¡InvictaMoto!

So after a pretty exhaustive search for hotels in Florida for the second week of our stay, five nights in total, I decided to use up another timeshare week. It seems a waste but when you consider the exchange fee for that week is £169 and hotels are looking  more like £400 for the period, then it is worth it.  Plus we get to stay somewhere a little different. I looked at Lauderdale by the Sea, and then slightly further north at Pompano Beach.   In the end choosing the  Wyndham Sea Gardens resort. It is right on the beach off A1A between the Atlantic  and the Intracoastal Waterway . Looking  at the Weatherspark site to see what the average temperatures are, they look pretty good for us British . So another plus point for Florida.  And another thing sorted.

Going through a box of electronic gear I came across these again, complete with the manual. It's been a while since I last used them. Some six hours of charging and I have been using them for a week now.  The last time I had them out was 2013! http://invictamoto.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/jabra-bt620.html Over time the foam ear pieces have rotted away and so I took the remains off and binned them. I gave a new set coming for Christmas and so their reprieve from the bin might not be for long.

For many many years I have been an avid reader. It's what (in part) makes me a clever clogs when we play Trivial Pursuit. Surprisingly though rubbish at Scrabble. I have several interests. I like fantasy and SF.  I like detective series books. And mostly, I like to live vicariously through the lives and trips of other motorcyclists.  Adventure motorcyclists as the authors no doubt want to be called. Here is a short list of the books I have read recently. The Long Ride 'Home' - Nathan Milward Llamas, Bananas and Bears - Stephen Mason Two Years on the Run - Luther Maddy Looking for America - Ian Mutch One Man on a Bike - Richard Georgiou Touching the World - Cathy Birchall Through Dust and Darkness - Jeremy Kroeker All a little different with a different level of preparedness and planning undertaken before they set off. Perfect for those winter months when the bikes are locked away in the garages and cabin fever is setting in. If you have a...

I signed up to see if I can get on the testing team for an airbag vest.   I have read about the various jackets and can't say that I am too enthused at being connected to the bike with a cable to the jacket. it may work for snow mobiles to stop them carrying on and killing a bus queue, but being tied to the bike... No thanks. This one is self contained and electronically deployed. So fingers crossed I am one of the 500.   http://www.inemotion.com/airbagrevolution/

I used to be an all round the year biker. Only stopping when the snow lay on the roads or the ice was too slippery to make it safe.  Recently, I have become a fair weather biker although an all year round variant. Also since buying a bike festooned in a lot of chrome, I find myself worrying about the effect on it from the treatments (read salt!) that we use in copious amounts as soon as the temperature gets near 0C. This last weekend was Meldrews breakfast Sunday and I pulled Pepe out of the garage and as it seemed mild, I wore light gloves.  Mistake.  I hadn't gone more than a couple of miles and my fingers were numb. Added to that finding the dry line through the damp so to avoid too much splashback was working me too hard! I'd not got far and was in the next village, where there is a 40mph limit, and I was soon joined by a guy in a hurry in a small Peugeot. Maybe the 40 inside a red ring on the sign meant nothing to him as he sped up my tailpipes. Don't get me wrong. I...

Here's looking to a better 2017 for everyone.

Forgot to post the end of Movember pic.   It's all gone now.

Panto. I don't know if other countries have pantomime as part of their theatrical tradition but here in Great Britain it is a major part of the Christmas season. Many towns and cities will have their own; from local amateur dramatic productions to big all star cast productions. A recent trend has been to attract "big names" from the world of TV to star in the productions and bring in the audiences. The soap opera world in particular. This year at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury the cast was headed by Stephen Mulhern, who we know as a game show host. In Ben Roddy we have a superb dame. If you don't know what a panto dame is, Google it. Don't bother.... Here's the wiki definition - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantomime_dame This year the panto was Dick Whittington. The tale of the young man coming to London to seek his fame and fortune. This Dick achieved his fame and won the girl of his...

I have read all the books in the series by Michael Connolly, in order, from the start to the current end. So when I saw that it had been made for TV I had to watch it. Unfortunately it is on Amazon Prime. Luckily due to a screw up I got stuck with a year's subscription and so I have been trying to watch it on my tablet. Since getting a smart TV I have been able to watch on a big screen. I'm on the first series and now see there's a second! Prime runs out in a week. Renew or not? http://www.michaelconnelly.com/series/ Update 31/12/2017 Decided to take the hit and stick with Prime.  Amazon has so many TV series that won't make it to the "normal" channels and my Samsung Smart TV can show these programs in full 54", then it was worth sticking with Prime for another year.

The second week is a little problem as it really is 5 nights only. I have been looking at hotels on the Gulf but the current prices are running at about $90 a night. When you total that we are looking at about $450. It's not a lot better on the Atlantic side either. I had thought about a trip up to Daytona and across to Cape Canaveral and that might still be on the cards. This year in Arizona we did the relax then tour system and it worked pretty well. Another week in the timeshare will be less than half of that. So. What to do? I have one overnight booked before the Orlando stay.  By the time we get there it will be time to eat and then go to bed as we will have had a long day.

After a week of scraping ice off the car and -4C (24.8F) mornings I decided that if I was going to be going on my own that I would abort. Too cold and miserable on your own. As well as that "fair weather biker" excuse I got a real one. Trying to catch the dog in the garden I twisted the end joint on my left index finger, making it so painful I couldn't even pull the zipper on my jeans left handed!  I am left handed BTW!  So pulling the clutch was o-u-t! So with Meldrew's clubmate Cal pulling out with a knee injury I decided that abort was best. Oh well!