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Mum is in fact a lady

The Kings, I end up enjoying this more than Christmas, it's not a holiday anywhere in Portugal but if you're from a traditional family today you'll have a similar meal to Christmas except with less stupid amounts of cakes and sweets. Feels less like pressure and there's no gifts or whatever, so ends up feeling easier. Mum at work, though:

And yet despite this world beating skill I have only ever had one single Spaniard working with us, the ideal place for a professional shirker. My boss welcomed him with the following words, "This is Carlos, get him a cup of tea, show him how to log on and don't mention Gibralter, I'll leave you with these nice people Carlos mate, good luck." When we had an Iraqi start work we got the same speech but with the word 'Scuds' instead of Gibralter.

Now having put 6.300km on these tires, this is how they look. Notice the thread edges are still square and "bitey": They are far better than the Heidenau K60 I used previously for Morocco. The rear digs in and gets you moving a lot better on soft sand and softer terrains probably because they have no continuous center strip, but even though they dig well offroad and provide some positive traction they are still smoother than the K60 and WAY more quiet. In fact, almost as quiet as a proper road tire, couldn't be happier regarding that. They feel bulletproof compared to a road tire on rough roads, which is the main reason I got them. The front might not be as nice as the K60 on road handling when turning into corners going fastish, but it is a lot better offroad. On the road, they obviously don't handle like a road tire and feel vague at higher speeds, cornering fast while leaning over also isn't their strong suit, I end up not feeling like riding aggressively and fast, which ends up being safer. On the wet they're not brilliant but they let you know what's happening so you can adapt and ride conservatively, I did 1000km on one day mostly in rain and never felt unsafe. I am not a confident rider on the wet, so I take care regardless of tire. In short, I rate them highly as a touring tire for a heavy bike if you want to compromise and ride long distance on roads while maintaining some soft terrain ability. Their quietness compared to other tires of the genre makes them extra comfortable on a long trip.

They're not going to be pushing lessons in critical thinking are they. Their days would be numbered if they did!

You're absolutely correct, I only had @Six30 's crayons available to me

I must admit I did question the logic of taking my bike last night. Mind you in an hours time I get to ride down the A39 home which is well known as a great biking road and I am looking forward to it. Great end to the shift, with a warm bed as the goal. I might even reach the giddy of heights of 41 mph if the wind is behind me.

And let me guess...you're working?

Any excuse for the lazy twats to bunk off work!

really...

Ride with the group today, but we clocked a few more km's. Another chilly start, but warmed up a bit later. A reasonable headwind on the return leg, which gave my legs a good workout!

Cold day in northern Portugal, but blue skies for the next couple of days. Went on a nice walk with Costa and my little brother, went shopping for the typical celebratory meal today, the Kings are arriving to give baby Jesus his gifts so we eat codfish and cabbage. Proper northern Portugal cabbages are great, and I look forward to dinner. Also mum might be making a christmas dessert too. I think this is to make up for me not having been around since I left for Morocco. Making a few work calls to get clients to spill on my competitors' prices, to get ready for a trip to spain on Monday and Tuesday to sort my shit out.

Not in TOTY i wasn’t … you got more votes than me … what does this tell us @XTreme

Off a cliff, obviously

I've cleared all the work I had on......so for the first time since way before Xmas I can relax a bit. Until the next onslaught starts!

Bob's heard from him......apparently he's been pretty ill with the flu.

Fred would have done a better job than that.

Sitting here with the best breath in the world coffee and Parma Violets. Obviously not but coffee and my sugary friends do get you through the night. My family hate them so I am wondering what the hive brain here think of them. Parma Violets? Yay Or. Nay (Gay). Sorry It’s been a slow quiet night which is a novelty but boring. I will be going to bed soon.

Very clever and interesting chap

There is a fuel line that's awfully close to the front header pipe..it's wrapped in a heatshield...if that line comes off or burst...it's instant barbecue time...

I saw that the other day, some of the guys that have 790/890's were saying that the fuel lines run close to the exhaust

I would say it's not knobby enough for clearing mud off the tire, and anyway mud and the GS aren't really an appealing idea to me, too much weight on the front. On a Tenere riding in that it must last forever.

My mate has a rear on his T700 and he does well on it even in some pretty snotty going .........

Six would.

What you say @Tango @Slowlycatchymonkey

The tradition here on epiphany is to eat Galette de Rois, which is a pastry cake with frangipane filling. There's normally a small trinket hidden inside the cake and whoever gets the trinket in their slice of cake gets to wear the crown that normally comes with the cake. I'm going on a short walk on Monday afternoon, which ends at the village hall to eat some Galette de Rois. Enjoy the day with your family, @Pedro.

Had a cycle ride with the group this morning, which took me up to lunchtime. Just finished taking the Christmas decorations down, so it's coffee and cake time and feet up for a bit.

That was nothing compared to the carnage on the Continental Circus!

Yeah it was good. Just seeing how dangerous it was back in the 60s and 70s....makes the f1 of today out to be a walk in the park. Back then by looks of it unless a couple of drivers were killed it wasn't a good weekends racing

And it's started! A different site on a new domain for an existing client. But it's dead easy compared to the complicated ones I've been on since November!

Creative accounting is how I see it! Or "Dinero Negro" as the Spanish see it.......it's actually a national sport here!

I am working at Stratton Hospital in Bude tonight and thought it would be a great idea to take my bike and get my first ride of 2023 in. Not the smartest choice, nothing like doing 42 miles in the dark through thick fog to give you that wtf am I doing moment. Never made it above 40mph cause I couldn’t see a fecking thing. To be honest it would have been no better on 4 wheels but at least I would have had a heater and radio. At least it will be dry for the ride home tomorrow morning

I'm with Tango, i prefer Swizzles but generally don't have any of that sort of thing.

refreshers ..thats the way to go

Jackie Stewart documentary is worth a watch .

Bugger that.......I'd take the car!

In the interest of fairness @XTreme

Still an absolute classic IMHO.

First cycle ride of 2023, although I should be out on one tomorrow too, all being well. Blew some of the cobwebs away!