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Woody
Friday 21 September 2012
Thursday 9 August 2012
Slideshow now available
I've now uploaded a selection of photos from the tour onto Flickr.
To view them, page down to the bottom of the main blog page and click on the picture of the four of us. Once in Flickr, click slide show.
Enjoy.
Woody
To view them, page down to the bottom of the main blog page and click on the picture of the four of us. Once in Flickr, click slide show.
Enjoy.
Woody
Wednesday 8 August 2012
Thanks
The Reservoir Hogs tour is over and so now is this blog. All that remains for me to say is, thank you for following this adventure and taking the trouble to comment, those that did. Apologies you had to 'catch up' and not read it real time but that's technology for ya.
And lastly, a huge, huge thank you, to my three travelling companions, without whom the tour wouldn't have happened or been such a blast! Europe next Hogs?
And lastly, a huge, huge thank you, to my three travelling companions, without whom the tour wouldn't have happened or been such a blast! Europe next Hogs?
That's all folks!
Thanks Again.
Neill (a.k.a. Woody)
P.S. Watch out for the slideshow on Flickr, coming soon.
No lies, just statistics
For those that like facts and figures, here's a few for you.
Rider
Weight prior to tour: 12st 13lbs (82.1 kgs)
Weight after tour: 13st 4lbs (84.4 kgs)
Cooked breakfasts: 10
Light breakfasts: 2
Cooked Lunches: 11
Sandwich Lunch: 1
Cooked Dinners: 12
Cups of coffee: 33 approx.
Pints of beer: 28 approx.
And one wee dram!
The Bandit
Tour mileage: 2258.4 miles
Litres of fuel used: 183 approx.
Cost: £230 give or take a few pence
The bike performed superbly, never missing a beat. The new Michelin Pilot Road 3 tyres were every bit as good as the reviews said they were. In dry or wet, through the bends or under braking, I had total confidence in them. I would definitely recommend them to anyone.
As the bike had had a service before the off, the chain had been adjusted and lubed. This was the only thing to suffer. 2200 miles without any adjustment or lube, meant by the end of the tour it sounded like a bag of old spanners when pulling away from stationary. Not really practical to take tools for chain adjustment but in hindsight, maybe I should have taken some lube or even scrounged some off of Biggsey.
Tomtom did a great job, only getting lost a couple of times. Other wrong turns were more down to me than equipment.
Water Stats
We passed by on this tour, approximately 42 reservoirs, lakes, lochs and loughs, stopping to take photos at about 12 of them, though much to Grizzly's chagrin, not Lake Windermere!! Not to mention the many rivers we crossed over or ran alongside.
I think then, without fear of contradiction, we can indeeed call ourselves, The Reservoir Hogs!
Rider
Weight prior to tour: 12st 13lbs (82.1 kgs)
Weight after tour: 13st 4lbs (84.4 kgs)
Cooked breakfasts: 10
Light breakfasts: 2
Cooked Lunches: 11
Sandwich Lunch: 1
Cooked Dinners: 12
Cups of coffee: 33 approx.
Pints of beer: 28 approx.
And one wee dram!
The Bandit
Tour mileage: 2258.4 miles
Litres of fuel used: 183 approx.
Cost: £230 give or take a few pence
The bike performed superbly, never missing a beat. The new Michelin Pilot Road 3 tyres were every bit as good as the reviews said they were. In dry or wet, through the bends or under braking, I had total confidence in them. I would definitely recommend them to anyone.
As the bike had had a service before the off, the chain had been adjusted and lubed. This was the only thing to suffer. 2200 miles without any adjustment or lube, meant by the end of the tour it sounded like a bag of old spanners when pulling away from stationary. Not really practical to take tools for chain adjustment but in hindsight, maybe I should have taken some lube or even scrounged some off of Biggsey.
Tomtom did a great job, only getting lost a couple of times. Other wrong turns were more down to me than equipment.
Water Stats
We passed by on this tour, approximately 42 reservoirs, lakes, lochs and loughs, stopping to take photos at about 12 of them, though much to Grizzly's chagrin, not Lake Windermere!! Not to mention the many rivers we crossed over or ran alongside.
I think then, without fear of contradiction, we can indeeed call ourselves, The Reservoir Hogs!
It's not over till the fat lady waves goodbye!
A bit harsh on Jennifer but she had put weight on since I last saw her, earlier in the year. I had to ask if she had a surprise for me but thankfully, just pies and takeaway in the oven this time!
Unpacking my stuff for the last time away from home, I had a shower and then we went out for something to eat. Would you believe it, I even had a pint of Guiness! I also 'treated' them (Jen and boyfriend Chris) to a tour pics film show, the first of many probably.
I slept soundly enough and was up just after 9:00. I planned to leave about 10:30, for the 3 hour trip home. Jen made me toast for breakfast, my lightest since Inveraray and then I got my stuff together. More hugs and kisses this time and I was on my way home. First stop was for fuel at Asda, just before joining the M4 at Junction 32. Without the coffee monsters, I was riding on through, so my next stop was my second fuel stop, just outside Bracknell. I arrived at Morrisons in Walderslade, my final fuel stop and the official tour mileage end, at about 13:45. It's just a mile from home, so I was in and unloaded soon after 14:00.
As I closed the front door, I sighed. That was it, the tour was well and truly over. I'd been away 13 days, ridden through 5 countries, covered over 2,200 miles and I was bloody tired. I just sat down to watch some TV.......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
Unpacking my stuff for the last time away from home, I had a shower and then we went out for something to eat. Would you believe it, I even had a pint of Guiness! I also 'treated' them (Jen and boyfriend Chris) to a tour pics film show, the first of many probably.
I slept soundly enough and was up just after 9:00. I planned to leave about 10:30, for the 3 hour trip home. Jen made me toast for breakfast, my lightest since Inveraray and then I got my stuff together. More hugs and kisses this time and I was on my way home. First stop was for fuel at Asda, just before joining the M4 at Junction 32. Without the coffee monsters, I was riding on through, so my next stop was my second fuel stop, just outside Bracknell. I arrived at Morrisons in Walderslade, my final fuel stop and the official tour mileage end, at about 13:45. It's just a mile from home, so I was in and unloaded soon after 14:00.
As I closed the front door, I sighed. That was it, the tour was well and truly over. I'd been away 13 days, ridden through 5 countries, covered over 2,200 miles and I was bloody tired. I just sat down to watch some TV.......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
Tuesday 7 August 2012
Strong hand shakes and big man hugs!
Day 11 dawned. The Faythe proprietor had told us he would do our breakfast early, as we were catching the ferry, so we were at the table by 7:15. He had also made some muffins, whilst baking the bread and gave us four for the journey. The bikes were pretty much loaded and ready to go before we sat down to eat, so all that was left was to have a group photo and say goodbye to Grizzly. The proprietor obliged with the photo. There was some vigorous hand shaking going on, followed by some big man hugs and back slapping, as we bade farewell to Grizzly, then we were ready to roll. Grizzly had about a 2 hour ride back to his home in Portlaoise (pronounced Portleash), whilst the rest of us had about 30 minutes to the ferry port at Rosslare.
We fired up and hit the road, as a four at first, before Grizzly peeled off to the right. Traffic was light, it was Sunday morning after all, so we made it to the port at the expected time. On the way, we passed the hotel that I had originally booked us in. It was surrounded by security fencing and that reminded me again how lucky it was that I had been on the website before the tour, else we would have turned up to find that sight and nowhere to stay!
At Rosslare, we checked in at the booths and boarded straight away. There were quite a number of other bikes already loaded. As the crew strapped the bikes down, we made our way up the the lounge area and parked ourselves on the bench seats, with a couple of tables. Within minutes we were leaving, a four hour journey ahead of us. Dudley, was straight into sleep mode, whilst Biggsey and I chatted and visited the shop. I then had a little nap myself, waking as we were making our final approach to Pembroke.
Back in dear old blighty (well Wales!), our first stop was in Carmarthen for fuel. I had originally planned that the 3 of us would skirt the Brecons, until I split from the group, to head South to Pontypridd. Dudley, however, was planning to visit his daughter in Reading, so wanted to get some quick miles under his belt, which meant taking the M4. Biggsey didn't want to be doing the last leg on his own and the M4 suited me as well, so it was agreed we'd take the M4. We (me that is) had already had an issue at another roundabout (can't blame Tomtom) forcing us to u-turn but not long out of Carmarthen my attention wandered and blow me if I hadn't gone wrong again. Dudley was fairly close behind, so followed. Biggsey, a little way back, read the signs and took the correct exit! DOH!
Now Biggsey claims he saw us go wrong but I guess he figured we'd soon catch up again without him having to slow too much. What none of us had bargained for though, was the traffic lights on the roundabout holding Dudley and I up. Now, I'm sure you all remember the mathematics puzzles they set at school, so here's one for you.
If a Triumph motorcycle travelling at 65mph, sets off on a road 2 minutes before the other two, what speed does the dipstick with the Tomtom have to go to catch and overtake the Triumph before it takes the M4?
To help, the distance involved, was 14.9 miles and said dipstick completed the task of overhauling the Triumph with about 60 yards to spare. There's no prize, it's just for fun kids!
As I overtook Biggsey, I pointed to him to head round the roundabout to the services. He peeled off and I carried on around again, pulling over to watch for Dudley approaching. Surprisingly, he wasn't that far behind, the old blighter must've given the Harley some welly once I'd left him behind. As he pulled onto the roundabout, I took the lead again and led him to the services. Phew!
This was our lunch stop and also the parting of the ways. I was only about an hour away from my daughter Jennifer's place in Pontypridd and didn't see much point in hanging around with the other two, especially as it seemed we all planned to travel at different speeds. Me warp, Dudley legal and Biggsey with a man walking in front ;-) Dudley needed to cover the ground fairly quickly, having still about four hours journey to go and Biggsey had said he wasn't going to be hammering it, so it made sense to say farewell at this point.
More vigorous handshaking, hugging and back slapping ensued, then we hit the road, The Reservoir Hogs Tour officially over.
Dudley was first on the motorway but I soon overtook him and in just over an hour I was parking up on my daughter's driveway.
We fired up and hit the road, as a four at first, before Grizzly peeled off to the right. Traffic was light, it was Sunday morning after all, so we made it to the port at the expected time. On the way, we passed the hotel that I had originally booked us in. It was surrounded by security fencing and that reminded me again how lucky it was that I had been on the website before the tour, else we would have turned up to find that sight and nowhere to stay!
At Rosslare, we checked in at the booths and boarded straight away. There were quite a number of other bikes already loaded. As the crew strapped the bikes down, we made our way up the the lounge area and parked ourselves on the bench seats, with a couple of tables. Within minutes we were leaving, a four hour journey ahead of us. Dudley, was straight into sleep mode, whilst Biggsey and I chatted and visited the shop. I then had a little nap myself, waking as we were making our final approach to Pembroke.
