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Good afternoon everyone, It's coming close too 1 year since my dad passed, time has flown by very quickly. I thought it'd be good to quickly reply to some questions i've gotten either through here or on FB / Whatsapp. 1) The funeral was small, it was only myself and Ali in the end, due to Spain typically having a funeral with-in 2 days of the passing it was all done very quick and suddenly. 2) I got to see Pete in hospital the day before he passed, he seemed to be recovering well, so it was indeed a shock that he passed the following morning as i was arriving to visit him again. 3) I've taken over his business and also the forum for the time being, so things will still continue to be online for the foreseeable future. 4) Ali is doing as well as could be expected, she's still living in Spain but it's going alright. 5) I'm not planning any public service or remberance for Pete this coming year, there's still a lot on-going, but i appreciate all the love / support from everyone. Please do continue to take care of the forum and yourselves, i do come to check-in on things from time to time. Best regards, Scott - Petes youngest Son (Living in The Netherlands)

I met Pete online in 2002 I think, when I bought my Transalp 650. I had joined AdvRider at the time, and he just sent me a message on there to invite me to DualSport UK. At the time, he also had a Transalp 650 and was still living in Wales. It was a new thing to me, bike forums, and turns out I quite liked the small intimate group on a forum like that compared to the vastness of AdvRider or even Horizons Unlimited. It's the closest thing to a motorcycle club clubhouse there is online. I literally had started riding a few weeks before joining that forum I think, and started posting my first ride reports literally figuring out how to go on a motorcycle. I was happy to be amongst @modrover, @YamaHead, @Sir Fallsalot, @boboneleg, @Renegade, @Catteeclan, @yen_powell, @MooN, and even @Tym and @Buckster who gave me so much shit I considered leaving plenty of times. With some of those people a relationship grew to frequent communications outside of the forum. I did my first longer ride on a bike to meet @XTreme and Alie, now recently moved to southern Spain and in search of a place to live, before they settled on the house they've been in until now. Then a second meet up in their current house a couple of years later, in which he took a picture of me trying to kickstart his XT350, that picture haunted me to this day at every opportunity DSUK turned to Maximumbikes, then somehow I grew apart and the forum also disappeared and turned to a facebook thing, I think. Years later, I was very happy to get a second private message, again through AdvRider , as an invitation to join this current forum. My life had by then changed, as did I, and I talked a lot with Pete, he and his wife again becoming good friends, this forum has since then provided a needed internet home and I've used it to vent a lot. He loved that I posted my Morocco ride reports on here and I loved doing those too. He supported me during a few moments when he felt I was about to leave, keeping most of his opinions off the forum to try and avoid exits, because he loved to provide people with this space for them to gather around and didn't want anyone to leave on account of him. This forum is not going to be the same without him, and I doubt it'll survive without him, he pulled it forward with sheer enthusiasm. His over the top self confidence and absence of fear of ridicule were his favourite tools for the job, and you can't help but appreciate that. He and his wife are friends, real world friends, and I'm desolated she lost him in such a quick and surprising way.

Relatively speaking I hardly knew Pete at all, I think we both happened to be on some god-awful FB group and he commented on a photo I’d posted up. Can’t remember what the photo was or exactly what he said but I’ll bet it was something unflattering………..and I’m guessing it also made me laugh. We discovered we were living fairly close and so we arranged to meet up after a few interchanges on the phone. I’ll never forget waiting for him to turn up at a cafe/bar in Barranda and as I sat there waiting I wondered what he’d be like. Fuck me, he was just as I imagined and it didn’t disappoint. He had the worst fitting pair of jeans I’d seen in a long time, a jacket that was way to big for him and a pair of boots that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a building site. What a scruffy fucker and as soon as he opened his gob out came the sing-song accent and I liked him instantly. We sat, we chatted and generally took the piss out of each other. He particularly like my black and white sportsbike boots. Off we went for a ride and we explored all kinds of abandoned shit. He took me down roads that were totally unsuited to my Kawasaki Z750 and he didn’t give a fuck. I laughed like a twat as I bounced along trying not to smash my balls into the tank; all the while he glided along on his gay Honda. It was his fault the zipper broke on my jacket and also his fault that the warning like came on. I think he liked the idea that he could will things to go wrong. We met up a few times over the course of a couple of years and it never failed to be entertaining. He thought his “street Spanish” was so good………I thought how funny it sounded as he never tried to hide his strong Welsh accent. He always referred to me as a Cockney Wanker and I didn’t mind that at all. He called me a cunt to my face and I knew we were kindred spirits because it just made me laugh out aloud. A few weeks ago he asked what I was doing at the weekend and I think he was hinting about meeting up. I couldn’t make it but sitting here now I regret not trying harder to take the time to go over and see him. I feel guilty and it makes me very sad. It feels like I let him down. If he’s watching me type this he’ll be thinking what a soft southern shite I am because it’s just brought a tear to my eye. So there you go, he came into my life out of the blue and very unexpectedly. He was a force of nature and certainly unique. He disappeared without warning and far too soon. I hope he knew I considered him to be a friend. A daft Welsh twat yes, but a friend nonetheless.

