InvictaMoto's On The Road Again!

Although a GS Weekend, it was mostly to do with getting rid of some parts and accessories that I have assembled. Last week I took off the Touratech Zega pannier rails and prepared to sell them. I looked out the MRA screen, still in its packaging. That went to a local rider, Mike, for £75.  The panniers are packed in bubble wrap and will be dispatched tomorrow on a truck from Claire's company to their depot in Coventry to be collected by another guy from the R1150GS FB group. So, some money coming in to offset the cost of the Explorer.

Had a Google search for flights to Fort Myers from London.  I found that Air Canada had listed the flights via Toronto and I was wondering if it was available a little cheaper. In the end I used the Skyscanner app on my phone and it picked the same flights as before but through a travel agents in Reading it worked out cheaper than direct. So after googling them to check that they are ATOL registered  I booked.  The fare comes out at £672.78 each. That includes all taxes plus the ATOL airline tits up cover.  A little cheaper than Virgin and much cheaper than BA. Why Fort Myers (RSW)?   The first week we are at Punta Gorda in the Fisherman's Village Resort.  If we fly into Miami or Orlando we end up with a longish drive to the resort from either the main airports that we British flock into. MIA to Punta Gorda - 178 miles Miami International is 178 miles from the resort. Given the arrival time in Miami, the mess about to enter the US through and Homeland Secur...

After three and a half days work, the work has finished. The deck is down and the garden has become, and excuse the terminology, another room. Very pleased with it, just now need to pay for it! And then with some stuff moved out of storage and the garage.... Now time to thing were the pots and containers are going to go, or maybe a nice cool G&T.

Seems like they are like buses. Wait for ages and two come along together. This one is at Skinner's Hall in the City of London. Just a short walk from the business heart and from the Bank of England. The Skinner's Company is the medieval guild of the fur trade.  The walls of the 17C building are lined with heraldic shields and paintings of worthy citizen members covering the 300+ years they have been here. Our conference is for school business managers and admin staff. The rate of change for schools with austerity biting ever harder needs frequent updates. It's sad that public perception of these key workers is so low.  Everyone knows that schools have students and teachers and no one else is valued. Some artifacts from the display cases at the hall. http://www.skinnershall.com/

A blog is born. No other stuff on this one, maybe some crossover posts, but essentially all about the new addition to the Devall household. http://explorer1200.blogspot.co.uk/

There were fields round here..... The garden being prepared for decking. Not all of it but a design that means we keep some garden for plants and is shaped to keep the tree etc.

Some more pix. These taken by Jonathan who is the volunteer's coordinator at the Blue Cross in Northiam.

My brother is currently coming to the end of a tour in the western US. http://whww2013.blogspot.co.uk/ -- Sent from Gmail Mobile on iPad.

-- Sent from Gmail Mobile on iPad.

Not one of my usual postsing subjects - about work, but so far this is far removed from being called work. This year the conference is in the Alton Towers Resort. Once an old house with a fairground and now it is a full sized theme park. To get here I had planned to use the bike, but given the trials of the last couple of weeks I decided to use the train. The resort is inland. Some 30 miles south east of Manchester. It is in Staffordshire, the  biggest towns nearby seen to be Leek in Staffs and Ashbourne in Derbyshire. From London I guess about 160 miles? I chose the train as the return fare on London Midland was only £20!  We were picked up in Stoke on Trent, at the station, in a minibus and brought to the resort. Stoke is one of the towns (five or maybe seven) that make up an area called The Potteries. Why? Because from the industrial revolution this area made the majority of the pottery used across the Empire. Wedgwood ring any bells? On arrival you see the fountain. Once c...

A new era. A new bike. A new blog. A natural progression. The Explorer part of the title comes from the new lady in my life. The Non Dora part is so I don't infringe any copyright, but I bet that a couple of umlaut will do the trick. Döra the Explorer. In fact Döra the Explorer sounded like a good title.  I was going to name it after my mascot, Baloo. Baloo joined us back in about 2005 on a trip to France. We parked up at the Eurotunnel Terminal at Calais and failed to notice him on the beak of the GS. Whether he had been there longer I have no idea but he was there when we were on the shuttle itself heading for home. I kept him and cable tied him on for safe keeping. I need to find somewhere for him. He has been there now for about 70000 miles and is part of the biking family. Maybe the blog should be Baloo the Explorer? The photo is taken from the Triumph Configurator website and shows Döra as she will come from the dealers, Laguna Triumph in Ashford, sometime in early to mi...