Back in dear old blighty (well Wales!), our first stop was in Carmarthen for fuel. I had originally planned that the 3 of us would skirt the Brecons, until I split from the group, to head South to Pontypridd. Dudley, however, was planning to visit his daughter in Reading, so wanted to get some quick miles under his belt, which meant taking the M4. Biggsey didn't want to be doing the last leg on his own and the M4 suited me as well, so it was agreed we'd take the M4. We (me that is) had already had an issue at another roundabout (can't blame Tomtom) forcing us to u-turn but not long out of Carmarthen my attention wandered and blow me if I hadn't gone wrong again. Dudley was fairly close behind, so followed. Biggsey, a little way back, read the signs and took the correct exit! DOH!
Now Biggsey claims he saw us go wrong but I guess he figured we'd soon catch up again without him having to slow too much. What none of us had bargained for though, was the traffic lights on the roundabout holding Dudley and I up. Now, I'm sure you all remember the mathematics puzzles they set at school, so here's one for you.
If a Triumph motorcycle travelling at 65mph, sets off on a road 2 minutes before the other two, what speed does the dipstick with the Tomtom have to go to catch and overtake the Triumph before it takes the M4?
To help, the distance involved, was 14.9 miles and said dipstick completed the task of overhauling the Triumph with about 60 yards to spare. There's no prize, it's just for fun kids!
As I overtook Biggsey, I pointed to him to head round the roundabout to the services. He peeled off and I carried on around again, pulling over to watch for Dudley approaching. Surprisingly, he wasn't that far behind, the old blighter must've given the Harley some welly once I'd left him behind. As he pulled onto the roundabout, I took the lead again and led him to the services. Phew!
This was our lunch stop and also the parting of the ways. I was only about an hour away from my daughter Jennifer's place in Pontypridd and didn't see much point in hanging around with the other two, especially as it seemed we all planned to travel at different speeds. Me warp, Dudley legal and Biggsey with a man walking in front ;-) Dudley needed to cover the ground fairly quickly, having still about four hours journey to go and Biggsey had said he wasn't going to be hammering it, so it made sense to say farewell at this point.
More vigorous handshaking, hugging and back slapping ensued, then we hit the road, The Reservoir Hogs Tour officially over.
Dudley was first on the motorway but I soon overtook him and in just over an hour I was parking up on my daughter's driveway.
Monday 6 August 2012
Thanks Woody
The Faythe proprietor had given us a town map, with some places to eat/drink marked on it. In addition Grizzly had phoned his niece, to suss out where she recommended. We didn't want to be walking miles, so we decided on the nearest of those on that map, that she thought would be OK.
Just as we were about to leave, the heavens opened for the third time that day. The last supper was put on hold, whilst we waited for it to stop raining. We soon made our way to the 'recommended' hostelry, I forget the name now and found ourselves a table. This was a big place, not very inspiring it has to be said and with only two other people inside. Maybe we were a bit early for a Saturday night. We had a pint (mine may have been Guiness again) and looked at the menu. Very disappointing, we decided to try and locate the Indian restaurant on the map. Grizzly had never had an Indian curry before.
I managed to get us lost...ish, again (no help from Tomtom this time) as the Indian was down a side street and we hadn't seen the sign for it. That was possibly because we were distracted by women again, another group of hens all clamouring to have their photo taken with The Author! I think there were a few more of Biggsey's cards flying about, as brothers or uncles rode motorbikes.
Having tracked down the Indian, we were told that they didn't have a table for four available for at least an hour. Just when we're thinking we will have to go elsewhere, up steps Dudley, with a double dose of the Biggsey charm and before you could say, Chicken Korma, the young lady agreed to push two twos together. Sorted!
As Dudley sat down, I saw him move something off of his seat. I thought it was a napkin or something. Turned out to be a card the Hogs had got me, thanking me for organising the tour and leading them, mostly successfully, to the end. I was touched but even more so, when the Waterford Crystal gift box was thrust in my hand. I was almost speechless, yes almost, I hadn't expected anything. Dudley said, that as I had drunk my first REAL Guinness on the trip, they thought it fitting that they buy me a little glass harp, as a memento. A lovely thought and much appreciated.
The food was superb, though there was quite a wait for it to arrive. We couldn't grumble though, we were lucky to get seated in the first place. Grizzly had had his first Indian curry, though chicken korma and chips, isn't the pairing you'd expect! He enjoyed it though, that was the main thing.
As we made our way back along the high street, Wexford had come alive and all the young people were now on the streets, though not yet in the gutters. Us old timers though, decided to forego another pint and head back to the guest house. Sunday, we would all be going our separate ways.
Just as we were about to leave, the heavens opened for the third time that day. The last supper was put on hold, whilst we waited for it to stop raining. We soon made our way to the 'recommended' hostelry, I forget the name now and found ourselves a table. This was a big place, not very inspiring it has to be said and with only two other people inside. Maybe we were a bit early for a Saturday night. We had a pint (mine may have been Guiness again) and looked at the menu. Very disappointing, we decided to try and locate the Indian restaurant on the map. Grizzly had never had an Indian curry before.
I managed to get us lost...ish, again (no help from Tomtom this time) as the Indian was down a side street and we hadn't seen the sign for it. That was possibly because we were distracted by women again, another group of hens all clamouring to have their photo taken with The Author! I think there were a few more of Biggsey's cards flying about, as brothers or uncles rode motorbikes.
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| We sure know how to pick 'em! |
Having tracked down the Indian, we were told that they didn't have a table for four available for at least an hour. Just when we're thinking we will have to go elsewhere, up steps Dudley, with a double dose of the Biggsey charm and before you could say, Chicken Korma, the young lady agreed to push two twos together. Sorted!
As Dudley sat down, I saw him move something off of his seat. I thought it was a napkin or something. Turned out to be a card the Hogs had got me, thanking me for organising the tour and leading them, mostly successfully, to the end. I was touched but even more so, when the Waterford Crystal gift box was thrust in my hand. I was almost speechless, yes almost, I hadn't expected anything. Dudley said, that as I had drunk my first REAL Guinness on the trip, they thought it fitting that they buy me a little glass harp, as a memento. A lovely thought and much appreciated.
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| Chuffed to bits! |
As we made our way back along the high street, Wexford had come alive and all the young people were now on the streets, though not yet in the gutters. Us old timers though, decided to forego another pint and head back to the guest house. Sunday, we would all be going our separate ways.
Sunday 5 August 2012
It's not only gold that glitters
We were in Waterford to visit the Waterford Crystal factory.
The crystal glass in this place is stunning. Watching the craftsmen blowing, shaping and cutting is just amazing. It takes 8 years for them to learn the skills properly. Imagine then, having a go yourself. Grizzly had asked one guy how many times me made a booboo and nearly got a thump for his troubles but as we walked on the guy came up to Grizzly and asked if he wanted to try it himself. Quite amazingly the guy let Grizzly use the diamond cutter to cut a pattern into the bottom of a glass tumbler. The concentration on his face was something to behold. When done the guy praised how accurate he had been and sent him on his way with the tumbler as a souvenir. Awesome!
In the shop, Dudley and I made some purchases for our loved ones, a small carved Seahorse in a lovely presentation case. I'd hardly spoken to Cath on this trip, hopefully that would make up for the lack of contact.
We left Waterford on the last leg of the Reservoir Hogs Tour, an hour or so ride into Wexford. The skies looked very threatening and a rainbow in front of us gave me a clue of what lie ahead. I pulled over and both Dudley and I put our waterproofs on again. Sure enough, the heavens opened up once more. Like London buses, nothing for days, then two torrential downpours come at once. On entering Wexford, I had my only moment of the entire tour. Typical, on the last leg! If truth be told it was only a nearly moment but could have been a lot worse. As I was negotiating a roundabout, in the rain, roads soaking wet, I suddenly spot a fat juicy manhole cover, right on the apex!! What the FECK? Now my tyres had been brilliant thus far in all conditions but I wasn't about to test them with this, so I had no option but to stand the bike upright to run across it, sending me heading towards the kerb. With no additional obstacles though, I was able to then lean the bike over to make it round safely. Quickly, I glanced in my mirrors to check Dudley and the others got round safely, which they all did. What an unbelievably stupid place to site a manhole!
A few minutes later we were parking up in the gravel (careful Dudley!) car park of the Faythe Guest House. Unloaded, checked in and showered we prepared to hit the town for our last evening together and our farewell dinner.
The crystal glass in this place is stunning. Watching the craftsmen blowing, shaping and cutting is just amazing. It takes 8 years for them to learn the skills properly. Imagine then, having a go yourself. Grizzly had asked one guy how many times me made a booboo and nearly got a thump for his troubles but as we walked on the guy came up to Grizzly and asked if he wanted to try it himself. Quite amazingly the guy let Grizzly use the diamond cutter to cut a pattern into the bottom of a glass tumbler. The concentration on his face was something to behold. When done the guy praised how accurate he had been and sent him on his way with the tumbler as a souvenir. Awesome!
In the shop, Dudley and I made some purchases for our loved ones, a small carved Seahorse in a lovely presentation case. I'd hardly spoken to Cath on this trip, hopefully that would make up for the lack of contact.
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| Glass Globe, stunning! |
A few minutes later we were parking up in the gravel (careful Dudley!) car park of the Faythe Guest House. Unloaded, checked in and showered we prepared to hit the town for our last evening together and our farewell dinner.
Youghal, pronounced Y'all
Saturday morning dawned. This was to be our last riding day together. Once more the weather was dry and sunny, as we rolled out onto the street. Grizzly was leading once more, this time to Cork Lough, a childhood venue for walks with his aunt. This lough is more like a park lake, than any of the previous loughs we have visited but by necessity it has been hemmed in with concrete. Not very big, Grizzly assures us there was once a thousand swans on the lough. There's not that number now, if anything they are outnumbered by Canada geese. The lough is also home to some damned big carp, that broke the water's surface as we walked round.
Our next stop was only about 30 minutes away, in Cobh (pronounced Cove) formerly known as Queenstown. This place is famous for being the last berthing place of RMS Titanic, before that giant ice cube halted her progress across the Atlantic. We were in Cobh to visit the Titanic Experience. A small exhibition, it is housed in the original ticket office and as you pass through the exhibition, you can view a piece of the original jetty, from which the passengers would have boarded the tender boats to take them out to Titanic in the bay. Your entrance ticket has a passenger name on it and you can check this at the end of the visit to see if you survived the sinking. Only Biggsey survived, so beers on him!
We had ourselves a coffee, then I checked our euro lottery ticket in a newsagents. We won!!, €4. Grizzly persuaded us to cough up some more cash to enter the Irish lottery that evening. If we won, we'd need to rely on him claiming the winnings and not disappearing to Chicago, without telling us!
With another fuel stop under our belts, next stop was Youghal. First though, we stopped to take photos of the last lough on our tour, Lough Aderra. I had got just a bit of stick off of our Irish friend, when I had pronounced Youghal to sound like the dog from the Magic Roundabout. Say what you see! It's actually pronounced Y'all. This was our lunch stop, The Moby Dick, to be exact. The Moby Dick's claim to fame is that the cast of that famous film of 1954 (Gregory Peck, Richard Baseheart, et al) stayed there during filming. There are lots of black and white photos on the walls of the stars and John Houston, the director. All I can say is, I hope they didn't have to wait as long for lunch as we did. From being ahead of time, we lost time waiting for four ham and cheese special toasted sandwiches to arrive, some onion and tomato being the 'special' ingredients!