I am sure this will be classed as gay but I don’t really care. I wanted to say something about Pete. It's funny but even though we never met I have come to look on him as a friend who I spoke to most days. Please you that knew him much longer and better than me do the same, I and I am sure others would like to read it. I liked his manner and the way he would call me out for being a cunt when I was, straight talking honest friends are rare and should be valued. Sometimes you need to look at yourself and what you are doing. He ran this website well and showed a tolerance and the same friendship to some character’s with pretty extreme views not just because of what they could offer to the place. Also because he saw value in them and their views. I liked that, regularly talking to people I would not in most walks of life is a good and valuable learning experience. That environment Pete created with his forceful personality. If you can get by In this sometimes harsh forum it makes you a stronger person in everyday normal life, I liked that too. Interesting place run by an Interesting Guy. I liked his consistent hatred of most things Chinese and Indian unless he was buying them, his quick fire consistent POS posts made me laugh. His refusal to see any value in the same unless of course it was something he bought. Bloody Negatron but Funny Guy. Also I think sometimes we forget of the time and effort and finance he put into this place, because he believed in it and it was his creation. To our benefit of course. Oh and the last thing that I liked was talking to him was often like taking a trip back the the 1970’s with his views and some outlooks on life, my formative years that I look back on with fondness for all the flaws of the time. Good Guy Hopefully we can continue in this forum and stop it going to hell in a hand basket, which it may very well do without him. Pete a friend I’m going to miss. The self proclaimed Rugged Individualist. Cheers Shad Man

In 2002 I was in a pretty low place. I'd had an accident the year before in which I lost my leg and now I was sitting at home after more surgery just moping around. I decided to get a PC and see if there was anything on the internet to brighten things up a bit. I came across a motorcycle forum that looked a good laugh and started to get to know some of the characters, @Buckster, @Renegade @YamaHead @MooN @Catteeclan @Pedro @Tym @Specs @Sir Fallsalot @yen_powell and many more (my apologies to anyone I've forgotten). They were an eclcectic bunch with all sorts of views but most of all no one took themselves too seriously . The guy who ran it @XTreme was my kind of man as @Saul says above, a straight talker but bloody funny at the same time. I can't tell you how much it lifted my spirits and it was my 'go to' forum. When Pete started this forum up I was so excited to catch up with old friends and carry on with the banter and meet (virtually) lots of new guys and gals as well. No other forum I've been on has ever matched any of Pete's creations, he led from the front and was always trying to keep things chugging along . Good luck today Pete an wherever you end up I'm certain you'll be having a laugh.

This is the last of this kind of forum, Pete had a unique gift to make forums like these and put a lot of effort into driving them forward, proven by their decline once he hands them off to other people. Let’s hold this one together for him until the plug gets pulled and not let it go to hell in a hand cart.

Just got notified yesterday that I'm gonna be a Great Grandparent this coming October... here's my oldest Grandson's 1st view of his future riding partner...that he already has a bike in the waiting for the little guy...

I wanted to ride the Lammermuir Hills as it has been a while and the last time was well before I fitted the new shocks. I headed over some nice twisty country roads and through Duns before turning off and heading for Longformacus and up into the hills. Miles of single track roads with little traffic and a few cattle grids and many sheeps. This was looking back from where I had come from. This was where I was headed. The views were spectacular as always. That is Watch Water Reservoir in the distance.

Forgive me, I don't get out much. Just heard the news, floored me. I've been around Pete's forums for many years, Max Bikes was my go to for some banter and pisstaking. Exchanged messages with Pete many times over the years, he was a truly unique and likeable guy, totally at ease with his Spanish lifestyle and dedicated to his family and his family of bikers. I fucked up a few times, indeed he banned me once, after an exchange of words, but after some grovelling apologies from me, he let me back. Many evenings I enjoyed the banter and pisstaking, brightened up my evenings many times, I'm smiling now remembering some. RIP Pete, one of life's good guys. I'll miss you mate.

Can't believe it's already time for goodbye to such a good guy. Thanks for letting me know - you know who you are Always enjoyed your vibrant full of life opinionated self Pete, that's why I followed you to this dinosaur filled poop hole I think that was part of the fun we shared. A serious and light hearted touch in the same measure. If reincarnation is true then you're definitely off dog level Hope you enjoy the ginormous top box in the sky XXXXXXXXXXXX xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx

Tomorrow, Pete's family will have a small family only ceremony in Granada, and then he will be cremated. His ashes will be brought home. They would rather not have anyone else there.

For the record, I’m not going to ask for a video link to the funeral. I’ve offered help, and Scott says they’ll reach out if they need anything.

