InvictaMoto's On The Road Again!

An homage to the longevity of the Dr Marten boot. I wear mine in the winter and when I need sure comfortable footing. I originally bought them to ride on a trip to Spain as I wanted a boot I could ride my bike with and also walk at the other end. Sadly, Catalunya had the worst weather for decades and the boots were useless. Worn with a waterproof inner sock my feet were dry but the boot was sodden most of the time. Alexie Sayle singing Dr Marten Boots

What can I say? After months of my brother sending me invitations to join, workmates extolling the virtues of the "group" buying scheme I succumbed. What a simple way of getting Christmas presents? I never believe anything that claims to be a huge saving; either original profit margins are super high or the goods are lesser quality. After some googling and even eyeballing similar items in shops the deals looked good enough, although I still think the RRP claimed is a little high. In the end I bought some Grip-on fashion watches for Claire. Ideal as she likes a watch that can be worn as a novelty time piece. They took over a month to arrive, rather than the "allow 21 days" the supplier stipulated. They arrived on the 23rd December! 1-0 to the crap side. The second item, Swarovski crystal earrings. They are silver and look really good. They came well within the "allow 10 days" period and despite my thinking the seller was from Liverpool they act...

The beer that I have got in for Christmas.  Most of it is the 99p offering from Aldi called "Bavaria". Despite its name it is actually from Holland. The others are two large Leffe Blonds and a few Shepherd-Neame  brews.

I am in the middle of planning a trip across to France to visit the V3 "Revenge Weapon" site at Mimoyecques.   I originally emailed in the Autumn and the reply was that they would be open in early April.  I took this to be more like the 1st rather than the 16th.... So planned this trip for the 15th.... I think you can see the problem? We are now going to have to change the date to the 22nd!!!! More details to follow. http://www.mimoyecques.com/

Not having any power in my garage means that I am unable to attach a trickle charger to my battery to keep it in tip top condition.  I then suffer the problems of a dead one and end up jumping the bike a few times from my Punto.  This has worked successfully for a few winters, but sadly, although it starts, the standard BMW battery is now officially NFG! So after asking the question "Odyssey or OEM?" on a few forums I have bought an Odyssey PC680 from a UK retailer and hopefully it will arrive between Christmas and New Year.  It's not the kind of expenditure a person needs in the run up to Christmas, but the deal I got saved about £25. Fingers crossed that god's gift to batteries fits (!) and does what it is supposed to do. Buy a big dog and hope it can bark loud. That's the Odyssey.  We'll see.

Since posting this here, on the Kent Forum  and on Facebook there have been a few takers and we have now joined forces with Kent Riders  to see if we can get a better turnout.  Altogether there are 5 of us from the Kent Centre.   Any more?

Christmas baubles , originally uploaded by InvictaMoto .

Tiger in Wagamama O2 , originally uploaded by InvictaMoto . Paul Devall

Londonshire Cream Tea , originally uploaded by InvictaMoto . Day 2 of the ICT Bake-Day.

The statistic that 16 cyclists have died on London's roads ought to be a stark reminder of how dangerous things can get for users of powered and non-powered two wheeled vehicles alike. As a fair weather motorcyclist, that now only commutes in the summer to Islington, I have witnessed a few near misses over the last 15 years, both motorcycle/scooter and cycle. If you want to live longer: Don't ride up the inside of trucks and buses that are in the nearside lane. They may be turning left! Don't ignore their flashing indicators! Don't push to the front into the blind spot under their bumpers where the driver can't see you. Don't cycle along with your iPod blaring in your ears! Don't assume everyone else can see you. It makes me shudder to see cyclists squeeze between trucks and the railings. The gap barely wider than their handlebars. Crazy. Do ride defensively and be aware how vulnerable you are. It isn't rocket science. THINK...

I had a walk at lunchtime.  A brisk promenade across Highbury Fields cutting across to the Drayton Park across behind the library. Far further than walkng along Holloway Road.  In the end I took the pics in the order they are shown on the left. Herbert Chapman at the stadium end of the south bride, then round to the front where they have cited Thierry Henry. Then all the way to the opposite corner to the base of the steps at the north bridge end where Tony Adams' new bronze is situated.

  Wenger: 'I suppose that 1-0 is quite an historical scoreline' Dear Arsenal supporter, Our Club celebrated its 125th birthday before the Everton game and I felt it was important that we played to the level of history at Arsenal. In the end, we won it with an artistic goal from an artist and I suppose that 1-0 is quite an historical scoreline when you think about it. The victory put us in the 'virtual' top four because we know if Chelsea get a draw on Monday they will be in front of us. However we started from so deep this season that nobody ...

The European Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) voted in Brussels yesterday on its report on the proposed regulation and on a raft of tabled amendments. About 35 IMCO members voted around 100 times on compromises, single amendments and blocs of amendments. We still haven't got the breakdown of the voting, to see which amendments were accepted, but in the meantime; In the view of IMCO, as from 2016 motorcycles will have to become cleaner and manufacturers must fit ABS, even for light motorcycles. As from 2014, measures to prevent power-train modifications (which are still to be developed) must be applied and users shall present their bikes for inspection when carrying out "substantial" modifications. The text is a little ambiguous, so for the UK there may be little change from the current MoT for certain changes. Yesterday's vote can be seen as a reference and recommendation for the final vote of the European Parliament...

      7 December 2011   Battle Lines Drawn on Type Approval   A key vote by a European Parliament committee has set the scene for a battle royal over the toughest technical proposals yet to threaten European motorcyclists say the BMF.   On Monday the European Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) committee voted through stringent proposals for the regulation, approval and market surveillance of motorcycles, three wheelers and quadricycles.   The IMCO committee vote is an early stage of the legislative process and is in effect a recommendation to the European Parliament. If the European Parliament take the same view, it would mean that from 2014, measures to prevent power-train modifications* must be devised and applied by manufacturers and also that owners must present their motorcycles for inspection after carrying out 'substantial' modifications. It would also mean that as from 2016, tighter emis...

Westenhanger Car-park , originally uploaded by InvictaMoto . Aqua cars and wellies only.

Kent Fire Bike are running a series of evening courses to cover all aspects of what to do if a rider in your group has an accident, or if you come across a rider that has come off and needs your help. At the moment there are no dates confirmed for 2012 but the organiser would like names and email addresses so he can build a waiting list of interested individuals. If a club can get together between 15 and 25 people, then they will put on a special group session. So, are you interested?  Names at first to me and then by mid-December I need to give them email addresses as well.