It started to rain as we were about to leave, so I decided to put on my waterproofs. Immediately I did, the sun came out again. Not far down the road though the heavens opened. The first real rain we had seen since we left Loch Lomond, was pelting down, hammering against my visor and clothing, making visibility quite poor. By the time we reached our next stop at Waterford though, the sun was out again. Biggsey had opted not to bother with waterproofs, so sported a nice line in wet denim!
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| Irish swans. To be sure, to be sure, to be sure! |
Our next stop was only about 30 minutes away, in Cobh (pronounced Cove) formerly known as Queenstown. This place is famous for being the last berthing place of RMS Titanic, before that giant ice cube halted her progress across the Atlantic. We were in Cobh to visit the Titanic Experience. A small exhibition, it is housed in the original ticket office and as you pass through the exhibition, you can view a piece of the original jetty, from which the passengers would have boarded the tender boats to take them out to Titanic in the bay. Your entrance ticket has a passenger name on it and you can check this at the end of the visit to see if you survived the sinking. Only Biggsey survived, so beers on him!
We had ourselves a coffee, then I checked our euro lottery ticket in a newsagents. We won!!, €4. Grizzly persuaded us to cough up some more cash to enter the Irish lottery that evening. If we won, we'd need to rely on him claiming the winnings and not disappearing to Chicago, without telling us!
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| Original White Star Line Ticket Office, Cobh |
It started to rain as we were about to leave, so I decided to put on my waterproofs. Immediately I did, the sun came out again. Not far down the road though the heavens opened. The first real rain we had seen since we left Loch Lomond, was pelting down, hammering against my visor and clothing, making visibility quite poor. By the time we reached our next stop at Waterford though, the sun was out again. Biggsey had opted not to bother with waterproofs, so sported a nice line in wet denim!
Next please. Lie down, grab the handles, lean back. Next please.
The short walk from the hotel saw us inside Blarney Castle grounds and we were soon climbing the narrow spiral staircase to the top of the castle and the famous Blarney stone. There were two guys working the stone. One takes the photo (you can purchase on exit) and gives you a numbered slip, the other, the main man, stops you slipping to your death whilst kissing the stone. "Lie down, grab the handles, lean back. Next please", over and over again. Grizzly went first, so I could get some photos of him, then it was my turn. I did as instructed and all within 30 seconds the deed was done. Next up was Dudley, Grizzly obliging with the photos of both of us. Biggsey was nowhere to be seen. We waited, a good 5 minutes or more but no sign. Perhaps he has bottled it we think. He wouldn't have been the only one. It was surprising how many people wouldn't kiss the stone. My question, why go to Blarney Castle, which is famous for the Blarney Stone and NOT kiss the fecker?
We started our descent, when I met Biggsey on his way up. His story is, that he got chatting to 4 girls from the US. Blimey, you can't let that bloke out of your sight for 5 minutes!! I followed him back to the top and took a couple of snaps on the phone, before we made our way down to meet the others.
The deed done, a pint beckoned. Grizzley was keen that after having tried the Guinness, I now try Murphy's. Before that though we made a quick stop in the souvenir shop at the exit to the castle grounds. Dudley was busy buying stuff for his grandchildren and Grizzly bought another sticker (I think). I was just perusing but became aware that whatever Biggsey had decided to buy, he'd managed to find a very attractive member of staff to serve him. This is one guy with no need to kiss any bleeding stone!! "Hi, my name's Biggsey". As he left the store the young woman and her colleague began talking about him. They even called a male member of staff over to share the story, though I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, I gathered the young woman was quite taken with the encounter.
A freshen up and Dud and I headed for the bar. Biggsey and Grizzly were already there, talking to a couple of women. I'm presented with a pint of Murphy's. To Grizzly's dismay, I didn't really like it. Guinness wins!
The guy at the stone had recommended a place on the square to eat and drink. One look at the menu though, left us uninspired, so we decided to do Chinese instead. It was Friday evening but we managed to get a table no problem. The food was excellent. Grizzley suggested the chow mein dish he had was the best he'd ever tasted, so he'd be making a trip back in the not too distant future.
From the Chinese, we hit the recommended bar. I didn't fancy Murphy's again and was weighing up the options when I noticed they had Blue Moon on draft. Heaven! This is my favourite beer from the Route 66 trip. 2 pints were sunk whilst we sat half chatting and watching the Olympic opening ceremony on the TV. We were all lined up against the bar and unfortunately for Biggsey he ended up on the end with Mr Shouty. Boy this guy was loud, he made Grizzly sound like whispering Ted Lowe!
Back at the Blarney Castle, we had more drink (I had a coke this time) before retiring for the evening. Not though, before I had attracted the attention of the barmaid and her colleague with an impromptu Riverdance. They were keen for me to carry on, more for amusement value than for my technical ability I suspect but........ I normally charge for that! And with that it was off to bed!
We started our descent, when I met Biggsey on his way up. His story is, that he got chatting to 4 girls from the US. Blimey, you can't let that bloke out of your sight for 5 minutes!! I followed him back to the top and took a couple of snaps on the phone, before we made our way down to meet the others.
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| The Blarney Stone |
The deed done, a pint beckoned. Grizzley was keen that after having tried the Guinness, I now try Murphy's. Before that though we made a quick stop in the souvenir shop at the exit to the castle grounds. Dudley was busy buying stuff for his grandchildren and Grizzly bought another sticker (I think). I was just perusing but became aware that whatever Biggsey had decided to buy, he'd managed to find a very attractive member of staff to serve him. This is one guy with no need to kiss any bleeding stone!! "Hi, my name's Biggsey". As he left the store the young woman and her colleague began talking about him. They even called a male member of staff over to share the story, though I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, I gathered the young woman was quite taken with the encounter.
A freshen up and Dud and I headed for the bar. Biggsey and Grizzly were already there, talking to a couple of women. I'm presented with a pint of Murphy's. To Grizzly's dismay, I didn't really like it. Guinness wins!
The guy at the stone had recommended a place on the square to eat and drink. One look at the menu though, left us uninspired, so we decided to do Chinese instead. It was Friday evening but we managed to get a table no problem. The food was excellent. Grizzley suggested the chow mein dish he had was the best he'd ever tasted, so he'd be making a trip back in the not too distant future.
From the Chinese, we hit the recommended bar. I didn't fancy Murphy's again and was weighing up the options when I noticed they had Blue Moon on draft. Heaven! This is my favourite beer from the Route 66 trip. 2 pints were sunk whilst we sat half chatting and watching the Olympic opening ceremony on the TV. We were all lined up against the bar and unfortunately for Biggsey he ended up on the end with Mr Shouty. Boy this guy was loud, he made Grizzly sound like whispering Ted Lowe!
Back at the Blarney Castle, we had more drink (I had a coke this time) before retiring for the evening. Not though, before I had attracted the attention of the barmaid and her colleague with an impromptu Riverdance. They were keen for me to carry on, more for amusement value than for my technical ability I suspect but........ I normally charge for that! And with that it was off to bed!
Friday 3 August 2012
You give me €4, then I give each of you €1 back to put in the bin!
The church was locked up. Google had indicated that a pyramid shaped tomb was that of the General but we had our doubts. There were no markings on it whatsoever, save for a coat of arms. Biggsey went off in search of a rectory, there was an adjacent house. Shortly, he called us over and a young lad had let him into the church. On the wall were plaques commemorating the old boy but sadly, they indicated this was not his last resting place. That was in a place called Corofin, some 10-15 miles north west and in the opposite direction to that we were headed. That's an excuse for Biggsey to return one day in the future.
We left Ennis and made our way south to Bunratty Castle and Durty Nelly's pub. The former we would photograph from the roadside, the latter would be our lunch stop. Dating from the 17th Century, it was all low beams, uneven floors and crooked walls. We settled on four seafood chowdas, with home made bread. It was deeelish! I just about had room to squeeze it in on top of the brekkie!
The sun was still shining when we left Bunratty. Boy, had we been lucky with the weather, pretty much since leaving Inverness. Next on the agenda, another fuel stop and then the trek down to Blarney, including a trip through the Limerick Tunnel (under the River Shannon).
Well, guess what. Pass stop, move directly to toll, do not collect any fuel! The fuel stop had closed down (it's on street view, honest). Grizzly took the lead. Being a Cork man, he was keen to lead us into his own county, similar to the French letting riders lead into their home towns during the Tour de France. We duly arrive at the tunnel toll booths (can you believe they make bikers pay?). A long discussion ensues, before we each are given a €1 to put into the bin, to raise the barrier, despite Grizzly having just handed the €4 over to the guy in the kiosk. Logic, (in Ireland, feck off!) would say you pay the man for four bikes and he presses the button to raise the barrier four times. Simples! Too simple, it seems for the paddy at the toll. "You have to put de muney in de bin". Sad but no word of a lie.
Through the tunnel, we did eventually make the fuel stop, then it was just a short ride down to the village of Blarney. Our hotel for the night, situated on the village green, was the appropriately named Blarney Castle Hotel. The entrance to the castle grounds is just 2 minutes walk away.
With the bikes securely parked up at the back of the hotel, we freshened up, before heading out to the Castle. I'd come 1500 miles to kiss the Blarney Stone and by gum that's exactly what I intended to do.
We left Ennis and made our way south to Bunratty Castle and Durty Nelly's pub. The former we would photograph from the roadside, the latter would be our lunch stop. Dating from the 17th Century, it was all low beams, uneven floors and crooked walls. We settled on four seafood chowdas, with home made bread. It was deeelish! I just about had room to squeeze it in on top of the brekkie!
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| They do a mean seafood chowda |
The sun was still shining when we left Bunratty. Boy, had we been lucky with the weather, pretty much since leaving Inverness. Next on the agenda, another fuel stop and then the trek down to Blarney, including a trip through the Limerick Tunnel (under the River Shannon).
Well, guess what. Pass stop, move directly to toll, do not collect any fuel! The fuel stop had closed down (it's on street view, honest). Grizzly took the lead. Being a Cork man, he was keen to lead us into his own county, similar to the French letting riders lead into their home towns during the Tour de France. We duly arrive at the tunnel toll booths (can you believe they make bikers pay?). A long discussion ensues, before we each are given a €1 to put into the bin, to raise the barrier, despite Grizzly having just handed the €4 over to the guy in the kiosk. Logic, (in Ireland, feck off!) would say you pay the man for four bikes and he presses the button to raise the barrier four times. Simples! Too simple, it seems for the paddy at the toll. "You have to put de muney in de bin". Sad but no word of a lie.
Through the tunnel, we did eventually make the fuel stop, then it was just a short ride down to the village of Blarney. Our hotel for the night, situated on the village green, was the appropriately named Blarney Castle Hotel. The entrance to the castle grounds is just 2 minutes walk away.
With the bikes securely parked up at the back of the hotel, we freshened up, before heading out to the Castle. I'd come 1500 miles to kiss the Blarney Stone and by gum that's exactly what I intended to do.
