanted to give it a chance to grow and this home is where it belongs. So, using a friend's van I drove it 250km home And it was put on the ground with the help of a stake to help it cope with the high wind here for the first few weeks, and also to help straighten her a little bit. I finished watering when it was already dark and freezing. Also brought 60 new plants to help turn this garden around, so tomorrow is going to be busy gardening.

Today was the first time i have been aloud out the house for 2 weeks so i take a little ride to try and regain some sanity but stuck in RCT doesn't give me much choice in where to ride, the roads are busy as hell even for the bike and the lanes I've done a thousand times before but I'm going anyway. I takes the 650 to test the front end rebuild from last weekend and the Mitas C02 rear tyre. After traversing my way though the traffic to Porth about 4 miles north of my home its straight up to Miriam's bench again and a stop for a breather as this track is a bit harder on the 650 and i bloody needed it after 2 weeks of 3 meals a day and no exercise I decide to go over to the Cynon valley from here past the moto x practice track a nice gravel road through there but the guy that runs it keeps locking the gates, as far as I'm aware its still a vehicular right of way so i shall be reporting this again. I managed to bounce the bike through the horse gate to the right with no real problem but that's not the point it should not be locked And the same with the gate at the other end of the lane, he don't mind people using it when their paying to ride the track the twat A bit of road and a nice lane heading back towards home you could even do this on a 650GS and with wonky knees to ? No real Autumn colours yet Stopped to say hello to this pair but they weren't interested so i bid them farewell and carried on I decide to check out the old ford i haven't been across it in a long time. The route down to it hasn't been used for a long time either The concrete ramp is slippery as hell with a big drop into the water and lots of loose rock. Too rough for me to attempt on the 650 luckily there is a footbridge i could use instead I decides to do a loop back round to the start of the horsey lane as there's another lane off to the left i haven't done in years, the start has been blocked so another check for me to find out its status I have no problem squeezing through, this lane is a nice ride down through woodland I remember after this bit there's no going back as it gets a bit washed out ahead its all down hill so should be ok And i wasn't wrong, a bit rough for the 650 and me really. I had the bike propped upright for a photo but the bloody stick snapped good job the bank was there Why do photos always make things look easy ahh a nice gentle lane and i need it to cool down after the last one but it wasn't like this for long I haven't ridden along here in over 10 years as it's not quite legal and i suddenly realised I'm impressed with the C02 tyre it got quite mucky and the tyre had no trouble pushing me through it all back to the road via the old coal tip used to have great fun on these as a kid a hell of a lot more growth on it now though Next track is up though the woodland on the side of the mountain behind the bike here At the top of this old coal tip is the aptly named jam pot, not quite sure what it was for but it was to do with the old coal industry here years ago A bit more road and onto the next mountain, Again quite a difficult track for the 650 but it manages I'm just along for the ride I ride up onto what is known as the gap, I'm on dodgy ground now I'm right on the RCT border here, to the left is RCT and the right Merthyr And from here it was home i did have to cross the boarder for about a mile but i made sure no covid jumped off or onto me honest ? a good ride to pull me out the rut I've been in for the last two weeks. The 650 might be a rough old dog but i just love thumping around on it always cheers me up

I know you're all wondering, what the heck was she talking about, orange spray paint, what the hell??? ? Well wonder no longer... ??. ? I think this is the most clean Bagheera has been since new, what a handsome guy!

only men have to do that Tym lol

Just in time for the holidays, field trips to dead hookerville USA. Got a theme song already, the classic BlueGrass hit... The Hillbillies are alive with the sound of banjo's...

Its fun to lay in wait on the side of the road at bicycle speeds, then WOT it into second and hang on....lol

This is where I'm stuck Pete i long for a new DR.XR or XT type 650 with all the same design but with water cooled and fuel injection but their only interested in bringing out overweight 250's and I'm not ready for the lack of power yet

Cat food.

Because its an old school adventure bike and a compass is great for navigating using maps if you know how to use one ?

They don't have a sun dial do they?

I know how to do it but I’m getting a proper bike guru to do it as I really don’t want to balls it up. ?

I must have the only compass that works! It’s still shite but it definitely works! ??

I'm so weird, I love the sound of that thing.....? Wow, you have a week of cleaning ahead of you now! Crazy water crossing!!! ?

i stopped checking the valve clearances on the transalp after doing it every 10,000 I gave up at the 100,000 service when I realised I had never needed to adjust them!

More Rugged Individualism......

Your underkaks have been socially distancing you for decades.

In my town bars and pubs can serve people outside, some use their parking lots, its been great fun to ride by and be able to check out all the action while revving the snot out of a two stroke...LOL.

No.....I've met Pedro, Ren, Cupid, Yen, Bruce, Dell, and Lyn! In fact I've ridden with all of those except Yen.

No Stopping!! Rock Fall Area Ahead ?

They also recommend a valve check. Then of course I also check the air filter, spark plug health, change the oil & filter, give the whole thing a cleaning, chain maintenance and this time I also had a can of orange spray paint for a splash of colour! ?

Thats a big assed animal. Got a new slogan for Tomos: The Best of Times, the Worst of Times, Tomos! For some reason she ran today

Cold and 60 mph winds on the mountain today - so I'm staying inside. This big girl just walked through the front yard, munching on the Aspen trees...

That's brilliant Pedro and a great reminder of the times you spent with Maria

Fred turned up too late to get an ice cream from what I remember ?

