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Had a grey day ride yesterday on my Honda, Charlotte. Almost made it home before the rain started, but not quite. The bike handles great in the rain! I love the Michelin Road 5 tires too!

Hurrah, our sunflower finally made an appearance today...............

Just got back , good bike , runs and drives sweet , it hadn’t been used for 10 years

While I was reading up on the pitfalls of moving to Spain I read an article about how so many people move back to the UK within 3 years. The expert on expats didn’t mince words. He said there are a few reason. The main one being “a lot of them are losers.” They dont do any research so they don’t understand unemployment is high, they dont speak Spanish but assume that they will be given a job even though they can’t communicate but also consider themselves too good for cleaning villas or other unskilled work, they were losers back home who are running away from their mistakes but learnt nothing so come to Spain and repeat the same mistakes. He said the expansive safety nets the UK has to stop people reaching the very very bottom of poverty dont exist in Spain, if you fall there will be no-one to catch you. Brutal ay, made me laugh, as I read it I thought Pete would love this, Spanish expat losers

I'm exactly the same. I like to travel to see new things, to experience different things and to meet different people. I'm still me, but I like to feel that I grow from these experiences, that it enriches my outlook on life. I know that Pete jokes about lazy dagos, but who's got it right? One of my old colleagues used to moan all the time about one of the other guys, calling him a lazy git, etc. "I'm out there working my arse off for 10-12 hours a day and I know that lazy git is back home by 4pm with his feet up!" So I asked him how many hours we were paid for? "37.5 hrs a week" How many hours does Frank work? " Well.......no more than 37.5 hrs!" So, who's wrong? Just because Frank works the hours that he's paid and little more, but you work 20+hrs a week unpaid overtime, who's the mug? Lazy dago will probably live to 100 years old.

We all have different ways of planning a trip like this, My way is to treat it as "MY Holiday" and I invite people to come along.. on the understanding that they get what they're given and if plans have to change.. then they have to accept that. For instance a few years ago we were all set to go to Austria. HOWEVER the weather was terrible.. rain from Belgium all the way to Munich and so literally last minute I told them that I wasn't prepared to have 3 days of solid rain and so we went to the Vercors in the south of France instead.. which was hot and dry and totally gorgeous. Nobody was disappointed. Though we missed the high passes, The Vercors and Ardeche were great as a second choice. The high point being the Combe Laval balcony road.

Well done Pete. I too went out today between 0900 and 1400 but unlike you I baked my nuts off on the CBR600F but thoroughly enjoyed racing around like a hooligan with five other twats. No crashes, no near misses and fingers crossed, no speeding tickets. Happy days! ………….oh, and no fucking photos either

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there. I don’t have any expectations of Spain other than the notion it will be better weather for riding a motorbike. When I was about 10ish I wanted to know why my Dad never came on holiday, he explained that he didn’t go on holiday mainly because going on holiday was hassle and “you’re you where ever you are, if you’re unhappy it’s usually down to your expectations which is easy to fix, just change your expectations” and while I’ve gone in completely on the opposite direction of liking to travel about seeing different places and having new experiences his words stuck and for a lot of situations it works just dandy.

She probably did a Six and just stole one on the net.

One of my oldest trail videos, this is the rat run from Resolven through to the playground, apologies for the crap quality, this was long before the days of HD helmet cams and was recorded on a camcorder, recorded by Mark and edited by me

I was out early as it's going up to 32C today......so when I went it was mid 20's and low humidity. Went to the old Caniles Railway Station first......found some abandoned shit en-route..... Got to the station......nice and empty with no bicycle twats! Hate the bicycle twats! This goes towards El Hijate..... .....and this one towards Baza! I checked out the abandoned plastics factory next....... ......and still no way in! I could have got over these walls in my younger days.......but those days are long gone! And they ain't coming back! Then onto Baza station and it was full of bicycle twats having some sort of race! So I had to make do with the turntable! Having said that, turntables are very rare in these old stations........and this is the only one I've visited that has actually preserved it. Seron just has the outline of where it was! You lot won't understand this......but it basically says "This is a fucking turntable, and It was put into action in 1907 and closed in 1985". And here's something of interest.....the turntable was actually built in Carlisle by Cowans, Sheldon & Co. Then it was back to the house before it got too warm......about 90 miles in all. Which is probably about 90 miles further than you fucking Casuals will manage! Had this bike a year now.......and still no thoughts of changing it! That's very strange for me! Have I finally got the right bike.......or is it that the alternatives are just too expensive, or too heavy, or too gay, or too weird?

