Tango

Or this one.

Fingers crossed for you, Clive.

My first couple of days were great, but the third day was dire. I tried to do some sightseeing, but the rain was coming down horizontally. In the end I wimped out and found a guest house in Barmouth for a couple of nights so I could dry my gear out. After that it turned nice again, so I headed down to Tenby and stayed in a pub there for a couple of nights and then headed home.

Just for you.

I did a tour round Wales a few years back on my Speedy and stayed a night in a camping field belonging to a pub in the Snowdonia Park. Food and beer were pretty good in the pub and the campsite was alright too. Great place if you get the weather.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3858259707597477&id=100002404568100

I had Pilot Road 5's on my Speed Triple that I sold before our move. They are definitely good tyres, mind you, the PR3's that had on it before were pretty good too and lasted well.

Palenque, Mexico

White tailed Sea Eagle in Lofoten, Norway.

Probably the main reason that we moved to France was to get away from the rat race. Yes, it can be frustrating getting things done here sometimes, but that's because we haven't yet got into the rhythm. It's managing those expectations again!

A manager of mine in a company I worked for many years back got promoted to European Quality Manager. His job was to get all of the affiliates accredited to ISO standards for quality processes. All was going well with his job, until he went to Spain to get them accredited! After nearly a year there he threw his hands in the air and got a flight back to the UK!

I'm exactly the same. I like to travel to see new things, to experience different things and to meet different people. I'm still me, but I like to feel that I grow from these experiences, that it enriches my outlook on life. I know that Pete jokes about lazy dagos, but who's got it right? One of my old colleagues used to moan all the time about one of the other guys, calling him a lazy git, etc. "I'm out there working my arse off for 10-12 hours a day and I know that lazy git is back home by 4pm with his feet up!" So I asked him how many hours we were paid for? "37.5 hrs a week" How many hours does Frank work? " Well.......no more than 37.5 hrs!" So, who's wrong? Just because Frank works the hours that he's paid and little more, but you work 20+hrs a week unpaid overtime, who's the mug? Lazy dago will probably live to 100 years old.

I think that Spain, and to an extent France, made it too easy for people to fly below the radar, but they're really tightening up on it now, which is catching the grifters out. But many are living here legitimately, so have no issues. Realistic expectations are key to making a go of it.

We often see on some of the Facebook groups those that are always looking for loopholes to get out of paying their way. Fortunately they tend to get short shrift from the people on there!

I don't know about Spain, but here you can apply for a 1 year visa as long as you meet certain criteria, ie, income to support yourself and private medical insurance. So, it may be the same or similar in Spain, if you decide to make things a bit more permanent. and not all expats are a pain in the arse!

Congratulations on your new adventure. You'll have days when the doubts will arise, but a quick look at the UK news usually dispels any doubts!

Certainly bikes like the MT07, MT09, Z750, Z900, etc are not holding their resale value as much as, say, the 650 Strom or the Tiger 800.

I also reckon that, as people start to feel the impending Financial squeeze and fuel prices rise, there will be a shift to smaller capacity, more economical bikes or to all electric. I think that the big capacity bikes are now facing their final years.

The same here.

When I used to go to motorcycle meets or shows the usual demographic was on the older side! Maybe the change in the motorbike tests all those years back is really starting to bite now? Not that I advocate that 17 year olds should still be able to stick a set of L-plates on a 250cc bike and set off on it with no training, etc. I'm speaking purely of the UK system here of course. But there is definitely fewer kids getting into biking in the UK these days.

Seven years ago my missus and I were returning from a holiday in one of the Greek Islands. At the airport back in the UK, whilst we were waiting at the baggage reclaim, I had the sudden urge to phone my dad. I dismissed it as a silly idea and just collected our bags and got back home late afternoon. To round off our holiday we decided to go to our local for dinner and a couple of pints in the early evening. Whilst waiting for our dinner to come out I had a call on my mobile from my sisters phone, but it was my brother-in-law. He broke the news that my dad had died suddenly that afternoon. So we bailed out of the pub and headed down to my mum and dad's house in Dartford. My dad had been down in his shed playing on his ham radio gear when he suffered a massive heart attack and dropped dead. At his post mortem they estimated his time of death and it pretty much coincided with when I had the urge to phone him from the airport.

I don't doubt you, Pete. When I was about 8 or 9 I went on holiday with my mum and dad and younger brother and sisters to an old farmhouse in Somerset. There was a definite atmosphere in the house that, even as a youngster, I could feel. On the first night there I woke in the middle of the night and there was a woman all in white stood looking at me in the room. I nearly shat myself and buried myself under the bed covers until the morning. At breakfast I told my parents about it and my mother said that she had seen the same woman in their room that night too! My mum wouldn't stay in that house any longer, so we packed everything back into the car and went home!