InvictaMoto's On The Road Again!

Being on leave from 22nd December until January 1st I had hoped we'd have one mild day to get out on the bike. It's a month since I was last out and it seems like much longer.  Sadly it has been raining or merely drizzling every day and then it's taken a turn for the worst. Light snow and daily highs of 2°C aren't conducive to two wheel transport. Thursday this week is supposed to be the mildest day. But... Update: 31st December 2017 Sadly the Met Office were wrong. As usual. Despite all the computers and weather stations and access to every nutter with a pine cone, forecasts are still pretty rubbish. The forecast changed and there should have been a five hour window today where the bike might have been dragged out of the garage.  Sadly. That never happened. It rained all day. It has rained all evening. The forecast for tomorrow is much the same. Looks like 2018 will start as 2017 has drizzled away....

Yesterday was panto time at The Marlowe in Canterbury. As it was my birthday Claire emailed so that when they did the birthdays I got a mention too. Luckily not my age. 62. So this year it was Peter Pan. Superbly done as usual. Great scipt as usual. And music a perfect match. The two "soap" stars this year Wendi Peters and Shawn Williamson were good and could both sing. Essential as pantos are musicals. Next year. Cinderella.

Not started yet.   Well.  I enjoyed the movie. Without giving too much away. I didn't like the ending. Seems a waste. Obviously setting up for Episode 9.

A success. Claire's first attempt at uniting gin and fruit is a total success. Last week she separated the fruit from the liquid and sieved it. It is a dark red colour. Tonight we had the first small glass. Exceptional. Tastes very nice.

My Christmas present to myself. It's easier this way. Claire asks me what I want and I can never think of anything. I usually spend weeks and even months researching products until I finally make a purchase,  or miss a deal for waiting too long. I need a pair or new bike boots. My existing pair are very old. They are still waterproof but once you have to superglue the rubber/plastic gear change guards back on, then their time is getting closer to the day when they go in the refuse/garbage bin. That date was probably sometime in 2016. I wanted a pair of shorter boots to wear with jeans that once off the bike wouldn't be out of place. Boots I can walk in. And here they are. Spada Pilgrim Grande WP Boots. Usually priced at around £130 or equivalent at UK and European stockists.  But one shop had 20% off and free postage.  Mind made up and here they are. I'll write a review once I have been out and about with them....

Whatever your faith this is a time for rejoicing and friendship. Best wishes from Paul and Claire Devall. P.S. Instead of posted cards I have donated to an animal rescue centre.  http://www.hillside.org.uk

Whatever your faith this is a time for rejoicing and friendship. Best wishes from Paul and Claire Devall. P.S. Instead of posted cards I have donated to an animal rescue centre.  http://www.hillside.org.uk

`Wishing you all a Merry MAG Christmas' The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), the UK's leading voice for riders' rights, ends 2017 by offering a huge 'thank you' to all of its members for their support during the year and wishing them many miles of happy riding in the year ahead. MAG Chair, Selina Lavender, said "We have seen some tough issues during 2017; particularly the significant rise in moped-enabled crime and the appalling attacks that have taken place with acid or machetes.  MAG stands firm regarding these crimes: they are unacceptable and we will continue to work with the relevant authorities to help stamp it out.  We are able to engage with these processes because of our fantastic members.  So 'thank you' to each and every one of you for your support over the past year.  I hope you enjoy a very happy festive season and I look forward to helping take MAG forward with you all in 2018." Lembit Öpik, MAG's Director of Communicati...

After updating my blog with the latest MAG info. I always update with meaningful stuff.  I clicked on the tags to see how many other posts I have made. Quote a few as it happens.  I clicked on one. Sadly, it seems with the change of MAG local rep a while back, the South-East blog looks to have been chopped. I don't know when but it's a shame. http://invictamoto.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/new-mag-blog.html

The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) Chair, Selina Lavender, says she is delighted by how much progress MAG has made in recent years. 'MAG perhaps used to focus more on the 'fun' aspects like rallies and demonstrations but in more recent times it has become increasingly focussed on a professional dialogue.  It looks like this change is delivering a lot more clout than we've had previously, which is very good news for MAG.' Selina believes that this professional approach, along with investment in political and industry relationships, is paying dividends.  'Our political unit spends a great deal of time in meetings, and although that may not look as exciting as attending rallies or demos, the truth is we generate more of an impact by sitting inside the Home Office than we do by demonstrating outside it.  That's why our presence on the Home Office Task Group, which has been set up to tackle moped-enabled crime, is so important.  They've got the resources...

Things are slow in the fund raising arena.  So here's another poster.... https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paul-devall-decembeard-2017

Digital cameras.  I seem to have quite a few!!! I rescued the Kodak DC3400 from the bin at work and popped some batteries and a very small memory card in it and it works.  It comes with a viewfinder that sadly isn't "through the lens" or TTL, and therefore non-WYSIWYG.  In fact, with things centred in the viewfinder the resultant photo is skewed to the right a little. It has batteries in it at the moment but is very slow. Take three pictures one after the other and it struggles to write to the memory card and you have to wait for it to save them before you can use it again. The  Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200   is another bin rescue. This time it was actually in the large bin outside along with some other broken equipment .  The charging cable and USB data cables had been lost and the camera deemed surplus to requirements.  I rescued it and from eBay was able to get a pattern part data cable and an original but used power lead .   ...

This is a bit different . And another link

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paul-devall-decembeard-2017 It's a bit grey and not as bushy as in previous years. It's past the itchy stage now.

Things get separated. In one box I have a Creative MuVo2 mp3 player. Originally bought by Claire way back in 2004. I works really well. But. How to charge it? Finally it has been reunited with its original charger. Found when I was going through a bag of computer and other cables.  TBH. Three bags and a magazine rack full of cables. Some of which I have no idea what they are from.... https://tinyurl.com/yco2hv6b Charging it to see what's on it.

With biking being set to one side for the winter. It's too cold and too icy to venture out too far it at all at the moment. So Rocket web surfing has to do. I remembered seeing these guys a few years back, when they did a series touring the UK doing cooking and visiting places that cook and sell food.  Regional recipes etc. As they were on Rocket Touring models. Here they are .

After all the build up.  Next week. Booked tickets for Friday 22nd.

For the summer? I had an email (and no doubt everyone else with a Triumph did!) from Triumph announcing a clear out of parts and accessories.for a range of bike including the Rocket. When I bought Pepé I wanted the flyscreen but with a combined cost over £250 for the screen and fittings,  I couldn't justify the expense.  Unlike the X model that came with it fitted the ordinary Roadster came with nothing.   So when I saw in the list of parts at half or even lower price I chased it up. The flyscreen blade came out at just over £40. With all the bits, some genuine parts an some pattern the total cost is about £125. The reason for pattern parts made by a guy, David Gill, is because the screen needs two brackets to hold it in place. One side is out of stock at Triumph!  And given that the bike is no longer in production as it couldn't meet the latest EU emissions regs, what chance of stuff being made? What happens if an owner has an accident and needs a replacement?...