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I am one happy Grasshopper! I had a fantastic ride on my Himalayan today, the first in awhile. The weather was great, the roads were quiet and the bike was running super smooth. I might even put together a small ride report tomorrow.... Then later in the day, I just HAD to go out for something, so I took a spin on the Honda. Life was good today! Have a great weekend everyone!

Picked up the new toy today, had an hour out after prepping it for tomorrows ride. Its a Beta 300 X Trainer Jury is out for the moment its certainly more agile and easier to ride on the dirt than anything else i have but the gearing is stupidly low, first and second gears are useless for the kind of riding i do at the moment and the front suspension is going to need some work to get it right for me. The seat height is low and i can flat foot both feet when sat on it which is going to be a great help in the technical stuff the XR is a sky scraper in comparison to it. Lets see how a proper ride tomorrow goes

Many moons ago, while researching a more pleasant journey from the tunnel at calais, to the Ardennes, I came across a little patch of green, It looked very much like a War Cemetery. Having a closer look.. even more like a Cemetery... on the Dunkirk veterans Road, a clue of sorts. Anyway, I found out what it was, The Scene of one of two massacres, mass murder of British and French soldiers that happened during the Dunkirk escape. Both unlucky enough to be caught by Nazi Fanatics - SS. who had zero respect for the rules of war and the Geneva Convention. So, anyway, last year with a few hours time on my hands I went to this place. Im always deeply moved by War cemeteries for some reason, despite being Irish (by birth) and have no connection to WW2. Though a great uncle died in WW1. Connaught Rangers. that's so far back and removed, there's little or no connection. though one day I will pay him a visit. Anyway.. this place. So, A replica of the barn was built, and English oak tress planted for each of the men that died. A few managed to survive and escape and were rather more fortunate to be captured by ordinary German Soldiers and so were treated of their wounds and spent the remainder of the war in POW camps. But.. these poor men that died. So utterly barbaric. We tend to think of Dunkirk as a great win, almost the entire army rescued.. but at a cost. Afterward I went to the local cemetery where these men are buried.. in a further active of obscenity - the SS stripped them of all ID before the slaughter, So.. the men were buried together in a mass grave, with the neat rows of stones close by. Its not just the graves that move me, its the personal messages on them. a couple of lines allowed to the bereaved. - The middle one there: "Only one to the world, but all the world to us. Our Son." And of course... I visited the unknowns. the 4 of them - together. You can read the wikipedia page... if you want. https://tinyurl.com/n3hosrl

Carnage here this morning, got through it though, thank God !

Thanks, the last 2 stroke dirt bike i had was in 1989 so it's going to take a bit of getting used to, the power delivery on this bike is very much like a four stroke though as it has loads of bottom end torque designed more as a trail bike than an enduro bike that and the low seat height is what attracted me to it

Its funny how bikes can get your mood up and down after all it is just an object unless your @XTreme who discards them every time the brake pads wear out been feeling down since the the 650 threw a wobbler then sold the CB, so i bought something this week which will hopefully pick me back up

This is the style, 1964 round hood pullling matching trailer and since i liked the colours i bought this chi.com thing of beauty named sportsman to maybe make power.

No, never would I cross the two.....come on! I am a rural Canadian, but I do have SOME style.... This photo was after I got home on the Honda, my second ride of the day. WOW, to think if wearing that on the RE, just madness. ...and to wear leather and that helmet on the RE would also SUCK.....

he's probably had more than his fair share of foreign objects put in him ....

time for an upgrade clive...

Out early for a couple of hours.......first time for two weeks. Headed south into Almeria and the Sierra Maria country park!

I'm glad you had a good day out Michelle but you realise that riding your RE with a Honda shirt on is a sure fire way to piss him off

So you want to be Elon Musks sex doll?

A Rod Stewart wig?

Some odd trivia, Musk thinks im the perfect siZe for a driod.

Absolutely mate, they use old school XR250’s which are perfect for down here or alternatively they can provide guidance and help sort the logistics of staying down here if you bring your own bikes. It’s all very laid back but if you wanted something more extreme then that can be sorted too or even full on motorcross holidays. The good thing is there’s so much legal off roading down here that it’s never busy and as long as you stick to the trails and tracks and don’t tear across open countryside then the police are fine. You often see the Guardia Civil out on their XT660R’s down here. If anyone does think about coming down then let me know.