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| Blarney Castle Hotel |
Blood relatives
Another bright sunny day greets us in Athlone, along with a sumptuous 4* breakfast buffet. Not wishing to appear greedy, I only have the four rashers of bacon....along with the two sausages, scrambled & fried egg, mushrooms, beans, hash browns, black and white pudding, toast and a couple of tiny danish pastries! Shucks, I forgot the juice and coffee!
Suitably fuelled up our first stop is just round the corner, to fuel up the bikes once again. I had based our fuel stops on Dudley's baby bottle sized tank. He reckoned he could get about 150 miles out of it, so playing safe I built the fuel stops in for around 120. We weren't using fuel at the rate we thought though, so some of these stops were more like a Formula One, splash and dash, that a full fill up.
Second stop, was Lough Rea (pronounced Ray). Another one to add to our list, we stopped to take some photos and have a coffee. Least Biggsey and Dudley had a coffee. With half of the Radisson Blu's breakfast buffet inside me, there wasn't room for anything else, so Grizzly and I took the photos.
Over breakfast we had been discussing Biggsey's ancestry. Apparently, he is related (great, great, grandson or something) to an old war hero, General Sir Bindon Blood and it turned out that he was buried (or so we thought) in a little town called Ennis. Fascinated by this, we decided, in the sake of research, to abandon the planned visit to Galway Bay and instead stop in Ennis to find the good General. We were passing through it anyway. A bit of Googleing and we had his location mapped into Tomtom. So, our stop after Lough Rea, was St Columba's Church, Ennis.
We parked up in Bindon Street, right outside the church and set off in search of the General's last resting place.
Suitably fuelled up our first stop is just round the corner, to fuel up the bikes once again. I had based our fuel stops on Dudley's baby bottle sized tank. He reckoned he could get about 150 miles out of it, so playing safe I built the fuel stops in for around 120. We weren't using fuel at the rate we thought though, so some of these stops were more like a Formula One, splash and dash, that a full fill up.
Second stop, was Lough Rea (pronounced Ray). Another one to add to our list, we stopped to take some photos and have a coffee. Least Biggsey and Dudley had a coffee. With half of the Radisson Blu's breakfast buffet inside me, there wasn't room for anything else, so Grizzly and I took the photos.
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| Lough Rea |
Over breakfast we had been discussing Biggsey's ancestry. Apparently, he is related (great, great, grandson or something) to an old war hero, General Sir Bindon Blood and it turned out that he was buried (or so we thought) in a little town called Ennis. Fascinated by this, we decided, in the sake of research, to abandon the planned visit to Galway Bay and instead stop in Ennis to find the good General. We were passing through it anyway. A bit of Googleing and we had his location mapped into Tomtom. So, our stop after Lough Rea, was St Columba's Church, Ennis.
We parked up in Bindon Street, right outside the church and set off in search of the General's last resting place.
I normally charge for these!
I had a taste for pizza but the town didn't appear to have any of the regular pizza houses....bloomin' foreigners! Eventually we spied an Indian restaurant across the river. We'll give that a go. On our way round though, we clapped eyes on Pavarotti's Pizza, so in we went. A small place, there was just the chef and one waitress. 3 pizzas and one pasta, washed down with Peroni later and we were ready to check out Sean's bar, allegedly the oldest pub in Ireland. Small, dark and with sawdust on the floors, the place was heaving. We managed to squeeze down near the back, fortunately (?) where 3 attractive young ladies were loitering by the bar. Grizzly, Dudley and myself sat down, Biggsey, unusually when tottie is in sight, hung back and stood against the wall.
It soon became apparent there was a chap with these girls. He seemed quite full of himself, a celeb I thought, gay Dudley thought, just a fat walleted gobshite, Grizzly thought. Biggsey had disappeared without a word. We thought he mustn't be liking the atmosphere and had decided to go back to the hotel. Never mind.
Anyway, Grizzly, as is his wont, starts taking photos of the girls. Then says he wants to take one of the guy. "Sure but I normally charge for these", he says. Quick as a flash (this bloke is annoying me) I say, "so does he, he's Biggsey's official photographer". Even quicker than a flash, the guy turns away, his nose well and truly put out of joint. Meanwhile I explain to one of the girls, looking quizzically at me, that Biggsey is an author. She claims to have heard of him. Yeah, right! And with that the four of them leave.
Their place is taken by three, shall we say, more mature ladies, with whom we instantly strike up a conversation. All three are keen to hear the tale of our tour and even seem somewhat disappointed we don't have room (I do) on the back of our bikes! We run through the now slick routine of me being Biggsey's agent, etc. It turns out that one of the women owns a book shop! Just our luck, when Biggsey has done a runner, we could have offloaded another one of his cards. Oh well. Pat takes his usual plethora of photos and even finds a minute to get in front of the camera, then it's time for us to leave.
As we walk out of the pub, blow me if Biggsey isn't sitting at a table chatting to some bloke. Seems they had both been entertained by a punch up in the bar over the road, chairs and all sorts flying in the road and stopping the traffic. I explain to Biggsey about the book shop lady (not sure he believed me at first) and take one of his cards back in to her. Kerching!, that'll be another sale. As Grizzly pointed out, on this trip we must've sold more books than Amazon!
With that, it was back to the hotel. Another day done and now just two more left together. Where has the time gone?
It soon became apparent there was a chap with these girls. He seemed quite full of himself, a celeb I thought, gay Dudley thought, just a fat walleted gobshite, Grizzly thought. Biggsey had disappeared without a word. We thought he mustn't be liking the atmosphere and had decided to go back to the hotel. Never mind.
Anyway, Grizzly, as is his wont, starts taking photos of the girls. Then says he wants to take one of the guy. "Sure but I normally charge for these", he says. Quick as a flash (this bloke is annoying me) I say, "so does he, he's Biggsey's official photographer". Even quicker than a flash, the guy turns away, his nose well and truly put out of joint. Meanwhile I explain to one of the girls, looking quizzically at me, that Biggsey is an author. She claims to have heard of him. Yeah, right! And with that the four of them leave.
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| Not sure what he plans to do with that tongue! |
As we walk out of the pub, blow me if Biggsey isn't sitting at a table chatting to some bloke. Seems they had both been entertained by a punch up in the bar over the road, chairs and all sorts flying in the road and stopping the traffic. I explain to Biggsey about the book shop lady (not sure he believed me at first) and take one of his cards back in to her. Kerching!, that'll be another sale. As Grizzly pointed out, on this trip we must've sold more books than Amazon!
With that, it was back to the hotel. Another day done and now just two more left together. Where has the time gone?
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| Biggsey's Official Photographer and friend |
Thursday 2 August 2012
My first Guinness in 35 years!
Our overnighter in Athlone, was a touch of luxury, The Radisson Blu. We rode around the end of the barrier to the car park and found ourselves some spaces! Anyone wanna argue with The Hogs?
As one would expect, the hotel was very posh. The young lady checking us in was very pleasant and more than happy to let me babble on about being Biggsey's agent and him being an author. Not sure she believed us, she probably meets all sorts in her job. As the others joined us at the desk we gave them their key cards and then all made our way to the third floor. I was sleeping with Biggsey tonight.
If truth be told, the room, though very nice, was a little on the snug side. The view though, could not be faulted, overlooking the River Shannon. There were cruisers moored up. Now that's a way to arrive!
For days and days talk had been about the Guinness in Ireland. People always say how much better it is over there. As the last time I had Guinness was in 1977, a pint I absolutely hated, I recall, I wasn't keen to check the theory out. Grizzly, however, insisted that when we got to Athlone, I HAD to try a pint. Oh, what the hell, he was buying. And so I took my first sip of Guinness since the 27th February 1977. And, it was a very decent pint.
That little test over with we ventured out to find something to eat.
As one would expect, the hotel was very posh. The young lady checking us in was very pleasant and more than happy to let me babble on about being Biggsey's agent and him being an author. Not sure she believed us, she probably meets all sorts in her job. As the others joined us at the desk we gave them their key cards and then all made our way to the third floor. I was sleeping with Biggsey tonight.
If truth be told, the room, though very nice, was a little on the snug side. The view though, could not be faulted, overlooking the River Shannon. There were cruisers moored up. Now that's a way to arrive!
For days and days talk had been about the Guinness in Ireland. People always say how much better it is over there. As the last time I had Guinness was in 1977, a pint I absolutely hated, I recall, I wasn't keen to check the theory out. Grizzly, however, insisted that when we got to Athlone, I HAD to try a pint. Oh, what the hell, he was buying. And so I took my first sip of Guinness since the 27th February 1977. And, it was a very decent pint.
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| Mmm, not bad. |
Next stop, The Republic
Our next stop would be our lunch stop and this would be in our fifth country, The Republic of Ireland. The border crossing was barely noticeable, certainly no soldiers sporting armalite rifles, which I dare say was the case before the peace agreement came into force. Instead, just a sign saying we were entering whichever county it was (Co, Monahan I think) and the change from mph to kph on the speed limit road signs.
Lunch would be at Subway, in Monahan. Oh no it wouldn't. That had obviously closed since the street view car had been around but luckily the cafe I'd also spotted on street view, was still in business and so were we. The Hogs gave me some stick about the Subway. It seems they had been gearing themselves up for BMT or something. Me too, if truth be told.
Well lads, check this link out!!
http://goo.gl/maps/7S0xk
Fed and watered, we carried on our way. There were no sightseeing stops planned for this part of the journey, we'd done the Causeway and Lough Neagh, so now we were just mile crunching to get to our next coffee stop at Granard. Another street view target and another blow out, the bar and coffee house, now something totally different, so we rode on through.
A little way down the road, there was a petrol station and it had a coffee machine, so the Hogs were happy once again. The young lad behind the counter was wearing an Arsenal shirt, not the first I'd seen. I questioned why he was serving a kid wearing a Chelsea shirt, though I think the point was lost on him.
Soon back in the saddle, we were heading for our second lough of the day, our first in the Republic though, Lough Ree. The bit we were visiting was just a small offshoot at the south eastern tip. Thankfully, another street view location, a car park at the water's edge, actually existed. It was on a slope and very gravelly, so we had to be careful turning the bikes around and all watched anxiously as Dudley duck walked his Harley to face the way out. No mishaps this time though.
We took some photos and chatted with a couple who'd driven in to the car park. They were interested to know what we were up to. Biggsey duly produced his card again, as he explained how we'd met on Route 66.
The sun was still shining, glinting off the water's surface as we rode away on our short trip down to Athlone. What a brilliant day, despite no Subway!
Lunch would be at Subway, in Monahan. Oh no it wouldn't. That had obviously closed since the street view car had been around but luckily the cafe I'd also spotted on street view, was still in business and so were we. The Hogs gave me some stick about the Subway. It seems they had been gearing themselves up for BMT or something. Me too, if truth be told.
Well lads, check this link out!!
http://goo.gl/maps/7S0xk
Fed and watered, we carried on our way. There were no sightseeing stops planned for this part of the journey, we'd done the Causeway and Lough Neagh, so now we were just mile crunching to get to our next coffee stop at Granard. Another street view target and another blow out, the bar and coffee house, now something totally different, so we rode on through.
