Claude's bike collection

The charming Claude who I met up at Windy Corner at the Manx GP has a
stunning bike collection and has been sending me images. Here they are
in a Photobucket album.

http://s598.photobucket.com/albums/tt70/gryceslurp/Claudes%20bikes/

Nice coupla tweeks done today

The KLT blew a headlamp bulb a few hundred metres from home the other night. Took out the old bulb to see it had completely blown apart. Looking at it I noticed it was a 100W instead of the standard 65W main beam. It could be that this was the first full beam ride since the rebuild and is what happens to over rated bulbs. Anyway stuck in one of Lidls finest 65/55W bulbs , happily the correct combination, and so far so good. On the K75 I got rid of the nasty rusty hinge under one of the panniers and treated both boxes to a set of new slide on ferrule hinges. Aha ! For the first time the lids do not crash down upon opening but open smoothly as if on gas struts.
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Ethel at The National Motorcycle Museum the other day

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K1100LT v K75C

This week I had the first good run in one go on the KLT some 320 mostly motorway miles.Boy is she ever thirsty - 40 mpg if you are lucky. But then she has real grunt zapping chains of A road dawdlers and thrumming along motorways at 80,90,100 mph - whatever you want it is there, zap ! I've not ridden a bike with a full on touring fairing any distance before and was amazed at how good it is. In the dry you sit in a still bubble. I was pleased that it rained and astonished that the expected sodden gloves did not happen. The bike is so serene at motorway speeds that I had time to observe how rainwater turns into a fine mist as it leaves the edges of the fairing and screen to completely miss the rider. I rode through consistent rain and parked up dry ! The bike is however very sensitive to correct tyre pressures. I converted the incomprehensible Bar readings to PSI and had to add 4 lbs to the front. Result instant correction of vague feeling from front end. She is a very lardy bike with a small steering lock that catches you out in U turns in the road. All in keeping with the overall feel of the bike, big, ponderous, do it my way or else. It makes me think that the K75 with another 20 bhp and touring fairing would be the ideal compromise. Now where do I get a turbo kit...
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Ethel or Mavis - that is the question

Today took Ethel, K75C, for a chilly run to the National Motorcycle
Museum for a trade show. Not having ridden her for a while I had
forgotten what a joy she is to ride. Everything worked, toasty heated
grips + new Goretex suit ( e bay police 1 piece riot suit for £30 ! )
was brilliant.
By comparison to Mavis, K1100LT, Ethel is a real lightweight. Easy to
trundle about and none of the stubborn, ponderous oversteer that Mavis
has when pressing on in corners. Ethel is like riding a 250 by
comparison.She has plenty of grunt if not the whumph that Mavis has.
I suppose the biggest thing is that you feel involved in what is going
on with Ethel whilst Mavis is all silky getting the job done.
Let's face it. Ethel and i have shared 20000 enjoyable miles together
and all the bits and pieces I have done to her have made her my bike.
Mavis is a package in her own right - you gets what you sees. She is a
really nice bike but is just not growing on me as what she does is not
WOW like the K1300GT with its monster 164 bhp. Yup she will hum along
at 100 mph everywhere but just does everyrthing in a thorough BMW car
type of way.
Ethel is a quirky oddball
Anyway, decision time, Mavis is going to go and Ethel is the keeper of the two.
At least today..............

Modest Mavis 1997 K1100LT

Here is Ethel's big sister Mavis. Just put injector cleaner in a full tank and zipped out for a ride - she looks to be running clean when warm now. Also set mixture screw to correct base setting midweek and this was 1st chance to try her out. Runs very nicely. If the smoky running can be fixed then its just down to some electrical finishing, heated grips, hazards, radio ! and some cosmetics and she will be a fully sorted stunner.
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The little Bros 400 I had

Great little bike - chipped it and it revved to the moon
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My mate Patch - the nutty boy

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Grandad doing something very silly in front of Grandson

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Leon Haslam's fan club at Silverstone WSB 2010

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Ethel loaded up with ridiculous humunga bag full of camping gear waiting for the Heysham ferry to load

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Home at the Manx GP in the Khyam Biker Tent - great, loved it !

