29 December 2015

Cabin Fever!!

It's been a mild winter so far this year. But since I got back from Ostend, Pepe has sat in the garage unused.

With work and then Christmas, allied with miserable drizzle, I've not been out.

This needs to change.

During a routine in-garage check I found one of the grub screws had gone AWOL from one of the screen brackets.

Dashing off a quick email to Skidmarx resulted in a couple of spares arriving g in the post.

Now maybe I can get out for a ride before the end of the year?

Happy New Year everyone.

Decembeard 2015 Beardy update!

Day 29

Well, day 29 of Decembeard is almost over and this is where I am at beardwise. Although I did get it trimmed a week or so before Christmas, otherwise it would be more woolly.

The justgiving page (https://www.justgiving.com/Paul-Devall-Beardy) has achieved 120% of my target. I know I set it a little lower than I wanted but it looks better this way.

Thanks to everyone that contributed.  :)

The picture shows me in a Motörhead T-shirt in memory of lead singer Lemmy Kilminster who died today of cancer.

Planet Rock made today Lemmy T-shirt Day.


#decembeard #lemmytshirtday

Panto

Finale

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury.

Another excellent production again.

12 December 2015

Somme 2016 - Thiepval Ballot

With a limited number of tickets for the main Thiepval commemoration we were going to be lucky to get any. So when our group was successful twice, winning four tickets, it was amazing.

Now there needs to be some working out who will go with Cal and Trevor.

I have begun looking at other commemorations in the area for those of us not lucky enough to get to Thiepval.

More to follow.

Somme 2016 - Addition to Team Meldrew

We already have Ian and Paul joining the group and now Trevor Rice has signed up.


11 December 2015

Decembeard 2015

Movember has been and gone. So why stop there when you can do Decembeard instead.

So far, the beard is coming along okay.  I took one at the St Nicks last week and another today.

Fund raising not going that well so far.....  So click and donate.



And I have set up an SMS donation system as well.   A suggested $1 but hell, you can choose any amount.




JustGiving - Sponsor me now!

Google Nexus 7

After the trials and tribulations of the Hudl last year, this year I went a step further and bought a Nexus 7. Again powered by Android.

This one (for my sins) is a factory reconditioned model despite this upgrade not being out that long. The drawback against the Hudl is that there is no micro-sd slot to enhance the disk space and I am stuck with the 32GB onboard memory.

Although compared to the iPhone 5S I currently have the apps seem smaller and run more quickly. The problem is that many of the iPhone apps I use aren't replicated for Android.

The unit is very well made. It feels more substantial and better made than the Hudl.  The screen colours are far better and the operating system seems quicker.

As it is Google a lot of the things, like Blogger, are available. The app though isn't that good and has many shortcomings whereas the iPhone app is far better. Work that one out!

Let's see how we get on with this!

5 December 2015

Sinterklaastreffen 2015

Friday.

I like to prepare for a trip and usually lay my riding gear out the day before to look for any defects. So this was a job for Friday. We were both home as the night before we had been to see Deep Purple at the O2 in London, getting home in the wee small hours.

Claire then had provided the extra hands it takes to adjust the Skidmarx windscreen. Loosening off most of the fittings needs a pair of hands to hold it in the right place, and another to tighten the bolts and Allen bolts. In fact I did the holding as the new position meant my hands were too big to get into place to tighten up the lower mounting points.

Once completed,  I was almost ready for the run to Belgium the next day.

Saturday.

I had everything laid out for a 7.30am start but as usual I had forgotten some things. The alarm went and Reggie was up wanting to go out. After a night on the bed he needs his "garden break" before his breakfast.

I double checked the Givi tankbag. All the bike's documents and a spare key were in place. Passport and printed ticket in my jacket breast pocket. What else? Oh, small wallet with Euros! And spare spectacles.

It was about 0725 when I rode off. I filled the tank in Hythe and then headed up to the Channel Tunnel to meet my Meldrews club mate, Cal Price. Luckily it is only about 5 miles from home and traffic was very light. I chose a manned check-in as it is usually quicker. And it was. 

Meeting time was 0800 so for one of those rare times I was early and first to arrive.

I was just locking the tank bag and stuff away in the saddlebag when Cal arrived. It was already quite cold and the gold glow of the dawn had already gone. Now it was grey but clear. All the portents of a cold dry day.

We had time for a coffee and then headed off to the border controls. British police and border agency looked at passports. The French office was empty. Maybe this should have been a warning.

It's probably easier to get through now as everyone has to fill in online the Advanced Passenger Information form.  It has been a requirement when flying to the US for some years but started this year for the Tunnel.

With five trains an hour instead of the published four our booking didn't really mean the specified train, but we were quickly loaded along with a couple on a 1050 KTM. 

I always take a photo on the train or ferry. Ritual I guess.

