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Some umming and arring looking at the dark clouds and spots of rain. My good mate from work bailed, "a bit cold". But me old man and his pal Donkey Dave turned up at 5 and I was almost ready for once, it took a bit of effort to get the bike out the shed (it was rammed in, covered in crap). Off to West Stockwith for pie and paaaes (mushies). And look at the sunshine. The triumph is my Dad's, CG with useful topbox mine, CB500X Donkey Dave's. Nice bit of rotax. My Dad was very envious of the front and rear gold suspension pieces. I don't think it will be long until he splashes some cash. An old one. Some more old ones . Cheeky or what. No pictures of the pie or peas because I was hungry but the chips were good and the pie full of meaty bits. £6.50 Donkey Dave, after sending umpteen videos to his mate showing the sky getting bluer and bluerer, took us a different way back home on daft roads I've never noticed, into the sunset. Good night out. And cheers to me Dad who got the beer and food in, he's a good un.

Bold of you to assume he has ridden them.

Yeh and it’s not dropping its oil every where

And here's the Teutonic Oil Belcher in happier times.......

Off on the bike with the wife to a bike do in Castle Cary this weekend, will be the first time in a long time me and the wife have been away on the bike together not sure i can remember how to pack the bike and i have to tax it

Only image from this month so far. Innit to winit because i got skull on my roll charts destination feature.

Dont worry Sir Falls packing is in a mans DNA, its what we do best. Next to doing nothing of course, we do that well too.

Cheers, but noo definitely Rotax. Chains all on the wrong side! If I'd taken one from the other side it would've been more obvious of course, you'd see the familiar boxyness of the thing, plus the big embossed ROTAX lettering on the casing.

Yeh .. bit gay as well

At another fuel stop we talked to a guy who's HD had taken a major shit and quit running. All of their gears was off the bikes and onto the parking lot as there tried to solve the issue. Ending up calling a tow truck as it was kaput. Felt sorry for the guy as we've all been there and it's no fun at all....

Day 3 - Quite the long day as we dodged storms all day on our way to Indianapolis. The 500 race is this weekend so there was lots of traffic. Thanks to smartphones, we were able to locate the storms and ride around them and stayed dry most of thew day.

F900 r .. caught my eye ..

Nice …

Nothing, and more of the same. We have tickets to the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre for next Thursday, but if the weather (BBC) forecast is about right I doubt we we will be going.

Has it done enough miles to need one?

taking nephews thundercat for mot for him this morning .... booking my Suzuki in for a service, then just doss about.

Anyway, I made it back from Cambo safe and sound... just two days before Laos reopened its land border, which is what I'd been waiting for the whole time! Nevermind. I'm now planning the next foray back into Cambodia from Thailand and this time, I'm going to have a crew. My Thai friends were all jealous when they heard about all the fun I'd had without them, so now I've convinced one friend to drive with me - with our enduro bikes on his truck - all the way down to Kampot where there's a big enduro race on 10, 11, 12 June. It should be fun!!

A few more pictures to entice you to visit us one of these days!!

