A blog that has evolved over the years from simply about motorcycle trips, to include action against discriminatory legislation from the UK and EU. Then included football, dogs and motorhoming!!!
28 December 2009
25 December 2009
23 December 2009
16 December 2009
RATM vs X-Factor
I have the track on vinyl... Not much use on an iPod.
MAKE RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE THE UK CHRISTMAS NUMBER ONE SINGLE....
Click here and read all about it and then go and buy it…. iTunes, play.com or Amazon.co.uk
Paul Devall
13 December 2009
7 December 2009
Cooper Motorrad
Cooper's had an open day for the release of the S1000RR. Loads of bikes on display and loads of free food.
Nice Shiny New Bits
A few of the nice and new shiny bits that were fitted after the accident. Now I have to work out how to keep them as nice as they are now.
1 December 2009
Campania
So here's a link - http://invictamoto.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Campania
However, what I do have are the photos taken whilst we were there and stored on Flickr.
27 November 2009
GS and St Nicks Rally
The GS is still at Cooper Motorrad and not ready for collection.
I needed to collect it this weekend as I have no time in the week. Sadly I have to work and getting to Tunbridge Wells before or after work is a no-no. So I am f*cked.
I missed it last year as I was Tom and Dick.
There is a window on Wednesday as I have a medic appointment. There may be time after to get the train if it is ready. Fingers crossed.
22 November 2009
21 November 2009
20 November 2009
MRA!
Blimey.
I ordered the screen online at about 3.30pm yesterday and it arrived today at lunchtime.
I can thoroughly recommend HPS and their service.
17 November 2009
The repair story
They had quoted for a new screen as the MRA fitted is broken in two places. But as a BMW dealer they couldn't order a non-standard part.
After a few weeks it has been decided that I will order and pay for a new screen and claim it back via Carole Nash.
Cooper's will deduct from the invoice.
At last.
16 November 2009
12 November 2009
9 November 2009
Vodafone
By logging on to Facebook.
Amazing.
4 November 2009
2 November 2009
Mont Cassel
The steps up to the heights above the town are a bit overgrown and in UK with our greater "Elf and safety" culture they would have been closed years ago. The French get on with it and even let their dogs crap on them too.
Talking of closed. At the top is huge hotel building boarded up and decaying. The Mont is in fact a narrow ridge, no more than 100 metres across at the top. On both sides are panorama tables pointing out places locally and fancifully, places further afield like New York, London and Leeds.
There is also a windmill that judging by the electric sound was not being powered by the wind any more. The plain below is littered with mills.
During WW1, Cassel was the HQ of the British Army fighting in the Flanders area. The statue is to Marshal Foch, who took over Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies in Spring 1918 and led the Allies defend against the "Kaiser's Offensive" that Spring and then the Allied attacks that forced the Germans back to almost the pre-1914 point.
GS @ Bayernwald
These are around Messines Ridge to the south of Ypres. The trenches point northwards as this area was part of the bulge to the south the city.
Entry is supposed to cost €1.50 per person but when we got there the gate had been wedged open and there were some other people already inside.
The GPS location for the site is N50.80135 E2.87708.
More reading http://bujold.co.uk/html/bayernwald.html
26 October 2009
Nippy Normans Stand Extender
The bike leans over a bit far so I had a look on the web and posted a question on the BMW Club site and this was suggested.
There is a thicker one but I opted for the smaller one. Let's see how it works before it's time to lock it away for a few months.
11 September 2009
Damaged beak
What happens when you hit a Polish bird up the backside.
It could have been worse. Now need to get an estimate for repair.
The other bike was a Honda Lead 125, it came off worse.
Radioactive Arse?
First ticket wouldn't work in machines so got a new one. Second day and it has packed up too!
I assume my arse is doing something to the magnetic strip!
Why my arse? I keep it in my back pocket away from phone and ipod.
10 September 2009
Pashnit Forum
7 September 2009
1 September 2009
Normandy Trip - August 2009 - Day 4
The harbour area is a mass of cafes, restaurants and gift shops. With the Garmin not working and the deadline of the Shuttle ahead of us we reluctantly set off.
