InvictaMoto's On The Road Again!

I can't say that I have ever stayed in biker specific accommodation before.  That's not to say I don't like the idea, it's just that anywhere I have been across Europe for the better part of 40 years, I have only ever been turned away from one place, and that was a restaurant in St Tropez! Generally, Europe is far more biker-friendly that the UK. That said, the Loft is a good idea for a social event like we had over the weekend.  The place was full with different biker groups staying there.  As a former woollen factory it is on the edge of the village. From the loading doors on the front of the building that now act as windows to the bar area to the parking in the warehouse section, and the rooms on two sides on two floors. Bikers Loft In the centre, there is a strange looking adobe building that houses the showers, male and female. It all works though.

The last day. After leading yesterday's run to Ypres, I decided to take a back seat, or a different place in the line of 8 bikes. And so after a repeat of the previous day's self cook breakfast we packed the bikes and headed off. Aiming for Nieuwpoort aan Zee as the first stop. The plan to follow a canal all the way there to where it meets the sea at a huge marina. I was bringing up the rear of the column and saw a sign like this one. "No Motor vehicles" After only one short section of the towpath/road. We tried to alert those ahead but Cal and I were the only two not heading past this sign. We chose to turn left across a lift bridge onto the other bank, where Nieuwpoort was signposted 15kms away. As we headed along we sounded our horns and waved at the "first wave" to no avail. Some miles further on their side came to an end. By then we were way ahead despite dropping the speed to 40. We carried onto the first agreed waypoint in Nieuwpoort. Luckily a cyclis...

We were up reasonably after a latish night and the self cook dinner! Breakfast is included in the room rate and is also self service as well as self cook. I'm not used to eating breakfast and so opted for the continental style rather than the bacon and eggs style!  The rooms are pretty basic. I shared with Trevor and we had two single beds. A little re-jigging of the room ensured that there was a man-gap between the beds! Early suggestions for the Saturday ride out had been to the Wire of Death. An electric fence that was built by the German occupation army in 1915 from the coast at Knokke to the German border, and just inside the Belgian frontier. It was to stop Belgians escaping into neutral Netherlands.  Over the course of the war it claimed over a 1000 lives. Read more.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_of_Death I can't tell you any more as we didn't go!! In the end we decided on Ypres, only  30 miles away, instead of the best part of 95 away. We stopped for ...

Packing Pepe (or Red Pepe to use his full name)  doesn't take too long. The panniers aren't that big. Enough for the weekend for one person. I might have to invest in a sissy bar pack in future! The plan was to meet Trevor from the Meldrews at 3pm at th fuel station in Dover. I was a little late as the traffic was horrendous and Pepe is a little too wide to squeeze through.  After a malfunction on the Sprint owned by Graham, another Meldrew, we were checked in and waiting to board the ferry at 3.30! A little early. The crossing was smooth and once across in France I led the way with TomTom's assistance to the Loft. Parked up in the Loft More about the loft later. We met up with the other Meldrews, eight in total for dinner and a few beers. Day 1 ended with us already into Day 2 and bed.

Another day another bargain. I hope I don't peak too early with a bit of planning! I really only want the Arizona section but you get the lot. Not a bad little read. There are many places on it that might be worth a visit, but in true Lonely Planet (and Rough Guide for that matter!) it does tell it like it is.  

Links to Devall Trips. http://invictamoto.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/France%20September

This has been an annual event on The Meldrews (and before them the Kent Centre SOC) calender for a few years and although it is one of the most popular and well supported I have never been before. This year I will get a chance to see what all the fuss is about!   I only decided to go last week. One of the others had to drop out and there are no refunds. Instead the Meldrews decided to take a donation towards our charity for the year, the Kent Air Ambulance. Luckily Cal our Ferry Leader was able to get the ferry booking into my name and for the Rocket. The ferry goes at about 4.30pm on Friday. Returning on the Sunday afternoon. Next thing is to work out where it is and get it into TomTom. Bikers Loft And after -  http://rocket3man.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/bikers-loft-overview.html