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Stunning view out over Douglas bay from Windy Corner
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Fellow Gabfester Lynton holds the red flag as Junior MGP race stopped
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TT hero Nick Jefferies at Windy Corner Manx GP 2010 after Junior race red flagged telling previously happy rider that his suspension settings are crap !
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Anthea marshalling at Ballagaray Manx GP 2010 just before the start of the first race
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Ethel's new big sister

Today was the first ride on the recently acquired K1100LT " Modest Mavis ". She is a 1997 SE model on 59k miles with colour matched BMW luggage and has had a recent ground up rebuild. Starting her up a couple of times has produced belching smoke from the exhaust and a garden full of smoke. Investigation showed oil level ok but coolant expansion tank all but empty at cold.The addition of 3/4 litre of 40/60 antifreeze/boiled water followed by an oil change gave a smokeless start with just a whisper of moisture from the exhaust. Pumped up the tyres, gave the bike a once over for anything loose - ready to rock ! Immediate first impression is that the bike is easier to put on/off the centre stand than Ethel and the big bars help when moving it about to park.The motor revs up really quickly but also pulls strongly when short shifting. Leaving the 30 limit the bike jumps straight up to 80 in the time I am used to Ethel getting to 60. Mindful of the previous smoky exhaust a stop to check and rev showed all clear. On the twisties the bike is a heavy lump to realign mid corner - normal BMW rules apply, make your mind up and stick to it. On to dual carriageway and let it rev out in first 3 gears then short shift to top for effortless 100mph cruising. The advantage I was looking for was roll on acceleration from 85-90 to nip past gaggles of traffic joining a motorway so dropped back and then wound it full on in 5th. Great, instant 3 figure speed. This ride was in blustery drizzle so I was pleased to find myself sitting in a dry bubble behind the giant fairing and able to look over the screen but with the windblast going over my head. The very slab sided fairing is a sail in cross winds so care needed. Not so impressed with the view from the car type mirrors but noticed tapped mirror stanchion holes on the levers so may fit these - one mirror has a cracked glass needing an expensive replacent anyway so a pair of stalk mirrors would not cost much more. Next up is working out how to fit the top box plus wiring in the Tom Tom.Also the heated grip wires exit the handlebars but disappear down below somewhere, there is no switch so it could be a case of checking the wiring and fitting the switch to get them working. Would also like hazards but no switch for this either. So far so good then. A nice quick bike but it somehow misses the smooth oddball charm of Ethel.
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Manx GP Day 5 2 Sept 10

That's it then, the holiday is nearly over. Packed up the mountain of gear I had lumbered myself with and off to the ferry. So, what were the good and bad bits ? Good was the Khyam Biker Tent, it pitched easily, was well ventilated and did everything it said on the tin. The Ruff Stuff 4 season sleeping bag was super warm but the crash zips can jam both ways. It is really bulky - I'll be looking to trade in all 3 current bags for a non mummy 4 season all down bag next. Good too all the people you meet, spent yesterday evening nattering to some Finns with the tattyest 1953 Panther on the planet. Good, make that stunning, is the TT circuit. Did another lap yesterday evening. Where else can you ride the track as much as you like ? Good bits, start to Ballacraine, nasty bits Kerrowmoar, Keppel Gate, great bits Quarry Bends and over the mountain. Easiest place to fall off ? Ramsey Hairpin. It is dead slow and very tight, I finally felt ok by holding the back brake on with the throttle open at the same time to keep it tight going round. More good bits. The scenery, the bike tolerant drivers and friendly locals, loads to do and see, the weather, a truly unique, magic place.
Bad bits ? The terrible catastrophe yesterday when 2 riders lost their lives in the same incident at flat out Alpine Cottage. I rode through later and the 2 yellow incident paint lines crissed crossed for hundreds of yards all the way down the road and in and out of the verges. I was speaking , sorry to name drop, with Nick Jefferies up at Windy Corner whem fellow Gabfester Lynton put the red flag out. I mentioned how sorry I was that his nephew the great David Jefferies had lost his life back in 2003, on unsighted dropped fluid from another bike as he attempted the entry to Crosby flat in top, to be given the response - that's racing, shit happens.
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Manx GP Day 4 1st Sept 10