A little way down the road, there was a petrol station and it had a coffee machine, so the Hogs were happy once again. The young lad behind the counter was wearing an Arsenal shirt, not the first I'd seen. I questioned why he was serving a kid wearing a Chelsea shirt, though I think the point was lost on him.
Soon back in the saddle, we were heading for our second lough of the day, our first in the Republic though, Lough Ree. The bit we were visiting was just a small offshoot at the south eastern tip. Thankfully, another street view location, a car park at the water's edge, actually existed. It was on a slope and very gravelly, so we had to be careful turning the bikes around and all watched anxiously as Dudley duck walked his Harley to face the way out. No mishaps this time though.
We took some photos and chatted with a couple who'd driven in to the car park. They were interested to know what we were up to. Biggsey duly produced his card again, as he explained how we'd met on Route 66.
The sun was still shining, glinting off the water's surface as we rode away on our short trip down to Athlone. What a brilliant day, despite no Subway!
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| Party Time on Lough Ree |
Would you be after having any cash?
Day 8 started with the sun shining once again. We had been so lucky thus far, only having the one full rainy day, back in Scotland.
A quick 15 minute blast down the road saw us parked up at The Giant's Causeway. Similar to the rope bridge, there is a fair walk down the cliff path to the causeway itself. This isn't so noticeable, as you have the distraction of the audio guide as you make your way down. It really is quite remarkable, I expect you've seen it on TV but seeing these hundreds, thousands even, of hexagonal stone columns up close leaves you quite amazed at the forces that shape our world.
Grizzly wasn't about to entertain the return trip up the hill on foot. Lucky for him then, that there is a shuttle bus, so we all jumped on board for the short but steep ride back to the visitor centre. Back on the road, we headed for Lough Neagh, the big splash of blue on the Northern Irish map. This is a huge lough but we only just touched the west bank at Ballyronan. To our dismay, the recreation area and car park was devoid of any refreshment place. Strange, you would think they'd have a kiosk or something for drinks and ice creams, they had beach! The beach, as we were to witness quite bizarrely, was man made (see the photo). We stayed a short while, took some photos and then hit the road again to our next fuel stop.
The fuel stop, well! This was a little place in the middle of the terrace of shops and hoses, with just two pumps. Standing on the forecourt recording what fuel you had used and how much it cost, on a piece of paper, was an elderlyish woman. As I hung up the pump, she shouted to an elderlyish gentleman in the office how much to charge. As usual, I reached for my credit card. The woman ushered past me telling the man that the machine didn't work. He clearly wasn't aware of this fact, as he'd already stuck the card in the machine. "I can give you cash" I said. The man then opened a wooden 'desk' lid, similar to a school desk, retrieved my change and the transaction was completed. No fancy tills here! Now wise to the fact the machine was broken, when Biggsey entered the office to pay, he was met with the question, "Would you be after having any cash?". Well it was a very small town. Made us chuckle though.
A quick 15 minute blast down the road saw us parked up at The Giant's Causeway. Similar to the rope bridge, there is a fair walk down the cliff path to the causeway itself. This isn't so noticeable, as you have the distraction of the audio guide as you make your way down. It really is quite remarkable, I expect you've seen it on TV but seeing these hundreds, thousands even, of hexagonal stone columns up close leaves you quite amazed at the forces that shape our world.
Grizzly wasn't about to entertain the return trip up the hill on foot. Lucky for him then, that there is a shuttle bus, so we all jumped on board for the short but steep ride back to the visitor centre. Back on the road, we headed for Lough Neagh, the big splash of blue on the Northern Irish map. This is a huge lough but we only just touched the west bank at Ballyronan. To our dismay, the recreation area and car park was devoid of any refreshment place. Strange, you would think they'd have a kiosk or something for drinks and ice creams, they had beach! The beach, as we were to witness quite bizarrely, was man made (see the photo). We stayed a short while, took some photos and then hit the road again to our next fuel stop.
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| Either it's shallow or Jesus now operates a digger for a living! |
The fuel stop, well! This was a little place in the middle of the terrace of shops and hoses, with just two pumps. Standing on the forecourt recording what fuel you had used and how much it cost, on a piece of paper, was an elderlyish woman. As I hung up the pump, she shouted to an elderlyish gentleman in the office how much to charge. As usual, I reached for my credit card. The woman ushered past me telling the man that the machine didn't work. He clearly wasn't aware of this fact, as he'd already stuck the card in the machine. "I can give you cash" I said. The man then opened a wooden 'desk' lid, similar to a school desk, retrieved my change and the transaction was completed. No fancy tills here! Now wise to the fact the machine was broken, when Biggsey entered the office to pay, he was met with the question, "Would you be after having any cash?". Well it was a very small town. Made us chuckle though.
Wednesday 1 August 2012
OMG!
We left the ferry port at Belfast and quickly stopped to fuel up, slightly perturbed by the chap smoking on the forecourt!
Navigating through the Belfast suburbs, we were soon joining the coast road. Boy, what a stretch of road this is. We were blessed that the weather was dry and sunny, giving me, not sure about the others, the chance to do the road justice. The road surface was very good. The nature of the road itself, just fantastic, as it hugs the coast, sharing every twist and turn of this craggy but very beautiful coastline. Some long sweeping open bends around the bay, to tight twisty bits high up on the cliff face, make this a must do ride for any biker. I loved it.
All too soon though the magic was over and we arrived in Ballintoy, The Fullerton Arms welcoming us with it's large car park. Inside a young lad showed us to our rooms. These were very large with plenty of floor space for all our gear. I was sleeping with Grizzly again tonight, separate beds mind, even though I had a double. The room, in fact the whole upper floor, was roasting hot. It was as if they had been taken by surprise with the lovely weather. And lovely it was.
A quick wash (Jesus that water was hot) and we were off up the road to the Carrick-a Rede rope bridge. Only about 800m away, we had a gentle uphill stroll to get to the pay booths but it then at least another 1km to the bridge itself, along the cliff path. A sign said there was a 15 minute wait to cross the bridge. In the event we waited no more than 5, before stepping onto the 10m rope and plank crossing, swaying as we walked above the 35m drop to the sea and rocks below. There's little see or do the other side, except watch the seabirds, Fulmars in this case, and take a few scenic photos, so we weren't long before we were in the queue to cross back. A refreshing pint beckoned! As we crossed back over, Biggsey and I proved just how tough bikers are, by walking across without holding the hand ropes. COME ON!
After a swift pint back at The Fullerton and a feeble attempt to chat up some American women (what is it about Biggsey and yanks?) we mosied across the road to the Carrick-a Rede Restaurant for dinner. Back in The Fullerton there was a rematch of the Ireland v England darts match. This time though, I'm afraid, the paddy got the better of me. Then it was time for bed. It had been a very long day. I attempted to update the blog before my eyelids got too heavy. I thought I'd succeeded but strangely that never got published.
Navigating through the Belfast suburbs, we were soon joining the coast road. Boy, what a stretch of road this is. We were blessed that the weather was dry and sunny, giving me, not sure about the others, the chance to do the road justice. The road surface was very good. The nature of the road itself, just fantastic, as it hugs the coast, sharing every twist and turn of this craggy but very beautiful coastline. Some long sweeping open bends around the bay, to tight twisty bits high up on the cliff face, make this a must do ride for any biker. I loved it.
All too soon though the magic was over and we arrived in Ballintoy, The Fullerton Arms welcoming us with it's large car park. Inside a young lad showed us to our rooms. These were very large with plenty of floor space for all our gear. I was sleeping with Grizzly again tonight, separate beds mind, even though I had a double. The room, in fact the whole upper floor, was roasting hot. It was as if they had been taken by surprise with the lovely weather. And lovely it was.
A quick wash (Jesus that water was hot) and we were off up the road to the Carrick-a Rede rope bridge. Only about 800m away, we had a gentle uphill stroll to get to the pay booths but it then at least another 1km to the bridge itself, along the cliff path. A sign said there was a 15 minute wait to cross the bridge. In the event we waited no more than 5, before stepping onto the 10m rope and plank crossing, swaying as we walked above the 35m drop to the sea and rocks below. There's little see or do the other side, except watch the seabirds, Fulmars in this case, and take a few scenic photos, so we weren't long before we were in the queue to cross back. A refreshing pint beckoned! As we crossed back over, Biggsey and I proved just how tough bikers are, by walking across without holding the hand ropes. COME ON!
After a swift pint back at The Fullerton and a feeble attempt to chat up some American women (what is it about Biggsey and yanks?) we mosied across the road to the Carrick-a Rede Restaurant for dinner. Back in The Fullerton there was a rematch of the Ireland v England darts match. This time though, I'm afraid, the paddy got the better of me. Then it was time for bed. It had been a very long day. I attempted to update the blog before my eyelids got too heavy. I thought I'd succeeded but strangely that never got published.
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| The Fullerton Arms, Ballintoy |
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| Dudley on the rope bridge |
Tuesday 31 July 2012
It's a long way to go
The plan (not the 4:05 wake up call) worked a treat. With the mists kissing the surface of the Loch Fyne and the sun starting to rise above the hills, we made our way through the twisty roads across to Loch Lomond and then down towards Glasgow without a hitch. It was a beautiful morning and having the roads virtually to ourselves made it all the better.
We crossed the Erskine bridge, skirted round Glasgow airport and were soon heading towards Irvine and Ayr. Even a quick double round a roundabout didn't dent our progress. We even had time for a much needed (it was quite chilly) coffee/toilet break.
We had been planning to visit the Electric Brae, just south of Ayr but in our haste we had to give that a miss. In hindsight, we could still have done that, given that even with another pee stop at Girvan, we arrived at the Cairnryan Stena Line terminal 75 minutes before recommended check-in. We had a coffee and a toasted panini snack whilst we waited and Biggsey once again gave away one of his cards (promoting his book) to the lady in the cafe. She promised she'd download the book for her kindle.
Incidentally, if you don't know what I'm talking about, it's the book Biggsey wrote after Route 66. There's a link on the blog, if you are interested.
Soon we were being ushered onto the ferry. Happy the bikes were lashed down securely, we grabbed ourselves a bank of the bench settees. Dudley was soon fast asleep, his tube neck warmer over his face. I had a quick walk round the decks before catching some zeds myself. With an hour or so to go, we had some lunch, to set ourselves up for the final leg of the day's journey, up the Antrim coast to Ballintoy.
We crossed the Erskine bridge, skirted round Glasgow airport and were soon heading towards Irvine and Ayr. Even a quick double round a roundabout didn't dent our progress. We even had time for a much needed (it was quite chilly) coffee/toilet break.
We had been planning to visit the Electric Brae, just south of Ayr but in our haste we had to give that a miss. In hindsight, we could still have done that, given that even with another pee stop at Girvan, we arrived at the Cairnryan Stena Line terminal 75 minutes before recommended check-in. We had a coffee and a toasted panini snack whilst we waited and Biggsey once again gave away one of his cards (promoting his book) to the lady in the cafe. She promised she'd download the book for her kindle.
Incidentally, if you don't know what I'm talking about, it's the book Biggsey wrote after Route 66. There's a link on the blog, if you are interested.
