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Piece of piss!

Ohhhkaay. The plan this week is to get the stuff ive got together so far and make a list of stuff i need from your help and tips on here Going to try and sort a microphone out for the gopro too. I need a new helmet aswel as both of mine let rain in at the top of the visor. Very helpful. Load bike up and practice !!!

Its mot time insurance was 350 this year which was more than I expected but I back to riding and by god I've bloody missed it

Just chatted with Tammy she's riding the trail that crosses the States in may she camping too, ugh, i told her her wife can use my KLR if they want https://www.transamtrail.com i dont use it much nowdays id rather ride the Tomos around at least i can still pick that up. Dont matter if they break it Tammy will just fix it better then it was.

Well, it's an unseasonably warm January, proof that all those years of spraying deodorant and buying fridges has done the trick, you can thank me later. My last day of freedom before going back to work tomorrow so I thought I'd head out to a place on the coast not too far from me. I was a doddering pensioner at a very young age. In the 1980s when I was still in my early 20s I owned a caravan nearby at a place called St Lawrence. It was originally bought with my then girlfriend as a place for some alone time as we both lived at home with our parents at the time. It later turned into a place that needed the grass cutting a lot and I sold it to a work colleague for a profit after a few years. So I had been to most places around there and thought I'd revisit. My caravan has been replaced by a small housing estate facing the estuary, I didn't bother taking a picture of that. I headed there on the smaller back roads, I like to ride at my own pace, not holding up others or being held up myself. It was a strange overcast day, the roads were full of puddles and generally quite cacky, but I wasn't scared because my bike is still covered in all the shit from my Christmas journeys in the poxy rain and fog. These first two pictures are to show you the empty sploshiness of the roads I took.

@gymwitch If you're going to windermere, there are about a gazillion hiking shops in and around the town ( or there used to be) and they often have sleeping bags "on display" so you can get a look at the size and shape. They are also usually full of helpfull info, once they have understood the parameters ( weight being less of a problem on a bike then when backpacking for example). Though I guess you need a bag before you go up there... I love the lake district, I grew up walking the fells every summer cos we had no money but an aunt who had a B&B in Ambleside...

The roads started to get drier the further I got from home. Along the way I suddenly found a lane full of parked cars, the reason became apparent when I came round a corner to find it was some sort of canal lock with a small cafe. Then I found a road sign with an unusual name.

Cotton liners are an essential too, definitely. Extra layer in the winter or on it's own in the summer. I used to take mine if I was staying away in hotels in the summer too. So many hotels put a duvet on the bed with no top sheet in summer, so you either roast with the duvet or freeze without it. I used to take the duvet off the bed and sleep in my liner, which is much more comfortable.

I knew there was a memorial to the abandoned air force base nearby so I rode about till I found it. It's on the road leading to the old nuclear power station. I took a picture of the bike in front of it, then remembered the top box opinions on here so took that off for a second to compare shots without it. Not much in it if you ask me. The plane looks like a Mosquito, the plane built as a bomber by furniture makers due to its wooden construction, but so fast many were used as fighters. The base seems to have been used by quite a few nationalities, so I took pictures of the names on the memorial in case anyone recognises a surname, you never know do you. There are Poles, Czechs Kiwis and Canadians shown as well as RAF and RAF Auxiliary. The remnants of some of the perimeter roads are still about. Driving schools use some for emergency stops and 3 point turn practice. My girlfriend of the caravan days gave me driving lessons when we were were down that way.

I had a short stroll to the marshy shore. There were two WW2 concrete pill boxes in the fields. I was taught that there are usually a minimum of three, all placed so that anyone trying to lob a grenade in through a window slit are under fire from the other two. I couldn't find the 3rd, maybe it was demolished by the farmer. They all got money at the end of the war for that purpose, but most just ploughed around the boxes and kept the cash instead. What a place to sit and wait for German tourists to turn up on your door step.

I usually have this place to myself, but there were people everywhere today, maybe they are getting out before they go back to work or the weather becomes more wintery. There were a few people sitting in silence in the church, so I joined them for a little while. I didn't like to take a picture whilst in there as I didn't want to disturb them, so I took one from the doorway after first turning off the flash.

I went past my old caravan site (Lucky Heather any one?) and stopped briefly at the adjacent slipway into the Blackwater. One of my caravan neighbours used to keep an old WW2 pink painted jeep (with no bonnet) at his place and would use it to tow his boat to the slipway when he was down. He came back without it in a panic one day and I and other neighbours helped him to smash up an abandoned wooden shed to make duck boards and then we helped him recover the old vehicle from the mud it had got stuck in on the foreshore. I stopped and took a picture of the approach tarmac road to the church, that's a Roman road that is. The one connecting the old fort to Chelmsford. I parked as close as you're allowed to the church and walked the last few hundred metres. I think the real Roman road over this last section is in the field to the right. It doesn't show in the pictures, but there is a definite bow in the grass like a road camber which follows the alignment to the church which used to be the gateway in to the fort. Note the adder warning signs. I tucked my trousers into my boots, like a docker who's scared of rats in a ship's hold.