We were sleeping near Albufeira, which is the most benidorm style place in Portugal, all sorts of Thai massage parlors, Curry restaurants, Irish pubs advertising premier league matches on the TV, all day long full English and "big boy full English breakfast", the pits! Gammons (Pete mode: on!) were dragging their knuckles crossing the street, etc I took Sofia around these roads, not really motorcycling greatness, but still interesting to see if you're from Portugal and don´t know this region. Albufeira, viewed from a not very flattering viewing point : Stopped by Alfufeira's Marina, and was surprised to see all the new houses, all these with bright colors were built after the last time I was here, back then (almost 20 years ago) it was just a proper Marina with almost nothing built near it. Now it's ugly as hell: Sofia was pillion on the GS today, not too keen on riding the Speed Triple on boring slow streets and almost urban style traffic. Another small beach, Olhos de Água: And another, access to these beaches is very crowded in the summer, can't park anywhere and it's an absolute chore to get here, unless you really are sleeping within walking distance or have a motorcycle: To end her exposure to the most british oriented part of Portuguese tourism, we ended the morning with a spot of lunch in Vilamoura's Marina. I enjoy a walk around a proper marina, although I do prefer a smaller one with a diverse more authentic sailboats from all around the world, the marina in Vilamoura is where I remember my parents sometimes bringing me and my brother for a walk after dinner when holidaying in the cheaper places around, we'd come here to posh things up Now it is less fancy and most of the shops and establishments have lost some class, but it's still a nice place to visit in the off season. The sun made an appearance so all was instantly looking better too. Getting in the spirit of it, we had lunch in Pizza Hut: After a little shopping for Sofia's birthday present, we carried on heading to a supermarket in search of supplies for the next few days, and in the spirit of the area I took her to Food & Co, which is a British enclave sort of supermarket . Everything inside is from the UK, all the staff is primarily an English speaker, and the groceries and food is completely not what you find in a Portuguese shop. The prices are adequately increased too, to make up for feeling at home while living away. We ended up buying almost nothing there, and moved on, back at home and had a quiet dinner by ourselves. Next morning, breakfast was had enjoying the great weather we were now having, still too cold to go in the swimming pool but it was very nice outside for the time of year. The morning was dispatched with no hurries, proper lazy style living. It was a saturday so I had no calls or work, and eventually we made it to Faro to meet a friend for a snack and talk, about 45 minutes away. Both him and Sofia are members of the Triumph Owners Club in Portugal so there was lots of talking about Triumphs and meetings and stuff. I used to spend a lot of time in the beach in Faro, and love coming here. It was an uneventful day, nice to just relax and sit down talking. Next day we went and met another friend of Sofia's, she lives in a very posh area near Faro, Vale do Lobo. Vale do Lobo is mostly villas with manicured gardens and quiet streets, it's more or less detached from reality and a retreat for people with money, property values there are quite expensive but end up being closed and empty for most of the year. We had a little snack with a view to the ocean, and Sofia and Sharon were very happy to spend time with each other. The next day, we set of to Tavira region, East of Faro, hoped on the motorway to get there in time for a late morning espresso, but first stopping in Santa Luzia. We stopped by a 2000 year old olive tree, it's quite impressive to think the same tree was alive though the Romans and Arabs. The weather was amazing. A brief stop by the sea, and someone went to some efforts for a BOTM attempt: Stop in Santa Luzia for a coffee and a little walk by the sea and to enjoy the great sunshine, even though it wasn't that warm. After a light snack in Cabanas de Tavira, we headed back home. Returning home was done the long way around via one of the nicest roads in Portugal. We crossed paths a herd of new Transalps and NC750, both groups coming the other way in quite tight formation. They were clearly journalists, and indeed I now heard they are launching these two new bikes here, if you check MCN or similar channels on YouTube you'll surely see these bikes being ridden there. The Algarve is being discovered by the motorcycling industry as having nice roads and nice weather most of the time. I will keep an eye out to see if we appear on any of these videos We stopped briefly, to enjoy the view from top of the hills. We stopped by the supermarket to buy some fish, and made it back home during an amazing sunset. Just in time for a shower and for our friend João to arrive with some nice wine in time for dinner.

@boboneleg... he comes across as a cunt all the time

Yesterday

As planned a trip out on the old mountain bike this morning, covered about 35klms which isn’t a massive distance but about 80% of it was on dirt or gravel tracks and it takes its toll on my old bones! Set off about 0830 and the weather was ideal as it was cool(ish) and hazy but by the time I’d got home it was 34.5 Celsius in the shade……quite enough thankyou. Found an old railway station that sits on the Linea Verde close to me, falling apart, covered in graffiti and a bit spooky to be honest……..Pete would’ve loved it. Took a couple of photos for the old twat in case he drops in here to keep an eye on the place! Standing at the station and thinking about Pete made me feel a bit sad actually but then I thought he’d probably call me a cockney wanker and it made me grin. Stopped at the pub before heading home…….because I could.

Look at his droopy chops, fucking saliva everywhere I bet. The poor dog must have been embarrassed to be seen with him.

So after church yesterday I decided on a run down to Moffat and St. Marys Loch, I was going to get something to eat at the loch but after a spirited run down the A701 stretching the limits of the bikes new handling I was ready for a break, luckily the excellent Moffat chippy was open so I was able to have some gourmet food for lunch. After this I headed off to St. Marys Loch, the sheep have been sheared now so they are super chilled and don't give a hoot about traffic at all, they are spending the day licking the salt off the road and scaring unsuspecting motorists and bikers, no worry for me as I grew up in a farming community. There were a lot of bikes out, the Scottish countryside of course did not disappoint. You can see some sort of dry stone ring on that picture, I took a closer look but left it alone, probably witches or a sheep brothel. There was quite a lot of water running down from the tops. Pretty sure this sheep's buddy was dead, it still had wool and looked like it was victim of a fall, it is Scotland so it was probably drunk and fell down the hill while staggering home, nature will reclaim it. Fred would still shag it. Anyway I got down to the Loch which was busy with bikes, swimmers and canoes. This is actually Low Loch, St. Marys Loch proper is a little further along, there were a big group of young riders there which was good to see, it was funny listening to them, I was stood with a guy who was on a Multistrada, same age as me and we were laughing as the kids were talking the same BS that we did when we were that age, maybe biking does have a future. There were loads of wank panzers with all the accessories and all with intact chicken strips, ridden by middle aged fat lads trying to recapture their lost youth before going home to put those shelves up the wife has been nagging them about. After a cigar, I headed east through the valley towards Selkirk and then explored some roads I hadn't ridden before on the way back to Edinburgh, did about 140 miles, the weather was braw as you can see.