As it is Sunday a bit of a lie in and then when Claire was getting ready I took the boy out for his morning ablutions. Today there was a very autumnal chill in the air and a heavy dew. My trainers are definitely not waterproof, seeming to have the water resistance of cardboard. Still after breakfast and checkout it was dry for the 35 miles or so to Desplanque Farm and the cemetery. The track off the main road is worse than ever. Bumpy and not suitable for most cars. The Corsa coped okay. At least it was dry. Desplanque Farm Charles is one of four graves in Row D alongside the standard cross. Already there was a cross from a school and a laminated sheet of remembrance left last year by my brother, Neill. Family Remembrance  It's a little muddied and tatty but still readable. I put our cross on the front of the headstone. The headstone and poppy cross It's a very sobering place and time for reflection. Cross of Sa...

We were up reasonably early to make sure that Reggie was watered both ends and had his breakfast. The special food he has from the vet to try and cure his bad belly is not to this liking. He eventually ate it at about 4pm. The "plan", such as it was, was to head along the coast towards Veurne in Belgium before turning down to Armentières. I set TomTom to avoid motorways and we set off along the back roads before joining the old N1, now designated D940,  near Fort Mardyke. Not all that scenic so far. Ignoring the instructions we headed into Dunkerque and parked near the old harbour. The three of us walked to a caf é  for coffee, dogs allowed inside. On the way we passed a succession of historic ships in the harbour. Tug The former light ship that guarded the sands in the channel. Duchesse Anne The "Duchesse Anne" is a German 3-masted sail-training ship and given to France after WW2 as reparations for war damage, and rescu...

Not really jour un but après-midi un. Claire got off work a little early and we set off for the Tunnel. There was hardly anyone checking in and the parking was almost empty. But the train before our scheduled departure was full. I bet! It gave us time to get a coffee and take Reggie to the dog exercise area. We had about 25 minutes there and he had a ball to chase.  Pet exercise area Pet exercise area The plastic grass makes accidents (poops) easier to clean up. Reggie abstained. Once underway he settled down and seemed unaware that he was on a train at all! Some 50 minutes later Tomtom delivered us to the Hotel Campanile. Not bad. Fenced and locked car-park in a residential area. Reggie stayed in the room and we went and had dinner and a beer. Reggie settles in There are quite a few British cars here plus a couple of Harley's plus other European visitors. The hour difference between GMT and CET means we have lost an hour, but w...

Once we hit the apartment in Scottsdale for some R&R,  I have been looking at a few excursions or trips. I thought Tucson and Tombstone seemed like a good idea but the Rough Guide has put me off from bothering. Neither place gets a glowing write-up. I have booked a hotel on the "pay later free cancellation" idea from booking.com. So at least I have until June 3rd to scrub it. One day trip, that depending on the above we well do is to the Red Rock State Park near Sedona. It's about 100 miles from Scottsdale, and  easily do-able in a day. I expect the "day" is quite long at that time of the year. It could morph into an overnight stop to gives us time to do the "vortexes". Another trip I mapped for the TomTom is the Apache Trail to the east of Phoenix. The RG makes it sound an adventure of unpaved but graded roads. We'll see.  And then once the week in Scottsdale is over we head north east to check out the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, stra...

Like Tripadvisor,  I always take what I read in a Rough Guide with a little pinch of salt. I have quite a few copies from different areas around the world.  You can't argue with facts but sometimes the bias and language is easy to detect.  Although "getting there" to Arizona, RG reckons flying into Las Vegas is cheapest. Maybe from within the US but for next year it was £125 per person more than Phoenix. Enough saved to cover the car hire... I bought this used copy of the Rough Guide for £1.99 recently. It's a couple of years old but the Grand Canyon might be the same now..... 2009 Edition! What I like about these guides is the additional information provided, what RG calls "context", the history of an area.  

Things are coming together for the anti clockwise loop from Phoenix and back again. The Wigwam Motel at Holbrook is not available online and with the 7 hour time difference it is hard to call to make a reservation. I'll leave it a while and see if they come online soon.   I have emailed to see if they have started taking bookings. My brother is there in a week or so on his and Cath's Route 66 trip , so I dropped him an email to see how he managed to book. If he can book me whilst he is there it will make things a bit more certain. The next overnight will be Williams and the Grand Canyon Railway and then we get onto the section of R66 ourselves and a stop in Kingman, currently the hotel of choice is a traditional old fashioned one El Trovotore. That might change yet. Then Claire wanted a few days R&R and somewhere to swim so we'll head down to Lake Havasu and stay there the last two nights before heading to Phoenix and fly home. Arizona Loop Two weeks just doesn't se...

