¡InvictaMoto!

  Had a play with the Triumph Configurator and this looks like a really good option. The top case (it's powered too)  is an extra but the rest is as it comes from the factory.   Colour choices are silver, black and this blue. I can't make my mind up what colour but the bike is the sensible option for two-up touring with luggage.   The engine is the liquid cooled 1050 triple.   Although I have fancied a Rocket, at the end of the day, it is too impractical for what I need and not the right choice, but I do like the styling of this model.

A charity run to raise money for the Royal British Legion. Two riders will travel around the UK calling in at the "Thankful Villages"; villages that didn't lose anyone in the carnage and slaughter in WW1. The run comes into Kent on Tuesday 30th July. I'd like to join the run when it arrives in Kent and ride with them. It's about raising money for the RBL and also showing respect for those that gave their lives for our freedom. More reading for anyone that's interested. http://thankfulvillagesrun.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowlton,_Kent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thankful_village

Please tell me when my current contract ends and what date I need to tell you that I won't be renewing it. I am tired of paying £36 a month for a contract that results in no signal most of the time in my house. A signal that is poor across most of Kent despite the alleged coverage on your over optimistic and misleading website. For the largest network in the country maybe someone should speak to your colleagues in the Netherlands where even the remotest places have a full signal. There's a 20 mile long dyke in the north west of Holland with a better and more consistent signal than in Kent. Maybe before telling how good 4G is, how about sorting out the crap 3G network for the mugs that have contracts now? Thanks. Paul Devall Sent from my iPhone on one of the few occasions there was a signal

The Laycock Heron , originally uploaded by InvictaMoto . In the back of our building we have a garden and a pond. The pond is stocked with koi and goldfish, and as such have attracted the occasional predator. We have heard about the heron, but today was the first time in all the years i have worked here that I have seen it. Sadly, I didn't have the Sony camera wit me and had to rely on my iPhone, so the pic is a little blurry. He (or she) sat on the wall for a while until too many people walked past and then it flew off.

Sad to say that there are those amongst us that we're given the right to vote. Millions have died to support the idea of democracy.  And then you see a prat like this was elected to the European Parliament. Not only does he sound like an idiot, he turned up to work dressed like a tramp.

So, firstly we had the French Farce regarding the last Government;'s attempt to make motorcyclists more visible shot down and in the end cancelled completely. Then we had another of their ideas that all motorists should carry two alco-testers with them at all times.  Of course, the supplier couldn't make them quick enough and the date was put back and back and back, and now it's so watered down that it is another case of oeuf sur visage. But, to make up for it, the often forgotten piece of legislation that requires motorcyclists to have four stickers on their helmet is being enforced.  It was brought in as an option when the EU created its (lower than BSI) standard for helmets. France was the only country that picked up the option. I'm sure no other law of this nature is applicable to overseas drivers/riders that comply with an ECE regulation, and this is likely to cause problems. It needs someone to look at this as potentially the rest of Europe needs ...

When I filled on the "My Profile" section I didn't realise that it would appear on the front page of the blog and I have been thinking of way as to get just a synopsis, but nothing has worked. In the end I have cut and paste the contents here. I started this blog a few years back and then hardly used it as I preferred to use the website hosted by Yahoo with its Geocities service. When Yahoo decided to kill off Geocities I shifted some of the things I wanted to save to the blog. The blog I suppose is representative of my interests; motorcycling, the Suzuki Owners Club, MAG UK, travel (not only on a motorcycle!!) and football. My first love is Oldham Athletic, where I had a season ticket at 5yo, but for the last 40+ years I have followed Arsenal and have been a regular at games since about 1997. I am also a season ticket holder at the Emirates Stadium.