Soon we were being ushered onto the ferry. Happy the bikes were lashed down securely, we grabbed ourselves a bank of the bench settees. Dudley was soon fast asleep, his tube neck warmer over his face. I had a quick walk round the decks before catching some zeds myself. With an hour or so to go, we had some lunch, to set ourselves up for the final leg of the day's journey, up the Antrim coast to Ballintoy.
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| Ailsa Craig |
It's a long way from Inveraray
I had been worried about this trip for a number of days and had already voiced my concerns to Biggsey. My timetable planning hadn't really allowed for traffic delays or that some of the guys wouldn't feel comfortable travelling at the same speed I would (I'll learn for next time), so with over 3 hours journey time to the port at Cairnryan and with Glasgow to get by, I thought we were in danger of missing the ferry. We decided we would leave a couple of hours early, hoping this would avoid traffic on the twisty roads and the rush hour around Glasgow.
We agreed on a 5:30 departure, setting our alarms (or so we thought) for 4:45. I forwent the pleasure of my earplugs, as I wanted to make sure I heard my alarm, so spent most of the night with a pillow over my ears. I needn't have worried though, at 4:05 Grizzly's alarm chirped into life to wake us all up! Alarm silenced, I drifted back off to sleep only to be awoken again by the same bloody chirruping. Grizzly had hit snooze, de tick Irish fecker!
All now awake we got ourselves ready. Good job nobody else was up, the haggis supper was making its presence known in the toilets. I swear my eyes were watering at one stage, though I shan't disclose which Triumph rider was 'doing his thing' at the time!
We sat down to a basic 'wee breakfast', that the Slovakian girl at the hostel had prepared for us the night before, knowing we were going to be leaving early and contemplated the task in front of us. That being, to get all our gear on the bikes and get away, before we got devoured by the gazillions of midges that were circling around the bikes.
Did we make it? Read on......
We agreed on a 5:30 departure, setting our alarms (or so we thought) for 4:45. I forwent the pleasure of my earplugs, as I wanted to make sure I heard my alarm, so spent most of the night with a pillow over my ears. I needn't have worried though, at 4:05 Grizzly's alarm chirped into life to wake us all up! Alarm silenced, I drifted back off to sleep only to be awoken again by the same bloody chirruping. Grizzly had hit snooze, de tick Irish fecker!
All now awake we got ourselves ready. Good job nobody else was up, the haggis supper was making its presence known in the toilets. I swear my eyes were watering at one stage, though I shan't disclose which Triumph rider was 'doing his thing' at the time!
We sat down to a basic 'wee breakfast', that the Slovakian girl at the hostel had prepared for us the night before, knowing we were going to be leaving early and contemplated the task in front of us. That being, to get all our gear on the bikes and get away, before we got devoured by the gazillions of midges that were circling around the bikes.
Did we make it? Read on......
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| Main Street, East and West, Inveraray |
Apologies
Those of you following the blog will have not failed to notice there hasn't been any updates since Day 6. I can only apologise but this has been due to technical difficulties, i.e. having no battery power in the phone, no reception or a combination of the two. I did submit a day 7 update, struggling to keep my eyes open whilst doing so, only for that to disappear into the ether.
Fear not though, the rest of the trip will follow, albeit, retrospectively.
Fear not though, the rest of the trip will follow, albeit, retrospectively.
Wednesday 25 July 2012
Day 6
Left a bright and sunny Inverness and made our way down Loch Ness to Fort Augustus, where the lads insisted on having haggis pie with their coffee. The haggis count stands at; Biggsey 2, Dudley 2, Grizzly 1, Woody 0. I love haggis but know what it does once it's fermented!
A blast down to the commando memorial followed and soon after our Ben Nevis Distillery tour and lunch stop. The tour was entertaining, the lad giving it had quite a good sense of humour but they were actually producing anything. They have to wait for the barley crop. We got a wee dram at the end of the tour and had a superb soup lunch!
After lunch we headed down the Great Glen, Glen Coe. Breathtaking is the only way to describe it. The road through is superb too, though the big lorries are a problem, as Biggsey found out, when his goggles were blown off! Eventually we arrived in Inveraray, only to find the youth hostel closed! We unloaded the gear and then rode round the corner to fuel up for tomorrow.
The bikes fuelled up, we fuelled ourselves with Haggis Supper ( a long sausage of battered haggis and chips ) eating it on the quayside, accompanied by some very large and brave seagulls. A couple of pints and some oldies playing on the juke box rounded off the evening before we all hit the sack. Early start to Day 7, as we have a ferry to catch.
A blast down to the commando memorial followed and soon after our Ben Nevis Distillery tour and lunch stop. The tour was entertaining, the lad giving it had quite a good sense of humour but they were actually producing anything. They have to wait for the barley crop. We got a wee dram at the end of the tour and had a superb soup lunch!
After lunch we headed down the Great Glen, Glen Coe. Breathtaking is the only way to describe it. The road through is superb too, though the big lorries are a problem, as Biggsey found out, when his goggles were blown off! Eventually we arrived in Inveraray, only to find the youth hostel closed! We unloaded the gear and then rode round the corner to fuel up for tomorrow.
The bikes fuelled up, we fuelled ourselves with Haggis Supper ( a long sausage of battered haggis and chips ) eating it on the quayside, accompanied by some very large and brave seagulls. A couple of pints and some oldies playing on the juke box rounded off the evening before we all hit the sack. Early start to Day 7, as we have a ferry to catch.
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| Haggis Supper, the rudest looking meal ever! |
Tuesday 24 July 2012
D5P3
So Grizzly and I finally pull over to wait and wager a pint on how long before the others arrive. 20 mins , I say, 40 Grizzly. Dud arrives bang on 20! Well done Dudley, what kept ya?
We continue in the rain until about 30 miles from Inverness, when the sun comes out. We make a stop at the Culloden battlefield and then head for the digs. Grizzly and Biggsey got seperated from myself and Dud, as I was filtering again but Dud had seen where I had gone, so caught back up. Unfortunately, at the B&B Dud reverted to R66 mode and bailed off the side of the Harley, right in front of the landlady! Pride hurt but nowt else. Shortly the others arrived and we soon treated Biggsey to the delights of Wetherspoons. They don't have them in Tetbury don't you know. We followed that with a side street pub visit to The Thistle and instantly doubled the body count! Ireland challenged England to a game of darts. Needless to say, I whooped that paddy ass!
Time for bed.
Day 5, Part Deux
After a fuel and lunch stop we headed out onto the A9. This would take us all the way up through the Cairngorms. Within a few minutes, however, we were stuck in roadworks. I began to filter between two lanes of cars. As usual there was one guy who made a deliberate moved to stop me! The others seemed reluctant to follow, then Grizzly appeared in my mirrors. The two of us made our way to the front of the traffic queue and were soon on open road again. Clear of the traffic, Dud and Biggsey were nowhere to be seen! These small town bikers!
Wishing I Was Lucky
Day 5 started as 4 finished, raining. The trip across the Trossachs was very, very wet, yet once again there were some superb twisty roads to negotiate. A challenge for the less experienced Hogs but they all came through unscathed. We passed some excellent Lochs, Tay being the largest. Someone commented Lochs actually look like they are meant to be seen in the wet. I guess we saw them at their best then!
Monday 23 July 2012
Day of two halves
Keswick to the last cafe in England, undertaken in decent dry, even sunny at times weather. Encountered the Hartside Pass on the way, a superb twisty road and stopped for coffee at the top, in the Hartside Cafe. Bikers and sports car owners seem to head here for a fry up before going up and down the hill as fast as they can.
All was good on the ride to the last cafe in England, where we had lunch but not long after leaving though, the weather turned, so Scotland greeted us with rain. To add to the misery, tomtom decided not to take the route I'd planned and we ended up well out of our way on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Grizzly's TT was showing different routes to mine too! I'm gonna have words with that girl!!
Avoiding Glasgow with a seemingly endless number of roundabouts and turns and as the gloom descended , we eventually pulled up outside our digs for the night, a castle that is the Loch Lomond Youth Hostel.
Dinner was taken in the hostel but as they don't serve alcohol, it was water all round. There was water all round outside too, as it continued to rain all evening. Welcome to Scotland. PISH!
All was good on the ride to the last cafe in England, where we had lunch but not long after leaving though, the weather turned, so Scotland greeted us with rain. To add to the misery, tomtom decided not to take the route I'd planned and we ended up well out of our way on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Grizzly's TT was showing different routes to mine too! I'm gonna have words with that girl!!
Avoiding Glasgow with a seemingly endless number of roundabouts and turns and as the gloom descended , we eventually pulled up outside our digs for the night, a castle that is the Loch Lomond Youth Hostel.
Dinner was taken in the hostel but as they don't serve alcohol, it was water all round. There was water all round outside too, as it continued to rain all evening. Welcome to Scotland. PISH!
Sunday 22 July 2012
Lost track of time
Already struggling to remember what day it is! Also struggling to find any wifi or 3g signals, hence why the blog isn't brimming with updates.
Keep tuning in though. I'll get round to it eventually.
Day Tree
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| The Ribblehead Viaduct |
Beautifully sunny all day. A first for this trip. From Glossop we headed to North Yorkshire and the Ribblehead Viaduct and a ploughmans lunch. The roads were brilliant and the scenery quite superb.
We had Fish and Chips for tea, then a few well needed pints. Grizzly was been busy with his camera but funny how he seems to come across the all female birthday or hen parties!
Bedtime now. Long day tomorrow. Just trying to decide which is worse, the snoring (we're in a 4 berth again) or the river on whose banks the hostel is situated. Where are those earplugs?
Tomorrow we will cross in to Scotland, our 3rd country!
Saturday 21 July 2012
Glossop
Set on the edge of the Peak District it is unremarkable, save from the Snake Pass that runs to it, which we travelled at about 20 mph due to a steaming great lorry. Otherwise this would have been a fantastic bit of road to ride along. It is notorious for being a bit of a biker graveyard though, so maybe we were safer behind that lorry.
B&B was fantastic. Lynda very, very nice. Don't think I've ever stayed in quite such a luxurious B&B before and the breakfast was superb!
The only other thing to note about Glossop, was the four yobs who kept driving passed us last night, as we came back from the pub, shouting obsceneties! A wild Friday night OOP NORTH!
Day 3 dawns
As usual Biggsey is up early, the old body clock still running on his get up for work time. I've shared with him this time. Like Grizzly, he can rattle the windows! I think we're more like Snoret Hogs than Wild Hogs at the moment! Keswick today, via Ribblehead. About 145 miles.
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| Garden of Bird's Nest Cottage |
Friday 20 July 2012
Day 2
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| The Ponderosa Cafe |
From there we made our way to the Anderton Boat Lift. A marvellous piece of Victorian engineering, which transports you 50 feet down from canal to river.
Not a good day for Woody today, with Tomtom letting him down but just as well Grizzly's was still playing ball!
Dinner was chinese, in a tiny takeaway, with two small metal tables. Not very inspiring but food very good and good value. That was washed down with a couple of pints at a micro brew pub, the Globe.
B&B very nice. Not everywhere you are greeted with cakes and coffee!
Tomorrow we head for Keswick.
