.. And now the difficult bit.....

All on schedule... Just awaiting the temporary import documents from the US Customs.

I have had a preliminary pack of kit and I have exactly one quarter too much... Bugger which quarter....

I need the get it sorted in the next 3 weeks..... As I need to deliver the bike loaded to the freight company.. Also with my full riding gear on board - and that weighs a lot - jacket, pants, boots and helmet.  I will need to pack yet another bag that I am taking in the flight and hope that when put it all together at the other end that it all fits....  Plus I also need to leave room for all the stuff I have to buy in the US on arrival - food, water and possibly Gas canisters if I go gas instead of a petrol stove.... 

I have been looking photos of 'Packed' bikes on the interweb... he he

I am now retired from full time employment!!!! Just have to clear it with the Management ?

Just One more week....

With just one more week before I retire from the world of work and the planning steps up a pace - namely getting all my s*** together and trying to fit it all in, and which pannier / bag / backpack etc.... What fun...  This was the bike ready to ride to Morocco - far too much stuff - but what to leave out !!!   I think I used it all last time !!  Note the pristine panniers, they ended up a bit worse for wear when thrown at the landscape in the hills of Morocco....  

Itinerary is to get the bike to the freight company 4 Apr, I fly on the 18th and once I get the bike out on the road I head North to Virginia for a Horizons Unlimited Meeting..... 3 days there then over to Arizona..  Riding down some of the Blue Ridge Parkway to Chattanooga.    Then look at the map again........  

Adventure before dementia.... I think !

....and still counting down

Good morning - it's Monday and I have but 15 working days before I retire and finish my current employment.   What is even more important to me is that after a very long time I have now paid of the mortgage on my house. :-)

The USA trip is getting closer and most of the bookings (flights, bike, visa etc) are now in place.   Having recently read Nathan Millward's book on his recent trip to the USA, which h had some very good tips on places to see and roads to ride, I now look forward to my trip even more.   I am glad I chose to start in the South and ride up to the Horizons Unlimited event in Virginia at the end of April - it will be a great opportunity to meet the locals and gather insight into the next stage - the ride across the Arizona.

The next task will be to pack the panniers and sort out what to take and what the leave - I know that half the stuff I pack in probably not needed - but which half !!!  Minimal is the watch word.

The link to the Spot Nav will start in April and the link is : 

https://share.delorme.com/nigelgrace   

and the password is        Madiba

Photos I found on the www - big world - isn't it......

So true.....

The Route !!! Maybe - back roads and only Interstates if needed...

 

The plan is not to rush, to ride slower, take more photos, visit things and places and maybe even talk to people !!!  The reason for the initial route up to Virginia is to attend the Horizon Unlimited event at the end of April - then down the Blue Ridge Parkway to about Chattanooga before heading West and heading towards Arizona...... the rest is still in the thinking stage...  I have just joined a Couch surfing site so will see what happens there....

 

And we are off..... planning

All has now started to fall into place. Flights for me are Booked, Bike is booked in at MotoFreight.

The start point is going to be Orlando in Florida (I heard it was warmer there than Boston) - the plan is then to ride up to the Horizons Unlimited Meeting near Richmond Virginia for a few days in April May - then cut across to Shenandoah and the Appalachian Mountains and then follow the  road down and across to Chattanooga before heading West... endeavouring to go Clockwise over to the East Coast, Oregon, Boston and then South ending up back in Florida and a few stops in between.

 

 

I will be turning on the Spot Nav and I will add the link and the Password Later.........

67,000 miles - Bugger - total of 21,400 since I got it....

Writing home from Southern Spain before crossing into Morocco in May 2015

They said they would take cash !!! £11,500 only. !!!!

ALL DONE..... Bike now fully Road Legal, Taxed, MOT'd and Insured...

....and about time....  Number plate and then ride........

And I found this picture on the www and thought I would keep it just to remind me of how not to pack .....

.. I think we is getting there...

It sailed through the MOT today... Just got to get it through the DVLA process !!!!

Now what should I name it !!!  The other one is called Madiba - should I call this one Winny! or Herman the German!

Yippee - 66,000 miles and counting

Great day - Madiba clocked up 66,000 today - and a service confirmed that all is well at the front end of the bike after the tumble....  All I have to do now is get the other one through it's MOT and registered..... I am awaiting HMRC to get it's act together......    

6 Nov. ..... Yippee - those really nice people at HMRC have said that there is NO VAT to pay on the bike.........  Next is the DVLA and MOT......

Peas in a pod.... Shame I will have to sell one of them.....

USA extended visa approved and Canadian Travel permit obtained.... Months to do are getting few!!!!