Another stunning day weatherwise so it's off to Windy Corner for the day. Great start when loadsa blokes turned up across country on greenlaners. Cor that looks good I said to the owner of a Yamaha Serow - here you are he said throwing over the keys, take it for a run then. Great fun blatting down a rocky track and back - a grin all the way.
Racing started with a 120mph lap record on the first lap but promptly was red flagged for a serious incident at Alpine Cottage. An amusing incident followed. 2 racers pulled up and leant their bikes against the gate. A bloke spoke to one of them and upon sitting on the bike gave him advice on set up. He turned out to be 122mph TT winner Nick Jefferies. We all stooged around waiting to see what would happen next so I joined Frenchmen Claud and Stephane for lunch. Nick Jefferies heard us talking in French and we all ended up having a go in French. Comic that the French ate sandwiches whilst I cooked pasta. Anyway, stop press, Nick Jefferies is making a Manx GP comeback next year on an ER6 and a 750 classic.
Sadly racing was then cancelled for the day so it was literally home for an early shower.
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Manx GP Day 3 31 Aug 10

Up and away for another lap of the course. Yesterday I did another half lap having toured around Onchan, Laxey and Jurby after the racing. By the way you stand on the campsite wall as riders go by just below at 150mph. I also viewed from the Church Hall garden in Union Mills, lovely old dears serving tea,sarnies and cakes all day.The MV replica sounded fabulous, great to hear all the old noise again.
Today had lunch with a Gabfester and ended up seriously interested in buying his beautifully restored bike. Watch this space. No racing today so wandered around the paddock and gawped at stuff. Probably will go for another lap in a minute as the weather is so good. Tomorrow is race day so need to choose a spot.
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Manx GP Day 2 30 Aug 10

What a start to the day ! At first light,0600, its up and away for a lap of the mountain course. Where to start. It is the sort of route you would treat with extreme care if you were just out for a ride. Having watched so many video clips I was unprepared for just how bumpy and up and down it goes in all areas. So much of it is blind plus a really nasty early section, Glen Vine I think, has all the horrors and more all in one place. Also I had not realised how beautiful the island is. The view from Windy Corner out over the bay is brilliant.
Now its back to Union Mills for a clean up then to walk the old railway line back to Braddan Bridge to watch the races.
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Manx GP Isle of Man 2010 Day 1 29 June 10

So here we are again 31 years after a 1 day trip to see Hailwoods last TT race. Impressions so far ?
The Steam Packet ferry has the most dog slow load / unload non system ever. Why do we have to be there 2 hours before departure just to stooge about with no shelter ? Anyway ship was clean, on time and food great.
We, Ethel and I, only rode 3 miles from the port to Union Mills but even at legal speeds the TT course scared me shitless. God knows what tomorrow will bring as the campsite is right on a 170 mph straight. Stand back. Tonight we have a 21st birthday bash on site complete with tone deaf monotone fuckwit non singer destroying classics at mega volume. Thank God its only every 21 years.
Very pleased with the Khyam Biker tent. It takes a bit of getting used to pitching it but it is spacious and the large porch is ideal to leave kit lying about everywhere.
Dunno how the monster sleeping bag will work out, soon see though.
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Do not use Etap Hotels - avoid them

I still have not been reimbursed for the double charge demanded at the Etap hotel in Egremont in Rennes back in April.
No matter how many times I e mail and post all the claim documentation to the hotel and their head office no one answers and no refund happens.
Accor own Etap, Formula 1 and other cheapo overnighters.
Be warned that if everything goes ok then you gets what you pays for - but if anything goes wrong then Etap and Accor do not care and will not look after you.
Sooner or later someone at Etap will pick up all the negative press I consistently give them on here and Twitter @quimbling and will maybe do something.
In the meantime I have to put up with a Gallic shrug.

