Nearly time to go...

The Castle at Bled

... Now the hard bit... waiting...  I think I have most things covered now - except how to pack light !!!   was never very good at that....  You would have thought that I should be able to get everything into 2 big panniers, a big top box and a tank bag !!!   prepare to unpack it and start again...   not to mention the large Ortlieb bag containing the Tent....

The plan is to do a normal day at the office on Friday 6th and then ride down to Portsmouth for the boat, and that sail at about 8pm - then it docks at St Malo at about 7am - I have a route planned that goes along the north coast of France to Morlaix and then I turn south towards Lorient and the first stop. 

The second night will be at La Rochelle and the 3rd night will be at the wonderful bikers campsite at Camping Moto in the Dordogne.... http://www.motocamp.com/ after than it;s travel east into Italy and overnight near Venice (night 6 I think) and then over to Slovenia and Croatia.  Having got that far;  I then turn inland and journey over to Bled for the night of the 15th May - I'll buy the beers if you turn up..   Then continue west through Italy again and call in at Bolzano to visit a private Museum featuring the actual motorcycle ridden by Max Reich (the book is - India: The Shimmering Dream: The First Overland Journey to India by Motorcycle in 1933)  http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Reisch  

After all that it is back into France and pay a visit to the War Graves at Verdun and then back home via the Chunnel... 

 ...... now back to the packing................... remember if you don't need it don't take it... !!!

...Somewhere in deepest Somerset

..... Well and truly in the Mendips - arrived at the 2nd site very early I so may even get a chapter or two read of  "Grumpy Old Men" ....... Haven't found anything I disagree with yet - Maybe at near 60 I am a GOM. ........... Yes I know I am!   but I didn't get any of the book read in the end but we two Grumpy Old Men sat and "grumped" a bit and put the world to rights....  before popping over to the bar to make a list of all the things I needed to sort before the two week trip in May.  Another bloody cold night and heavy mist and fog in the morning.....  had a light breakfast this morning - could not eat a cooked breakfast every day .... will have to get youghurts and fruit I think..... or end up a fat BMW rider after two weeks of eggs, bacon and suchlike....

Things that didn't work were - USB lead to charge phone and free loader battery, the power cable to the heated waistcoat and the air mat (which had sprung a leak)..  things to sort were - install a power lead from the bike to the 240v inverter so that the phone and net book could be charged inside the top box while riding...   Note:  never assume you can leech into the mains power supply at a pub - just could not find a socket anywhere at the 2nd site....    Here is a picture of David with his mini tent that folds up and fits in a match-box.....

The new bike was fine and I hardly noticed the load on the back - the acceleration is still impressive even when fully loaded...  I must remember that on a BMW when accelerating hard that the fuel gauge is connected direct to your bank account.....  I was not happy with wearing a small backpack - so strapped it onto the top box.....

The following morning had a very late start and left the site at 10am and headed through the morning fog for coffee at Compton Abbas airfield and arrived in glorious sunshine...   Then off to Ringwood and for Dave onto the A31 and M27 and home.

After about  3 hours - all the kit was dry and repacked, the bike cleaned, washing into the washer, cables sorted for the charger and inverter, and I renewed the cable to the heated waistcoat.   Just going to have a look at the Garmin track to see just how close I was to getting the route right !!!!!

All in all a good weekend and a needed exercise before the Croatia trip.....  many thanks to David for joining me - good riding and good company - it was a bugger that Colin and Graham could not make it but I managed to get away with just two pints a night... with them I am sure it would have been more and the pace a little faster too....

Arrived at Upton-upon-severn

Just arrived and the weather is still dry - now were is the Tea ......... we had arranged to meet at Upton-upon-Severn and very pretty little town on the river....   Poor Dave arrived having had great problems with his SatNav..

 

 

Original site turned out to be a pub under construction and definitely not serving any beer... so called on Gertie Garmin to find another and as if by magic we ended up at the Red Lion pub and campsite just a few miles away at Wainlode Hill, Norton in Gloucestershire...  I laid out the contents of the tins and tried to figure out why I had so much stuff !!!   Then it was time for a beer, food and then bed.....

mmmm.... a bit nippy in the night and woke up early(ish),  got up I thought I would wonder over to the showers - turned out to be 5.30 am.... bugger.  Back to the tent and ready as early breakfast - for which we now had company...   all sorted and on the road for 8am for a short ride over to the Severn Bridge to Somerset...  had intended to stop at Tintern Abbey for coffee but made a total arse of it and ended up riding down via Offers Dyke and missed the Abbey altogether... then trying to avoid the motorway we ended up in the outskirts of Bristol..... with diversions and all sorts...  finally broke free with our lives intact and arrived at the 2nd campsite just about lunchtime.... 

Good weekend.....

Hi Blog

At last the "tins" from Touratech have arrived 7 days late !! Spent this Saturday fitting the rack and tins... and also adapting the old top box to fit the new rack.   Took a few hours on Sunday getting stuff packed for this coming weekend's trip to Herefordshire and Somerset...  Two others are joining me at Upton-on-Severn; (Colin Hitchcock and David Chalton).    Have found a couple of sites within the grounds of pubs !!

Just a few things to sort for the trip to Slovenia and Croatia:  Green Card Insurance and Currency and to sort out what to pack and where? I usually end up taken stuff "just-in-case"  mmmmmm less than 3 weeks now ......  The first night will be on the boat - I have booked a 'reclining seat" so will have to take sleepbag on-board; second night will hopefull be at Dave's Perry's house in France and so the tent will not be required until night 3 at La Rochelle..... Nite Nite

Mr Mugabe has gone...

The end of a very good 3 year relationship with an XRV750 Africa Twin - 50,000 miles and lots of regrets.


Mr Mugabe in Andorra 2009

 Would loved to have kept it but I am no mechanic and things were starting to go wrong, wear out and others bits falling off or not working as they should - just like me - and I'm 60 in September!!  Did not really like to seeing it going - it has been a great bike and I will miss it...  I still think the BMW is too clean and new for my tastes...

Well, having had a Dutchman come and look at it - and having said he would buy it on the phone - changed his mind on the day - I then re-advertised it on EBay - I put it on at 16:11 and it was sold at 16:14 ... bugger..  Two Polish lads called to collect it on Saturday - handed over the cash and off they went .....  Better than the Dutchman who wanted it for parts !!!

I had CW Motorcycles fit the Autocom and the Garmin power cable to the BMW as this Can Bus thing doesn't appear to like tampering !!   Ordered some better panniers and of course they have been delayed - is nothing simple anymore..

Due to go for the first camping trip of the year on the 15th ... so they had better be here by then....  Thought I would try sites in Herefordshire - near Ross on Wye and then a 2nd in Somerset - and why not...  will keep and eye out for another old bike ........  shhhhhhh