Probably the main reason that we moved to France was to get away from the rat race. Yes, it can be frustrating getting things done here sometimes, but that's because we haven't yet got into the rhythm. It's managing those expectations again!

A manager of mine in a company I worked for many years back got promoted to European Quality Manager. His job was to get all of the affiliates accredited to ISO standards for quality processes. All was going well with his job, until he went to Spain to get them accredited! After nearly a year there he threw his hands in the air and got a flight back to the UK!

I meant that I’ve had the anthrax jab, and the effects on different people varied widely. We reckoned that the severity was directly proportional to the number of stripes on the shoulder. I share your arsenic view.

Which is why I always try to have a plan B ready to roll. I really do enjoy camping, but not in the rain.. so that's why we will always follow the sun.. head for a region that has a settled outlook, or if its the Alps. They can often act as a barrier.. with wet weather to the north and glorious to the south. So.. even if the intention was originally to stay in the north, we will head south. Of course, with Ireland we didn't have that option. We just had to muddle through. all-in-all it turned out great.. but it could easily have been otherwise and there would have been no escape from it. Its a holiday not a test of endurance.

Hopefully yes. There has been much talk for the past few years of the Dolomites. (mostly because I tend to wax lyrical about that region - I've been 3 times) via the Black Forest and Austria. over a fortnight. A big effort to start.. get down to Austria in 2 days and then spend the next 12 as a slow return, staying in various places for a few days. 3/4 days in the Dolomites. few days in Austria and then on to the Black Forest before returning to the Uk from calais using the tunnel. Go to 3 places. Dolomites. Austria and the Black Forest. All very German.. even the Dolomites, though in Italy has a very German ambience.. all the signs are bilingual. See how the weather is 'on the day' and possibly reverse the itinerary if need be. This is normal for us as we chase the sun, If the weather at the start of our week is glorious in the BF then we will start the trip there.. or if not, head for Austria. If Austria is dodgy, we will race through and over into Italy. Obviously, once we get to Austria then everything else is practically on the doorstep. If the worst happens and the Dolomites has rain, then we could easily go further east and into Slovenia. Take it day by day and see how it pans out... as always, following the sun. Obviously camping gives us this freedom without the stress of finding rooms for a group of (max) 8. I tend to look for campsites with decent supermarkets close by, for beers and eats. helps with the overall budget, That was why I chose Killarney as a base as there was a lidl just a mile from the campsite. as well as a pub just up the road. Jack, who came with us to Ireland came with me to the Dolomites 6 years ago and is very keen on going back. Here he is gesturing down the road to Cortina d'Ampezzo. "its all thattaway".

yes and one of those gremlins said to get shot of it and here you are having a great time on it

I did almost 1500 miles over the week. I'm glad we went, but its not something I would choose to repeat, by which I mean it wouldn't be a normal option for our yearly getaway. Mainly due to the highly unpredictable weather. Also, its not the best place to go if you want to avoid tourists. One example, The Gap of Dunloe was a nightmare due to the sheer number of tourists there.. several horse drawn traps, which were as wide as the road, though we were lucky to be able to squeeze past them at passing places. People on foot, on bicycles (mostly hire bikes) and those who had driven there and all this on a normal working weekday, a Tuesday. It must be 100 times worse during the holiday season. Its a fantastic road, but one to be done in the evening and hope for the best. We had a much better time of it elsewhere, The Dingle peninsula was great so was the ring of Kerry and the ring of Beara, but, its not where you want to be in bad weather, also.. to fully appreciate it you really do need an adventure style bike as a lot of the very minor roads were pretty bad, and going off the main roads is really a must for this region, otherwise you miss so much. For me it was a cheap holiday though, After all the initial expenses were paid, the ferry. I took €550 and came back with €180. Camping was cheap, so was shopping at lidl. eating out wasn't horrendous except in central and extremely touristy Killarney. A lot of the larger fuel stations did some quite excellent food.. not the sort of stuff you would normally expect either. They reminded me a lot of Tebay services. local produce really to the fore. When we were at Kilkenny, we had a walk to the nearest bar, very much a local pub. we had 2 pints each, 4 pints of Bitter and 2 pints of Guiness in total and the bill was €26. After that a visit to the chippy over the road and then came the most pleasant surprise. Fish and chips and not by any means a small portion. €4.90 and very nice too. A few other things that struck me. Car drivers were very very considerate and 9/10 would move over.. or even pull over to let us pass. people waved at us all the time, on foot, on bicycles in cars.. didn't matter. 'Friendly' doesn't do it justice. We saw a lot of speed camera signs.. but never once an actual camera. My guess is there aren't any.. the signs were more about being a deterrent or to warn of the occasional mobile Gardai with a radar setup. (possibly) I loved the signs.. like on the tarmac. "Lane in Stay" and "Yield" rather than give way. Speed limits were very much in line with here.. 60-75 out of town. rarely 50 due to bendy roads. other signs were rather more 'inventive' than the boring ones we have here.. with a sense of humour to them. I lost count how many times I was asked what part of the UK I was from. There were a lot of brits there on holiday. a lot, probably for exactly the same reason we were.. as its so easy. no fuss, no testing. nothing, They do take Covid very seriously though.. much more so than here as it is now.