Ethel's latest new bits

Ethel now has a new 30 mm shorter Hagon rear shock. What a difference ! All of a sudden I can get a foot flat on the ground. Moving her around is now a doddle and at last I sit in the bike not on it.
On the move the Hagon gives a firm ride without the plush feel of the original but without the clonk that came from the back over sudden bumps in the road.
Also new are plastic hand protectors. The problem has been that the Oxford handlebar muffs tend to wrap themselvres around the controls at motorway speeds - to the degree that the front brake is pulled on. now she has belt and braces - muffs on top of the protectors. Now the muffs cannot foul the controls or fingers and speed is up.
I had to put a new clutch side heated grip on as I stupidly cut through the wires when trying to fit handlebar end weights. I did not realise that having heated grips would make any difference nor did the Motorworks website point this out.
The plastic fuse cover has mysteriously vanished but a replacement is due today so when that is on hopefully that will be it for a while.......................

Manx Grand Prix 2010

Getting excited about the Manx GP - only 16 days to go, yeehar !

Have finished all the servicing jobs on Ethel so she is ready to roll. A silly thing is that you can take Camping Gaz on the Steam Packet ferry as long as it is attached to a cooker but not as a spare - so now I will have to carry it in the top box or pannier in case they want to see it.

All set for a pub lunch with Gabfesters pals on the Tuesday, not a race day, plus an invite to join the marshals up at Windy Corner. If the weather turns foul a cosy hut will be attractive rather than shivering elsewhere outside.

I am hoping to do a lap of the circuit each day just to see what it is like trying to remember which way the road goes !

By the way we are on Twitter @quimbling which is so much easier to post photos up to than anything else so I will be putting up loads of 'em.

A day at the seaside

Went down to Brighton today, by train due to hay fever, to visit my Mum in hospital. The train down was full of East Europeans and so were the Brighton buses. They almost have a uniform - tight white T shirts and jeans with both sexes wearing a sprinkling of gold on their clothing. Never see a Brit knowingly wearing sparkly bits. By contrast the bus stops featured the indigenous daytime population in their tank tops, washed out tattoos and the obligatory inbred Pit bull derived dog straining on a thick lease. Gonna be trouble sooner or later. All this made me realise that as much as I despise the smarmy Tory boy with £150 million inhereted property folio Cameron and his grovelling toady the Quisling Clegg there actually is one change for the better that I like. No one is shoving Blair's political correctness down our throats any longer. No more does every news bulletin contain an ethnic minority featurette. Also BBC news chicks are flashing cleavage and thighs again. Someone somewhere must have been forcing them to wear all enveloping frumpy shit. A comic moment the other morning was when some non football aware Jock tart was whining about the lack of coverage of the Scots . Let me explain it simply. The useless cunts did not qualify,again, dear. So well done the coalition for toning down propaganda but enjoy your time up there while you can Clegg. When this government finishes so will the Lib Dems. How can they discredit the Tories in a future election when they have been party to everyhing they have done and will do ?
Clegg is living proof that the only reason to be in politics is to be in power. Staunch Lib Dems will never forgive him for his sell out and the next election will see him and his party vapourise. Then we had all better keep our heads down as the Tories run riot feeding the rich and starving the poor with no constraints on them.
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A Farewell to NAMs ?

