Pedro

I forget very little, my memory works very peculiarly. I remember a conversation, the moment itself, the dogs, etc, but can't remember if it was 5 years ago or 15 years ago.

I remember him from my lesson in Spain a few years ago. Pete sat me down with Rottweilers keeping me in check, gave me a cup of tea with milk in it and proceeded to lecture me on why this guy was the greatest ever. Motocross tires for racing on ice against blokes with studded tires, guy was a legend.

Bruce, to lighten things up, you'll be moving into what is officially a Yacht ?

That must be hell on the kid, Bruce, it's a real shame he's going through that but I don't think that wouldn't happen in other countries.

Word

Good job

I don't get why would you get along with another brit just because they're from the same place as you. I'm sure that when you lived in the uk you weren't walking down the road saying hello and being best mates with everyone, so why would you do it there? Same thing with bikers, I don't get why some people think all bikers are friends and like each other. There are twats using all sorts of vehicles.

Nice gesture.

Sand paper! Also useful for "for competition use only" markers Having said that, I am envious of how clean that bike looks.

A nice scooter is a nice thing, but I would think someone with back back would struggle on one on medium to long rides?

You got some black marker to paint over those white letters on your tires, Pete? They take away from how clean the bike is, they're all I can see!

When the economy starts putting small businesses out of work people start starving a losing homes. I have a few clients very much afraid and not sleeping because of this, because a few of their clients are a few weeks away from being broke, and by broke I mean not having money to eat and pay for anything.

It was supposed to be an easy morning for me, followed by picking up my shocks at the shop for them spaniards to collect them from my place tomorrow for testing and fixing, with a brief stop by the office for picking up some boxes of samples to be distributed by most of my clients tomorrow. Thing is, my spanish plant is stoping for two weeks and they were meant to have everything on stock for all deliveries for these two weeks, today they realize there is only enough for two or three days. As always, they had a month to plan it and still turn it into a complete fucking shit show, as they say in Spain, un merdero! Now I've been on the laptop and phone stressed as fuck, but the rest is still going to happen. I'm just posting to make myself seem as busy as @yen_powell

I should say, on the way to the restaurant with a smile on my face I give this nod to a cop that is looking at me riding past him like saying: I see you, and I respect cops, have a nice evening

June 2019, I'm in the Algarve and it's a warm night. I need groceries so decide to take the bike and my backpack, go have a pizza and then to the supermarket. As I am leaving I remember I forgot the backpack and go back inside for it, then on the way to the restaurant riding down an avenue on shorts and tshirt at 21:00 I am thinking: "man, summer evenings here sure are great, such warm air all over your body, I can't even tell I'm wearing my helmet" and as I am parking the bike and walking to the pizza place I go to take the helmet strap off and there you go, forgot my helmet at home. I was sober! I would need to ride past a police station to go home, which I don't have the nerve to do as riding with no helmet gets your license taken away, so after dinner I walk back to get the helmet like a twat.

Don't drink and drive? You're not Fangio? Buy old cars since you can't drive?

It's not a matter of liking bikes or not, it's pure marketing. Can they tax a small economy car with 100 quid a year of tax and get away with it politically? No. Can they heavily tax a bike that is owned by a minority of voters with no political weight who are also bike enthusiasts and are willing to suffer for their hobby / lifestyle? Yes.

How do you change gear, Bob?

Spaniards' spending power is a lot more than Portuguese, but they are also used to spending more when eating out or having drinks, all that stuff is quite more expensive than in Portugal. However, I wouldn't say Portuguese live worse than Spaniards, we eat as well as Spaniards but cheaper, and drink far better than Spaniards for cheaper as well. Some things are historically a lot cheaper in Spain though, like fuel, cigarettes, cars, etc But, it's a given that a factory worker in Spain can indulge in a better life than the guy doing the same job in Portugal. I think we are better educated and for sure a lot better at speaking foreign languages, that's why a lot of back office work is coming to Portugal, because they save 30% pay for a workforce that can compete with any european country.

Not so long ago it was a little over 500, currently 635€ and a large part of the population is earning that. Average wage is probably around 900.

We got some good things in Portugal, though, good wine is the cheapest in Europe Helps you forget about the costs of driving ?

Even more so when you consider that someone on minimum wage would be working a full month to pay for my car's road tax.

Is that when the first members start getting our monthly 50€?

getting where?

Agreed, it's pretty universal nowadays, the specific point of each tax has lost it's meaning and it's all been merged into a huge bowl of sucking money from the tax payer. They'll just say vehicle tax is to pay for the roads and shit like that while fuel tax is to pay for environmental policy changes, while in reality they'll just make reasons to try and increase each part of the government's earning bowl any way they can make believable. I have a 3 liter diesel car from 2001, paying over 600€ tax, and around 120 for the bike. Yet Portugal is by far the country with less minimum wage between all mentioned here. We have most motorways as toll paying roads as well.