Next decision is Camping or not Camping or a mixture of both!!

All back together again....

Bugger....

All the way from Germany and now the bike is lost somewhere in the Midlands.....
I was suppose to arrive today from Nuneaton ... but they can't locate it at this time.....
Germany efficiency stops at the channel .....

I will therefore spend this weekend putting Madiba back together, just the crash-bars, fairings and electrics to sort out.....

Madiba may ride again .....

Buggered Bike......

Update...

Well the old bike is now back in my garage , looking very sad. I contacted the seller in Germany about the replacement and it has not yet been shipped - bugger. Hopefully it will be shipped on Monday ..... Then the task starts of swapping over the bits, lights etc and getting the endless paperwork sorted, Vat, MOT, Road tax and DVLA ,,,,,,
Maybe I should have gone for the expensive one from UK.!!!!!!

Bugger --- The bike appears to be a write-off

Having had a front tyre deflate at 60mph yesterday the bike appears to be a write off.....

I am just sorting out with the insurance company the figures.....

But in the meantime I have located his German cousin and it will be shipped to the UK in the next 2 weeks.... And this is it.... Like peas in a pod... And with panniers too...

Do it now.......

On the beach in North Wales .... And yes it's still raining

There is something surreal about riding a motorcycling in the cold, wet, misty, windy and awful weather of Wales while listening to the Beach Boys singing Surfing USA !

We hit the road at 7.45 am and rode the full distance to Ringwood with a couple of fuel stops and a tea break at some random Golf Club somewhere near Leominster ...

Even with the poor weather I did enjoy the trip... It was just a shame that most of the stunning views were hidden in the mist... But I now know why Wales is so green.....  I am now sat in a hot bath and writing this blog... Heaven..

North Wales - August 2015

Who would have thought that it would rain for two days straight in Wales !!!
OK the answer is everyone - bugger.

David and I rode up to the Haw Bridge Inn on the River Severn on Thursday night and spent a few hours talking bikes and having supper in the pub. There was a group on the site who had booked the whole site for the weekend but we managed to sneak in - and not pay for the pitch!!!

We made out normal 8am start and rode in the rain through Herefordshire and into Wales stopping for breakfast at the Honey Cafe at Bronllys - always excellent. Left there in the rain and rode up to Newtown and on to Llangollen ... Now very wet... We then took a short cut via Bala and arrived at the campsite at about 4pm.... We had now sat under the tarp on a table making tea and getting ready for our meal -- cooking tonight and we each have a bottle of cheap plonk to assist with any insomnia .....

More later maybe. Hic.

Llangollen in the rain

Bronllys for breakfast....

Adventure Travel Film Festival 2015

Thursday ...   It was a good ride until I hit the traffic at the North Circular, so stopped off for a tea at the Ace Cafe... Then it started to rain and rain and I managed to get my so called waterproofs on at Harlesdon without getting my wheels nicked !!!.. Arrive at the venue and pitched the tent in an empty field.   More rain... Then started to assist putting up signage and a pair of scaffolding towers for the Big Screen.  Yet more heavy rain and thunder .... Now totally soaked..   Mick O'Malley arrived and we manage to get a few beers sorted before end of play.....  So unusual being away on a school day, I just keep thinking it's a Saturday...

Friday ...  After a goodish sleep I awoke to thick mist... But the sun have just started to shine a little now and breakfast was sorted by 0900.    Going sort yet another cup of tea... while the world sorts itself out....   Then, we wee approached by a long haired bike in need of some assistance - it turned our to be Ross Nobel - looking for a puck - honest .....  Nice lad.

Mick and I decided that we need to erect the second scaffold tower and so set about it in the mist..  another job well done... all with my special Health & Safety, Toetechter Crocs, no gloves or protective glasses or ear plugs - or safety net or fall arrester cable .....

Saturday ...  It was was a fine day, the sun shone and we watch various excellent films throughout the day and basically chilled - there was a very relaxed atmosphere to the whole event.  I met with lots of great people and friends throughout the day - and received many a compliments on the XRV 750... and one adverse one: but he was a tosser on a KTM !!

We watched the starlight film and as usual they presented the "Nigel Grace Award" to the first person to buy a ticket to this years event (Named after myself as I was the first person to buy a ticket for the first event five year ago... at Appledore in Somerset- and I have been to all five now..

Sunday ...   a very relaxed affair and I left the site at about noon and fought my way down the North Circular to the M3 and then home...  Yet another brilliant weekend...

Over and out from No 1 Ruta 40



An excellent choice of Bike - USA here we come....



This is a brilliant photo - with Austin Vince addressing the assembled masses
for the Starlight film and London in the background..
 

 

Dartmoor at it's Best