Tango

I do actually miss it, Pete!

Mandy's car is keyless, which takes a bit of getting used to, but the Audi has a good old fashioned key! I'm OCD, so losing the key isn't an issue for me, but Mandy.................!

I have been up there a couple of times. The first time I found some of the roads were very small and covered in green moss, as they were under trees. I then ran into a thick bank of cloud, which wasn't so much fun. But I'm planning on heading up there and across to the Pyrénées at some point during the summer.

We'll call them by their local name, les montagnes noires, if that makes you feel any better?

I've just looked it up and they're definitely the black mountains. Apparently they're the far southwest end of the Massif Centrale. They're about a 40 minute drive from here and we sometimes head up there for some walks.

In the last photo, Bob? If so, they are the Black Mountains. We have the Pyrénées to the west of us and the Black Mountains to the north. I think that they may be part of the Corbieres, but they are definitely referred to as the Black Mountains by the locals.

It's pretty mild here today, but the forecast is predicting 90kmh winds over the next couple of days! Not going to be cold, just very windy! Got back from the ride this morning and had trouble opening the front door. Brute force won the day, but the lock mechanism has been dodgy since we moved in, so I've bitten the bullet and ordered a new lock mechanism. Unfortunately it won't be a direct replacement for the current one, so there's likely to be some modifications to be made to get it to fit. Shame that I got rid of most of my woodworking tools before I moved over here. Ho hum!

Got out on the ebike this morning. It had rained overnight, but had stopped and was quite mild when we set off. Some nice backroads and tracks on this route. Bike needs a bit of a wash now.

Hopefully Mandy will be in a better mood tonight than she was last night! She had a right moody on! Seems that she's trying to overturn some decisions that were made before she was in post, which most people seem to agree with her, but the decisions were made by a committee and it seems that she can't overturn them unless she reconvenes the committee and gets their agreement. Her boss wants the decisions implemented quickly, but trying to get the original committee together is like herding cats! She was all for telling them to poke it last night! So, she could be unemployed by tonight!

Mother's and Father's days will be their next target!

France like bringing in lots of legislation...........and the French like to ignore legislation! The French are very inventive at finding loopholes or ways around rules, it's a national sport!

Bit like here then?

Got all my ducks in a row!

I'm not aware of this game, but I used to participate in a drinking game called "fuzzy duck"!

Lots of people on strike today in protest at the government's plan to raise the retirement age here. It's actually not affected us directly, but some folks on some FB groups complaining about various government and municipal facilities closed. I've been coming to France for many years and strikes are a regular feature here, but some of the "expats" are having a hard time understanding this!

The biker groups have been protesting for many years and forced previous government back-downs, but it looks like the government is now facing down the bikers. Yes, the implementation is the next hurdle, which looks like it could drag on, but the government are pushing for the bike CT to come into effect later this year, ready or not!

The difference in France is that client journalism in support of the government is almost non-existent. If anything, the media is more likely to support the bikers than the government!

Looks like the Controle Technique (MOT) is close to being introduced in France. Motorcycle lobby groups have fiercely opposed it over the years, but it looks like the French government have finally caved in to pressure to introduce it. Details are still sketchy and there's a lot of speculation over what will be covered by it and the implementation of testing stations. Testing stations for cars are independent from garages or dealerships, so setting up independent testing stations for bikes could take some time. There's a lot of speculation around how the test would treat modifications to bikes, with rumours that owners would be encouraged to keep original exhausts, amongst other things. This could have a big impact on the secondhand bike market, where many bikes have been modified and OEM parts may no longer be available to return older bikes to original specs. Obviously it could also have a big impact on the custom bike scene too. Interesting times ahead.

Using the other one?

It's like the old joke about 2 guys walking through the savanna and they meet a hungry lion. One of the immediately reaches into his backpack and gets a pair of running shoes out and starts putting them on. The other guy says "you're wasting your time, you'll never outrun a lion!" He replies " I know that but, as long as I can run faster than you!"