On the Shuttle

Once across we set the controls to 70mph, and we were away eastwards along the A16.

The screen adjust has made the ride quieter although there is still some wind noise but less buffeting. It also means that I can maintain a higher average speed! 

After the terrorist attack in Paris on 13th November, security has been increased, and that manifests itself with French borders being closed and controlled. The A16 was no exception.

We joined the back of what turned out to be a five mile queue to the last junction before Belgium. We slipped down the side of the traffic until a couple of trucks blocked us off. After a little waiting I cut through the traffic to the hard shoulder (emergency lane) but Cal was blocked by an official van. I waited before the point all the traffic was made to go off for him to catch up.

We couldn't see our way back onto the motorway so we ended up going through a village to the "old" pre-motorway route along the canal. Here the French post was manned by more troops. The Belgian post is about 400 yards away and unmanned.

As this took us past the Adinkerke tobacco shops and we decided to drop in rather than leave it until the way home. I bought 500g of mixed truffles at the attached Leonidus shop.

500g of truffles

We re-joined the motorway for the last forty or so miles to Ostend. 

On the run along the road into town we discovered a road closure due to a big hole in the road. 

At the velodrome we found only a few bikes in the parking area and some hardy souls with their tents alongside the marquee. 

My fingers were cold and I was hoping that my spare Belstaff Hypora waterproof gloves would be warmer on the way back home.

It was here I discovered I had forgotten a hat. When you have more skin on top than hair, a hat is a definite plus.

In the end my Oxford neck tube doubled up made a hat. Maybe I should get one of those outlaw bandanas that my brother favours? I now have a "kit" that goes in the bike that includes a baseball cap for summer and woolly hat for winter!

It was worth a selfie.

It's a beard!
My ears seem to have gone too!

Pano of Rally site

The rally site

Strange square picture of rally site

The velodrome is no longer in use and part of it has become a skate board park. The graffiti level looks to have increased. 

We had a look around the parking and took a few pictures and then we togged up to ride to where Nick comes ashore, and parked up. 

This Indian caught my eye, not just because the rider was only about 5ft 6ins tall....

Indian!

Old Harley

The organisers said it was the square opposite the Aquarium. It was. It was also right by the long length of motorcycle parking in front of some fish market stalls. The fishy run off wasn't too slippery! And it was cold enough for the ice to stay unmelted for a considerable  time.....

Along the Fish Quay (Visserkai) are the stalls selling fresh fish and also friteries selling chips and cooked food, like bratwursts and other meat products. I do like a braadwurst. We opted for a restaurant with an indoors! In fact, I like all the deep fried stuff you can get from the friteries in Belgium. As for the double fried chips (fries to my Septic readers)

We retired to Brasserie Maritime for lunch. We both opted for steak. Beautifully cooked and without any fat or gristle! A first for me.

We had almost finished when we saw the the lead bikes and Police arrived.

Unlike the Ring of Red where Essex couldn't provide any escort, Ostend manged six bikes and two cars to act as the escort.

Nik arrived with several Piets. This year lady Piets as well as men.

Nik and his Piets

Nik again

In England this can't happen as the politically correct would go mental. It is a tradition that goes back to the Reconquest. Google it!!

Pano of the rdz

Bikers....

We needed to be away for our return train and so when Nik was still talking to kids and handing out sweets and it was past 3pm we needed to go.

We set off leaving Ostend behind, choosing the coast ride over the motorway.

As petrol is much cheaper there was no option but to fill up and save a few quid. We will use it anyway! 

We re-joined the motorway near Nieuwpoort and the wind that had been chilling us all day was much colder as the sun started to descend. We had a loop around a roundabout at the first junction in France and then back onto the motorway. Once again the police and army waved through lots of trucks and vans.

We arrived about an hour early for our train and opted to take an earlier crossing. We lucked out even more when the guy on duty waved us through and we got an even earlier train. It was so cold by now that we didn't need to be hanging about.

It was good to be home again.

All the photos I took on the day are on Flickr

2 December 2015

Movember 2015

Charidee Mate
I didn't take part in Movember this year. I have directed my fundraising towards heart related charities as a result of the heart attack I suffered in April.

I did however make a donation,  but of course, I don't like to talk about it.


1 December 2015

Somme 2016 - Hotel booked

Over a period of weeks I have been in email communications with the hotel in Amiens booking the rooms, directly instead of using booking.com.

The hotel is fully booked and we have most of the rooms currently:

Central Anzac currently:

David Robinson - single
Ken Fulton - single
Calvert Price, Neil Dalton, Ian Gardner - triple
Elaine Constable   & Ken Sole - twin
Paul Devall & Claire Devall - double
Ian Jenkinson and another - twin
Trevor Rice - double

Thirteen of us going. The largest turnout ever.

29 November 2015

Bike Show 2015

Bike Show aka Motorcycle Live.