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| The Anderton Boat Lift, Northwich |
Day 1
Bit late this, due to the fact that my mobi ran out of juice and the room in the hostel had no power socket! What do you expect for £17pppn?
Anyway, day 1 was, in parts wet but mainly dry. We seemed to have been quite lucky. However, very grey and quite chilly. More like autumn than summer!
Main attracttions were Elan Valley reservoirs, which were quite stunning and the feeding of the Red Kites. What sight to behold, fantastic creatures. Thanks to Biggsey for this part of the trip.
Hostel very basic but adequate. We met up with Simon and Viv, our Route 66 buddies in Betws and had a great evening remeniscing. Dudley took a shine to our rude but nevertheless friendly and entertaining waitress and somehow managed to blag a loo roll off her!!! The toilet at the hostel was paper free!
A nice meal and some local ale went down a treat. Day 2 sees us head back into England.
Thursday 19 July 2012
Snore Blimey Guvnah!
Not a great night's sleep. Grizzly can sure drive them home. Had to dig out the spare earplugs. Not sure coffee just before bed helps either.
Wednesday 18 July 2012
All assembled
Here we are then, The Hogs, all assembled ready to go. Welcome dinner done, along with a few pints, we shall meet up again at 8:30 for the group photo and the brass band send off! Now though it's bedtime.
Sent from Samsung Mobile
Tuesday 17 July 2012
Getting in the mood
All ready to go, I'm just getting in the mood by watching Henry Cole's 'World's Greatest Motorcycle Rides'. This, his trip from John O'Groats to Lands End. He's visited a couple of places we shall be and ridden some of the roads we'll be riding, albeit in reverse. 12 hours time I'll be on the road. Can't wait.
Sent from Samsung Mobile
Sent from Samsung Mobile
Monday 16 July 2012
Test Pack Complete
There we go, all crammed in and photographed. Yes, not the paper and freehand drawing of what goes where (as employed on the IOM trip) this time but with the aid of the Map my Pack app for iphone, I have been able to record the location of every piece of clothing and footwear in each case, in vivid digital colour. Ain't technology BRILLIANT!
With a large amount of space taken up by the team outfit in the top box for the way out, I shall have some room for gifts or something (for my best girl(s)), on the way back.
Tomorrow I'll fit the top box to the bike to double check everything still fits in OK, once my security chain is in as well. Then I'll be ready.
Roll on Wednesday.
With a large amount of space taken up by the team outfit in the top box for the way out, I shall have some room for gifts or something (for my best girl(s)), on the way back.
Tomorrow I'll fit the top box to the bike to double check everything still fits in OK, once my security chain is in as well. Then I'll be ready.
Roll on Wednesday.
Sunday 15 July 2012
Starting to Focus
Cath being away this weekend has given me lots of time to myself. Just what I needed with now just over 3 days to go.
I've started to pack, stuff for the topbox mostly, which is bike related, waterproofs, spare gloves, etc, plus all the techno gizmos that one could need to get ones hands on quite quickly, namely the satnav, my GoPro camera, sunglasses (LOL!!) and my normal camera. Also in there are the team colours, polos and hats and the last thing to go in will be my security chain. Hoping to squeeze my lightweight jacket in too, if there's room.
The panniers will take the rest of my gear, pants, socks, shirts, trousers, shoes, washbag, jumpers, etc. At the moment, I'm feeling pretty confident I'll get it all in (as the Bishop said to the actress!!) but then I've only ID'd a few t-shirts at the moment. Clearly, when pushed for space, one does have to wear things more than once, so it's not like I'm taking 12 of everything, except pants of course (what do you take me for?).
I checked the tyre pressures today and as the last time the bike was out was on the way back from being serviced, there's nowt else to do.
Did some final tweaks to the Tomtom itineries today, adding in intermediate stops, the Hogs like their coffee! and have printed off some daily timetables, as a guide. Pretty much our days will start at 9am and finish about 5:30pm. Almost like being at work but without the hassle!
Roll on Wednesday.
I've started to pack, stuff for the topbox mostly, which is bike related, waterproofs, spare gloves, etc, plus all the techno gizmos that one could need to get ones hands on quite quickly, namely the satnav, my GoPro camera, sunglasses (LOL!!) and my normal camera. Also in there are the team colours, polos and hats and the last thing to go in will be my security chain. Hoping to squeeze my lightweight jacket in too, if there's room.
The panniers will take the rest of my gear, pants, socks, shirts, trousers, shoes, washbag, jumpers, etc. At the moment, I'm feeling pretty confident I'll get it all in (as the Bishop said to the actress!!) but then I've only ID'd a few t-shirts at the moment. Clearly, when pushed for space, one does have to wear things more than once, so it's not like I'm taking 12 of everything, except pants of course (what do you take me for?).
I checked the tyre pressures today and as the last time the bike was out was on the way back from being serviced, there's nowt else to do.
Did some final tweaks to the Tomtom itineries today, adding in intermediate stops, the Hogs like their coffee! and have printed off some daily timetables, as a guide. Pretty much our days will start at 9am and finish about 5:30pm. Almost like being at work but without the hassle!
Roll on Wednesday.
Friday 13 July 2012
Wexford Sorted
First Wexford hotel a definite no go. Would have been nice if they'd told us. Grizzly has family in Wexford and they confirmed the Drinagh Court is closed. Seems it may have been repossessed by the bank but has subsequently been sold on. They reckon though, that there is no chance it will be open anytime soon, let alone for 2 weeks time. I've had no reply to my enquiries from the hotel or the site I booked through, so it looks as though my deposit has gone down the pan. Good job it was only €12.
The contingency, the Faythe Guest House has good write ups and they have confirmed they have our booking, so I feel a lot more comfortable now.
5 days to go. Have a few bits laid out on the table but far from being packed or even decided on what I'm taking....apart from waterproofs that is.
10 day forecast doesn't make good reading. First 4 days of the tour will be peeing down by the looks of it. Ah, memories of 2009!
The contingency, the Faythe Guest House has good write ups and they have confirmed they have our booking, so I feel a lot more comfortable now.
5 days to go. Have a few bits laid out on the table but far from being packed or even decided on what I'm taking....apart from waterproofs that is.
10 day forecast doesn't make good reading. First 4 days of the tour will be peeing down by the looks of it. Ah, memories of 2009!
Monday 9 July 2012
Contingency
Given the discovery that our Wexford hotel is being refurbished, I've managed to secure an alternative in case it goes tits up. Free cancellation, so no worries about losing any money if the original is open again in time.
Sent from Samsung Mobile
Sunday 8 July 2012
Bike Sorted
Tyres fitted last week, service done this, so the Bandit is all fettled and ready to go.
With 10 days to go it's time I started thinking about what I'm going to take with me and where it's all going to go. I'm pondering whether to take my laptop or not. I can post to the blog from my phone but, if I intend to take my GoPro camera, then I will need somewhere to download the footage to, assuming I end up with more than 8 hours of filming. With 8 days in the Isle of Man last year, I managed to get enough clothes, footwear, bike gear, etc and fit the laptop in, so should be possible. We'll see. First of all though, I need to make sure everything I want to take is clean!
Discovered something a tad disturbing this evening, whilst doing some research. The hotel we are booked into for our last night, in Wexford, is being refurbished and no re-open date has been announced. A big concern, as it was the only accommodation I could find in Wexford, when I was looking, so we could be in the poo-poo. I've emailed the hotel for clarification, so we'll see if we are OK or up shits creak!
Almost into single figures. Excitement mounting!
With 10 days to go it's time I started thinking about what I'm going to take with me and where it's all going to go. I'm pondering whether to take my laptop or not. I can post to the blog from my phone but, if I intend to take my GoPro camera, then I will need somewhere to download the footage to, assuming I end up with more than 8 hours of filming. With 8 days in the Isle of Man last year, I managed to get enough clothes, footwear, bike gear, etc and fit the laptop in, so should be possible. We'll see. First of all though, I need to make sure everything I want to take is clean!
Discovered something a tad disturbing this evening, whilst doing some research. The hotel we are booked into for our last night, in Wexford, is being refurbished and no re-open date has been announced. A big concern, as it was the only accommodation I could find in Wexford, when I was looking, so we could be in the poo-poo. I've emailed the hotel for clarification, so we'll see if we are OK or up shits creak!
Almost into single figures. Excitement mounting!
Wednesday 4 July 2012
Do you feel lucky Hog?
Well, do ya? To tell you the truth, in all the confusion I kinda lost count. Has it been 2 or 3 months of near continuous rain?
Enough!
With just 2 weeks to go now, the weather forecast is looking like it will remain unsettled (read - will piss down) for the next 10 - 14 days, after which we may enter a dry sunny spell for the rest of July.
YEAY! I am crossing everything that this forecast, although long range and subject to change at any second, is the real deal and that our 11 days of biking, will be through our green and sunny lands, rather than sodden ones.
This time in 2 weeks, The Reservoir Hogs will have rendezvoused in Tetbury and will be quaffing back copious amounts of ale, whilst discussing the final plans for the BIG OFF on 19th. Either that or as we're all over 50, will be tucked up in bed fast asleep. After all, 3 of us have quite a ride to even get to Tetbury.
Enough!
With just 2 weeks to go now, the weather forecast is looking like it will remain unsettled (read - will piss down) for the next 10 - 14 days, after which we may enter a dry sunny spell for the rest of July.
YEAY! I am crossing everything that this forecast, although long range and subject to change at any second, is the real deal and that our 11 days of biking, will be through our green and sunny lands, rather than sodden ones.
This time in 2 weeks, The Reservoir Hogs will have rendezvoused in Tetbury and will be quaffing back copious amounts of ale, whilst discussing the final plans for the BIG OFF on 19th. Either that or as we're all over 50, will be tucked up in bed fast asleep. After all, 3 of us have quite a ride to even get to Tetbury.
Monday 2 July 2012
The Merchadise Arrives
A little earlier than expected, a parcel arrived at work today, containing the Reservoir Hogs Tour merchandise I had 'designed'. Polo shirts, caps and stickers. Both the cap and the polo have the logo embroidered on them. I think they look pretty good but you decide. As promised, I've taken some photos.
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| Team RH Cap & Polo |
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| Original Reservoir Hogs Tour sticker |
Friday 29 June 2012
More Rubber!
No I'm not a fetishist, least not that I know. I can own up to loving the smell of leather but I don't think that counts.
No, this time the rubber I'm talking about is the circular type that keeps my beloved Bandit in touch with the tarmac. After getting a few quotes for a pair of Michelin Pilot Road 3s, I plumped for a place in Kennington Road, London, just round the corner from the Oval cricket ground, called FWR. They saved me £23 over the next best quote and a whopping £66 over my Suzuki dealer, who as I was booking in for a service, one might have thought would have done a discount. It's a turn up a wait jobbie but if you get lucky you can be turned around in 25 minutes (like my brother) or in my case, it was just over the hour. I would thoroughly recommend them on my first time experience. Not only do they cut you a deal but the guy running the show, Chris I think it was, is a really nice guy. Not just tyres, they service as well and were working on scooters to a Pan European Honda.