Please except my sincere apologies.....ark at me going off all posh ....truth is I'd forgotten I was part of this illustrious group of gentlemen....by gum av gone posh again Any road hello , how do and bonjour, things are still bloody grand over here

On the way home I rode through the New Forest ........................ and then did a cheeky lane in the Wylie valley The Sled ran like a dream, the perfect bike for these sort of roads.

I came across DSUK almost as it was morphing into maximum bikes I think,back in 2005, having made my life in France I was looking for an English speaking bike forum and had signed up to about 8 I think with the intention of seeing what I liked or not. Max bikes felt so much more like what I was used to in a local bike club, I stayed. Over the years I have been more or less active according to personal circumstances and available time. People on here have offered support through some difficult times, and definately some huge laughs and fascinating conversations amongst the inane banter that is the backdrop to it all. Much as it pains me to admit it. Pete has been the motor in the machine, and though others have had a hand in steering, or oiling the wheels, or applying the brakes, or filling the tank, when the motor is no longer in the frame the rest will struggle to keep the machine alive, no matter how good they are. Thanks for the ride Pete. ( you spicky ginger welsh twat)

I first me Pete on "The Forum that shall not be mentioned". I guess that it was around 2011ish. Obviously there were our interactions on the main forum, but we also took some of our discussions onto DM's to bitch about some of the twats there! We shared similar political beliefs also, which we obviously couldn't discuss there. I drifted away from that forum, but received a message from Pete inviting me to join this place, which seemed like a good idea at the time! But, as it was driven mainly by him, it took a different path to other forums that I'd been on and that was quite refreshing. Unorthodox, much like Pete! We occasionally exchanged DM's as I saw him as a friend and kindred spirit, where we bitched about the state of the world! I lost my biking mojo a little while ago and was surprised to receive a phone call from Pete, asking if everything was OK with me. He genuinely cared for everyone on here. Mind you, his opening words to me were: " Fuck me, Bob. I didn't have you down as a cockney wanker!" It was the first, and last, time that we'd actually spoken together. I hope that we can hold this place together in his memory, but we have to resign ourselves to the fact that it won't be the same without him at the helm. Keep dodging those puddles, mate!

Have just been chatting with Dawn and she said that Pete and Ogri will be up there setting the world to rights.

Ren, please tell Ali i am thinking of her.. If i can get some one to look after Pat i will go over. Not many people know much about me..But Pete, Phil and few others from the WSATC years ago Saved my life,,,i do mean saved me... They are all Nice folk. RIP Pete. Lyn.

I don’t have admin access or control of the domain name, software and hosting, without that I can do nothing in the long term. I could set another place up at some point but we would lose everything here, as I say, this is not the time to think about this.

A week ago he was riding the gay moped exploring abandoned shit and indulging is secret liaisons with midgets. I also know he was looking at getting a new bike. Now he’s gone. Just shows how fragile life is. My thoughts are with his family, especially his wife, this really is a shock. I know he would expect me to say this so I won’t let him down. Wouldn’t have happened if @Six30 had got the mod gig.