On Sunday we turned up at NAM to meet up with Mikey and his GS Adventure. He was glum about how his training is going. It's the same problem you get with football referees he's finding. Same rules but their application varies. I found the same thing during my training. Anyway he went off with his observer and Ethel tagged along behind a trainee, his observer and another bloke just out for a ride. Straightaway I noticed how much I have toned down my riding since the NAM days. Charging into blind country bends is now out as we always make up speed everywhere else. Also watching yet more people on the centre line on blind bends in town made me back off to stay out of the way of body parts. Of course all this could be the doing of the trainee, oops associate, but no way were we going where he went. He did enjoy a long debrief at the end of the ride so maybe it was him. The great news is that despite this it is great to ride with NAM/IAM riders as we all ride the same quick way and never do anything stupid, unlike every other group I have ever ridden with.
But for us I think it has had its time - it is a school and unless you are training you start to wonder what am I doing here ?
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IOM Manx GP 2010

Discovered that our couriers can deliver my huge bage of camping gear to the site and pick it up at the end. Gotta be the way to go - just need to make sure someone will be there to sign for it the other end.
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IOM Manx Grand Prix 2010

Just tried out the new Khyam biker tent. OK to put up once you figure it all out but unsure how it stays dry against wind and rain when the top sheet does not reach the ground. Just hope the inner tent is waterproof but I reckon it will feel draughty. So 50 % ok with it so far - just have to see how it works in the wet. The new Tuff Gear 4 season sleeping bag is super warm but enormous to pack away. So that's it - I'll be using just one camp site, Glenlough at Union Mills, for the whole stay. Good news is that hopefully I can lap the whole course each day. Next must have item is an OS map as I've just found out about access roads inside the circuit and fancy trundling around looking for unusual viewing points. Anyway all the camping gear is now ready and Ethel has had some more tlc. Had to fix a pannier retaing lock after I dropped her whilst parking the other day plus the 3rd set of replacent LED running lights are now working - let's see how long they last this time.
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Day 10 and home again

Vile weather straight off the Chunnel train but got home after a little twisties treat to make it 2665 miles in 10 days.
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Der Traum ist aus Day 10 Germany to UK

A wet but empty B road blast through the Ardennes started the day off fine. The rain comes and goes bvut is turning to thunderstorms - no change there then Belgium.
Great news is that Ethel's newly synchronised injectors courtesy of Erbse have given much more pull in the medium rev range and have taken away the feeling of running out of steam.

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Germany Day 9

Up for a giant breakfast fill up and then outside for a briefing from Carlo. The Germans have the good sense to put the slowest riders at the front, require 2 bike lengths minimum between bikes, no overtaking and single file so everyone can use all the road. Hallelujah. The local mayor gave a speech to some good natured heckling, giant pot plants were exchanged and at last we were ready to form up. Our group was led by Martin on his GS with Ethel 3rd behind the stunning Swiss built K1100 based BB outfit and followed by a Dutch built K1100 outfit then all the rest. The route design was 200km and off we went. Straightaway we dove off onto the twistiest continuous link of bends which lasted all day long. The Eifel roads demand respect as they are impossible to read. Long sweepers can go straight into a series of hairpin bends that do not open out but which have a double apex which comes right back at you. I had the Satnav on all day and was very glad of it as I could at least see what was coming up next. And then we went off road ! Yup straight up a shale cart track up on the pegs with Ethel fishtailing around right to the top of a hill to take the view. Back down into villages with huge multi coloured trees of streamers put up to mark May Day plus loads of cement dust put down on purpose to link house to house and village to village for miles on end. The outfit in front took to power drifting through all this so Ethel wound up looking like Mr Pastry. The road surfaces went from good to awful in moments due to winter damage. By the end of the ride I was shattered and could only trundle along for the last 30 klicks or so. It turned out that everyone else was too - we had overrun by 50 km.
A very sociable meal followed, we had only had a Kaffee und Kuchen all day from 1000 - 1730 with a few pee breaks. These were much enjoyed by the biking dog which happily sat in the EML chair with her Mum all day.
The post dinner car park socialising wound up with Ethel getting new injector grommets fitted and injectors balanced in return for beer plus Dumbo provided the correct grease for the shaft splines in a tub for 5 Euros. The evening ended up around a huge log fire in the car park all talking about any old thing. A very friendly bunch of people - now how about Immenreuth Bavaria in June for the next one ...
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France / Germany Day 8