Finding the Pont de Normandy was easy enough as it is signposted, and with there being to wind it was a joy to ride across.
From here it was a motorway run all the way back to Coquelles and onto the Shuttle. Just one stop for petrol and as it was BH Monday the roads were busier mainly with British holiday makers on their way home. We bought some baguettes and made another stop at an Aire to eat them.
All in all the trip was very good and the ride along the Invasion beaches is one I can recommend to anyone.
31 August 2009
Normandy Trip - August 2009 - Day 3
We parked alongside the Gondree cafe with a few other bikes The cafe was full of British tourists having lunch and we had a drink across the road before we decided to move on to Ouisterham.
In the end we opted for a cheaper meal! Across from the Cathedral was a simple, but very popular, kebab house. For the price of a starter in a restaurant we ate like, well not exactly kings, although it was very tasty. It might look a little pink but it was fully cooked and for €6.50 it came with frites et un boisson.
Once this was knocked off we went in search of an ice-cream for pudding. Then time for bed. Tomorrow was the last day of the trip and we had to be off home.
29 August 2009
Normandy Trip - August 2009 - Day 2 (Part 2)
Normandy Trip - August 2009 - Day 2
Saturday dawned bright and sunny and after breakfast we made sure the SatNav had the route in and we were off out of Caen.
From Caen centre we headed out past the Castle and towards Ouistreham, better known to the British as a cross channel ferry port. Brittany Ferries run a service from Portsmouth.
The first stop was just to the south of Colleville-Montgomery and a bunker, dedicated a national monument to the Suffolk Regiment that took this one codenamed “Hillman” and another just down the road codenamed “Morris”.
Hillman was attacked on 6th June 1944 by the 1st Suffolk Regiment, supported by C Squadron 13/18 Hussars, A Squadron Staffs Yeomanry, two batteries from 33rd and 76th Field Regiments Royal Artillery, 246th Field Company RE and a machine-gun platoon from 2nd Middlesex Regiment.
Hillman was outflanked to the north, where high grass allowed an approach to the minefield area surrounding the bunkers and barbed wire. This was cleared by the RE, and a path made through the wire by Bangalore Torpedoes. A Company of 1st Suffolk’s then charged through the gap, and entered the bunker area, but came under such heavy fire that they lost the company commander and had to pull out. Sherman’s from 13/18 Hussars then came up, and a second assault carried the position. However, in the process two tanks from 13/18 Hussars were knocked out and the Suffolk’s lost two officers killed, along with five men and 24 men wounded.
From here we had intended to go to Pegasus Bridge but I changed the route and we could do the bridge area on Sunday. Instead we went straight into Ouistreham and the Grand Bunker Museum.
The bunker is on four floors and was the command post for the batteries on both sides of the Orne and in the event of invasion was supposed to protect the river and the docks that extended as far as Caen. In the grounds are some vehicles as exhibits plus a landing craft.
We had a look round and a few photos and then set off along the coast further along Sword beach towards Lion sur Mer.
Sadly the radar site was closed and there was no one there to let us in. We also didn't get a chance to photograph it, but it looks pretty complete.
The petrol/gas station was on automatic and I filled up the tank with €17.26 worth of 95 unleaded. Later when I checked my pre-paid credit card, I had been scalped for €70. I have a receipt for €17.26. Attempts to get the money back are being chased internationally with the company. As an aside, MasterCard were completely useless and offered no support or advice.
After the fuel stop we had to virtually ride across the road to the first stop of the afternoon session.
This part of Juno beach was assaulted by the Canadian forces and the bunker on the seafront is now a memorial to their exploits. Plaques on the side commemorate the regiments that took part.
The bunker is on a dog-leg in the seafront and the gun slot is angled to provide a field of fire in one direction only and is protected on the beach side. It does provide fire across the entire beach from the sea to the small dunes on the land side.
