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After a very wet foggy morning by midday the weather cleared and it turned into a lovely warm afternoon, so proceeded to give the bike a wash and then a short ride around to dry it up properly. Listening to ZZ Top on my helmet wearing a t-shirt it felt really nice. I swear BMW must have brought out an old engineer from their Nazi torture days when contemplating torturing owners of this bike who wash it. I really HATE washing it, but can't stand to leave it dirty either. Looks nice from a distance

Been out in the garage this morning prepping the Tenere for the new owner. Montana 600 mount fitted and rear wheel removed ready to fit new tyre in work. I also put my number plate on a retention this morning so I've got to get a plate for the new reg.

I was out earlier......22C! Few cars and bikes out getting in my way unfortunately.....not happy with that. Along with the fact I got splattered with fucking insects. Here you go @Mawsley.......here's a couple of clips that I've posted 126 times before. And also take note of the fact that I don't fall off......you may want to try it sometime!

I can confirm that the bike will be out today! And not in sub zero temperatures or grey skies either. Is this a dream?

I have now enjoyed my first week of being away from work and I am slowly starting to unwind. I had some time this week to finish my intro video for my new YouTube channel Grasshopper's Travels. I wasn't going to bother with a new channel, but I really enjoy putting together the videos and having somewhere to store them so I can go back and remember my adventures. I wanted to share it with you fine folks.

wont they be dropping their laundry to yours for you to iron ?

You go out in the Jag as much as you do the bike then .

i had a few back in the day, wish id kept the fuckers.... id be able to fully retire

This was on a trade site I go on the other day

You need some van action.. @Six30 style.

Busy week ahead! It starts tomorrow with paying the rent and picking up the keys to the flat. Then get washing machine, iron, kettle, ironing board, clothes horse, sheets, towels, toys for the kids......and anything else they think of. Easily a grands worth right there! Also got to take a computer over, 2 TV's, X-Box, Office Chair, Desk, and then wait for the call from the Internet people to set up the connection. And try and get these two new sites launched to get some dosh in......cos the week after that is the first quarter's taxes to pay. Retirement be fucked!

Who keeps throwing stuff !!

I wish I was on the bike even half as much but currently family commitments and work are keeping the rides sidelined of late

I bet you listen to audio from Michelle when you're going to bed after a long hard day of retirement work too

I put 95 quid of diesel in the jag yesterday which will hopefully last me around a month

Been working a bit.......liasing with the coder in Germany that I use to modify property applications.....got to pick that back up when I return from Styling and Profiling! Actually got to put petrol in as well......don't think I've done that since January!

Nice here but a bit cool. What to do today that don't involve manual labour

Nice spot to park eh what.

Probably!

dont you mean she says ... he'll be doing it .

Six needs a e30.

I hope not Pedro……I only kept it because my wife said she likes it. Personally I would have had the thing removed…….maybe wait until she goes away for a few days and do it then. I’ll tell her someone must have stolen it in the night.

I put £25 of petrol in the car (1st time for weeks) and still only just above half full it was on a quarter full before. But it should last a few weeks at our present usage.

Fantastic vid Michelle......you've got such a relaxing voice!

Make Eddy Proud Again!

wot Tym said......... wot say you Bruce

Nice one Michelle, can’t wait to see the rest of your journey

Not sure you fit the profile Tym!

Those fog lights make it look like your own smilie

I had a palm tree like that, it got eaten by Egyptian palm tree beatles, so it fell apart and I disposed of it. Now, there were hundred of palm tress starting to grow, like weeds, it was a bugger to pull them all out as they hold on way harder than normal plants. Since you cut yours down and it was innocent, lets hope that in a year there's not 50 more

We dodged that bullet Ray!

Oh kermit

That's only 50 gays, you ride a Vespa, you must know way more than that, ask them and report back.

And now a nice end of day snack before night comes and I go inside to make dinner

You know what the BBC says about people who judge based on colour. Race can be a slippery slope.

Never mind the music!