They named the storm, spelled it wrong, everyone thinks their grammAr is fine mine sucks right....anywho, hurricaine p[arty thread is on! Stay tuned for zero updates! until im pulled from the ruble. Unlike BucksnSuks im charging my camera;s.

It is a HJC i70 Eluma Helmet, I love it! https://fortnine.ca/en/hjc-i70-eluma-helmet?pk_cid=14215329279&pk_campaign=pla-301293093341&pk_source=google&pk_medium=paid&pk_content=126198455992&gclid=CjwKCAjwyIKJBhBPEiwAu7zll7WRz1whxS_VV-s_hrWEfYmZgxqGdhs7obwZ7fmTsidW0npVEBRZABoC9ckQAvD_BwE#76=422&493=12

Come on Fred, you can't leave that hanging there. Besides the wig, what have you bought ??

Thank god I'm 5' 9''

https://images.app.goo.gl/iby8zmVD2agkoBDf8 It starts off ok (SIXT) just the WAT is missing.

Forgot to say that track days with hire bikes at Cartagena circuit is also a possibility

I kind of lost the plot and ended up putting a lot more pictures than I thought ... Some of you, being bikers, may have heard of Faro before, the FaroMC organizes one of Europes' biggest rallies usually during June I think, already in its 27th edition, 2020 and 2021 were the first years it didn't happen since the early 80s. It is a huge club and has a big impact on the town itself, and the way bikes are used and treated there. Faro is not very much a tourist city like others in the Algarve are, you have no big touristy hotels, no resorts, and the beach is not located within easy reach of the town center but instead on a strip of land 10km drive away. It is very unique, and old school portuguese. Being stuck with no bike I had no ease of parking so ended up walking a lot more than usual, which I actually appreciated. Having nothing really to do I took long walks with stops for swims. The pin on the left with "Ilha de Faro" is the only access land access to the beach, and what I'll be showing you, that and the beach until "Praia da Barrinha" The bridge to the "island" only has one alternated lane, which means it's a bitch to get on if you're driving a cage. No such problems for bikes as shown below: The nature reserve itself, between the beach and the main town is a beautiful place to visit Harleys are popular here, more so than anywhere else in Portugal, being used in daily life more than pampered, but even most other bikes are more often characterful and used, some with quite the patina from the sun and salty winds. Some poor souls wasting their filtering powers: Even spotted Pete's bike, complete with sidestand over lean, and all the boxes needed for the family's beach essentials ... Proper private parking place for this guy next to his restaurant, no scorching bike! Onto our tour around that strip on land called Ilha de Faro, you access through the bridge, here with no traffic as it's older and I was on the bike: it used to be mainly fishermen's houses, now there are plenty of nicer fixed up weekend homes, a few restaurants and bars, and a couple of hostels, but it retained most of it's charm. The main street already away from the fuss and into mostly small homes: In a few places you have houses that are 20 meters away from the water inland, and 100 meters away from the beach on the other side And the narrow accesses between houses when there are two or three rows of homes between the street and the beach Here I'm standing on the beach, you get three rows of houses, the street, one row of houses, and then water on the other side some are quite small and not exactly luxurious, in the winter they're not really comfortable but what a view and beach access: If you continue until the end of the street, you'll find my preferred parking place when on a motorcycle, already getting to the sand away from the crowd The creaky boardwalk into the beach is the only access to the fishermen homes out in the dunes, the sign says no motorcycles except for residents Their roadways for a few meters: Now, onto the beach life, obviously the closer you are to the access bridge and main parking areas, the more crowded it is. It is very much a family oriented beach, similar in beach life to the north of portugal, grandparents taking their small grandkids for the morning while parents are at work, that sort of thing. It perfectly mixes with tourists from all over. I feel like a perv taking pictures of people on the beach, so try to avoid it more so when there are hot chicks in them or topless women. Teenagers waiting for the adrenalin boat ride being towed on flotation devices, I would say there's a 25% change of rope burn, and it properly stings in the salty water too I am not a big fan of quads, but they do serve a purpose, and there are worse jobs to have than patrol the sand every hour or so On windy afternoons, kitesurfers, as soon as you see the kites in the distance, you already know there's going to be sand blowing everywhere. The busy parts of the beach have lifeguards. If you're going to drown, better do it very loudly or I think you won't get their attention away from tinder Early morning crowd, families about to start getting pestered with crowds of younger people who don't make it to the beach before 10AM There is a big child shelter in Faro, to harbor kids who are mainly taken away from dangerous and/or abusive situations. They have facilities here that I suppose are used as a holiday camp for the summertime, here they are packing up at the end of a beach afternoon Group of friends hanging out after sunset, eating pizza and drinking beer, there are worse things to do. Fishing boats, quite close to the sand this year Tourists at the end of day On some days, the sky color is amazing and a darker blue than I've seen anywhere. Beach scene, 6PM on quite a warm day. There's a pastry that for whatever reason is very popular in the beach, and in most parts of Portugal you get people walking the beach selling them. It's origins are German, it's the Berliner. In Germany it's usually filled with fruit jelly and only partly so as the flavors are quite strong, in Portugal it's more like a custard sandwich with plenty of filling, like so: It's very sugary on the outside and very sweet, but when you're all salty from the ocean it hits the spot for most people. I make an effort to avoid them very much ... Here you have the "Bolas de Berlim" guy being called over by a family, it's not an easy job walking the soft sand carrying those cases Faro sometimes is a little windy in the afternoon, and when that happens the wind usually dies down before sunset, you get the feeling it's getting warmer as the sun is setting, these nights in the Algarve with just a hint of a breeze and 25º outside are magical, I went on a walk at the end of the afternoon up until night time, sunset was at about 20:30. This is one of the reasons restaurants are open until very late and get clients arriving at 10 or 11pm. Faro in the distance, on the other side of the water with an ultra low tide Earlier that day I had a nice swim in the same spot but with a bigger tide Walking at night and getting away from the shore, better watch where you step Literally the end of the beach, you can walk with water waist or chest high to the other side for a couple of hours before the tide rises back up. There was a forest fire that blew a smoke cloud over the ocean and created this light when the sun started to drop behind it and then set behind the Atlantic, quite an end to the day.

