¡InvictaMoto!

The ferry is sorted for those of us coming back on Sunday evening and only £26 return. The few that are staying for another event will have to find their own fares. Sorted.

On the glamping trip I had set the route in Tyre and uploaded it with TomTom Home to the unit. It worked perfectly. But when it came to planning an ad-hoc route it wouldn't calculate. Choosing "plan new route" and any of the options other than "home", the unit locked solid and needed the power button held in for about 10 seconds to turn it off and then back on. Very irritating when you need to use it. Luckily, Google maps came to our rescue, albeit with a strange series alternating voices, US woman, to English woman and back at random. I was about to log a call with them using the email address I have used before but thought that I'd try and re-install the application from TomTom Home first.  Amazingly, it worked. I deleted the current app, 19.5mb and then re-installed the latest 25.5mb version and that seems to have fixed it. Looking at the "manage" screen in TomTom Home is shows the installed application back at 19.5mb. Oh well a...

So Glamping Day arrived. The car was packed and we were off just after 10am. The initial plan was to go to Saffron Walden and speak to Chris about the GT. TomTom estimated that we'd be there at 11.24am. In the we had to abort as it was way after that and we were still stuck in traffic some 60 miles away and we had the glampsite to go to. I emailed Chris and as he was away today (Saturday) it will have to be another date.  We made a stop at the services at Thurrock to let Reggie go for a pee and stretch his legs, and then we set off again for the glampsite.  Despite the actual roads not matching the Google map image, we arrived in good time and of the three pods, we were the first to arrive.  The key is kept in a small key holder and we had the combination! The pod is quite spacious inside, with the front half having the table and chairs on one side and the futon on the other. At the back is the kitchenette and the bed opposite, the en-suite at the back...

Following this announcement we read in the motorcycling press that the charge for motorcycles would be £12.50! Dear Stakeholder Thank you for taking the time to respond to our recent consultation. I can confirm that today the Mayor confirmed the introduction of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which will launch in central London in 2020.  This new scheme will significantly improve air quality across the Capital and so improve the health of Londoners. After considering the feedback from the consultation, the Mayor confirmed the ULEZ will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the same area as the current Congestion Charging zone (CCZ) from 7 September 2020. All cars, motorcycles, vans, minibuses and heavy vehicles will need to meet emission standards (ULEZ standards) or pay an additional daily charge to travel within the zone. In addition, I can confirm that we are committed to ensuring all double deck buses operating in central London will be hybrid and ...

.... another one opens. It is disappointing to have to shelve the plans for a trip to Norway in the summer, but it is not worth going if Claire is going to be in pain for the entire time we are away, and subsequently not enjoying the trip.  So I started to look for an alternative.  If we are to stay at home we might as well look for somewhere for Reggie to come too.  With our first glamping coming up this Friday to test the water, we looked at maybe doing the same but further afield.   We saw Loch Ness Glamping on the TV some weeks ago and it looks nice, plus it's dog friendly and we can go in the car! They are pretty booked up for August, the dates we have booked off already, but there is a three night slot that will allow us to drive up there, about 636 miles door to door. However, there are a few days to look at before then. Even in the car it is a long way to drive. So I need to factor in at least one stop on...

Cal is investigating the ferry fare through his contacts and it looks as though for the weekend P&O will be looking at abut £40 each. As a quick comparison I had a look at P&O and Eurotunnel on the web just before sending this email (19/03/2015 11:38) -   P&O want £90 and Eurotunnel is £59 for a bike and passenger(s).  All timings to leave around 0730 on the 4th and return 1850 on the 5th July. I guess it is up to the individual to decide which way to travel. I prefer the tunnel and with Tesco Clubcard it is essentially free with the vouchers. If there are some ferry and some Shuttle. I will re-work the gps files and we can look for a suitable meeting place.  I had planned to make a stop on the A26 at the Aire de Rely, about 40 miles form the port for a pee/fag/coffee/other break, and this may be suitable to join up two different groups, i.e. you can't miss it!

That is how I must have described myself in an email to a guy called Steve at a bike repair and restoration company. And it is true. Very true. I spent a lot of my time accumulating the parts I needed to get the the Kettle back on the road, and to my utter dismay and corresponding embarrassment the bike wouldn't start! Wouldn't even kick over even with a new battery. So I went to a professional. In fact, Googled several professionals. Four in all. Starting with the nearest first and working outwards in a radius from home. Nearest and furthest have yet to reply. Third furthest came back to say they were too busy to undertake the job this year. Second furthest, Steve. Came back. Promptly. The next step when I get a Saturday when I can actually have some time is to ride up there on Döra and have a chat. Sometimes you get those black moments when you can't see a way out of a predicament, and giving up actually seems the easiest way out. Get rid of Döra....