I had taken a flask of coffee with me and guzzled most of it near the church. On the way home I stopped to take a discreet waz behind a convenient hedge. This thing was hanging in the branches right in front of my face. I'm assuming some sort of firework, perhaps someone here can identify it. Edit, now I look at the picture properly I can see the bird scarer label.

cant wait ...

So bike passed no problem just need to tighten the chain abit and lube it up. Was a very nice ride out i definitely forgot just how fast the bloody thing is

Yeah was abit steep and I don't think its too bad round here though there are often blue light responses. As for the knee it seems to be fine and bends enough to comfortably ride and there's no ill effects when I get off either

Wouldnt just dropping dead have been easier then the last two years of fun? Just brainstorming this one. If we were a herd of animals in africa this would have been over by now, Darwin for the win again.

I discovered not so long ago that if your cold wearing your bike gear isn't as warm as using it as blankets. So when camping i always strip down and use what i was wearing as extra layers on top only down side is its a bit cold when you get up to use the loo in your birthday suit

fixed

I wonder if you might ever see a sign that says 'beware subtractors'.........................

Bet you would ride this one!

We did the camping malarkey in the 80,s, with a huge 4 berth frame tent. At the time it was good fun, but now in my dotage I much prefer a hotel with all the amenities. But each to their own, If you want to do it, go for it @gymwitch

In my experience of riding with a fully loaded bike I've found that the bike is very much more stable if it is loaded correctly, best advice has already been given in regards to loading the bike heavy on bottom and lighter stuff up top over and above I'd just say get out there and get acquainted with it

Still living free in the USA

That would be the common sense approach pete and we all know anyone who has an ounce of power in running is completely devoid of it. So long as they don't stop me from riding there won't be any issues

Worst I've seen is about 180......that was on the first wave. They don't need to lock people in towns......just close the fucking bars and that'll stop it.

Moreno the Andalucia Health guy will step in and start locking things down soon I'm sure.

I think she will use her africa twin, not sure she's sure.

The guy singing is in a cover band called revolver their quite good at what they do. The boy only plays in his room now his band mates just wanted to mess about instead of practicing so he got fed up with the band. Now he says he'd preferer to be working behind the stage rather than on it

Ace, I'd love to ride that transamtrail. What bike is she using Tym ?

My mates Husky drown in a river a few years ago it was very sad as the bike was brand new and i had never seen him cry before

Just checked its jumped from £93 last year

Great news. £350s steep, do you live somewhere dodgy? Is the knee up to bending on the bike or will you make it bend regardless?

You might be lucky Seems Spain has a ridiculously inconsistent approach where each tiny area decides its own rules so while some are under curfew and celebrations are cancelled others places like Madrid are free to party. Mental. Maybe the new figures will change things or maybe everyone’s feeling like Madrid and ready to give up trying

Look at this FFS! I knew this shit would happen......and we've still got The Three Kings celebration on Wednesday! We're going to end up locked in again for sure!

Lol, love the singing bloke reading the words off a piece of paper. Ace Does your lad still play ?

Might work now

Depends wether the bloke has run out of white sauce or not

Awwww 2 happy puppers

As long as your gas hasn’t taken a shit over your sleeping bag, or you have run out and can’t find a replacement.

Good thing Pete doesnt have a Go=Pro super wide wouldnt get all that in the pic, on the bright side big trunks are popular in the hood yo.. Remember Sir Mix allot.

A life less complicated….

Great looking dogs, they look very happy.

Ditto. I feel like ive been buried alive in them. Ugghhh

My husky died in my arms unexpectedly and it was a long drawn out struggling death. Im having flashbacks of it. The jrt went peacefully but like you say the soul is gone from a house that i despise anyway. Lost is not the word. I cant see me ever doing it again but ive never ever been without dogs and cats snd birds and rabbits, guinea pigs, fish on and on. Your dogs are beautiful. Dogs are ace

I do work for a few that have money than brains....works good for me.......

Yes it blocks so much of the scenery

Well Santa brought me a shiny new covid variant and closed borders AGAIN this year - bloody hell Santa, two years in a row? Not very creative. But, he also brought me brand new Gaerne trials boots to distract me, and it worked a treat. Yay! This means no more trying to ride trials in Sidi Adventure boots. Can't wait to feel the difference. Unfortunately my friend who owns the trials bikes - well he went out with his friends riding all over the mountains for about 7 hours yesterday (which is a Very Long Ride on a trials bike) and is now too exhausted to go riding again. He's on the lounge napping now, so looks like I'll have to wait for another day try out my new boots! Could be worse