Once again held at the National Exhibition Centre or NEC, in Birmingham, the show is the showcase in the UK for the new models and all the manufacturers from large to small are there. 

For me it would be a 350 mile round trip and the reason I've not been for a few years. 

It was my turn to drive so I set off before 8am to drive the first 35 miles to my brother's house. Traffic was light and I arrived about 8.35am and once the TomTom was fitted we set off, filling the tank locally and then off north.

We made good progress and were parked a little before 11.30. We chose the station car park as it is a covered walk into the NEC and is £6 whereas the NEC's own parking is free to bikes but £12 for cars.

After a bit of hassle when I couldn't find the email confirming our free tickets and then we were in.

We usually go in and the plan is to go up and down the rows until we have done everything.

We visited all the manufacturers from Aprilia to Zero, sat on a few bikes, and fitted in lunch and a drink. 

The Harley stand was impressive with the usual £20 grand tourers, and Triumph aired the new liquid cooled 1200 twins, but it was the Japanese that seemed caught in last year mode. Nothing leapt out at us. 

Honda had the Africa Twin. But with the Crosstourer in the range already it seems like a wasted effort and too late in the day. Plus it looked average.

The other three just seemed to be going through the motions.

There were more Chinese factories showing their bikes. Some decent looking stuff and very competitively priced but still not quite there yet. It won't be long though.

The MV Brutale and the new adventure bikes looked nice but the Brutale lives up to it's name with a hard seat and uncompromising pad at the front of it. 

Neill tests the Brutale seat....

Some of the museum and insurance company stands had some exotic and engineering marvels.

Millyard Viper V10

Above is a Millyard Viper V10! Another of his specials was a water cooled engine on what looked like an FS1E chassis.

An ex-Barry Sheene TR500

And John McGuinness' TT winning Fireblade.
Of course it would be bad form had not many of the stands featured promotions staff.

MV Agusta

MV Agusta

Er... fat tyre on a Back Street Heroes exhibit

WSB rider Leon Haslam and friends

After a chat with David and Gary on the HC Travel and Orange & Black stands we set off home.

The weather was pretty awful on the way home and it was nearly 9pm by the time I got home.

A tiring day with for me about six hours driving.

And lastly, a couple of pix taken by Neill of me and some expensive Guzzis.

Draped in carbon fibre Guzzi

Quite nice but the tourer is very much in the H-D price bracket.

The touring cruiser version

Around £18k for a naked no luggage bike is very steep.



Motorcycle Live 2015
Flickr 

27 November 2015

Thanks very much

A big thank you to the person that ran into my car at Sandling station sometime on Wednesday.

I only saw the bumper had popped its  mounting on the left rear when it was under the bright lights on the Waitrose supermarket car park. Then with the torch we could clearly see the impact mark and the crack in the plastic bumper.

Well done whoever you are. I can only hope something really nasty befalls you.



Thanks to you I am looking at £250 to spend out to get it fixed.

26 November 2015

Motorcycle Live!

The "bike show" as most people cal it starts at the NEC in Birmingham tomorrow for the press day and on Saturday to the paying public.

I won two free tickets a while back in a competition and we have to pick the tickets up from the press office on arrival.  Not a huge prize, no quite the lottery but about £30.

It's my turn to drive and so I'll pick my brother up about 0830 and head up there.  

According to Tyre it's about 190 miles each way. Quite a long day.

23 November 2015

Action Cam SJ4000

It seems to be a biker or road user, an action cam has become the accessory of choice.  Cyclists wear them to show how bad other road users are and bikers use them to show how their rides went. Mostly boring I expect!  If they are anything like my tests.

I bought this one from eBay for £17 inc postage from China., It,is not much use for mounting to a motorcycle but perfect for the cyclist and their style of helmet. On eBay now the SJ4000's go from £16.99 to more like £44.99! I can't see the difference between them and mine, whatever the price.

I bought it as a replacement for the Denver I bought last year.  The Denver kept going wrong and I keep it as a backup. 

Dropping it on the garage floor didn't help. 

Whereas the Denver was wifi equipped and has an app on my iPhone (and Android) to set up and view movies, unlike this one it doesn't come with small LCD screen.


It comes with the waterproof case and I had to buy the plastic ball mount that will fit to the RAM Mount one the handlebar that usually mounts the TomTom.

To charge the battery or remove the ad card, the waterproof case has to be removed. That proved a challenge out of the box!


The screen on the back is very useful and is where the menu can be accessed to set it up. It has taken a few tests, as the manual is totally rubbish, to get it to record for more than 20 seconds at a time.

On the test in the lounge it carried on up to 50 seconds and so I turned it off.


The screen also allows you to see that it is pointed in the right place and also to review the movies you have taken.  