I loaded up the bike last night with the dog food we had bought earlier in the day at Tesco.  The large back of Wagg (17kgs) went on the back seat and the smaller bags in the System panniers, plus two boxes of cat food that our Hilly has decided she will no longer tolerate in her food bowl that went in the top box.       I was on the road by 1030 and arrived in very good time at the meeting place at Maidstone Service on the M20/A20 junction. One other bike and so I parked nearby to create a space big enough for a lot....   Whilst having a coffee (skinny latte) in Costa I saw another bike arrive. It was club mate Neil Dalton on his XJR1300. He also had a big bag of Wagg on the back seat.  Gradually bikes started riding including regulars from the Kent Riders Club, Bruno from the R1150GS FB Group and Jim Sanderson, a fireman in Kent who started and runs the Fire Bike Service - http://www.kent.fire-uk.org/your_safety/road_safety/fire_b...

I got back from my public transport trek to Steptoe's a few pounds (money) lighter and in plenty of time to have lunch and then go to Laguna Triumph for my test ride on the Triumph Tiger Explorer. Claire came with me on the GS. We had a chat with the sales guy, Paul, and I went off for a ride round. The demonstrator is the latest colour bike in a pearl white but there are three others, black, blue and grey. I prefer the grey.   I immediately felt comfortable. The seat was right and the reach to the bars felt right. The 1215cc triple engine was very smooth and everything felt light and instant. The brakes almost had me over the bars! The GS had good ABS brakes but these were like nothing I have experienced. I took it up Bad Munstereiffel Way, and onto the M20 then down the A28 towards Tenterden and then back to Kingsnorth on the parallel road to the A28. I even tried the cruise control on the M20. A little difficult with a long thumb required to reach it. No thr...

The GS is fixed. Hurrah!   Getting it will be a bit of a trial. Steptoe is out all weekend from about 0930 tomorrow and so I need to get over there from Kent.  Checking all the websites for the trains and London Transport, reveals that I need to be on the 0643 from Ashford International to St Pancras, then a couple of tubes to get me to Putney Bridge and then a bus, and eh voila!  Steptoe's by about 0845!  As long as there are no problems, no delays!!   Then ride back to sunny Kent.   I put the road test of the Explorer back to 4pm or so to give me chance to go and get it.   Fingers crossed. All the hassle is so that I can see what trade-in I can get and also to get to the Kent Pet Food Run!!!

https://devalltravel.blogspot.com/search?q=NO13 The Saga cruise was posted to a different blog and so I have made a link to go here.

The Explorer looks to be the ideal solution for me.  It's GS enough to satisfy my type of riding and it scores highly as a tourer.   What a wonderful thing hindsight is. Had I gone ahead in April when I looked at it the first time and then decided I still wanted to keep riding the GS, the current failed and lifeless GS would be a dealer's problem somewhere and I would be riding about in style!   Procrastination! Plus a Puritan streak that doesn't like spending money!!   I have the test ride on Saturday. There are deals to be had and the bikes are there.  I like the grey one and we'll see what Claire thinks.  I guess with no trade-in we might get a better deal. Have to wait and see.   If I sign on the dotted line on Saturday I might have it by the Saturday after!  Just the insurance to mess about with!   Might have to start a new BLOG!!!!

An electrical fault somewhere in the loom is proving a problem for Steptoe to locate so it looks like the GS is not coming home any time soon.  Too late to be taken to Laguna Triumph at Ashford and used part-ex on the Explorer.   The guy in the shop said that given the huge mileage and the age that it is was probably worth £1500. Possibly about what I was expecting I guess. Yesterday I took the Touratech rack and panniers off and replaced the BMW System case rails. I still have the System panniers and they can go back on.   I advertised the Touratech kit complete on the R1150GS Facebook page and if there are no takers by the end of the week I'll put them on eBay.  I have a Touratech tankbag that will go that way as well. Might as well recoup some of my investment from over the years.   The TT Zega panniers on the TT website, with mounting hardware and rails come out at nigh on £800.  In good nick I was hoping to get £250 or so or maybe more.   Once it comes ba...