I got it to do the tougher stuff local to me. Most of tomorrows ride is not what its intended for really but its running in time

My Oldest brother is a French National...i think a francåis uncle or cousin traded that for some StateSide License plates.

Nice one Fred, if you can get used to it after years of four strokes I reckon that'll do you well. Not really a bike for riding up to Mid-Wales though methinks.

@Sir Fallsalot nice looking bike , love the color scheme

Looks great Fred!

NICE!! I'm curious to know how you will like it.

Nice one, I have visited a war cemetary in that area to help my mate find his Uncle's grave. Brings a tear to your eye when you're there.

Everyone in panic mode

Might be worse then the famous '38 storm here, i;ve put axes throughout the house in case i have to cut my way out, storing up water and securing what i can, most everything outside is doomed. Got a brandy new generator cause the yams circut board chit to bed, pos. Back to work.

WSB & BSB

Quiet here today......everybody out on their bikes then?

Nice one Pete, I'm well jealous. How far did you go ?

Same!!!...... except my keyboard is ivory......or ground in dirt......

Is fine now. Browser cache!...

Explains the sucking sounds i hear.

Maybe the the storm is French ?

I went there in 2006......nice circuit! Though in @Six30's case he'd probably be more interested in van hire! What you say @Clive?

Flipper is my co pilot.

Jaws will get you.

Depends on your definition of U doesnt it?

Stick up a few pics so the guys can see the type of stuff they do Ray.

Anti-Vax Covid-denying slaphead from Right Said Fred in hospital with Covid!

I think I’ve been very lucky Michelle, so far I’ve had no problems with it at all………mind you, now I’ve said that?

Its the storm surge the boat yards are freaking out about, and oh yea, the Nuke plant, you know i live right next door to a nuke plant right? I showed mum the Vid of FuckEshemo