So that's that bit out of the way. Next Saturday is the service at my local dealer, after which we'll be all ready to roll. If the weather is like it was this week, in the South East, then I shan't complain, as I've managed to complete a whole week without recourse to public transport. Bit scary to see the rest of the country under water though!
19 to go.
No, this time the rubber I'm talking about is the circular type that keeps my beloved Bandit in touch with the tarmac. After getting a few quotes for a pair of Michelin Pilot Road 3s, I plumped for a place in Kennington Road, London, just round the corner from the Oval cricket ground, called FWR. They saved me £23 over the next best quote and a whopping £66 over my Suzuki dealer, who as I was booking in for a service, one might have thought would have done a discount. It's a turn up a wait jobbie but if you get lucky you can be turned around in 25 minutes (like my brother) or in my case, it was just over the hour. I would thoroughly recommend them on my first time experience. Not only do they cut you a deal but the guy running the show, Chris I think it was, is a really nice guy. Not just tyres, they service as well and were working on scooters to a Pan European Honda.
So that's that bit out of the way. Next Saturday is the service at my local dealer, after which we'll be all ready to roll. If the weather is like it was this week, in the South East, then I shan't complain, as I've managed to complete a whole week without recourse to public transport. Bit scary to see the rest of the country under water though!
19 to go.
Wednesday 27 June 2012
What's that Grommet?
Well, they have arrived. Good news, though slightly larger than the Suzuki originals they do the job perfectly. No more rattling top box. Bad news, whilst fitting them, wearing shorts and having just ridden home, I managed to burn my knee on the exhaust!! There's the beginnings of a nasty little blister on it's way
:-(
I'm aware this blog has had precious little in the way of photos thus far, so these should liven things up a little.
21 days to go. In 3 weeks time, I'll be in Avon Cottage, Tetbury with Grizzly.
:-(
I'm aware this blog has had precious little in the way of photos thus far, so these should liven things up a little.
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| OUCH!! |
Monday 25 June 2012
Service Booked
Have booked the Bandit in for a service on 7th. I didn't want to leave it till the last weekend before the tour, in case something went awry. It'll probably be about 1k short of the 20k scheduled service but as I'm going to be putting 2.6k on it in under a fortnight, I thought it best to have it given a clean bill of health beforehand.
As for tyres, I asked Laguna how much for a pair of Michelin Pilot Road 3s and he quoted £326!! You can buy them on the internet for around £230 and our local tyre fitter does them for £240. For £86, I'm quite happy to remove the wheels and take them round to the local shop. Dealers, eh?
Have invested in some other rubber too. NO, calm down lads! The rubber in question being little rubber grommets that fit on the rack and stop the topbox bouncing about. I've had a few go awol when taking the box off/on and it does rattle about a bit now. Although the kit came as Suzuki kit, you can't actually buy a grommet from Suzuki (apparently), so I've had to buy Givi grommets, they being the manufacturers of the Suzuki branded luggage. Not an essential but little things not quite right do tend to irritate us bikers.
23 to go!
As for tyres, I asked Laguna how much for a pair of Michelin Pilot Road 3s and he quoted £326!! You can buy them on the internet for around £230 and our local tyre fitter does them for £240. For £86, I'm quite happy to remove the wheels and take them round to the local shop. Dealers, eh?
Have invested in some other rubber too. NO, calm down lads! The rubber in question being little rubber grommets that fit on the rack and stop the topbox bouncing about. I've had a few go awol when taking the box off/on and it does rattle about a bit now. Although the kit came as Suzuki kit, you can't actually buy a grommet from Suzuki (apparently), so I've had to buy Givi grommets, they being the manufacturers of the Suzuki branded luggage. Not an essential but little things not quite right do tend to irritate us bikers.
23 to go!
Sunday 24 June 2012
Time to start packing?
It'll soon be time to decide what clothing I'm going to take with me. With only two panniers and a topbox, space is fairly tight for such a long trip, so I may end up having to turn my pants inside out! LOL! It's a carefully planned operation working out what to take, even more so to pack it. Despite what people may think of bikers, we're not all dirty, smelly, unwashed individuals who walk around in the same clothes for weeks on end.
Talking of clothes, I hear Biggsey's t-shirts have arrived. I can't wait to see them. My own merchandise order has been placed and another will follow very shortly, so we will look like a team (almost) when we are hitting the night time streets of Glossop, Inverness and Blarney ;-) As slick as an F1 pit crew!
Some good news on the bike cleaning front today. The rain held off long enough for me to give the Bandit its first clean of the year. Hoorah! With at least two days fine weather forecast, I'll not be ashamed to ride it to work now!
24 days to go, just.
Talking of clothes, I hear Biggsey's t-shirts have arrived. I can't wait to see them. My own merchandise order has been placed and another will follow very shortly, so we will look like a team (almost) when we are hitting the night time streets of Glossop, Inverness and Blarney ;-) As slick as an F1 pit crew!
Some good news on the bike cleaning front today. The rain held off long enough for me to give the Bandit its first clean of the year. Hoorah! With at least two days fine weather forecast, I'll not be ashamed to ride it to work now!
24 days to go, just.
Saturday 23 June 2012
Starting to worry now
I can hardly believe that the tour is now only 25 days away. It doesn't seem that long ago that the countdown clock was showing 90 days. Now with under 30 to go, it seems to be racing. I've just realised that I only have 2 weekends left to get the bike serviced and new tyres fitted. Next Saturday, I'm off to Cambridge with my brother, for the AMRR, the annual Allied Memorial Remembrance Ride to the American cemetery at Madingley, so that puts the 30th out of the equation. I might just have to drop it in during the week instead and work from home.
I must say I'm starting to worry a tad about the current inclemency of the weather. It just seems to be non stop rain at the moment, so I'm keeping everything crossed summer finally arrives, by 18th July and stays for at least 2 weeks! The last UK tour I did in 2009, again in mid July, turned out to be the wettest July week on record! I didn't have much luck in the Isle of Man last year either and none of the Hogs will ever forget the torrential rain we rode through in Oklahoma in 2010. So, I'm not expecting it to be dry for the entire tour, especially as we are travelling through Wales, Scotland and Ireland, for the most part of it. Not exactly known for long dry summers in either of those! Maybe we should have gone to Europe instead. I blame Biggsey totally, as it was his idea to 'do a few days in Scotland'!
One good thing though, at least the hosepipe ban has been lifted, so I should be able to get out (if it doesn't rain) and give the Bandit it's first clean since the wet weekend in March, when it got totally covered in dirt and mud. Sure, some of it was washed off in the torrential rain in Le Mans last month (there's a picture developing here) but it's way overdue some suds and elbow grease.
I must say I'm starting to worry a tad about the current inclemency of the weather. It just seems to be non stop rain at the moment, so I'm keeping everything crossed summer finally arrives, by 18th July and stays for at least 2 weeks! The last UK tour I did in 2009, again in mid July, turned out to be the wettest July week on record! I didn't have much luck in the Isle of Man last year either and none of the Hogs will ever forget the torrential rain we rode through in Oklahoma in 2010. So, I'm not expecting it to be dry for the entire tour, especially as we are travelling through Wales, Scotland and Ireland, for the most part of it. Not exactly known for long dry summers in either of those! Maybe we should have gone to Europe instead. I blame Biggsey totally, as it was his idea to 'do a few days in Scotland'!
One good thing though, at least the hosepipe ban has been lifted, so I should be able to get out (if it doesn't rain) and give the Bandit it's first clean since the wet weekend in March, when it got totally covered in dirt and mud. Sure, some of it was washed off in the torrential rain in Le Mans last month (there's a picture developing here) but it's way overdue some suds and elbow grease.
Thursday 14 June 2012
Merchandise
Seems Biggsey and I think alike. I was toying with the idea of getting some t-shirts made up for the tour, when blow me if he doesn't say he's already sorted some. What the design is, he won't let on. It'll be a surpise. I'm wondering if it is the Wild Hogs picture (which you can see on the flickr link) or maybe something individual for each of us? Guess we'll just have to wait and see.
I've not given up my idea though and have designed (with Vistaprint's help), a logo for the tour. I'm looking at getting a polo shirt made up and possibly a cap. I'm just waiting to see if the other hogs are interested and if so what sizes they will need. Once they turn up, I'll be unveiling the design on the blog and posting a pic to flickr. Maybe I'll do a 'I followed the blog' t-shirt for you guys ;-)
I've not given up my idea though and have designed (with Vistaprint's help), a logo for the tour. I'm looking at getting a polo shirt made up and possibly a cap. I'm just waiting to see if the other hogs are interested and if so what sizes they will need. Once they turn up, I'll be unveiling the design on the blog and posting a pic to flickr. Maybe I'll do a 'I followed the blog' t-shirt for you guys ;-)
Wednesday 13 June 2012
Glympse
There's an App, called Glympse, for smartphones, that lets you send people your location. It's really quite useful if you are meeting up with someone but don't know where you are going. They can send you a txt or email Glympse (weblink) that shows you where they are in the world. You can then navigate to them, using google maps or some other such mapping App. Very clever.
Anyway, what's that got to do with the tour?, I hear you say. Well, it's simple. For those who want to know, I am going to use Glympse, as we tour round, to let people know where abouts we are along the route. If any of you out there want to follow me on the map, as well as on the blog, if just to break up the boredom of your working day, then let me know.
The guys at work will have a map, showing the tour route (just as they did for my R66 tour) with a magnetic me (on a motorcycle), that they can move along as I progress. Though this tour, arguably, doesn't have the glamour of R66, it is every bit as arduous and I'm sure they will remain interested in knowing how I am getting on. Maybe ;-)
Anyway, what's that got to do with the tour?, I hear you say. Well, it's simple. For those who want to know, I am going to use Glympse, as we tour round, to let people know where abouts we are along the route. If any of you out there want to follow me on the map, as well as on the blog, if just to break up the boredom of your working day, then let me know.
The guys at work will have a map, showing the tour route (just as they did for my R66 tour) with a magnetic me (on a motorcycle), that they can move along as I progress. Though this tour, arguably, doesn't have the glamour of R66, it is every bit as arduous and I'm sure they will remain interested in knowing how I am getting on. Maybe ;-)
Thursday 7 June 2012
The Oldest Youfs in Town
Had some news from Dudley today. He has booked the four of us into the Keswick YHA Hostel, for the night we are in town. The plan was, as he lives in Keswick, to stay at his house but he's having some work done (a new mirrored ceiling and waterbed, or something), so the place will not be fit for entertaining guests. I'm pretty comfortable with this, as I was going to end up on a camp bed anyway...on account of me being the youngest. The YHA is only a few minutes walk from Dud's place and still close to all the hostelries. That'll be the second of 4 hostels that we'll stay at during the tour and it makes me smile. Us staying at youth hostels and not one of us under 50!!
41 days and counting.
41 days and counting.
Wednesday 30 May 2012
Found!
Now isn't that funny? I thought I had looked everywhere for that bandana but having reported it missing, I thought I'd have another look round. I'd been wearing my leathers on the Ride of Respect, so overlooked the fact I'd taken a pair of my Hood jeans with me. More in hope than anticipation I checked them and there it was in one of the pockets. Obviously put there so's it wouldn't get lost!! All's well that ends well :-)
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