Now that I have worked out how it works, I have set it to 720p as it is more economical on storage than the higher setting, 1080p HD video. I have a 32gb SD card in it and I will see how big themovies  get and maybe go to 1080p.

I do have a 64gb micro as card I bought for another movie camera that I'll try in it. I expect the battery will run out before the memory!

I'll have to see what videos I can get on the St Nick's Run in a few weeks,


21 November 2015

Canterbury Tales

Today Claire was meeting her sister for lunch and a quick look around the shops...

Reggie and I went to take her and have a walk and lunch ourselves.



First stop was the Dane John park in the drizzle. The park is inside the city walls and has several monuments. Pictured above.

After Reggie had spied a squirrel and tried to follow it up a tree I needed a coffee. Luckily, the Don Juan cafe in the little kiosk was open. This is quite unique as a South American cafe. I had just a lattè, but the menu includes different choices from Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia. 

I had planned to have lunch in a pub across the city but with it drizzling, I checked the doggie pubs website and found the White Hart. A quick call confirmed that dogs are allowed in the bar. In fact it was nearer than I had imagined. Back at the car park as I waited to cross the road, just 200 yards eyes right, there it was. 

We were first in at 1230. I ordered a steak and ale pie and chips. Reggie had to make do with the bag of treats I had with me.

I also had a pint of The Rev James Rye,  whilst I waited for my pie to be cooked. This beer is brewed by Welsh brewery SA Brains.  http://www.sabrain.com/beers/draught/the-rev-james/the-rev-james-rye


As usual I had a fixed lead for Reggie. He is always well behaved and can be tied to the table.

Reggie at home in the pub!

When the pie arrived it was superb. Lumps of steak in an ale gravy and light pastry.

Steak and ale pie

Steak and ale pie....

The pub filled up but strangely I had half to myself with Reggie and They all crammed into the other half!

Time past quickly and we left about 1345 to walk back to meet Claire and Sally. We walked along the city wall and back in time to get in the car about the time the parking ticket ran out.

It was freezing in the wind and we had ten minutes with the heater on before they arrived.

In the 21st century when we take mobile communications seriously neither O2 nor 3-Mobile could provide a consistent signal so we could keep in touch!

All in all an enjoyable day.  

20 November 2015

Windows 10 now fixed

Thanks to Patrick at work we now have a working laptop with Windows 10 installed. 

After the problems when Windows Update decided to do the usual security fixes for Windows and Office, and lobbed in the Windows 10 upgrade at the same time, it is good to have it back.

Mind you. The original upgrade failed on October 26th and it took until November 16th to get it fixed.  Days in my life that I will never get back thanks to Microsoft and their half arsed upgrades.

On top of that there is the MS tech forum that suggests all sort of fixes and bodges that are way way outside the technical know-how of the average home user.  

Patrick though is a technician and network manager at work and even he struggled to fix it. In the end we had to backup what we could of the user data and then blast it, installing Windows 10 from scratch,

I am lucky he saw it as a challenge as I gather from the internet and forums that others, and many of them, have had to pay a lot of money for a professional to fix their shattered machines. Don't expect Microsoft to help though.

The other stroke of luck was that the challenge only cost me a bottle of Bushmill's Irish Whisky. Lucky indeed.

A lesson learned?



15 November 2015

AZ - Holbrook Wigwam


The last hotel booking fell into place when my brother, Neill, booked us into the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook whilst he was staying there on his R66 trip.

Coincidentally, before I emailed him, he had posted this card to us.

According to Google maps, Scottsdale to Holbrook is 174 miles, but we will plan things to see en route. Such as the petrified forest and I'll be scouring the Rough Guide as well.


8 November 2015

Where there's a wind...

There's a screen.  Or at least there is now.

The new Skidmarx screen.


The screen worked pretty well. It took the wind off my neck, chest and shoulders but has increased the noise a little around my helmet.

When it started to get covered in wet in the misty conditions I could see over it okay.

It needs a bit of adjustment to shift it forward an inch or so and a little lower to be closer to the headlamps.

Weekend I think for that.

Ring of Red 2015

Decided to go to Thurrock and join there. Arrived about 1230 after a petrol stop on the way.

Pepe does about 180 to the tank before I start to get nervous. So as it clipped up 115 on the odometer I decided to fill up to ensure I had enough to get to the start and join the ride. It is easily 60 miles home from here. Doing the maths convinced me to tank up.

Even in misty drizzly weather sitting in a large column of bikes is hot business, once the fan kicks in.

We were on the road and the M25 just before the allotted hour.

Well done to the marshals in the absence of the local police service. 





The photographer, former SOC member and Kent Centre Sec, Roger Wood, for the run from Thurrock stood atop the van belonging to  one of the charities we were supporting.


I had cable tied one of the Ride of Remembrance car-flags to the sissy bar but sadly I didn't get enough wind to fly whilst stopped.