This trip is going to be epic I can’t wait! It’ll be great to catch up Reggie

A few days ago me and Sofia decided to go for a ride along the Douro river, following it all the way from Porto (where it reaches the Atlantic ocean) until the border with Spain a little north of Miranda do Douro where it enters Portugal. The Douro is the oldest demarcated wine making region in the world, the river and the weather make great grapes. The land is very steep and mountain like, so farmers have been making steps on hills to make use of every single square meter they can get a plant in, this practice makes for unique landscapes. The weather here varies from extreme heat in the summer to freezing cold in the winter, the soil is arid and rocky, which makes for a hard living if you're a farmer. The locals are used to tough conditions and are built like their houses, not big but resilient, they show a hard exterior but as soon as you say hello they're nothing but smiles and hospitality. Portugal is a tiny country, but the high Douro and Trás os Montes are a world apart when compared to the wide open south. Trás os Montes is the name of the region that is more or less the most northern eastern square of Portugal, it is translated to "Behind the Hills". The roads are amazing, I try to keep out of the main ones and if you ride an easy to ride bike you can't go wrong with that, having said that progress can be slow if you stop in a lot of scenic points like we did. On this trip it took us 3 days of leisurely touring to get to somewhere we could easily reach in one day on the same roads, but the point of this trip was to enjoy the region, the roads, the views, the food and wine, and stay in some amazing places taking everything in. This is my report of it, I'm sure Sofia will join in later with some pictures of her own. The day started early, by 09:00 we got the only 15km of motorway we would use for the week out of the way and quickly stopped for breakfast on a small bakery by the road, getting into the swing of things and the rhythm of our traveling. Some very nice bread, fresh orange juice and a nice expresso, couldn't resist a second expresso and a little sweet though. We are following the N108 from Porto until Peso da Régua, 5 minutes after breakfast I take us on a detour out of the main road and climb Serra da Boneca, 2 or 300 meters of gravel road lead to the first view point, this is 20 minutes away from busy Porto: Back on the road and crossing a village riding down the hill back to the N road, we stop by a beautiful old farm house: The little "levada" is a tiny irrigation channel built next to the wall all the way down, they carry water through tens of miles that way Next: DRAMA! A few kms later, and Sofia got a strange feeling of sliding from the back of the Triumph, and then approaching a roundabout it stopped! Looking at it fuel was flowing freely out from under the tank when you hit the starter but stopped with everything off. Clearly a fuel line had come off, but I couldn't see it. The tool kit had lost the allen key that you need to lift the tank and I only carry torx for my bike. It could be a disaster, but spirits were still high. I called a nearby shop and dealer, which I found on google maps being only 5km away, their pictures on google made me confident they were the right place to get anything going. Sofia went to work taking the luggage off. 20 minutes later and the Triumph's tow arrived, a little push got it over the ramp that is more used to dirt bikes and in a few minutes we were on the way. Once there the Speed Triple went straight in and they went to work with it. I made myself busy getting out of their face and made a photo report of the shop. It turned out to be a very interesting shop and dealer with some surprising bikes there. This is the heart of dirt bikes in Portugal, the dirt season is coming to an end with the summer dust, lots of quads in for repairs and rebuilds, let me take you on a tour of the place. The shop's garage, all sorts of quads in need of help: An old Sachs V5 with the forks being rebuilt, it's a common daily ride in this parts: Supermoto quad, they race these in karting tracks, some use plated ones to have fun on roundabouts too ... An old CBR600, with a nasty paint job and what must be an incredibly loud exhaust Xstreme Motorsport quad, it's for tiny kids but still smaller than it appears on the picture DT50 engine being built, it's not going to be a 50cc anymore ... Artwork A nicely rebuilt Sachs V5, 5 speeds in a 50cc made this a fast bike in Portugal back when in England you were riding big twins Up on the street level we went to have a look at the dealership part of the businesss, and it threw in a few surprises: Sofia trying out a tiny but impeccable DT50LC, the only pink bike a guy could have. One of the most sold bikes in Portugal over the years. They're here Mawsley, they're in Portugal! Mawsley? Offroad equipment section Kid's bike section, cuteness overload: Big bike section Pete would love this: And an extra big one: And now for special bikes, first a 2 stroke race bike for the local street races Something odd: And two really cool old Harleys A little later and the guilty part was found, the red clip doesn't clip into place anymore, and allows the thing to come out with pressure. They obviously had none in stock so reverted to a little improvisation and a couple of cleverly tightened zip ties now hold the clip from opening. Back on the road after a wash to get all the fuel stains off, which pleased Sofia as the bike was filthy from the previous day's rain getting north. Back on the road, the two hours delay was annoying but all turned into quite a fun experience. A quick stop for a snack and we're back to sightseeing, quick stop in Mesão Frio: We rode straight through Peso da Régua, it was quite busy with tourists and we wanted to make a little time. After Peso da Régua we got out of the N108 but continued on the north bank of the river, heading to Covelinhas and São Leonardo da Galafura via tiny roads. Sofia had been here last year but really hated it, she didn't feel confident after a car running into her in the morning, worn tires, and some other stuff, today with fresh Michelins on, handlebar risers helping the Speed Triple becoming friendlier on these slow speed roads, and what is a really fun tiny road was finally appreciated São Leonardo da Galafura is a high view point, it makes for an amazing stop if you bring your lunch with you as there is plenty of cool shade and a breeze. Between Pinhão and Porto, this is a mandatory stop for me: Heading to Pinhão from here you'll start getting proper twisties, some parts with worse surface and not really a place for riding fast on sports bikes, the ocasional gravel right on the middle of a corner making it a little interesting, but a true Douro landscape. We stopped at a famous vineyard to check it out for future trips: From there on we rode straight to the hotel I booked for the night. It was a proper posh place 5km after Pinhão, belonging to an old wine farm and with such amazing views as you roll into the property that we had to stop even though it was properly hot Roses react to mildew before vines do so they serve as an indicator and help treat vines before they're affected, which means that huge amounts of roses are planted all over the place. Someplaces smell amazing even on the bike when riding through. Picked a few of the few ripe cherries straight from the tree and ate them looking at the scenery before going in As I went to park the bikes after check in, this little dude crossed paths with me, he couldn't care less about me: Nothing like a dip in a swimming pool after a hot afternoon on the bike, more so with a view like this: After relaxation and cooling down, some cold wine was had, at sunset, before dinner. This was a great ending to a great day, not a lot of kms as one can easily reach where we got by 14:00 starting at 09:00, but that would mean no long scenic stops. Next chapter, still the Douro river, a little of the Tua river and it's amazing lookout places, and sleeping in an old stone village.