The ones over there ------> That's right. The ones in the right "pane". Just some of the bike related blogs I have followed. Time for a cull. If the blogger can't be bothered to carry on, what's the point of having them taking up valuable space? So, all the ones with no updates for sim months will go soon. A shame you can't set an automatic reviewer to erase them without recourse to updating. I suppose it is time to look for new ones?

Another Aldi bargain. Actually went ion to get some food stuff and maybe a beer and saw that there was very little bike gear left. One jacket, one pair of gloves and a few hi-viz jackets. The gloves turned out to be XL and a good fit.  At £19.99 they seem perfect for the summer.  They are leather with carbon fibre armour added and the grey bit is a mesh on the back of the hands, Definitely summer gloves.

Having a few problems fitting the entire trip into the time available and thought that Plan B, anti-clockwise around the fjords, might be a better idea with the Bergen cruise being at the end of the trip rather than at the beginning. Currently the idea is for Claire to only have four days leave, but adding another day would make it more achievable. One  problem is that Google Maps won't plan a route through central Norway along road 55.  I guess this may be that this is because currently the roads are closed with snow and so it automatically routes around this area. a 60 mile journey becomes 197! The same goes for road 63. A 20 mile ride becomes 90! A work colleague says that Google should allow a date to be specified. I am buggered, if that exists, where to find it. Another one, an Android lover, says that the mapping app on there called Here Maps has an easy to find date selector. Sadly, it doesn't work on an iPhone. Using Here on the laptop works and uses  ⛔️ signs to ...

It's the time of year again when both Lidl and Aldi have their motorcycle gear in store. The gear is generally good value for money and I usually just invest in the "motorcycle socks" as they are thick enough to keep feet warm in winter and allied with "coolmax" keep feet cooler in winter. My brother, Neill, owed me a tenner and the Lidl socks came in cheaper than Aldi and I got four pairs. After our Meldrews monthly meeting we had a run down to Aldi in Hythe and had a look. I didn't expect to buy anything at all. I looked at the boots. At £29.99 they are very cheap, but they look okay, even down to a carbuncle on the outside of the little toes! I tried a pair of size 10 on and they fitted rather well and so I bought them. Time will tell. I now need an excuse to get out and test them! Update: 9/9/17 - Gone to the charity shop worn twice. Okay for local riding but not confident in them at all.

Dora's next adventure is to Norway.  See  Valhalla! I have a route and now need to see about ferries etc. Update 23rd February 2018 Valhalla blog was merged into DevallTravels some while back and the posts can be found here .

Dora's next adventure is to Norway.  See  Valhalla! I have a route and now need to see about ferries etc.

With the chosen dates almost set in stone due to dog sitting courtesy of my Aunt Yvonne and Audrey, I have been checking the ferries. When there are only one or two crossings a day on the ones we have chosen, it is important to get them booked. Harwich to the Hook of Holland, the only reasonable North Sea crossing for those of us in the south of England, currently coming in at £253 for the return crossing for me, Claire and Dora, inc cabin, it is filling up. The other is the "cruise" from Hirtshals in Denmark across to Bergen in Norway.  It takes 16 hours and arrives about 1230 (lunchtime) so we should be able to get some deck time and see the scenery slide past.  This one is about £150 for the single journey.   Both crossings are overnight for the most part and so we travel as we sleep.  The alternative, of shorter ferries, will use up more valuable day time. I chose August as a gamble on the Fjord weather and also that once we return from Florida in early June we n...

After the complete and utter destruction of his Kong, he has a new toy to cuddle and chew.

Plan A is coming along. The trip is effectively split into two parts. Before and after the "cruise". The before is the shortest.  The ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland. Overnight it's about £125 each way including a cabin. That's for two of us and Döra. A couple of longer days to cover the 600 miles to Hirtshals and then the cruise section. Hirtshals to Bergen, another overnight arriving at lunchtime the next day. And that leads us into 400 miles of fjord and around three small ferries like the one that featured in " The Heroes of Telemark " movie! Without the saboteurs I hope! Steadily moving ever northwards, through Olden, where we stopped off on the cruise in 2013. The cruise that gave me the inspiration for a bike trip to Norway and the fjords. The final ferry of the day takes us to Molde and the most expensive stop. Hotels are few and far between as you move north. Using the Visit Norway website to plan stops and then Booking.com to make some ...