Not today but yesterday, I attended an old friend’s wife’s funeral. She went very suddenly, she was very fit and active, walked her dogs miles every day, my old friend on the other hand has been in poor health for years and we all expected him to go first (he also thought he would definitely go first) just goes to show you never know how life twists.
Over the last few days I tucked up the Multi V4, loaded the car and drove across Spain to catch the ferry back to England. Then I drove up to Cambridgeshire/Lincolnshire borders. Not being satisfied with my recent mileage, or kilometres as the case may be, or schedule. I/we then turned around and pointed towards Devon, a 4 or 5 hour drive for a party at the brother in law’s. Half way down the M5 the Mrs looks up from her phone and suddenly exclaims; ‘Oh bugger, the party is tomorrow not today’! At this point we’re about 40 minutes from a house with no hosts, no guests and decidedly no party. ‘You cannot be serious’? So we’re now at the sister-in-law’s in even deeper darker Devon. Ha! I like a laugh!
Changed all 8 plugs and coils packs on my bmw v8. Bearing in mind only bmw have maintained this car for most of its life I have found some piss poor workmanship. One of their diagnosis for a sagging rear suspension was a poor earth not a leaking air bag. I've now found that there are 3 different coil packs fitted as they only change defective ones. No wonder the engine was always a bit 'off' Gearbox changes are now imperceptible as the engine torque now matches what the gearbox thinks it should be getting. If you cant do stuff yourself you are much better finding a good indie, and that goes with bikes as well
I used to work with a francophile guy who spent thousands on a once in a lifetime trip to Paris in order to take part in the Bastille Day bicentennial celebrations. Unfortunately, he fucked up somehow and went in 1988, which was a year too early, and thus a complete and utter waste of time and money.
Just ordered the gaskets for the clutch and generator for the starter motor change....its venting oil from somewhere down there and im pretty sure last time i used instant gasket....so fix that problem at the same time.
I'm envious as my mate let me down for a green-lane ride on Saturday. He has the tow hook, I have the trailer... Time to find a new friend
Why do you need to trailer the bike? Don’t you have any lanes near you? Are you in your local TRF? Mine organises at least one ride per week and I met the two guys I rode with yesterday through the group. I spent a weekend with the Wilts TRF lot about 6 weeks ago and they seemed like a decent bunch.
View attachment 358140 Pics from FB. Not sure why the quality is so poor. Anyway - I’m the good looking one with my arms folded.
Due to the late KO Mexico V England I recorded it to watch early this morning. All good, didn’t hear any cheering overnight, kept tv and radio off. Then turned on tv to watch recording when I hear England won ffs!! Still watched it all, even knowing the result I didn’t know if it would be extra time or penalties etc, was absolutely extraordinary occasion. To be there must have been beyond words.
Lightweight! “And gentlemen in England now abed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whilst any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.”
Maybe I should start a green-laning thread... I'm in a position that I've only done this with one very good mate, so haven't branched out into rides with unknowns. Yes, I'm a TRF member, so I'll do that now as I'm unlikely to have a choice from now on. My start of my nearest good (2.5-3 hr) ride is 35 mins away by road. Southern Bath & Wiltshire are my favourite areas so over an hour away, hence trailered. Unfortunately the City of Bristol doesn't have any lanes I can just nip to
I was in the same position when I lived in London, but thankfully these days I'm only c.5 mins away from a few decent routes. Have you considered one of these instead of a full van and trailer set up?
Been busy tidying and reorganising the garage, ideal photo opportunity for little and large along with the obligatory wheelie bins in shot
Just been looking at my pet insurance renewal.................current insurer (Agria through Lloyds Bank) wants to increase my eldest pups insurance to £439.89 a year and I can get a similar insurance from Asda for £127.56. The difference with the cheaper insurance is the maximum annual cover is £10k as opposed to £12k BUT their excess is cheaper at £200 and no percentage of any claim (currently 10%). Plus all the other bits that are covered such as Quarantine Costs Third Party Liability Excess Third Party Liability Advertising Limit Lost or Stolen Death by Illness Death by Accident Boarding Fees are all better than currently with Agria. If I then take the second pup into consideration my annual saving will be IRO £500 which is better in my account than theirs. I'm now waiting for a call from Agria's renewal team to discuss the why's and wherefore's to their proposed price difference.