You know the criteria......it must be your bike and it must have been taken this month. If you make a submission and then get a better shot later on.....then just submit the new pic and tag me to delete the first one. This submissions thread will be open from now until the evening of Sunday 29th, at which point the voting thread will open! Voting then takes place over two days with the Poll closing 8PM Tuesday 31st.

Tosser.

Better get one in since i'm not here on the weekend

Before the spill and hazmat expenses, vacumme truck, flame disposal chambre, 6 pack of illegals to actually do work....

A 604 you say. Well then, his number plate was spot on.

Very interesting. What fridge did he go for then? I'm guessing it won't be "American-style", but, actually American.

We made it to Indy though. And went out to dinner and beers at the local heavy metal and burgers bar with my bud Clint. Food was perfect, beers were cold and the music was great. A really nice night....

Midwestern USA is dominated by huge flat plains and farmlands - so there' s really not shit to take pics of. Just miles upon miles of grasslands and corn fields. So not a lot of action pics today. It'll get better later. Ate at only the finest restaurants along the way. The Bell was closed to =inside dining so we opted for gas station food as it was the only place open. Taquitos!

Todd w as sporting the very latest in technical riding gear as we prepared to leave his house..........

At least you're not dodging snow now Eric!

Great pics Reggie.....you need to tell the old man to come on here! He'll feel young again if he does! That's a DR650 motor in that CCM I'd say!

Nice, looks like a nice ride out. Proper british stuff!

Great shots Sofia.....looks fantastic there!

Yes he was a nob. On the back foot instantly, when I wasn't exactly on the front foot at all, and wasn't even asking for all the money back when they said they can't do it. Thanks to the nice bloke that did actually sort it for me though (he only lives round the corner from me, not sure if he recognised me like). Went back for the wheel and it's sorted, not so hard . The 'orrible one didn't even acknowledge me, just kept swinging his hammer at some poor old lambretta, ah well. So, I can't officially file a grumble but it's nice to vent my displeasure on here. The place is just called "The Garage" I think, but the cafe is called Rev's Relic's and seems a nice little spot to be honest. Too close to home for me to have worked up a need for a coffee though.

Quick note to @Skippy: Ray, there's a lot of places called Murça in Portugal, look to Mós and then the Murça next to it. Hit me up if you're in doubt.

No shit. Anyone can make a mistake - just own up to it and rectify the problem when it's discovered. To just ignore it shows a whole 'nuther level of stupidity.

11 hours later and I'm at Todd's house in Columbia, Missouri. I'll have a day to rest up here and we're off to Indianapolis (350 miles east of here) on Thursday. Hoping to get out for a nice dinner and beers tonight - pics to follow........

Day 1 -up at 2:30 am to get ready and the power is out. Heavy snow must have snapped a tree which fell into a powerline somewhere. So I get ready to go in the dark. Nice. I get out to the truck only to be greeted by 6" of new snow. Quick shovel of the steps and I load up and head out.......

Not sure yet; either to Hays, Kansas or Columbia, Missouri and then dump the truck. I'll stop along the way, get the bike out of the truck, snap a pic and then reload it. Or I might just use someone else's pics.....

No worries, will try and post a ride report with some location names so you can check on google maps.

Goldfinch

One from the garden Sparrowhawk

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.