Right, I'm sorry, how insensitive of me. I forgot over the summer how you and @Tym are especially confused with all this playing in the wetness...... But @Tym can at least sit in it, but when it comes from above in the form of drops it's just too much......

I noticed the humidity very quickly. Everything dries in a fraction of UK time, had a shower and cup of tea, reached for the hairdryer, no need, hair is completely dry The air quality is probably better but in Blighty I live by the sea so it tends to be better than a lot of places. Currently grappling with the stupid address set up. It’s back to front to the way I understand addresses and apparently also the way Google maps understands addresses so I’ve ditched some of it and just typed the minimal bits that Google maps understands to bring someone to this location. @XTreme do you reckon that’s ok? Will the Amazon parcel turn up?! Stay tuned for exciting updates.

I can't take any credit. My wife took the shot while standing on a chair while my son held the chair safe

COVID originated in a biological warfare facility in North Carolina.

Its ok we get the same here it's like the UK don't exist to foreigners we are all from England

I think that Spain, and to an extent France, made it too easy for people to fly below the radar, but they're really tightening up on it now, which is catching the grifters out. But many are living here legitimately, so have no issues. Realistic expectations are key to making a go of it.

It’s the same story repeated time after time. They think that they’ll be ok for a short while. The third guy was probably not thinking straight due to shock. First mistake was with the first guy who should have tested the atmosphere. We always tested before going into chain lockers and any space where there might be rust, such as ballast tanks. Had to ventilate for twenty four hours before entry if I remember correctly. protective gear used if there was chance of getting contaminated, oils or sulphur for example. Breathing apparatus or dust masks as required.

Here's a blast from the past January 2010 out testing the latest mid range thumpers for Trail Bike Magazine for their suitability as all rounders My bike is the black, red and white Sherco 4.5i

Rains fine as long as it never touches my motorcycle im fine with wet.

Are you here on holiday………..or have you moved in with Pete?

That's you, @Buckster, @Six30, and @Sir Fallsalot fucking trolling me now!

@Sir Fallsalot.......you know the guy in the air ducts......well I've been looking at more of his stuff! He is batshit fucking crazy!

.....Ok, this should cleanse your thoughts......

But for how long?

Sounds like the ideal jaunt to Ireland. Lucky weather and good food and good hospitality. I’d say that’s another successful year.

I can’t believe how fast we’ve acclimatised. Sweating buckets Friday to turning the aircon off today even though it says its 28c with a ‘feels like 35’ wtf? I would die at home in that heat. Loving the fact everything here is closed on sundays.. and maybe Monday or tuesday or any other day if that’s what’s suits Its a whole different culture grown up around sunshine and heat, that’s very different to home.

Yeh , he bought it to get running and do up , wanted a little project . he can only ride 125 on the road only got a CBT …

My mate wants me to go to bloody Africa with him. If my back shoulder and legs survived I'm sure that my tackle would have cooked like that guy in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover.

Anything is better than being ingurlisch.

Nice one Pete, good to see you got out before death and dago's came upon you. I can confirm that you WILL have done exactly 90 miles more than me today

No sympathy for these idiots whatsoever. They should try a course of anthrax jabs if they're worried about reactions.

Same here but I think that the yank was a Canuk.

English Welsh whats the difference...lol

uuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmm , I think her opponent was Canadian actually

not a fan of tennis , but just watched the grand slam , brilliant... well done the Emma ..... unlucky yank

NOOOO, None! I know right! WOW!! Bagheera is running great right now. Wait, shhhhhh we should keep this quiet, the gremlins could be listening....

sounds good, something we are thinking of doing in the future.... best of luck to the both of you .... enjoy.