It pissed it down in the night and all morning which meant packing up camp in the wet.Net result you end up feeling as filthy at the start of the day as you do at the end.
A wet ride all morning and yup the trousers leak at the crutch despite a can of waterproof spray on em. The rain stopped and we had mile on mile of arrow straight roads with some great empty swoopy stuff and some sudden wicked bends. In France those chevron signs for corners are very expensive and they do not have many of them so when they do put one up it is going to be a mother of a bend. They also like to build garage forecourts with advers camber exits to lead on to adverse camber roudabouts , usually with a sprinkling of that fine gravel dust that takes your front wheel out in carparks.
Gas stations come in various flavours. You can have ones with no queues because they take French fuel cards and nothing else, hypermarkets that take anything but which incredibly shut for lunch, LeClerc and Super U, small town ones where you are taken in to the accounts office to pay, motorway ones which draw their staff from the same surly, bored pool as anywhere else.Toll booths are pointlessly varied too.
You can whizz up and instantly pay by card or you can have the infuriating fumble of taking a ticket which you need to produce at the other end. It is popular for truckers to drop said tickets at either end or both or for someone to not realise that payment is by card only having entered the booth thus provoking a splendid French horns chorus.There are also manned ones with windows set at truck height so you wave your ticket and card hopefully about above your head hoping no one fumbles or the ever present motorway howling cross wind does not snatch it away.
Surprised at how timid German bikers are at filtering and when they do they get in the way.Luxembourg drivers are fast and aggressive, the Germans are fast but prop up preconceptions by being taken completely unawares by anything not in The Plan.They howl into roadworks for example despite all the warning signs and today a mangled car at one point was the result and cause of a long delay - except for Mr London Rider ahem...
Got a very friendly reception from the Flyingbrick brigade and was amazed at how much attention Ethel got amongst all their stunning specimens. The handlebar muffs, safesac, 12v socket with different adaptors and the Airhawk seat - complete with bouncy cheapo air pillow after the original punctured were a hit, the broken top box lid, pound shop padlock, filthy screwed up tent and plastic petrol can lashed on any old how somewhat less so.
Rideouts have been organised with Teutonic thoroughness all of them with maps and grade of riding style. Touring, quick or mad fucker. I have signed up for Touring ride #2 please.200 km at 1000 Prompt it says. Oh yes you sign your own button badge and wear it - all we need now is Leslie Crowther.
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France Day 7

A long boring toll road slog to Beaune today but worth it to get the miles done. Tomorrow is the run to the Eifel so I'll pick non tolls and see where we end up.
Lyons is a nightmare to cross - I had to go into aggressive London rider mode to filter. Cannot understand why we went through the city centre jams and tunnels even though it was all signposted motorway.
Dog destruction carries on unabated at home and Rose wants rid. Anybody want a dog ?
If anybody wondered where all the silver surfers are the answer is - they are over here in their Euro vans in hordes. The campsites are full of old couples nailed together 24/7 trying to sound as if they are not bored with it all.
Good to be on a non English run site and to hear different languages around.I've been rating the various bits of kit I gathered up to bring with me and have come up with 2 categories. Shit and Fantastic.
Shit gets the tent,sleeping bag, that impossible to use liner and disgusting powdered coffee mix.
Fantastic gets the Safesac, camping gas stove, £2 asda saucepan, plastic plate set,snap together cutlery set,instant rice and the li lo and electric pump. Need a chair but too big to strap to bike.
And so on to the next day - on 2 wheels in Germany at last !
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France Day 6

Achieved a long ambition in visiting Rennes Le Chateau today. This is where The Holy Blood + The Holy Grail all started. Got to say that the details in the chapel really are weird and are a conspiracy theorists heaven. An unmarked but plate glass covered tunnel in the floor drew my attention.Turns out that everyone was dynamiting the village trying to find Sauniere's treasure until a by law stopped it.This is one of the last holes. Another odd thing is that Sauniere died penniless in 1922 but afterwards those sneaky Swiss transferred a load of money to his church.
Way too hot at 30 degrees to ride so given up for the day. Tomorrow is day 1 of 2 long runs to get up to the Eifel for Friday night. Planning to get to Beaune, let's see.
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France Day 5

