boboneleg

You are a heathen , you have less class than a woodlouse . How could you not be impressed with this sort of architecture ? it certainly looks better than the inside of a van

He was diagnosed when he 4 years old, that really helped a lot with his education .

He has Aspergers Syndrome so he see's things a bit differently to most peeps. He has been looking forward to this for the last nine years so I do feel a little pressured.

My wife and I would love to visit the beautiful galleries like Vittorio Emanuele but we'd have to guage his mood on the day to see if it's possible.

I doubt it, he'll only be interested in the opera house .

I admire your fortitude @Earache , I really don't know if I could take that kind of riding. We're not used to those kind of distances in UK

I've just booted google chrome into touch, lots of anomalies and unwanted syncing of stuff. Back on firefox and it seems much better, not sure if that helps you though @MooN

My main focus this year will be my sons 30th birthday. He's always wanted to go to the Teatro Alla Scala in Milan to watch an opera. Unfortunately we have to include a visit to the mother-in-laws in Caserta at the same time (the other end of Italy) or there will be hell to pay. Going to Dent for XRV/Big Trailie rally in September as one of the guys is turning 70 so I don't want to miss that. I'd love to fit a Euro trip in as well but we'll have to see how that goes,

@Slowlycatchymonkey

Most of the high passes are blocked with snow in April

Say what you like about football @busabeast but professional rugby in England is going exactly the same way .

Nice exhaust , I do love a Zard silencer on a naked Ducati

I like small

Can you send me a Sur Ron storm bee in a nice box pretty please

Started at 5c and rose to about 9c , about right for this time of year.

From Malmesbury I headed east on the B4042, about a mile down the road is an old mill which is now posh housing and next to it is the first bridge I'd crossed today that had a plaque informing you of the name of the river ................ From there I dropped down to the village of Little Somerford where I rode down Mill Lane. I had to park up here and walk past Kingsmead Mill to get to an estate bridge across the fields .................... Once I'd walked back to the bike I had another coffee from my flask to warm up and then set off for Dauntsey. By the bridge at Dauntsey was a strange covered corkscrew affair driven by the river but I have no idea what it's used for .................. and then I rode down to the B4069 to Christian Malford to take a photo of the last bridge of the day ....................... to be continued at a later date

It's in the grounds of the big house on the left. It's not a mill house so I guess it's a guest house or a spot for lazy fishermen who can't be bothered to walk

So from Sherston I made a slight detour down to Brook End ford at Luckington. It was deep and flowing really fast today and I reckon the depth was 3-4 feet so I didn't make an attempt to ride through it ............. I have ridden this ford many times in the past .................... but not everyone gets it right ............. and there are historical photos of good efforts and bad Next stop was a bridge just south of Sherston .................... From there I made my way up to the B4040 and then further down the road I went to the beautiful village of Easton Grey .............. Next up was a short section of the Fosseway (a roman road) which is unsurfaced along this stretch ................ It was also the site of a roman village in the past .............. I rode a bit more of the Fosseway and turned right to head into the market town of Malmesbury , this is where the Tetbury Avon joins the main river .............

The Bristol Avon is approx 83 miles long, it rises in the Cotswold hills and flows in a circular fashion until it eventually flows into the Bristol Channel at Avonmouth. I have grown up with the Avon and in the last 50 years I have swum in it, canoed, fished it, travelled over it by truck, car , motorcycle and cycle and even ridden through it on a motorcycle. For a while I have wanted to follow the Avon from source to sea and so in January 2023 I started the journey. There are many claims to the precise source of the river but Ordnance Survey maps give it as Joyce's Pool at Didmarton so that's where I started my journey. It had been raining for several days beforehand so there was plenty of water when I arrived at Didmarton , I stopped for a while and had a coffee on one of the benches at the site. This was the road junction next to the site, it was about 8 inches deep .................... I then set off over the A433 towards Sopworth and came across the first bridge nearby... and then onto a bridge near Sherston............

It’s a bit wet out and about

I’ve a feeling that’s the last place @Grasshopper would want to spend New Years Eve or any other night

Where did you spend New Years Eve ?

This photo typifies the back roads of France for me and why I love to ride in France

Any strawberry ice-cream