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 ;-) 

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.

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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Lost!

No not me but my cherished Route 66 bandana or skull cap. NO Biggsey, it is not a bleedin' headscarf!!
In fact, it isn't anything at the moment. Last seen on the trip to Tetbury and the Ride of Respect, I can't find it anywhere. It's not as though the weather was good enough to be able to wear it, so I'm perplexed as to where it could have gone.  If I didn't know better, I'd suspect one of Biggsey's cats had taken it. They are an American breed, after all.

I'm pretty miffed about it though. I didn't buy many souvenirs on that trip but that was on of my treats, purchased in the little town of Madrid, actually in the the gift shop, that was built as the diner for the Wild Hogs film. I could always ask Gary 'The Bear' Fleshman, our Route 66 tour guide to bring me one over but that wouldn't be the same. Sentimental I know, mental, some might say but I miss it. Sniff! Hopefully it'll turn up before July.

50 days to go!

Keeping those tootsies dry!

I've been toying with the idea of getting some new boots before the tour. More specifically, some that are waterproof. I'd like to try and keep the same make/design, SIDI, as they are a good fit, allowing them to fit around the leg of the leathers comfortably. Some others,  look flash but don't have the freedom in the calf, to even allow you to get the zip done up with leathers tucked inside. Anyway, Sidi waterproof jobbies come in at around £320. A bit steep me thinks.

Anyway, the recent wet weekend in Le Mans focused the mind in this area again, Wet boots, wet socks and wrinkled toes. We'd crossed the river Somme on the way down but I didn't expect to get trench foot! My brother Paul on the other hand, had no such issues. The secret.....Sealskinz waterproof socks. Yes, I kid you not, all you non walkers, cyclists, bikers, you can buy such a thing. A wool covered condom for your foot!

On my return to drier climes, I duly checked out the Sealskinz.  Now, they aren't cheap for a sock (£24 a pair) but a fair bit cheaper than new boots. Given I have my Sidi racing boots and (as my sis-in-law Claire would say) my gay (cruiser) boots, it made sense to get a couple of pairs of the socks.

Ordered Sunday, they duly arrived at my office this morning. So that is one bit less to worry about in preparation for the tour. Given we are going to be travelling through Wales, Scotland and Ireland, I guarantee they will get some use.

Next on the list, are some new waterproof trousers. The ones I have are very lightweight and as such just can't hold up to the rigours of being scraped and bashed about. Catching my knee against a bollard on the way back from Le mans (walking, I should say) put a nice little hole in them. Good for ventilation, not good keeping the rain out! I expect I'll head down to Hein Gericke, to see if I can get some to match my jacket.

Tomtom shakedown

Ok, I know this isn't anything really to do with the Hogs tour but the trip to Le Mans for the MotoGP has given me a chance to test out the powered mount for my Tomtom and the soldering job I did connecting a 12v plug to the end of the cable. Happy to report, all is fine. Also gives the opportunity to give the scala headset a proper run out too. Indications are that it will have sufficient juice for each tour day. So long as I remember to charge it that is. So that is one less worry. Once Le Mans is out of the way, I can copy the tour itineries from Tyre into the Tomtom.

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Electric Brae

Been a while since the last entry. Not much to report really, certainly no riding, the weather has been that poor. Will be getting my leg over this weekend though, rain or shine, with a trip to Le Mans for MotoGP. Only the third time this year on the Bandit! On the tour front, I have identified another potential stop, albeit a brief one. It is the Electric Brae in Scotland. This is the stretch of road that appears to go downhill when it actually goes uphill! An optical illusion caused by the slope of the landscape the road runs through. It's on our run from Inveraray to the Cairnryan ferry, so will be a neccessarily brief stop, time allowing. Just over 2 months to go. Please summer, start soon!