It got cold last night.Tonight its thermals on for bed.A stonking 8 hour ride down today to Alet les Bains with a bit of everything to ride on.Hot at 28 degrees. Scenery down here is Sound of Music meets the Prairies, stunning. Still getting used to the vast size and emptyness of France. If you are non toll routing it like us then fill up every time you can - you can go hours with nothing open.Anyway you can forget internet contacts n stuff. If you want to meet people buy a bike and go off on your own. Last night 3 blokes wandered past whilst I was cooking and invited me for dinner with them and just now Nicky who lives on the site has invited me to coffee in the morning. Funny old game innit !
Not for that reason but I was thinking of staying here 2 nights anyway and then doing a 2 day blast up to the Eifel.
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More day 4

Having lost my tow to Bordeaux with Lost A Spanner of Gabfesters and BBF - he zipped back to UK as his mother is poorly - I realised that the only itinerary I had not planned was to Bordeaux as I knew I would be following LAS. Great news is that asking Tom Tom to go to the original destination but without toll routes Jane served up a great mix of scenic roads to make it a great ride.
Because of the staggering cost of fuel I am riding 1 gear higher than usual and am keeping the speed down to 130 klicks. Also I have taken to filling up the fuel can I had to buy in Portsmouth and lash it on top of everything else. Just as well as France has vast chunks of nothing and when you get there everything is closed. Anyway
Ethel loves it and we are purring across France with a big grin.
Tomorrow is Carcassonne and a reserved pitch at what seems a nice site.
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France day 4

I'm starting to perfect the Gallic shrug. Having got the groceries I rode over to the pumps at Super U where unleaded is a modest Euros 1.35 compered to 1.45 most other places. The woman rushed out of her kiosk yelling I must close now. I said could you not serve those already here like me - no she said pulled a chain across and waved us off !
Later on I arrived at a small town campsite in a local football ground facility. Over rushes bloke - do you want to camp ? Yes. We are not open - the gate is only up because we are playing tonight.
Never mind. Proceeded a bit to an all singing all dancing site and got a pitch. Straightaway snapped the tent porch pole. Up runs bloke. Here's the keys to that mobile home, shower in there because everything else is shut ....
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France day 3

Enjoyed a crass country trundle to the dreaded tourist hell hole that is Le Mont St Michel today. Picknicked behind the supermarket and later cooked up a barbecue on the hotel lawn. Local evening meals at 25 Euros is too steep for us lot.
So that's it for the Gabfest - great fun and socialising. They go home tomorrow and Ethel I start our solo trip. Can't wait - let's go !
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France Day 2

Great cross country ride to St Nazaire this morning. Very hot despite lightweight jacket. Had a Gabfesters sick call this morning a group decided not to join the scenic route but would make their own way. Good. That made it a tight group of 5 for a brisk ride - excellent. Astonishing to stand in the U Boat pens where the original German pen markers are still way up high and steel doors still have German do this do that notices attached inside them - I took a peek to see.
A moving moment was the visit to La Boule cemetery where the commandos and others killed in the raid are buried. Personal interest is that my late father was taken off from St Nazaire with the REME and there are Royal Engineers at rest there too.
We then went off to see the Blockhouse - a monster defensive fort of concrete that was the last place liberated in Brittany as the allies realised it was a pointless slaughter to slog it out for St Nazaire so it was blockaded inland until everything else collapsed around it.
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France end of day 1

Met up with Dave Morris at Le Havre port. He being happy to follow we set off on my carefully planned itinerary.15 minutes and umpteen U turns later we were still trying to leave Le Havre.After discussion we scrapped the scenic route and droned down the autoroute for ages. Upon arrival at La Porte I asked the stereotypical aged French countrywoman which is La Porte to be told they all are ! Taking pot luck I led us down a track at random and lo and behold it was the right one. Nice welcome and tea and cakes with the BBF followed. Ex IOM racer Lost a Spanner then treated us to a quick zip to the Etap in Rennes. All hell broke loose at reception as they insisted that our prepaid bookings were only reservations and we must pay again. I had lenghty discussions with the guy and the Paris office after we had paid twice only to get the news that we were right in the first place and would now get a refund. Very pissed off to have needlessly blown a big hole in my cashcard for this. Ho hum Vive La France. Tomorrow summer jacket and St Nazaire at last.
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France day 1

