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Just been out to my local park, well actually I started on some side roads to the town centre, got lost, thought I had found a new place and then discovered it was in fact the far end of my local park that I'd never been to before.

continuing the Cardinal points of the Yonne departement with the Eastern most point accessible by road: Desperately getting some riding in before we get shut down again... The eastern most point of the Yonne is on the D186 between Jully and Fotaine les seches ( which is in the Cote D'or departement but has a Yonne postcode...bizarre!) 47:46'38"N 04:20'04"E Round trip of 130 odd km, took nearly 3 hours with lots of little windy back roads. The trip to the east edge was more interesting than to the north with wide open vistasalternating with the eternal forest roads. Surprisingly few vinyards though as the route skirts the southern edge of the Chablis region through the Tonnerois area. Destination point was prettier too but no sign or marking of any kind to actually show the boundary like they do on the major roads. This is it, to within a few meters : everything in front is "Cote D'or" and behind is "L'Yonne" ( I like this pic) I was running ut of fuel, having not refilled since yesterday's Northwards jaunt, so googled the nearest fuel point and headed there at Ancey le Franc. From there rode home via Noyers sur Serein got home just in time to pick up a call from N01 daughter aho'd managed to rip the rear bumper half off her car whilst picking her sisters up from school... ho hum... nice afternoon out though, but temps are rising and it's getting to that stage where the flies are back out, you really want thermal gear on whilst actually riding but the minit you stop you drown in your own sweat...

Yup, it was fun, i liked the bumps and being in the mountains, that was always cool. The only pic i have of me skiing, mid 1980's in vermont.

You must be older than you think that looks like 19o8 kinda chit. ?

Now you're talking Bob! I grew up overlooking Swansea Bay Station.....till they closed it in 1964. Notice the tallest building on the skyline? That was where I went to Junior School.

I can just remember that, we had to take the train to go to my Nan's at Clevedon (only 15 miles away) , it was a steam train as well. Very excting for a 5 year old

Day 3 - "But, did you die?" Day 3 began with us tracking down transport for Allen back to the highway, plus recovery of his motorcycle (which we had hidden in the weeds about 6 miles from Mike's). Fortunately, there was a fellow from Ensenada with his pre-runner truck, who graciously agreed to our request to tack Allen to pavement. (one of the greatest things about Baja is the people! We've had cause to be rescued 3 times now, out of 3 trips ?, and not once has anyone not volunteered to assist. and, without pay, too!) Now, the only issue was for the AGALOS brain trust to figure out the gyrations required to get two bikes out, with only one rider. Hector (our saviour) solved that by saying he would bring a rider back from the pavement after dropping off Allen. So, we all mounted up and headed back north, with 4 guys headed over to the abandoned bike. Mike's Sky Ranch shots: 3 beds, 4 riders. someone got the floor. Bruce will agree - Fresh balls are the cat's meow Mike's Sky Ranch: Dining room Kind of an oasis Mike's was full due to a whole passle of side by sides. These guys probably own boats, too Hector: Not only did Hector not accept our money after making 3 runs between Mike's and the Hwy, he followed Allen back to Ensenada to make sure he had no lingering issues. (Allen is still reporting pain in his side due to the smashing of ribs, but fortunately he no longer pisses blood. So, no, Allen Dye didnt die!)

This place is fantastic for riding in the three months of riding weather that we have, rest of the year, not so much. Come over anytime, we love to show people around.

Lunch hour. You have to get away from the dopey email answering and drawing for a little while or go insane. Just been sent a load of consultant designed traffic calming work to make comments on after my last batch made them change everything. Now I can tear it apart with a refreshed hatred.

Partially inspired by the Baja thread and being sent a link to an old youtube vid Im in but hadn’t seen until this evening I was thinking lets see some of your favourite clips. This ones a bit long tbh (6mins) and most of us are only by in it flying by but if you’ve got a nice bit from your favourite trip or just some biking you did that makes you happy then even if they’ve been posted before lets see them again, post away A kind best bit compilation!

There are always dicks anywhere you go

Thanks for that. I’m definitely gonna stay there! ? Thanks for that. It looks beautiful and wild. I had a look and apparently Misery was also filmed in Colorado. It was at least 20 years ago I watched either of those films so its clearly a very striking place! Colarado wasn’t ever on my hit list but it is now!