From Bernieres we moved a short distance up the coast to Courselles-sur-Mer. This was a strategic point as the town straddles the River Seulles. Both sides of the river mouth were heavily defended with pillboxes and bunkers.
On the east bank is a memorial to General De Gaulle who arrived here with the French soldiers under the British control. There is also a Sherman Tank.
In 1969, fishermen in the harbour of Courselles-sur-Mer in France discovered one of the Regiment's D-Day tanks. With the assistance of a local marine salvage company and the Royal Canadian Dragoons from Lahr, Germany, the tank was recovered from the sea where it had rested for more than twenty-five years. Thanks to an ambitious financial campaign by the Association and the Regiment, this "A" Squadron DD tank "ANEMIC was restored and dedicated, under the erroneous name of "Bold", at Juno Beach on June 6, 1971 as a Canadian memorial initially to the 1st Hussars and later to all those units that landed on D-Day. Photographs to follow as sadly the Samsung’s battery ran out!! Luckily Claire’s Sony Alpha DSLR ss more reliable.
Also at Courselles-sur-Mer, across the river, is the main Juno Beach Museum. For more reading please go here.
We parked up and we had a walk to one of the almost buried bunkers on the edge of the dunes. From the beach these would have been invisible. Once again, they featured the Tobruk Pit style of machine gun nest. I managed a picture of the museum on my BlackBerry.
From here we continued to head westwards along Juno Beach towards Omaha Beach.
In the dunes as you leave the Juno Beach Museum is a massive Cross of Lorraine dedicated to the French troops that took part in Overlord. Just around the corner is another tank.
Once back on the D514 we headed towards Arromanches-les-Bains. At Asnelles we turned off the main road and down to find the beach to see if we could see the remnants of the Mulberry Harbour.
We were disappointed as the ring of concrete caissons is easy to see about half a mile off the land. Claire took some pix with her functioning camera and then he headed off up to Arromanches.
The next stop was at the viewpoint around the headland from the town itself. You’ll find a huge car-park and a viewpoint and the 360 Cinema. The queue was massive as we had arrived just after a couple of coaches and so we decided to take in the view and some pix of Mulberry.
I did manage to get one with my BlackBerry, but the quality despite supposedly 3.2 megapixels is poor. Remember when digital cameras aspired to be that good?
From there we head back along the D514 into the town itself. As you enter the D-Day Museum is in front of you and there are limited parking opportunities to park a motorcycle. Some riders had mounted the high kerb to park by the museum. We had a tour around and eventually parked next to a large flower bed at the far end of the car-park. Once again we had timed our arrival with that of coaches; this time a mere six! I have been in the Museum before and we decided once again that the crowds weren’t for us.
After a coffee and then a crepe we had a walk to the top of the headland to where there is another preserved Sherman Tank – you know the drill – pix to follow!!
The spot actually marks the position of a battery that took part in an action during the Napoleonic War when they fired in defence of a convoy of gun boats being menaced by British warships. According to local history they won the battle, however, more than likely the British ships knew of the battery’s position and wouldn’t engage the smaller gun boats in its range. History is for the winners’ to write!!
By now it was well after 4pm and we wanted to get away to get to Omaha before it closed. But the next stop was at Longues sur Mer.
A most impressive set of bunkers housing the Longues Battery. In all there are four big concrete bunkers housing the large guns intended to fire to see at any invader.
The first bunker form the car-park is badly battered and the gun has been destroyed, although suspicious looking pipes still out of the ground in front of the firing area. The other three are in much better condition.
Time was getting on and by the time we arrived in the area of the Omaha Monument it was 5.55pm. A huge arrow points to the Monument from a roundabout and next to it... a sign... 4 kms and closes at 6pm!
In the end we head a little further to St Laurent sur Mer and the already closed for the night Omaha Beach Museum.
All in all I had planned a day that really needed two days. The weather was warm, 25°C, and despite the numbers of coaches with their large numbers of fellow tourists traffic on the roads was very light.
I will attempt to post the missing pictures form Claire’s camera and if anyone is interested I have two
waypoint files suitable for Garmin GPS systems that I can attach somewhere.