Flickr photo album .

When we got home today I called Carole Nash Breakdown Service and they were very good and sent an AA Patrol to have a look. I lucked out with Paul from Ramsgate as he is a biker as well with an R1200RT.   He checked the battery with his meter and as I had expected it was over 12v. Then he ran the meter through all the fuses and other gubbins in the fuse box. All showing a current.   We had the fuel  tank off and he used a Power-Probe to test the main power lead to the ignition switch. Under the front of the fuel tank is the ECU and the other connectors. The ignition switch side of the block was dead.  Adding 12v from the Power-Probe and we had full power through and the bike started.   Checking the other side, the battery side, and the lead was dead.  He was willing to have a further look back had calls to attend to.   I called Neil Harrison ( www.gsshop.biz ) who does the servicing and he said if they could get it to him, he would ha...

Back from the cruise. Loved Norway and must go back there. The house was so clean and tidy when we left and now the cases clog up the whole place. When I say must go back there. It will have to wait until 2015!! Next year we have the Florida trip as our main holiday and Norway is simply too far for a short trip!!! 

Arrived Dover around 8am the time we were supposed to leave our cabin and wait in the lounge for our departure slot. At least we got breakfast. In fact we were early enough to have packed and left the hand luggage in the cabin and once fully breakfasted we could go back and collect it and assemble in the Britannia Lounge until customs formalities are complete and disembarkation can start. All in all the cruise has been pretty fantastic. The food and service were excellent the whole time from the off to the return. I'd certainly think about another cruise. Whether with Saga or another line I don't know. Saga are more expensive and many things are included that may not be on other lines. But at least the experience has been a very good one. Roll on our next holiday!

A day at sea so we didn't get up too early for breakfast. Once that was out of the way we had a couple of hours reading in the Drawing Room. One of the benefits up there apart from the view is tea and coffee plus cakes and biscuits. The jazz lunchtime show kicked off in the Britannia Lounge with Kenny Martin and Elaine Delmar Then lunch and a rest in our room watching Skyfall before siesta!!!  This evening we have a cocktail evening and dress is casual. For most that means suit and tie. So for me jacket and trousers but no tie! And Claire looking lovely in a blue dress. So off to shake the Captain's hand and hopefully get a few cocktails down us before dinner. Then to bed after packing the suitcases and leaving them to be collected ready for disembarkation.

The sunset at about 2300 local time somewhere in the North Sea.  The GPS is close to  N59 8.5 E4 36.2

The last day in Norway. We were awakened by the captain over the tannoy telling us we had arrived in Bergen. For some reason I had been awake until about 4am and so a wake up call for coffee at 0715 and then tannoy announcements were all I needed! After breakfast we took the shuttle bus into Bergen. It's not far but we are in an industrial berth and not one of the tourist berths. The Minerva is! Maybe that's why the upped anchor earlier than us yesterday!! Having to wait for the buses to arrive and then get into the city, and of course, get back again, wasted quite a lot of our shore time. Claire at the fish market quay.  Loads of seafood but again not sold as we would expect in Folkestone!  No Norwegian version of Chummies. We did have a small taste of a 59kr pot of caviar. Large balls but not as tasty as the lumpfish we buy at home in Lidl or Aldi for the equivalent of 20kr!! We did buy a small punnet of strawberries. A Slimming World superfood to help burn off the lbs we ha...

We have pretty much a full day in Olden and with it being Sunday there might not be anything open. We are alongside the dock today and another ship is at anchor in the fjord and using its tenders. The other ship is the Swan Hellenic Line "Minerva". It used to be the Saga Pearl. Maybe today we will find an elusive post box for our cards bought and stamped on Friday? After breakfast we'll take a stroll into town. Or maybe lazily take a ride on the tourist train. We are on holiday after all. Light breakfast taken.  We took the little tourist train. It was 300kr for two. A little pricey but we saw things that if we had been on foot we'd never have seen. The train takes you past Olden centre and out on the road to the Briksdalsbreen Glacier. We opted for the local tour as we went to a glacier yesterday. A couple of stops to look at the lakes formed by the glaciers in the ice age and the waterfall on the outskirts of the town. We hopped off the train back in the town and wa...