this has been a long time coming as it is something that I have been wanting to do for a fair few years now. I originally planned this as a solo trip, but things change and a couple of mates tagged along, one for the whole thing and one ( + wife and dog) for the Normany part but not the "there and back" bit. With unstable spring weather and unsure of my own ability to ride km in a day and still be able or willing to set up a tent in shit weather, I booked what they call a "cyclo tent" in the municipal campsite in Bayeux. It cost me 90 odd € for the 3 nights and as it has é beds and my mate Manu came along Ionly paid half of it . It's a kind of semi rigid tent, and looks like this: ( that's Manu in the pic with his RT1100 The campsite is well organised (but everybody's GPS sends them to the swimming pool and not thecamp site) well maintaine and equipped with new, clean and heated shower / toilet block. t's half an hours ride from any of the invasion beaches and all the main sites, i'd recommend it if you're thinking of going. The ride North from here on wednesday went almost without a hitch, the weather had changed radically for the better and I left home ataround 08h30. I met up with Manu as planned, at a petrol stationjust this side of Joigny on the N6. We then headed eastwards toward Montargis and Orleans, rounding Orleans to the south and then turning northeast towrds Chateaudun where we stopped for lunch. Top Tip for eating rapidly in France: Get to the restaurant by 12h00 at the latest (11:45 is better) cos the french feed from 12 to 2 and the ALL arrive, en masse at 12h00. We got there at 11h45 so were pretty much first in, first served and first out. as we left at 12:45 they were still queuing at the door and more were still arriving. It being a Looooooong weekend, the whole country and his significant other were on the roads (Including, much to my surprise a large number of citroen 2CV, many pulling caravans FFS! I failed to get a picture of this, as I was too busy trying to not fall of my bike from the surprise!) From chateaudun we moved ever north and east, through Nogent le Rotrou, Mortagne au Perche, Sees, Argentan and Falaise (not only famous for the "Falaise Pocket" but also the home of William the conquerer, whos chateau is still visitable (looks like I'm going to have to come back here...) We stopped fro a break and a coffee in Falaise, as I had planned the only autoroute usage of the trip from here to Bayeux, as it would be getting on fot rushhour as we approached Caen at this stage we'd been on the road for nearly 7 hoursand I just wanted to get to the end. From Falaise north, the Autoroute is a "voie rapide" similar the the autoroutes in Britanny so no toll, but with a speed limit of 110kph rather than the 130 of the toll roads, but that's fine as the tiger is probably at hermost comfortable at this speed. The traffic around Caen was bad, and I had to resort to lane splitting with is "tolerated" inFrance and codified but not legally. It isnot something I'm very comfortable with as I never need to filter in the part of the world I live in, but most of the drivers being Parisien, it was surprisingly easy, you just sit on the white line between the two outer lanes and the cars open a passage for you like Moses parting the red sea! My ride plan had us arriving at the campsite at 17:15 and we pulled up at the gate at 17: 14 which had the other couple who were waiting for us accusing me of witchcraft (the french are not good at punctuality, for the most part...) we strolled into Bayeux for a feed that evening, and back along the river Up and out early the next morning wanting to beatthe crowds. We're one month away from the 80th anniversary celebrations and its a bank holiday weekend of 5 days AND the weather is glorious... 1st up; the Merville Battery and museum, you can look it up for specifics. It was aninteresting visit and the information dotted around the site was very instructive and complete. The Dakota parked in front of the Hangar is known as the "SNAFU special" so I had to translate that for all and sundy as it was the only thing not translated on the information boards . Again, we were almost first in, but by the time we laft, the car park was full and there was a 15minute queue at the entrance to the museum. We moved back down the estuary and river to Bénouville and the site of Pegasus Bridge. I believe the first objective of the invasion and the first attack by glider born troops. The 3 glider pilots in question managed to place their machine so perfectly after a 5 mile glide that it is still today considered to be one of the greates feats of airmanship of the war. The original bridge has been replaced, but is still intact and the museum has been built around it They also have built a scale model of one of the Horta gliders used, from the original plans. I was so overawed by the sheer balls of any of the blokes who dared to actually fly inone of them, that i forgot to take any pictures. None of the original gliders have survived intact. This tank did though (built a little moe solidly I think) Iwas intrigued by the graduations painted on the turret. Aparrently it was to enable an exterior spotter to give precise firing directions to the gunner inside. We ate at the restaurant "Les 3 Planeurs" right beside the bridge, good food and reasonably priced. Again, we managed to keep one step ahead of the crowds. By the time we got the "The Grand Bunker" at Ouistreham things were getting crowded. This bunker was a command post with fire direction for the germanshore batteries and was not constructed with the ease of movement of hundreds of tourists inmind... interesting though, and an extensive collection of parephanalia, from an original landing craft to communication equippement and telemetry gear for ranging guns. this is hand canked air filtration system in case of gas attack The rest of the days activities, I had planned to be outdoors, as I struggle to deal with crowds in small spaces, so we moved on to The british memorial at Ver sur Mer and this is where I got the title "Standing with Giants" you canlook that up too https://www.standingwithgiants.co.uk/#:~:text=The 1%2C475 giants reflect the,April 2024 - 31st August 2024. you can see the remains of the Mulberry harbours at Arromanches in the background. moving mong the silouettes, reading the history, the phrase "standing among giants" becomes achingly apt. Having been somewhat subdued by the Ver sur Mer memorial we moved on to Arromanches, cos I wanted to see the remains of the Mulbery harbours, the dog wanted to run on th sand and we all wanted an ice cream or cold beer... or possibly both! The tide was pretty much out so good timing. What with the sun and the sear air and all the rest I slept prety soundly that night. Next day, up and at'em early again tobe amongthe first visitors to the Us cemetery at Colville sur Mer. If I remember correctly, this was the first US military cemetary of the war and is the larges US military Cemetary outside the US with 9433 soldiers buried here and the names of a further 1500 odd names of soldiers lost but not found or identified. As with all such places it is very sobering. The organisation is impressive and clearly top notch. The parking attendant told us they were expecting 10,000 visitors per day leading up to the 80th anniversary with apeak of 12.000 at the weekends and 14 to 15,000 on the -th June. They have car parking for about half that... needless to say, there was a vehicle queue of about 2 miles when we left. we had a quick look at Omaha beach and moved on to the Point du Hoc https://www.abmc.gov/Pointe-du-Hoc some of the bunkers have survived almot unscathed but the ground has beenlaft pretty much as it was in '44 and the depth and size of the craters gives some inkling into the destructive power of a battery of 14 inch naval guns (of the USS texas I believe) The fact that the rangers managed to scale those cliffs, locate the guns (that had beenmoved), take the battery and hold it for tw days untill support arrived, absolutely beggars belief. Grandcamp Maisey for lunch, where Manu's bike managed to punch a hole right throgh the pavement with its side stand and fall over into the road... my helpful comments about just another german making holes in the Normandy villages were, surprisingly, not appreciated... we wpent most of the afternoon at the mairee sorting out damage reports and insurance claims for both pavement and bike. the damage o the bike was, fortuately, only cosmetic and the third member of our party being an insurance agent, obviously helped in avoiding any unneccessary palaver. Having lost a lare part of the afternoon in this manner we sadly had to pass over the museum at Omaha beach, contenting ourselves with a visit to the beach itself, or part of it, but it nowbeing high y=tide there was not much of it to se so we pushed on to St Mere Eglise, with it's iconic 3john Steel" parachutist dummy hangng from the church, as per the film "The Longest Day". The event did effectively happen in real life, though somewhat differently from the film. The village manages to generate 200,000 visitors a year from a rubber dummy and some parachute materiel. It was the only time during the trip that I thought things had been allowed to get a little out of contro and border on the distateful.