Although it was a nice day at home and after the decking had been jet washed it was too late to get the Rocket out. Autumn has started to arrive and it seems we bypassed summer. Some people may think that planning too much too soon spoils the spontaneity of the trip.  But I like to get a few plans under my belt in good time. It saves missing out on the things you want to see and do.  Been there and done that but was too late to get the t-shirt! Today's research was concerning the six nights after the timeshare. We want to go to the Grand Canyon. Anyone going to Arizona and not looking into the abyss has to be a bit strange.   Then I saw on my brother's blog that he has booked into the Wigwam Motel #6 on R66 in Holbrook. So that fired a bit of imagination. I read up about it on the web inc Tripadvisor. Currently it looks as though the diary for early June 2016 not yet open. What is open and booking up fast is the Grand Canyon Railway. This runs from Williams AZ to the sou...

How to keep the decking clean? Where we live on the edge of a marsh the damp climate and preponderance of clay soil seems to be a breeding ground for algae and other green slime.  Not too bad in the dry but the deck becomes lethal in the wet.  So as it was a sunny day I got out the new toy and cleaned it all off. I have no idea how much water I used but a clean deck is worth it. Sadly, it means a nice sunny day has passed and the Rocket has stayed in the garage. Life is a trade off. Karcher K2 Compact

The ride has become a drive! Claire coming with me and we will take Reggie for a trip abroad.  He's done glamping already! As a result of the Insignia being off the road for longer journeys, I had to change the car on the Eurotunnel booking to Claire's Corsa and whilst I was at it, I changed the time of the crossing to an hour earlier. This means that we will get to the Campanile Hotel an hour earlier whilst the restaurant is still open. If the dinner is as good there as it has been on the countless other Campaniles we have stayed in over the last thirty years or so, then we will be happy. Reggie sadly will have to the guard the bedroom. He'll be okay with his bone and a couple of beds to jump on. Charles is buried in the cemetery near La Chapelle Armentières and the journey is only about 60 miles from the Eurotunnel exit and about 59 miles from the hotel.  Deplanques CWGC Cemetery from Google Maps Saturday is the 12th, and actually my Mum's birthday...

The Insignia suffered a little damage when I dropped off the edge of a Scottish narrow road. The front left mudflap hit the ground at the bottom and the upward force pulled the inner wing off its mounts and the tyre wore a hole in it. Even though I pushed it all back the damage was done.  I pulled the flap off and whilst it seemed okay it needed fixing properly. I booked it in to the Vauxhall dealers yesterday and they checked it out. Not too bad. No serious damage. Then they gave it a test ride and checked the rear brakes. They showed them to me and I saw the pads are a bit close to being worn out, so I said do them at the same time. Then we noticed that one of the rear springs was broken!  The strut is okay but the spring is actually broken. To be honest I never noticed any handling problems. It needs replacing too. So it is booked in for the 18th September to be done.  £££££££! I can drive it for local journeys where there are no big bumps that might c...

Heading south . We didn't exactly hurry. We didn't have far to go as we were going to overnight in Selkirk, still in the border region of Scotland. Packing the car and cleaning up a little took a while.  We had opted for small bags rather than cases and had loads to cram into the car. Reggie went in early and was asleep when we eventually returned the key and set off.  Once again we had to navigate through Inverness, but the traffic wasn't too bad this time.  The A9 was also relatively heavy and we headed southwards past Aviemore stopping at the Ralia Cafe for a break. Then again southwards towards Edinburgh. Another stop for Reggie to have his breakfast, anther day it had gone uneaten, and us to have lunch at a Subway near Perth. Another surprise was that the Forth Road Bridge was free..... Rail bridge in the background From Edinburgh we stuck on the A7 all the way arriving in Selkirk just as the weather looked up.... yes it had been raining again. The County Hotel is d...