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After 10 days of being grounded by gout I got out and about with the Dear Boy this morning. 7.5k to the Gribbin Day Mark and back. Just stunning weather perfect for walking. One shot is looking across the river mouth to the little village of Polruan. I ran one of the pubs there for a short time and got to know the community well. A great and atmospheric place.

Lovely crisp winters day today, chilly at first and there was plenty of fog still sitting on the Severn, Usk and the Wye this morning ............... Stopped to have a look at this bridge over the Usk, superb architecture .................. Bike parked up around the corner ..............

Fitted a new thermostat to an Audi a6 diesel today only to find it's no different. (Engine not getting hot). After a bit of research I've discovered the crafty germans have installed 2 thermostats on this model so tomorrow I will be pulling out most of the stuff I pulled out today, assuming I can get one tomorrow.

Work shy peasants. Since the popo confiscated my birch rod everything’s gone downhill.

I rode on up towards Abergavenny and then south to get to the Baffle Haus and have some breakfast ................. I bet nobody's filled up here in a while ................. Down towards Chainbridge and up the other side of the valley......... Care was taken on the back roads as there was still frost on the ground at midday. Stopped to chat to some of @XTreme's mates and admire the snowdrops ............... No giraffe-neck deer around here, just the normal ones ............ Then down the Wye valley to head for home, stopped at the Old Station in Tintern hoping to get a coffee but it was all closed today ............

Fack me! Sounds like no fun at all. There can be only one remedy....

Out for ride, it’s cold and frosty but a beautiful day

Seeing my Himalayan’s days with me are numbered I was keen to get out for maybe a last bimble about. I went to a village called Lerryn about two miles as the crow flys from my house. Problem is that it is the on the other side of the river so it is about 15 miles to ride around. Well not so much of a problem as the sort of roads for the majority of the way are very well suited to the Himalayan. Mostly back lanes and B roads way below the sort of speeds that it feels breathless. Lerryn itself is an old and very beautiful place that is dominated by the tidal river. I love it there but as is the case with many scenic Cornish village’s anybody from them is eventually priced out. There is a small estate, formally social housing, just up the hill but apart from that the property values are eye watering. Anyway the tide was out today so probably not at its prettiest but still lovely. There is a shot of the stepping stones across the river, not to be attempted after a drink, I am sure you can guess how I know about that fact. Further up river from Lerryn is the tiny hamlet of St Winnow. One house one farm, a boatyard and a medieval 14th century church. The church itself is the wedding venue of choice for those who can afford it, as it is only practically accessible from the river. Absolutely idyllic place for such festivities. St Winnow church is also the ancestral church for the Vivian family. Baronial Blue bloods, MP's and such, in fact the old Lord Baths mother was a Vivian. When I got home I cracked 3000 miles on the Himalayan.

its called old age... your just fucked, how much you want for your bike ?

2c when I rode over the bridge, thick fog on the Severn and Wye but beautiful when you got a bit of elevation

Great photos once again Good job your selling that bike now , it might be unsaleable with 4,000 miles on it

Breakfast, out for a ride

That's pretty spectacular. I'll bet the dog just wants to cock a leg up it, but not sure if it is worth the risk.

Nah in the West Country that’s foreplay, gotta beat them with a shitty stick, tis the only way to get them moving, you should see the state of my second swimming pool, they think I only use the indoor one and I know they’ve been helping themselves from the fridge, as if bread and water isn’t enough, bloody ingrates.

Nice one Saul. Thought you'd done more miles than that with all you reports. I guess we'll have some faster ones.

Not my worry Bob it’s being traded in on Friday.

Congratulations to Bonnie Raitt for her Grammy.

cleaning the moat and lubricating the draw bridge ? haven't you got staff for that sort of thing ?

Have you read up on post viral fatigue? It’s very common after an illness and can go on for sometime. You feel a bit better so you do a little of something and are pushed back again. Baby steps.

The worst part about cold weather driving is that your shock absorbers don't work. It's like driving a hard tail bike - so suspension at all.

Morning Mingers Too much work on today to waste time on here… oops

Blatant Python theft. And stop this political shite.

It made me chuckle. We’ve got a bike with a dent on the tank in here so we stuck a post-it note on it which says ‘this tank identifies as straight’

you did in your reply you stupid twat

Sundown at Abersoch shit works earlier tonight

The station is just a café now, used to do a great cheese and onion sandwich in there a little pricey but there's nothing else around there. Its part of a country park, i think the railway carriages have a tourist information a gift shop and some railway memorabilia in them. The whole place is aimed at family walks around the area so tend to get scowled at when we pulled in on the dirty bikes by some

That 2 people doing something far more productive than swearing a german cars.