Dear @Buckster , due to @XTreme's trip to the hospital it means WE are in charge now. These twat's better shape up now. Any nonsense and we'll get the cards out and issue some holidays . Sorry to send you this on a PM but it's best they don't know

These places don't even show up on Google Maps.......so I don't where I was exactly. I suspect most of this in Murcia! I was out for about four hours with temps around 30C, and still managed not to go beyond my 6 mile limit. If only I had a van! Nevertheless I wobbled off on my gay moped. It was my first run since hitting 70, and I'm pleased to report that I was riding just as badly as I was before I was 70. I went from Granada province, into Almeria, and then into Murcia. When I crossed into Murcia I found an abandoned restaurant! About 15 minutes going cross country I found more ruins! Further along the road there was more...... And then I came across a complete block of abandoned buildings! And I was so glad I had a top box! Cos when you stop is when you really feel the heat! This is the point most of you (especially @Skippy) would bottle it......but I just take it in my stride! Obviously there's been somebody living here at some point! So there we go......something for you lot to aspire to. I'll just mention in passing that I saw Tony the Tools (who's recently moved out of the town) recruiting for his new bike gang on FB......obviously no invite for me. Not that I'd even consider it obviously, because my idea of motorcycling is somewhat different to others. But it just goes to show that the current generation of motorcyclists just can't hack it in the company of Old School Greasers! Tell 'em @Renegade!

I left home to go and meet up with Sofia to help guide one of her motorcycle tours. Meeting in Tras os Montes, near the inner North Portuguese border, where we'd meet her client the next day. Hardly no stops this day as I left later than planned. Did take back roads to get there though, before meeting with Sofia at Pocinho, by the Douro river. A stop on the way over to take a look at an access road to a farmhouse where we'd stop a few days later. It's quite steeper than it looks on pictures, surface not maintained as it's basically a work service road for vineyards. It's really the sort of stuff I love to ride on but not to everyone's taste. We had been enjoying almost summer like weather during the previous 2 or 3 weeks, but the forecast was changing and I rode through a few showers on the way there. Spirits were high and I was met with a ham sandwich upon arrival. Sofia had two british friends riding down as well, doing the north of Portugal in dirt roads and mostly off tarmac tracks, we were to meet them for a coffee since we had now time to spare before our destination for the night. Met up in a little village, and I took a few pictures while we waited. We ended up waiting more than anticipated because it turns out they were coping with a rear tire puncture. Eventually they arrived, their bung didn't do it repairing the puncture and it had a slow leak. Considering this a saturday afternoon in the middle of nowhere, and that most shops around would be closed on sunday, I gave it a go using my trusty repair kit. It worked like a charm, they carried on with the trip and it's still going strong today. While all this went on, the weather changed again and a heavy rain arrived. We waited a little while having a coffee. We made it home for our room for the night later than scheduled and after the last bit of the ride being in cold rain. Went to have dinner at my favourite restaurant, a proper beef rib perfectly cooked on coal. Happy times! That night we stayed in an old lady's little air b n b style place in a farm house, the bikes enjoyed the night inside the farm size garage, most garages in this area are big enough for full size tractors to drive in and our with trailers, so the GS could barely fit in. Contrary to previous weeks, this night temperatures were already quite low with a minimum of 0ºC. We rode off at around 4º or 5º in search of a cafe to have breakfast in, we weren't in a hurry because we were only expecting to meet up with Sofia's client by mid afternoon. Didn't make it 3 or 4 km down the road when we came upon a french guy with a fallen down Transalp 750. He dropped it parking on the side of the road, and couldn't get it back up. After lifting the bike, I managed to put his sidecase back on, it had both broke the lid and the mechanism that locks it onto the bike. Sofia had a strap that was used to then hold it all together, can't say I rate Honda's luggage very high after that incident. We did spend some time having coffee, then going to fuel up the bikes, and then already in the afternoon went to visit a village right near the border waiting for time to pass. Weather was cold and rainy. Eventually we found this warm little place for a snack and to get away from the cold. Will post almost no pictures of the tour itself as most of them feature a person that doesn't deserve to be shown in this forum , however, the next couple of days were blessed with big clouds and the odd threat of rain but overall really nice conditions to be out on bikes, if it had been in January. First day Our stop for a picnic lunch: And final stop point for the night, right before the hotel and dinner: Next day, we made it up to Portugal's highest point, only a brief rain shower on the way there, but overall great conditions. Even had lunch by a lake under glorious sun. The road up the mountain: Up there the temperatures were around 0º when we got there at around 14:30 to 15:00, pretty cold but the big clouds and brisk air made for great views. Up there it's often foggy and you can't see anything. Going down the mountain the other side, we took a little dirtroad. I went ahead to check if it was muddy, it wasn't. I wasn't happy to have this face off with a local cow, who wasn't happy to face a noisy bike either. We spent that night at an amazing place with a couple of horses. They're friendly enough but are of a wild breed, not really for riding, and like to take nibbles at your hands. Will continue later on or tomorrow, don't have that many pictures to post but there will be something.