"The Shining" was partially written and inspired by Stephen King's stay at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado - just up the road from my house a bit. He stayed there through one of our snow storms and got the idea for the book. See: https://www.stanleyhotel.com/ . They have ghost tours and stuff like that there. I've posted some pics of the Stanley in some of my ride reports. From Wikipedia: In 1974, during their brief residency in Boulder, Colorado, horror writer Stephen King and his wife Tabitha spent one night at the Stanley Hotel.[9] The visit is known entirely through interviews given by King in which he presents differing narratives of the experience. At the time of his visit, King was writing a book with the working title Darkshine set in an amusement park, but was not satisfied with the setting. According to George Beahm's Stephen King Companion, "on the advisement of locals who suggested a resort hotel located in Estes Park, an hour's drive away to the north, Stephen and Tabitha King found themselves checking in at the Stanley Hotel just as its other guests were checking out, because the hotel was shutting down for the winter season. After checking in and after Tabitha went to bed, King roamed the halls and went down to the hotel bar, where drinks were served by a bartender named Grady. As he returned to his room, numbered 217, his imagination was fired up by the hotel's remote location, its grand size, and its eerie desolation. And when King went into the bathroom and pulled back the pink curtain for the tub, which had claw feet, he thought, 'What if somebody died here? At that moment, I knew I had a book.'"[10] In a 1977 interview by the Literary Guild, King recounted "While we were living [in Boulder] we heard about this terrific old mountain resort hotel and decided to give it a try. But when we arrived, they were just getting ready to close for the season, and we found ourselves the only guests in the place—with all those long, empty corridors." King and his wife were served dinner in an empty dining room accompanied by canned orchestral music: "Except for our table all the chairs were up on the tables. So the music is echoing down the hall, and, I mean, it was like God had put me there to hear that and see those things. And by the time I went to bed that night, I had the whole book [The Shining] in my mind."[11] In another retelling, King said "I dreamed of my three-year-old son running through the corridors, looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide, screaming. He was being chased by a fire-hose. I woke up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed. I got up, lit a cigarette, sat in a chair looking out the window at the Rockies, and by the time the cigarette was done, I had the bones of The Shining firmly set in my mind."[12] The Shining was published in 1977 and became the third great success of King's career after Carrie and 'Salem's Lot. The primary setting is an isolated Colorado resort named the Overlook Hotel which closes for the winter. In the front matter of the book, King tactfully states "Some of the most beautiful resort hotels in the world are located in Colorado, but the hotel in these pages is based on none of them. The Overlook and the people associated with it exist wholly in the author's imagination."[13]

We do that here! Place known as the Beta Factory, outside Las Vegas, just across the state line into California: And, the reason its called the "Beta Factory"? Named by the friend of a guy who thinks Betas are the only bike! Oh, and because the men's room is "adorned"

My buddy from Connecticut, the one whose bike didnt get to Las Vegas in time so he rode Flames, was a little rough on the ol girl: Government job - 3 watching, one working On his way out the second time (first was to get Allen's bike to pavement), he missed a curve and tore off the side case. The mount was also messed up so roadside surgery was in order. Flames has about 130,000 miles on her now, has been upside down (completely) twice. Once on the way to Mike's from the south, another falling off a bridge during a competition, but she has never been treated so badly as this last trip ?. But, given that I ride with the best peeps, there is good news ahead about the ol girl! Next stop - San Felipe for lunch Given the late start due to the rescue efforts, we skipped the next offroad section that was to run thru a dry lake bed, coming out in San Felipe. Might have been a good thing, as we heard horror stories of silt. Probably worse than sand as it is slippery and you get to breathe it in the whole time. We slabbed it to San Felipe and had lunch by the beach: As you can see - AGALOS is like a bunch of teenagers, with their noses stuck in their smartphones! I chose to sit on the side with a beach view because - honeys!! (sorry, no pics) We ran into a group of hardcore bikers from Tijuana at a gas station north of San Felipe. They were headed home after a weekend in town, commandeering a hotel for their savage activities. Don't they look savage? Right, they werent. They were fun loving and we shared riding stories with a couple of the guys, while the ladies danced in the parking lot. We did see a BMW in the bunch, which they said they made ride in the back. I asked if that was to clean up the oil leaks and they said "no, to pickup the dropped parts" ? The guy on the Victory was a Prospect. The leader told me that he rode so much that he hadnt been able to put in his time as a newbie to become a full member.

In this house shad is short for shit head ?

Because topboxes

Y Butt, i self identify as extremely stable, so please use my prefered pronoun of Chad. ?

Lol now I know youre definitely unbalanced ?

top boxes nearly always look shit on a bike, mine's fucking huge and looks horrendous, but it ain't halfp practical - - - yeah but it looks shit - - -yeah but it's practical - - and so on...