Hubert Latham I have passed old Hubert so many times as I have headed along the D940 to and from Calais so I thought that it was high time I stopped and maybe even find out who he was. I was surprised to see that he is in fact one of the daredevils of the early 20th century; an aviation pioneer with the possibly accidental claim to fame as being the first person to land an aircraft on water. So I googled him.  Rather than copy and paste, I'll let you read the Wiki entry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_Latham

The waterwheel at the Musee du Moulin Due to a combination of sickness and atrocious weather our original trip last month for Claire's birthday never happened and I had to re-book the ferry for another date.  With so many things to do at weekends it meant that it had to be the 17th March. A Sunday. Not ideal for day trips to France, as unlike us in the 51st State most of the shops are shut. Some local bakeries stay open as the French like to eat fresh bread with their meals and poo-poo (pah?) the idea of that white spongy stuff in a plastic bag we like to call bread. Heavy snow fall last week that extended into the early half of the week meant that our horizon was set a lot closer than usual.  In fact Wissant. Wissant is a small coastal town just south of Calais.  In fact, using the autoroute took us a mere 20 minutes to get there from the ferry. Lunch was at La Chaloupe in Wissant. A new build on the edge of town just off the D940 coast road. Inside...

Just thought I'd let you know some terrific news and an example of the high regard with which MAG campaigning is now held. Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin MP, has decided to visit one of his local Motorcycle Action Groups to hear first hand of the issues that concern riders! Paddy Tyson Campaigns Coordinator Motorcycle Action Group

Hythe Snow , originally uploaded by InvictaMoto .   Although it was cold over the weekend following what seemed like Spring had arrived and then snow. Not that much snow, about 6 inches but problems were caused by a dip in temperatures that froze the already damp ground, and roads in particular, allied with 50 to 60mph winds that whipped it into blizzards. I was lucky. The Punto was at the station, I cleared about 4" of snow off the windows and discovered the ice against the glass that took some scraping to remove. Although the roads had been treated, the snow had overwhelmed the grit and salt. I made it home without too many dramas; avoiding the cars that had skidded into each other of wedged and abandoned all over the place, navigated a 1 in 6 hill, downhill, in an automatic, no skids, no drama. The snow continued into Tuesday until mid-morning and then the sun came out. I took this picture of a pot in our back garden to catch the snow and the sunlight. Not a si...

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As promised on Friday, please see the text below for a suggested letter to your MEPs about the EU plans for a Super MoT.   If this is the first time you've contacted your MEPs please note that you have more than one because the voting system for European elections is different to what we use in the UK for Westminster parliamentary elections.   MEPs from different parties are meant to represent you, so please consider writing to them all (although those of you in the East Midlands may not want to bother contacting Bill Newton-Dunn given his previous performances!).   You can find all the contact details through the link below. Just click on the region of the map relevant to where you live. Feel free to write a letter or send an email http://www.europarl.org.uk/view/en/your_MEPs/List-MEPs-by-region.html   -------------------------------------------------------------------   Dear I am writing to raise my deep concern over current proposals ...

Burmarsh Alpacas , originally uploaded by InvictaMoto . Had a ride out today around the Marsh just to get some miles under the wheels. It's MoT time next Saturday and I wanted to make sure everything was okay. It's only the second time this year that I have been out and when you consider it's March already...... The roads were almost deserted. Between Burmarsh and Dymchurch I came across a field of alpaca. The farmer keeps them for their wool and in the nearby craft shop they sell the wool and also knitted goods made from it. It was a little chilly but things are looking up! Maybe in a few weeks it will be good enough to stay out longer. Living on the coast we do get a variety of seafood, fish and er... the other stuff.  These are whelks. Claire and I often go to Folkestone and Bob's in particular for fish and these molluscs.  We also had a "lobster flavoured" tail.  It is in effect fish pressed into a shape and flavoured.  Supermarkets se...

Over the years I have had a few "big" bikes.  Size big not just named Big (had one of those as well!) or with a big engine.   Cavalcade and Me! The small picture is the biggest engine I have had to date in the biggest bike, a 1987 Suzuki GV1400GDG LX "Cavalcade".  The photo was taken in 2007 when a friend in the Suzuki Owners Club brought it on a run to let me see it.   I sold it in 1991 as I had been made redundant for the second time in 7 years and simply couldn't afford the luxury of keeping it.  He bought it more recently and restored it to its former glowing glory, and he sold it last year. I should have really have kept it. It would have been a far better prospect for towing a trailer across Europe to my new home for 1992/3 in Brno, Czech Republic. In the end I had to make do with my Suzuki GT750! All nostalgia brings me to the idea of a new bike.  Had I had the cash in pocket I may well have bought the Cavalcade back. ...