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I had time today so I fitted the new rocker breathers, rear cylinder is a pain because of clearance with the frame so I had to get a 7/16 torque extender which I ended up ordering from the states. Anyway the new style breathers assemblies which were gifted to me by Edinburgh Harley Davidson solved some of the clearance issues. Hopefully no more oil guffing into the air filter for a few thousand miles. First the rear cylinder, removing the old breather. Comparing old and new. New breather fitted. Then the front cylinder. It all looked nice and clean in there which is a good sign. Gaskets looked okay but I fitted new ones anyway, put it all together and warmed the motor up and no leaks so jobs a good one. Couldn't do a test ride as the mot ran out yesterday, I must make a note on the calendar. Going in on Tuesday morning for that.

A real mod with any balls would have give me a life ban … not a gay 3 months , fucking amateur…

In Marbella I was so overcome by the heat and the beer that I failed to take many photos. Also I had a lot on my mind as I was suffering from what I thought was vertigo, and I was increasingly concerned about how I wasn't adapting to the heat. I hadn't realised at the time but there was an unseasonal heat wave going on at the time that didn't exactly ease my suffering. Thoughts about 'letting the team down' and the reality that I could become a liability had to be taken into consideration. Did we all want the same thing out of the journey? All this was going through my mind and despite copious amounts of beer kept me awake at night. Eventually I decided on giving up on the African adventure with something in mind about trying again maybe, when it wasn't as hot. Decision made I felt better but still have niggling concerns about letting Titus down. Titus and Omar are now in Senegal and are talking about heading back as the political climate isn't great in some of the countries that they'd have to cross if they tried to get further south. A stroll between sessions in the pub! The sailing ship was supposedly a replica of the Santa Maria, maybe. We decided on not going aboard as the price was rather steep and the money would be better spent on beer. View from Carmel's appartment.

I headed north towards Careres where we'd camped on the way down. A longish ride but I chose a route avoiding Seville passing to the east then through some interesting areas of hills before getting on the motorway for the last bit to the campsite. Slight hitch when I tried to book. They were full up. I checked booking.com for a nearby hotel and it transpired that a room was available at the campsite. I hadn't realised that they had rooms there, next door to reception, which was next door to the bar. Sorted! Some photos of the run there before I got too hot and lost the will to stop. Really enjoyed the ride except for the last bit. I visited the one made famous in WW2 back in 1980 if I remember correctly. Apparently an arab fort/castle. A snack after arriving. I had more of the same later. A change from soaps at home.

Bud Light Drinkers

If you want to look like you're an extra in Heartbeat!

Good looking bike though and hopefully the Indians have made a better job of it than we did.

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

3 months ..... ive had longer shits

Good grip in the dry , I won't be testing them in the wet as my bike is called XTREME

The following morning we headed off along the coast road towards Algeciras where Titus and Omar were catching the ferry to Ceuta. I turned off, at the wrong turning as it happened, waved goodbye and headed back up to Ronda where I'd booked a room for the night. I didn't want to go too far as I really hadn't decided what I was going to do. I'd been told that it was a lot cooler up in northwest Spain, and I also considered heading for the Pyrenees, the Massif Central or the Alps. No idea really so I decided to sleep on it. Note to self to always have a Plan B in mind. Nice enough hotel. Not very expensive, friendly staff and enjoyed the bar and food. The room however was a disappointment as it was in the slope of the roof and wasn't at all suitable for my six foot. The more vertically challenged amongst us would have struggled in the lowest part of the room. Not a cover but my flysheet getting an airing. I giggled when I saw this. Schindler's Lift. Ok, forget it! I really like the idea of something with beer.

Time to start thinking about BOTM, the field is wide open, the only thing certain is that we know who won’t win.

Cycled down to the beach today. Only the one photo though. The headwind on the way back was brutal!

Dropped my wheel off to the guy that's going to rebuild it, he's not in the best shape so got my fingers crossed and hoping he doesn't die before i get my wheel back LOL

nope, fuck BOTM .... twats

Like living in wales you mean

Shit internet the past couple of nights and haven't been able to post pics. But will be home today and will finish posting them when I arrive. Lots of this .....

He’s withdrawn in a hissy fit already

When properly maintained they were capable of travelling all over Europe. Let’s face it, Pete has always been a mechanical imbecile.

Popped up to Damerells for the bike night tonight. Took photos of what interested me. Probably 100 bikes or so. Lots of interesting stuff as always.

Scenery got better as I climbed up ...

Anyway, back to the ride report. I got up at 4:00 AM to beat it outta Las Vegas - no heat and no traffic. Got up into the mountains of Utah and it cooled off significantly ...

One for @yen_powell

Is she back then?

You did the last 20 miles at 40mph didn’t you?

That looks better than new.

This sign was about 40 miles past the previous pic, Not good. But I made it obviously or else I'd still be sitting out there on the side of the road waiting on someone to pass by....

Is this one half way from transforming from a camaro into a giant extra terrestrial robot?

I am so glad I am not the only person who laughs when I see a lift with Schindler written on it. We had them at work until recently. Some of my best friends have been stuck in them when they broke down between floors.

so @Buckster has bottled it.... see what sort of employees you have got @XTreme....

He doesn’t understand reflections, he can’t use mirrors because gingers don’t have a reflection.

Googling it now!

That's called grass it's a plant people use for Lawns and pasture for animals, you wont recognise it because it's usually brown in Spain

So what you are saying is you've been getting down and dirty riding on the back of Xtreme

I suggest that @Buckster reinstates you this month so you're in the position of having to come up with the goods when the Van Action starts! If you can't deliver a great shot then everybody will see that you were just bullshitting!

Stopped by my mechanic for a chat and a diagnosis yesterday, and took a couple of pictures. It’s very BMW oriented but still quite the variety A 69S is a very cool and a bit rare bike.

It was certainly some sort of meat and what I thought was spuds turned out to be cheese balls.

Seville is a no go if you don’t like heat, it’s probably the hottest city in Spain, I’ve ridden through there in October well into the night at over 30°C.

You can’t comment, you people eat grits.

What was the "snack"? Bowl of puke and fried bull's balls?

Mine weren't capable of travelling across Swansea!

Buck and Marcel!

Definitely not the one of his cider dipped helmet.

At 12000 or 12500km into this tire, I think it's got 1 or maybe 2000km on still on the rear. Grip on the road is still very nice and confidence inspiring, they're a little skittish when riding faster and forgetting you're on mixed tires when breaking harder. I'm very happy with them, it's a top travel tire for a big trail. These tires invite me to have the bike dirty a lot more often than before. I will certainly have another set of these for going to Morocco next time, which might happen this year in late September to November, I'm completely sold on these tires. Don't want to set off to that with half worn tires though, so might have to fit something else in between, maybe try something new in between, I was given a good recommendation on the Pirelli STR but they look a bit gay and maybe not that great for such a heavy bike?