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A friend called me because his wife's car broke down, she managed to exit the motorway but 300km away from home (near me) and asked if I was at my place. Car was dead, phone was dying, she's panicking, heat wave, etc, so I got on the GS in a hurry and flew there with a power bank and an extra helmet. Didn't take the E30 because worse than heat stroke is being stuck in 44º behind trucks and no AC. The plan was to get her to some shade with a bottle of water and fix the recovery calmly. If it took very long I had an extra helmet to get her on the GS and take her to a restaurant very close by to sort out the trailer in comfort. When I got there her phone was dead, and turns out she had a 3 year old child with her. Water and shade was enough, and 30 minutes later they had a taxi and a tow truck, even though the boy wanted to go on the bike instead The car? A 2 year old Toyota that started to fail on the motorway like it was running out of fuel except it wasn't, and then wouldn't even turn on electric power to charge the phone, completely dead.

Next time one of you thinks you're tough for riding with wet feet and cold in the rain, this is proper tough:

Car's back with new Starter Motor!

Mandy is back to work today, after her week's holiday. It's fair to say that there was no spring in her step as she went out of the house this morning! We've got one of my old work colleagues coming over for the weekend with his wife next weekend. Then we're off to a wedding in Brixton the following weekend. Then a couple of weeks after that Mandy is on holidays again, this time for two weeks, and we're going to Sicily for a week, if there's anything left of it! It's a busy old time!

Strange today with all the car stuff going on! Here's a clip going over to the animals this morning......and I had to call into the garage to tell them about the car. Burnt off a Gypsy on a moped on the way. Ran into Manolo the Goat Man outside! Lovely old boy.......nearly 80 and walks miles every day with his goats. He speaks a dialect of Spanish that is unique to him. We're used to it now, but stick someone who's learned formal Spanish in University in front of him and they wouldn't have a fucking clue what he's going on about! Then I had to see Antonio the mechanic in his office! For those of you not familiar with dealing with the Spanish, you'll notice their hands going all the time and the body gestures that go along with it. They all do it! I think Italians are the same @boboneleg? Get a bunch of them together and it's like you're surrounded by people doing sign language!

Should of given me a shout, just down the road in Gorleston. Although I've been away for the weekend in London, Mandi did the Abba thing again and I went to Ronnie Scotts.

It's a full time job, mate!

Absolutely, if you tied their hands behind their backs they'd be fecked

This was taken by Mandy a couple of months before my 60th birthday.

We have uk versions of him we call them rambling idiots

That probably the fastest it’s been in years being dragged on to lorry

Antonio's been......and it's not the battery, it's the starter motor! Rang recovery (included in insurance), and Angel with the Grua is on the way! He knows the house well after all the fiasco with the GS!

Car didn't start again, so it was more of this! Now waiting for Antonio the mechanic to turn up with a battery!

I just checked and bandages are no longer needed, it healed in three days.

Light of the world. Didn't choice them, they were on the evening we went. Didn't disappoint though. Think that was Mandis third time. We stayed in the snooze boxes next to he Abba show. The bar area was smashing out their songs with a few others mixed in. Great atmosphere.

It's not as reliable as a jag.....

To be honest, it's normal to have this much heat in this region in July / August. It's going to cool a little in the upcoming days, but tomorrow morning first thing I'm escaping to the Coast and hang with Sofia for a few days.

It must be hard being retired.....

Couldn't handle a Triumph! I completely understand! I've looked at the Transalp and a couple of others and watched several reviews, but the sticking point is in selling my Triumph. The sales process here is pretty involved, even if you speak the lingo! There's so many scammers around now, too, which makes the selling process even more fraught with danger!

Playing squash until I was nearly 60 didn't do my knees a huge favour!

You need an e-bike! A hybrid or mountain bike, because they're more upright. You need to do some exercise that gets the heart pumping, otherwise it won't do much for your cholesterol levels. Biking is much easier on the knees than walking. I have the beginnings of arthritis in both my knees, especially the right knee, and I can cycle for miles no problems, but 5-10km walk and I really feel it in my knees!

I've been busy busy. We had friends round for a BBQ for Mandy's birthday, then Mandy was off work on hols last week, so we were out and about a fair bit. Things may settle down by Mid-september!

Bugger all.

Measuring , marking or drilling …, shouldn’t you take a man along with you ?

Enter the Grua!

Just got back from a 6 day ride around the Sierra Nevada mtns, mid California. This area was once all trees, then the Creek Fire hit.

One for @Marcel’s wank bank.

There’s a ride report incoming if I survive the next couple of day’s heat, you might need to learn Portuguese to read the culture parts but here’s today’s pictures for this thread and the one for @yen_powell

He tried but his medicine was insufficient, he used silver nitrate that cauterizes the wound or it's supposed to, I had four treatments of it, nasty stuff, burns your skin to seal it off so that healing can commence or at least thats what it said on the tin, hurts like fuck as well. His last option after I refused any more silver nitrate was surgery, cutting it out and then stitching it up, doesn't appeal to me, now by using my bonce I have fixed the problem in about four days using a found substance, ie salt. Quite frankly this healing is something amazing, I must be in good shape to recover this fast at my age.

Four hours later.

Oh, another suggestion, although a little left field and not continental Portugal but since you're flying anyway: Porto Santo island. Pure beach resorts with huge beach. June is lovely in the Algarve, though.

What time of year? If you're looking for a beach resort I would advise the cliché thing and go to the Algarve, guaranteed great weather and a nice time at the beach. I am a fan of Faro as it's not too touristy, but no beach resort and getting to the beach is a chore. The Atlantic coast has very pretty locations maybe with more authenticity, but weather is a bit unpredictable with lots of time in advance. Vale do Lobo and Quinta do Lago (both immediately west of Faro) are top notch and lovely, but expensive, with little consideration for budget those would be my picks. Give it a look. Ilha Deserta and Ilha do Farol don't have resorts but are worth a visit for deserted beaches. The one building at Ilha Deserta is a restaurant, and it is amazing.

I haven't owned a car for over 15 years......it's the wife's!

Speaking of wonky donkeys @Saul’s been a bit quiet and where’s @Tango? I think we are entering the phase when we need to contact social services if someone doesn’t check in

Just got back from the Docs after getting the results of all the tests they did.....ECG, blood, and urine. I've never had anything like that done before so I had no idea what to expect. Especially with me having had Covid (plus four jabs) and whether all those may have caused other issues. And the result was that apart from having marginally high cholesterol I'm in perfect shape. Which was a shock for me considering I'm nearly 70. I don't need to take any medication for the cholesterol because it's nowhere near those levels, but I have been told to go out walking! But as I told her, that's not possible until I get my Hernia done. And even then it's going to give my knees grief if it's any sort of distance. So the other option is a bicycle apparently.

I feel like I've been hell and back....all cause 3 corns on the cob...they unplug yesterday afternoon...if not I would have get and operation done...glad that wasn't the case...

I have a house guest arriving tomorrow. I do not like house guests so I am currently drinking the wine I bought for them. Ha that’ll learn ‘em

There are always posh fuckers lurking somewhere to keep the proles in check.

Probably a bit different in the 40's and 50's though.

he came from Dartford ... no fuckers posh there... except @Tango probably