I like getting prezzies

It's my Birthday in a few days, Now I don't normally have Birthdays as this only makes you get older! I have, However, condescended to have a little Birthday this year so that I can have prezzies (I like prezzies!)
So far I have one prezzie which I went and got today at a motorcycle cafe and clothing place in Brackley, Northants, called Skins this consisted of a new pair of motorbike trousers from the Swedish company Halvarssons which will improve my riding in the wet, hot, dry, cold & indifferent weather?! They certainly fit better than all the rest of my trousers (Mind you that may be due to my mutating waistline) and they are related to Rukka stuff but without the extortionate cost!

I can't help but think that'll be the only one I get for my Birthday, but it don't matter because I also got in the post this very morning my....

East Coast Challenge mug
(Most important!!!)

RBR - All done!

I finished the Round Britain Rally on Thursday of last week, and I'm now thinking of what to do for the rest of the Summer/Autumn (Fall)
I intend to go out for a week end camping some time but this will be decided 'on the day' and be weather dependant. (it would make such a difference to have a week end without rain!)

Meantime, I have the bike to service, Honda - 4000 miles, therefore should take approx 3 minutes (would normally cost £247 at the dealership so that wont be happening as it's nearly out of warranty) and then I've still got to clean it and survey the damage collected over the year, I know I've collected quite a few scratches and scrapes due to the rubbish H2O based paint Honda use, hopefully they'll polish out.

Whaddavidonewrong?

Truly I have been blighted by the gods this last week, attacked by an out-of-control 'Turkey-Owl' who took it upon itself to Front up the wipe-out-a-biker-a-day branch of the 'Divine-Wind' (Owl division) movement, This member of the Strigiformes obviously had a hard night as he leapt out from a church yard I was passing during the day, either that or he had special needs!
Unfortunately for him Thor the God of nasty weather had already booked time for me to be drenched over the next 4 days in the north of England and Borders of Scotland (I think this was due to my having decided to wear my leathers instead of textile biking kit)
This took place whilst doing the East Coast Challenge with the outward bounds division of the Round Britain Rally, we were all camped in Norwich for the week-end which was nice! the Sun did come out on the Sunday so everyone could take their tents down in the dry, I stayed the Sunday night and suffered (See below!)


So on my arrival into Northumberland the heavens opened in time for me to struggle putting up my new larger tent, then it only stopped raining to allow me to get to the shower block and back and in the middle of each trip on the bike, this let me leave in the rain and get back in the rain drying off for 1 or 2 hours in between -how kind!
However the best was saved for a rather miserable walk to a Landmark I had to visit along a stretch of the Solway Firth which was along the ankle deep mud tide line in spectacular rain for about a mile, the up side was the rain was so heavy it washed most of the mud off me!


The rivers were all in flood (nearly every road I drove was flooded or had deep 'run-off' from the fields crossing them) which was a truly special sight if not a bit scary when driving alongside them!

Memories are made of ?

I just got a mail from 'Friends reunited' from a school colleague who I used to go out with back in the day.
How embarrassed was I having to write back saying I couldn't remember her, I have since put some serious thought into this period of my life time and come up fairly blank!
It was only 36 years ago but so much has happened during that 36 years my brain cell seems to have squirrelled away most of my formative years.
I think I may be remembering some of this period now, but it does make you wish you'd kept in touch in the first place and not just 'lived for the day' mind we didn't have the technology to assist memory (DV, Digital cameras, phones etc) that today's youth have.

Still I must have had a good time over this 36 year period to have forgotten the previous years.

Nearly ready to go.....

Well my bike is packed and I'm ready to go....
My new tent is still up in the garden and is fairing well in the torrential rain, I just hope it stops in the morning so the tent can dry out so I can pack it dry ready for my Friday morning launch window of 0900hrs

My final trip to Wales (This Year!)

Stunning weather in Wales?! I did wonder if the Satnav had screwed up again as I crossed the border into Wales but confirmation was not long coming in the form of some undecipherable signposts which I assume were pointing towards towns, villages etc of the same name.

You can't help but be impressed by the quality of the Welsh (& Scottish) tarmac even the farm tracks are relatively smooth, they just beg to be used to there maximum tolerances, so self constraint has to go up a notch here and I've found the best way to curb ones enthusiasm is to soak up the countryside and stop often to bathe in the green & grey spiky geology and stuff.

Strange the temperature variations at my campsite, when I arrived late evening Friday it was hot but cooling down so setting up shop was a pleasant task -other than the over-friendly advances of the local midges- and I was thinking 'how nice! I get to sleep in my super small summer sleeping bag with out having to keep all my kit on'
WRONG!!! it was bloody freezing during the night! the campsite at Rhand#@*~# is in a bowl at the head of a valley; very picturesque and all that but it traps cold air which come of the surrounding hills also the mist stay in the bowl and gets everything wet, however once the sun is up and has burnt through the cloud/mist it's like a oven (a very humid oven)
Still it makes a change from rain.

Trip out on Saturday was good although I got cut off from the bike for 3/4 hour while the gate operator mucked about raising and lowering the plethora of bridges that let boats in and out of the basin at Swansea and into the sea, and it had to be the Swansea Regatta on the day I get there so they all wanted to get out, probably a nice sight when your not wanting to move on.

I also forgot to take a photo of the bike at the Cardiff LM, only noticed after having spoken to Steve on the phone later that day, this just made my Sunday all the better as I had to nip back there and take the picture; which, in view of the good weather and having got all day, made for an extremly pleasant trip home.