Honestly I’m not sure what I was thinking, it’s even worse when you know this was only 2015 ?? From the expression on my face you can tell I was clearly lost (again), my delightful friends enjoyed photographing my clueless face as I slid by in the wrong direction... again

If that’s the 80’s you were waaaay cool, no fluorescent gear?! Christ I look more like a refugee from the 80’s now than you did back then! Hang on I’ll try and find my best/worse gear choices. One season I wore a Panda hat. Yep it’s not a typo.. a fake fur Panda hat, not sure if I have a photo of that though.

Funny you should mention that. I spent last years ski holiday thinking about how far the same money would have taken me on a motorcycle, at the end of the holiday I decided I’m done with skiing for a while. The constraints of time and money, what a PITA

I'm not sure getting overtaken by Pensioners on walking sticks qualifies as "riding" Rick!

Ah yes I remember that one. I was 9 then so cant of been the first time Id seen snow but it is the first time I remember it, cue huge disappointment every time they said it was gonna snow after that and 2-3cm fell ?

I wasn't around then but do remember it in 1982 as i had a week off school to fuck around in it ? https://www.facebook.com/bbcradiowales/videos/10156322773040715

Weather in Scotland is great.

we are known for our fight for freedoms ? Baja has in place measures to help with the virus - temp checks going into restaurants, etc. We were in the hinterlands, so spacing wasnt an issue. The wide open spaces in the west help us, plus we dont really listen to politicians. Here's hoping we are all soon able to roam again

No turds today, just coloured areas on plans for legal agreements. Later on I will imagine them as highly detailed plans and produce highway works estimates based on them which developers have to cough up in advance before they get their planning permission. It's legalised blackmail and very satisfying when you get money for the local streetscape from the people making loads of profit. This is the work we haven't been doing since January last year on paper because it's being taken over by another group, but so far they have done about 5 out of 50 or so that have come up. I've also been dealing with a hissy fit between a mason, his supervisor, an electrical contractor and a white lining contractor. I have reminded the liner I helped him out yesterday with technical advice, the electrical contractor that I've told them how to get off of parking tickets on many occasions and the mason's supervisor that I have to agree his invoices before they get paid and I can leave them for 28 days before even glancing at them. So now I'm getting a zebra crossing moved over the weekend/Monday when the school is shut and not when the little horrors are rushing about in all directions being horrible twats.

If someone fancies cleaning the bike and my gear afterwards it could be arranged Pete ?

I've got one dollars worth of hard drives, shit I have no idea what I'm going to spend all that on .

Colorodo is a great place to visit, if you get a chance do go, even their popular resorts are cool places Vail was right off the highway and i liked skiing there anyways, nice mountain. The Alps were a scary place to ski, dint like them at all.

Pretty bad and yet even today in the worse weather the UK can muster most of us still venture out in our normal winter coat (usually one thinish layer of cheap wadding or a normal wool coat) and a pair of wellies (could we pick a less appropriate boot for the snow?) then we act surprised and complain how cold we are ??

I remember the Winter of 62-63 in Britain......that's the worst I've ever known.

well he recycled tham as curry!

Dont think ‘The Shining’ and ‘Misery’ was the best introduction American winters, I’m waiting for an accompanying horror story! ??

in the works. wanted to finish the Baja story before they get here. Like herding freaking squirrels when we are all together!

I dont know what is it? ?

I know I was so lucky! ?. It was the only soggy patch we’d come across the whole day and it looked nice and crusty as I approached it. Served me right for cutting a corner. My mate on his DRZ just stopped in time and nearly fell off laughing. ?

Yes, good ol sand. you love to hate it. Sadly, two of our riders are experienced enough that they usually blast thru it at three times the speed of the rest of us. But, they aint human. The guy on my KTM has sooo much offroad experience, that when he and I were side by side in the sand section, trying to rescue Allen above, he would look at me and wheelie thru the tough stuff ?

Shame. I once went to a ‘Young Farmers’ doo and proffered the idea it was ridiculous for an individual or company to say a bit of the planet belonged to them and them alone. “Who said it’s yours? Way back in the mists of time someone said this is mine, you can’t share in it, get off?” Madness.... well they thought I was mad ?

Coat no 3......

Not legally and it has stiles you have to climb over, but no one would say anything if you took a bicycle through although technically a no no. Starts at the side of someone's garden here.

If diversity is so cool how come it doesnt work in Prison.

"So broke ya can't afford to Pay Attention"....?

"More ups and downs than a Catholic wedding"

I never touch the stuff, goes straight to my hips.