Well it was an adventure getting this beast back to Spain from the UK. Hemel Hempstead to Plymouth is well over 200 miles in biblical rain and there was so much water ingress that it limped the last 15 miles on one cylinder. Dried out on the 24 hours ferry crossing in some of the roughest sea conditions I’ve ever experienced but luckily I don’t get seasick. Docked in Bilbao 3 hours late so had a 325klm ‘sprint’ to the overnight hotel in Soria followed by a 622klm ‘dash’ the next day to get home. Just over 800 miles in all and man, that bike flies! Only took me 2 days to recover. ???

Yes they are and probably why i don't own a 701 husky which i got so tempted by when they first came out

You going to take it offroad? How about that place where they dump dead hookers?

All the jokes about me eating fish, and I see anchovies and sardines in there!

Morning, Fes, we decide to not go for the overpriced breakfast in our hotel and instead head out on the bike, knowing that there were a few cafes in our avenue. Few minutes later, and we're having great french style croissants, awesome orange juice and expresso. Take that Paris! We're next to a BNP, so Paris wins the big picture Efficiently, we make our way to visit our monkey friends. On the way there I stop to put on my shirt, it was a little cold and proper windy Today, we had shelled peanuts, and here I am taking the shells of peanuts to them hand them over to a monkey, I swear it's the same one from the first time. After sharing some snacks with my friend, we went on our way heading to Midelt via Itzer and Boumia. Weather threatened rain and it sure wasn't hot, I was glad to have been inspired by Rui to buy a more substantial jacket. Boumia is a small town in a pretty barren place, windswept high hills, but today was market day and you got people clearly coming from surrounding villages coming in, it was booming with trade. We stopped for lunch in a small cafe and had chicken, roasted on the rotisserie. If you're ever in Morocco in small villages in the middle of the mountains or desert, and are faced with a choice of what to eat, just have an omelette or the poulet roti. You'll eat the kind of chicken meat you used to get everywhere in Europe before it all turned to industrialized shit, it's amazing. We were very well greeted by a couple of traders having lunch on the table next to ours, and they liked it when I got up and went outside to start the bike and help some kids climb on it and give it a little honk. Made my day, and theirs as well. Coming in, we further impressed our next table friends by eating the chicken Moroccan style, meaning you peck at the meat with your fingers, dip it in the little sauce dish they serve next to it, and eat it with your fingers like that. I swear it tastes better that way. Didn't take pictures of that delicious lunch to try and not look like tourists Near Midelt, we tried to go to the Cirque de Jafaar again, but those dark clouds you saw in the previous pictures decided to open up with pretty strong rain and thunder. We didn't want to be stuck in a small flood or mud, so got out of there: On the first chance we had, we stopped under a gas station cover and sheltered for the worst if it. We were already in plastic overalls and properly wet outside, so no pictures. It was getting to mid afternoon, and we were a little damp, so headed for the same hotel we had visited before. Even though it wasn't very hot, the rain had passed, the skies opened up a little, so I went for my afternoon dip in a pool, trying not to loose the tradition. That water was cold, like you'd expect. Having a stroll through the property, we might have encountered relatives of our dinner: Donut remember what we had, but Maria had recently taken off her teeth corrective braces and was delighted at her perfect bite mark. We slept soundly, like you do when it's a little cold at night. The day after we would have one of the greatest biking days ever, with everything I love about riding in Morocco in one single day.

Getting up in Al Hoceima felt great, we were eager to go inland. People are friendly in most places, but we do prefer to be farther south where there are less tourists, and somehow the more south you go the less treated as a tourist you are. Maybe better put, would be that I feel that as we travel south I see less of a need of people to act fake, makes me feel more at ease. Today, we're heading to Fes Taza was a very cool mountain town, where we stopped for a walk and a very proper expresso. Wouldn't mind coming back. Between Taza and Fes, we went the long way south via Sefrou and passed a mountain range with very cool passes, already in our favourite kind of riding after having breakfast looking at the Mediterranean, high passes and big views. Not sure if the video translates how it felt. We make it to Fes after a great bit of mountain roads, feeling like we're well on it now. That night we couldn't get a room in our regular hotel, we tried another and although it did ok, but just wasn't the same. It was more expensive and not as nice a place to be, a little disappointing. It wasn't all bad, we checked in pretty late so it didn't matter anyway as we had had a full day and were feeling quite tired, and the bike was in a guarded garage. In the morning, I had a date to visit some furry friends!

Tangier's waterfront has changed quite a bit in the three years we've been coming here We were headed to Al Hoceima, which is on the Mediterranean coast. It's a short ride, but still took longer to get there on account of a couple of detours. for @XTreme: See you in a bit, Tangier, we've got a nice coastal road to do We stopped at a fish grilling place right on the beach, and ordered whatever they had, sardines. They didn't speak any french, and a communication error meant that I ordered two doses of fish instead of fish for two, we had a huge amount of sardines to eat, the cats went home happy that day. They brought another portion right after this one Best sardines I've ever had, though, and it was quite cool to be there. Goats don't care if you're growing decorative bushes or gardens Al Hoceima looked like a paradise with little people about and the Mediterranean sea. We stayed by the sea and went to the beach, a pattern was emerging One of the ways we pack light, being a couple and using just one case for all our clothing for two weeks, is that we wash clothes frequently. Most of the places we sleep in are warm and breezy during the evenings, whenever we get somewhere we usually do our clothes in the sink, and by the time we go to bed they're dry. If you carry three sets you're almost always golden. If you carry a fourth you're safe. One o With nightfall, peaceful Al Hoceima came alive, noise and traffic, and lots and lots of people. We had a nap after the beach and went out to eat. Who says you can't have class on a street hole in the wall in Morocco? Another great day