Bit of a panic this morning with dead Ethel. Out of fuel but fuel light did not go on. Trekked to gas station in winter kit and bought can of fuel. Still dead. Turned out to be damp fuses and away she went. Now on Norman Arrow en route to Le Havre.
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Ethel is ready for Europe - again !

Just 24 hours to go and this year's adventure begins. Like the proud
old lady she is Ethel is standing patiently in the stalls aware from
all the goings on that something big is in the air. She is fuelled up,
all oils checked and good, tyres inflated and just waiting to be
loaded up with luggage. The stuff sack with all the camping gear and
lightweight jacket is ready to go on the back seat and the pannier
liner bags are filled and ready to load. The top box is planned out
for maps and valuables leaving enough room to stash the helmet
securely.
A great tip was to download TYRE for Tom Tom. This free download from
a very friendly Dutchman makes itinerary planning a doddle. Anyone who
has gone backwards and forwards with Tom Tom trying to do this will
know what I mean - the standard waypoints system on Tom Tom is a
fiddly nightmare. With TYRE you twiddle about all you want on Google
Maps until you have want you want, save it and then download to Tom
Tom. Finding the itineraries on Tom Tom is a series of steps but soon
grasped. TYRE explains this on its site somewhere - I had a genius on
hand to help me do it thankfully.
So now I have stored a mainly D route set of itineraries from Le Havre
- Sens de Bretagne ( to meet British bikers France again ) - Rennes,
for 3 nights with the Gabfesters, to visit St Nazaire and who knows
what else - then on to Port St Foy with an ex pat Gabfester -then down
to Carcassone via the Canal du Midi to Val D'Aleth - up via national
parks and D routes to Lyon and Nancy - then over to the Eifel to meet
up with the Flyingbrick rally for 2 nights just down the road from the
Nurburgring and finally a motorway dash through miserable Belgium, yup
rain predicted there as always, to come back through the Chunnel.
Ethel has 63385 miles on the clock and may well put on 2500 more by
the time we are done.
Watch this space for daily updates and on Twitter @quimbling.

Winter work on Ethel

Ethel has been treated to a new Odyssey maintenance
free battery. So far this does what it says on the tin. It has sat there untrickled through all that minus degree weather and really does spin up the motor much quicker than before. I also fitted Goodridge braided hoses,new pads and fluid.As a disc brake novice I was inundated with horror stories of bleeding out air bubbles. I bought a Mnotrax Little Bleeder one way valve kit - it took 15 minutes each side, job done !
Ethel went straight through her MOT with an advisory that the exhaust clamp has deteriorated. Bit of a mystery this as it appeared to be all there but the end can did wobble - it always has ! Solved by the Flying Brick Forum. There is a mica sleeve insert that slips over the manifold and the can goes over that. Got one next day delivery from the very efficient Motorwerks and now have a very quiet Ethel with less whistling sound and no pops on the over run.
Ethel seems as ready to go as I am and is running sweeter than ever. I'll do an oil change before we go to Europe and hopefully that will be it.
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Winter over at last ?

In the words of the old Cream song " You thought the leaden winter would bring you down forever, so you rode upon a steamer to the glad lands of the sun "
Well the fast cat to Caen may not exactly be that but it's a start. At the end of April we are off to Europe again - at last.
Trigger for the trip is the Gabfesters forum taking a 4 day dash to France and back so we'll start off with them. At the end of that we'll go South with a member of British Bikers France and then off on our own in the direction of Carcassonne - equipped for camping !
After that it's up the East side of France and over to the Eifel to join The Flying Brick forum for their weekend meet.
Cannot wait to get going.
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