I also wanna build a tiny cabin or two for visiting bike riders. Plenty of room behind the garages for them and I've always wanted to build one. Something like these:

Got the electronic Bat Signal to meet with the Distinguished Senior Gentleman of Fowey (Combined age 250) for a ride out Down West at 10:30 am. Given that I had just finished a night shift I figured why not? Didn’t want to miss out, youm a long time dead. We headed out through St Austell down the A390 to Truro. Then down to Falmouth and along the South Coast to Helston, Marazion, Long Rock and Penzance. Bleddy stunning weather but chilly. Not that it bothered me behind the CBF’s touring screen. Told the others I was actually a bit stuffy and two warm behind the screen, which they were delighted to hear in their cool looking but cold leathers . Just before we got to St Just we stopped at Boscawen Ur Stone Circle for a bit of Paganism but collectively decided it was to fucking cold to dance around the stones naked. Also with our years of experience we all pissed with the constant wind rather than against it, luckily just after we saw a hunt. Again after some discussion we decided not to lick the stones, every though one was solid quartz, as they were probably contaminated with Pagan DNA. We headed on down past Lands End airport to St Just in Penwith for a pasty dinner, met the local village idiot who wanted to sell us a Big Issue. I said ok only to hear he didn’t have any. . Fucking numpty shuffled off after that, don’t think he had a scenario worked out for that turn of events. Resident Idiot, parents were obviously two closely related With a healthy dose of heartburn we then St Just left for Godrevy onto St Ives, Hayle, the Towans finally stopping at Pentreath for a posh coffee. During which we discussed how many vertically challenged gentleman we saw riding Wank Panzers today. The Gamma ripped nicely up Pentreath hill with the Greeeves bogging behind in a plume of blue smoke. We were also a little derisory about a chap on his 24 plate Harley who went past with AC/DC blasting out of his radio for everyone’s enjoyment. Coffee and second piss done we headed home via the quick route back up the A30. Well I say quick we did have to ancient rattle machines with us who riders openly admit the vision blurs over 70 mph. Of course none of that non sense on the CBF. Left the A30 at Innis Downs then Lanivet, Lanhydrock, Fowey Cross and home in time for the rugby. Which I managed to sleep through. Good day and 130 miles with laughs, coffee and heartburn. Hoping for a summer of this

Well, 2025 hasn’t started particularly well. Having been over to the UK to visit my dad in hospital just before Xmas my cousin went to see him about four weeks ago and alerted me to his deterioration. Having seen a couple of photos it was obvious he was much worse than before Xmas, although the hospital kept telling me he was doing okay and was being considered for discharge! Went over to see him and it was quite obvious he was fading away and sadly he wasn’t communicating so all I could do was talk to him. He was transferred to a hospice last Wednesday but I had to fly back to Spain on Thursday morning so I said my goodbyes beforehand. My cousin went to see him on Friday lunchtime for a couple of hours and at 2.30pm UK time he passed away peacefully. He had just turned 88 years old so it’s fair to say he had a good innings but it doesn’t really make it any easier just yet. So, that’s that then; both parents gone, no siblings and no offspring of my own. When you consider how much useful and active time you may have left it makes you want to seize every opportunity, take every chance, be less risk adverse and just not worry about the small shite that seems to permeate our everyday lives. So, today instead of pondering about cremations, wakes and all of the fucking admin that needs to be done I’m out on my bike, enjoying the sun and the empty roads. …………….I just hope to God he doesn’t bump into the ginger Welsh twat

Cold morning, but only blue skies and the rains had all moved North, we headed South towards the Algarve hills, happy times! There, in the distance, it's the ocean sparking behind the hills. These are very nice motorcycling roads and usually deserted By the afternoon, we made it to Portimão, met up with our friends, looked around the pits and saw some people riding around. Scott Redding's training bike, pretty cool! He was obviously very fast, but the event was being used by a couple more racers for training, so the fastest guys in the faster group were really fast! Cool van We made it to our hotel, which had a nice view with the track in the distance: Someone had a blue cocktail, and spirits were high. Next day, and it was Sofia's birthday. We left the bikes in the garage, the plan was to walk to the track and hang out with Niel and Anne a little, walk around and then have dinner somewhere. Breakfast with the track in the distance, I like that! The dip at the end of the straight must be intense on a fast bike: There's a crest as you exit the last corner into the straight, faster bikes would float their front wheels for quite a distance after that: By mid afternoon it started to look like rain so most people cut their track time short. It was a three day event and nobody seemed like they wanted to ruin a nice experience by riding in the damp, it started to drizzle a little after that. I had a buzz around the pits in the Suzuki, it's incredible how easy and docile it is if you don´t poke many of the 200 horses. By the time we made it to the hotel the rain had officially arrived. We had a friendly van driver give us a lift to dinner, and much fun was had. The food was great and wine flowed merrily. It was a great evening filled with laughs and tales of motorcycling and life. In the morning the rain was all rained, we packed and left to visit Sagres before going to our home for a few days. Overlooking the beach and my favourite lighthouse in the distance, from the tip of Sagres: Stopped in Lagos for a bite to eat but got lost inside the old town. So parked the bikes and went on foot to find a snack. Just so you don´t think it's all scenic locations : Exiting Lagos we stopped for a while for some calls. After getting home I went to a local supermarket to fetch groceries for dinner, GS went into shopping trolley mode with the luggage stretched wider. Next few days, Algarve.