Cornwall isn't that big mate . Also only had the Himalayan 4 months.

i find a generous half hour in the stocks makes them see sense.

welcome , my advice , dont do the camping thing on a bike... why would any one would want to live like a tramp for a week or so is beyond me . book a hotel in a good area for your base , and break the trip of getting there up with an overnight stay on route.

I don't know exactly Pete as it's always shut when I go there I believe @Sir Fallsalot mave have visited at sometime ?

Brilliant Bob....that old station is just a restaurant now?

I simply wouldn’t survive.

I agree. That’s always the preferred way of planning a trip. However that’s not really possible if you are set on a specific route that starts over 500 miles from the Ferry or Tunnel. The trick is getting to the start point quickly and maximising the pleasurable part of this journey - there.

Can’t imagine motobiker ever doing anything so daft Anyway I didn’t go to a dealer, I was offered a less than one year old bike with just under a thousand miles on the clock for £3000 (who I knocked down to £2900 - I have no shame when it comes to negotiating ), you’d have to be daft to turn that down! Especially if you’re about to do a bit of a gruelling trip on one and have the chance to get to know the bike better before the off. So there, can I go now?

A balmy -17C here - can't believe you're still sick. What's it been? A Month?

@Slowlycatchymonkey I have tried Berber coffee for the first time this year in Morocco, and have been trying to replicate it a few times now. It'll put a whole new twist on black coffee and you'll like it if you like fragrant spices. It's not meant to be expresso thick so I make it in a french press: use the usual amount of coffee that you would for a strong cup, but then add spices to the ground coffee before adding and mixing the water as normal. All of them are optional but I have tried it this way and like it: pinch of rock sea salt, coursely ground black pepper, ground cinnamon (more than the others), , ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cardamom (less than the others), and from there on invent within reason. Small amounts of each. A couple of mint leaves go well as well. Mix it and try it that way, no sugar needed for me and the cinnamon takes care of that, but pretty sure most rural Moroccans will add plenty of sugar to it. It'll be a different coffee experience.

Says you Mr Bath Spa

I’m not the best person to ask about accommodation, as I use campsites and they are everywhere so that is never an issue. There are so many apps now aimed at on the fly rooms b&b budget hotels gites pensions and the like it shouldn’t be a problem. Just decide on a time of arrival and search for the nearest. Or book a day ahead and use the place as your destination. 2 or 3 days to get to Thonion, on Lake Geneva. Though you might find it easier to join the route a little further south. Cluses or thereabouts. I would suggest a mad dash south from Calais. Avoid going anywhere near Paris. So head for Troyes as an example and stay outside of the city. I don’t tour to visit cities, if I wanted a city break I would fly there. But, anyway get as far south and east as you can over the first day and then once the landscape begins to change, slow down and enjoy. I would avoid the Med coast if I were you except as a flying visit. It’s mad. And not my idea of fun. See the sea at Menton and then head back inland or use the motorway to get as far west as you can. Don’t use the normal coast road as it’s insane. Get past Nice and Cannes and it gets a bit better. But not by much. Only do this if you insist on a seaside pause. Otherwise head north. There are so many ways north and so many really nice ways of doing it. Then once the landscape gets dull again, onto the motorway. And again avoid going anywhere near Paris. so, to sum up. Dash across north east France as it’s as dull as Essex. Keep clear of larger cities. Have a means to keep your phone charged. A dedicated sat nav is always a good idea. Decide where you are going to join the RDGA and wander there through the mountains. Avoid the riviera coast and coastal road between Menton and Cannes. And just as an aside, avoid going anywhere near Marseilles as it’s like Paris only worserer!! Michelin maps are your best friend in France. Maybe choose a region or two in addition to the RDGA and spend some time in the Green routes there, it’s impossible to go wrong. Really. Or, here is a mad idea worth thinking about, Ride the RDGA south to Menton. Ooh and Aah a bit at the sea. Then turn around and Ride the RDGA north again, retrace your steps with maybe the odd deviation along the alternate routes. It will not be the same. It will not be a simple repetition.

And they now want to leave the ECHR........and have the same status as Russia and Belarus!

Lord Bath ...please

More like your kind of trip, and you can't even deny it

I bet they can't wait for the planet warming to get there..