Rode home today, from my parents place up north. I had sort of planned to go on a long 4 or 5 day long ride, but the weather was shit as of yesterday, drove an hour each way yesterday to visit a client and this was the scenery: Lots of accidents on a very rainy motorway which tells me Portuguese people forget how to drive at the first rain, second and third day is not so bad which means all the worse ones crash right away. Didn't fancy touring around in rainy small roads, and also was in quite a shitty mood so just came home for a few days. Took the coastal road which is a lot less interesting than the hills, but I didn't feel like 5 hours of rain and cold. At first, it seemed like nice enough weather but only a few kms into it the fog started and then the rain, my jacket needs to be treated for water repellence, which made me curse Dainese, didn't get wet as the rain was not prolonged though, but also didn't feel like making many photo stops so no ride report. Only one stop for a coffee near a very moody beach: They call this the "Atlantic Road", it's a very epic name for a shitty road, Australia coast of California this is not Stopped for lunch in a little spot that seemed promising but as I was getting set up it started to rain and three cars full of spaniards arrived, next week being Easter they all go on to invade everything. I couldn't take the noisy lot and, eating outside being unappealing, just got back on the bike and rode home closer to home for a nice snack by the river A TDM came and parked next to the GS Got back on the bike before it started to rain again, bought groceries on the way and made it home with a filthy bike, for another expresso as I write this

There were some big chunks of wood lying about showing the size of the some of the trees they had to cut down, my boot is for comparison ............. It was time for another coffee so I sat on a bench, it was great vista and very quiet which suited the surroundings................ Suitably refreshed I made an assault up the the tower, you can see why this castle was built here as from the top you get a 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside.......... It was a pleasant journey back home as well down some lovely back roads made all the better by the fact that I managed to dodge several big showers and arrived home dry

A photo from my piss stop on the way back to the Hotel Last night

I dont have kids butt, im full of advice, how about lock them up until they are around 26 or so.

Deported from Mexico yesterday..........then arrested when he got off the plane in Manchester today!

Well that’s a lot to take on board! Great news on your house being sold. That’s a key part on the rest of it falling into place which it sounds like it has owing to you making the the rest of it happen. All power to your elbow. That is a lot of loss to endure and yer you do have some great things to distract you but all the same you have my heartfelt sympathy cos that’s hard. Personal locator beacons blimey your going hardcore on this trip! I can’t wait to see your lovely photos. I don’t think anyone has a single problem with you spending your time living life and popping up if have five minutes. And update- we’re all the same irascible slightly off kilter knobheads we always were We all enjoy the photos and ride reports from folk who aren’t regular contributors don’t we. Personally I’m happy to hear from you. Missed your photos. I think what your doing is absolutely superb. Can’t wait to hear more about it when you get a minute, which sounds like with everything you have going on it might be a while!

Hey @XTreme, and @Slowlycatchymonkey.... You had asked where I have been lately.... The last few months have been crazy and life is unfolding quickly...... Sold our house months before we thought we would, when we had a surprise private offer on the place. The housing market here is nuts right now and in our favour for a change. That meant February was spent with meeting the buyers, meeting their families, having house inspections, etc..... Finally the deal was done at the end of February. March then turned into letting my clients know I was leaving and finding them new accountants / bookkeepers, which there is a shortage of right now. I finish up my last client next week and then I am officially retired from my profession!! In the meantime I have continued to sell everything we own, including 4 bikes, which can take some time. Thankfully the only one left is the CB500F, which should sell in the next month. On top of that I had an old friend pass away recently, which is sad, as I had hoped to visit him on my journey. My partner also just lost both his parents within a month and we are still sad from the loss of our dog in December, a bit too much death. Thankfully having a dream journey of a lifetime in front of us, has helped distract us from all the sadness. We leave at the end of April for our travels. The gear is ready and the routes are almost all planned as we head into some of the most remote places in Canada. I have had to do things like register Personal Locator Beacons so I can be rescued by the Canadian Military or Search and Rescue if I am in the middle of nowhere and dying... So I have not had a lot of time for extras and I feel bad just showing up when I can not keep up with everyone. I do miss everyone and hope to have more time to visit soon. I still would enjoy sharing my journey with everyone.