I’m going to show her now, except to wake up with a horses head in your bed

Some pictures in daylight and from a non-phone camera.

Had to go and get a replacement headlight bulb this morning for the Yamaha so turned up at an official Yamaha dealership, all swanky marketing stuff and a full range of new bikes. I thought to myself “I’m going to pay for all this bling”……….. but no, I spoke to the salesman in my bestest Spanish, he checked to see if they had any in stock and gave me one………for free! I thought he was joking at first but it seems he was happy that I’d made an effort to speak Spanish rather than just shout in English Happy days.

All four of them.

I set off in the dark and came home in the dark . Inbetween it was feckin cold and slippery as an eel on the trails but it was bl**dy great

Just to piss him off, since he never wanted to be MOTY, I'll nominate @XTreme Well, tough shit, Pete! You're nominated now. Nomination is not for passing away, it's for truly getting a kick out of providing a space for people to get together, he took great joy and pride in it.

When Pete passed on it was a very uncertain time for this forum and if I'm perfectly honest I thought it would just end. I know we've had a few flouncers and we could definitely do with some more female members and some aren't posting all that much but generally I think it's going ok. So I'd like to thank Ian for keeping the forum going and in the same spirit as Pete ran it. It's not a bed of roses keeping this forum going so although he can come across as a bit of a c*nt to some newer peeps I think he deserves some big praise .

So proud of her, She is a right little madam.

Shadows been out for her maiden voyage since the RTA. Bikes all good but she did comment that the foot controls felt different but understood when I told it was because her foot pegs were no longer bent . Still I am happy she is back out there with her confidence intact. Loves her new HJC LID Back out where it belongs

Rode home today, from my parent's place near Porto to Ribatejo. This was around 2,5 hours on the motorway, and then maybe an hour on country roads and over hills, with a stop on my favourite cafe for lunch on top of Serra de Montejunto and just half an hour away from home. I was a little too optimistic watching the rain radar, by this point I thought I was just escaping the rain clouds, light was just ahead. Turns out I was wrong, and went through a few showers. A few harder ones, but all of them short so didn't get too wet. I didn't feel like stopping so stayed with jeans the whole time, it was manageable as it wasn't cold. Stopped by a cool old school looking house to check some stuff on my email while talking to a client: Up in the Serra, it was quite wet from the very low clouds. The sun was trying hard to break through, but couldn't. After avoiding some lost city folks who were scared of the fog and stopped a grey electric SUV with no warning lights in the middle of the road to check their phones, I managed to get to my lunch location. It was very moody out there today. Ate inside, their heat lamps felt very good after the motorway. Just a nice value simple burger, nothing fancy. Almost home, local farm's horses were munching on the winter wild growth. Uneventful ride, felt nice to be back on my bike.

Bruised both shins it did bloody hurt and in work last week i twatted the left shin on the vans tow bar right on the bruise and later on the large stainless steel instrument i was carrying swung down and twatted the other shin, six30 is right i'm like a frank Spencer reincarnated

Had a mooch about Looe today, nice little town lots of narrow streets to explore . A bit windy but dry hoping for the same tomorrow but without the wind

New day, heading to Portugal. We left Potes while it was still a little cold, but sunny enough. Stopped for breakfast and parked next to a very odd looking Land Rover. After a brief stop at a lookout, which was mostly taken over by me having a few work calls and emails, we pointed the bikes towards Portugal. Hopped on a very boring motorway for a little bit, then some main roads, and we made it to the border quite early. We were to spend the night very close to the border, sleep in one of my favourite places and have dinner at my favourite Trasmontano restaurant. I had called and asked for my favourite rice to go along with the usual grilled beef. In the meantime, we made time by showing Barbara a little bit around the area. We got ourselves installed, and walked up to have dinner at an appropriate time. I loved it, didn't disappoint. We made it back to the hotel under an amazing sky, at around 22:30 the full moon lit the clouds from behind, and it looked even better in real life. The reason we stayed here was partly because it wasn't too far away from the Picos da Europa, but also because Northern Portugal was plagued with a natural disaster in the form of forest fires. The air was very smokey, the country was in panic, and we wanted to see if that got a little bit resolved before venturing farther on. That was left for tomorrow.

The Mrs. & I will be fine tuning the ergo's on her trike today....& then possibly a Ride on this optimum-weather day. Then prepping for our 2-night camping trip beginning on Monday....Destination here: