On the Road Again!

This even was one of the targets I had set for getting the Kettle back on the road.  When I set it we were still under the first lockdown but we were hopeful that a year of being in this deep shit pandemic would be enough. I am currently working from home (I have blogged about this already) and the anniversary of my last working day in the office is only 9 days away. So back to the  T and GT Club Nederland 21st Anniversary Rally.  I last went with Claire as my pillion in 2004. We actually went for the day from UK. It was a long day in the saddle but was much nearer that the current site.  According to the MyRouteApp route I have planned for the TomTom it looks to be about four and a half hours in the saddle. I intend to use the Beeline as I don't have the kit to fit the TomTom to the Kettle. Importing the route from MyRouteApp as a .gpx file into Beeline Moto App on my phone should allow the chosen route that includes fuel stops as waypoints to appear and take m...

Checked today to see if Beeline had fixed the routing problem where it ignored the ports of Dover and Folkestone for trips overseas. Finally, they have. It worked around Christmas and then in the new year it went wrong and wherever you planned to go, it made the Channel crossing via Portsmouth-Cherbourg route. Even a trip to the Hook of Holland was routed that way. Despite there being a direct ferry from Harwich in the UK. Fingers crossed they don't bugger it up again. To Paris. And to Amsterdam! At the time I posted on their Facebook page to ask if anyone else had this problem, and there were no replies. Although there were a few suggestions that rather than plan a route from A to B, to plan in smaller chunks. So to get to Paris for instance.  Plan from home to the Channel Tunnel at Cheriton. Then once on French soil plan for Paris etc. Obviously a good workaround but I want to plan one route from home to get an idea of the total di...

I was just looking on the beeline app to see how far it was to visit a railway that was on "World's Most Scenic Railways" TV programme when the result wasn't what I had expected. It was the Train des Cevennes between Nimes and Clermont-Ferrand. There is also a steam train in the same area -  http://www.trainavapeur.com/  Living where we do, some 4 miles from the Channel Tunnel "le Shuttle" and only 14 miles from Dover ferry terminal, I expect to be routed one of those ways. Instead, the route took me to what looks like Portsmouth. Maybe as the destination was somewhat west of the median line that cuts France in two it worked out the best route was to start west. I thought nothing of it as I really wanted an idea of where the railway was rather than actually driving/riding it. I tried later to see what route it would give me to go across the St Valery sur Somme.  It's not that far across the channel.  In fact in 1066 William the Conqueror used it as one o...

Although the Kettle hasn't arrived back yet the Beeline is still being used "on test'. I like laccy band mount that comes with it, but it just seems a bit lightweight. So I have bought something more substantial. This is made of metal and bolts to the handlebar. https://beeline.co/products/beeline-moto-bar-clamp

So here we are into January 2021.  The rally is just under six months away and we are currently into another Covid-19 lockdown.  On top of that the UK left the European Union at 11pm UK time on December 31st. So trips to Europe will be different from now on. Even though I voted to stay in the EU back in 2016, a majority voted to leave. And so finally we have.  All this bollocks hasn't stopped me planning this trip.  As a Father Christmas present to myself I bought a Beeline Moto navigator. I wanted something a little less obstrusive on the Kettle bars to get me around the country and to wherever I want to go. I have the TomTom for the Rocket and the car. The route to the hotel by the rally site is easy to plan on the Beeline app.  My start point is of course the exit lane at Eurotunnel Coquelles. The app can also import GPX routes created in MyRouteApp. Although planning is easy enough and importing is easy, it looks as though Beeline ignores waypoints. Once we...

First impressions good. Comes nicely boxed with the charging USB, the handlebar mount, carry case, angled mount I guess for a windscreen, and the laccy bands to affix the mount to the bars. It does look a little smaller than I had imagined from the pictures. I have charged it and paired it my phone. The phone app can import GPX routes created in other apps. I use MyRouteApp. The app also has a Google Maps interface where you choose a destination and it works it out. You then send it to the Beeline. This might be strange but when I have a TomTom but when the GT comes back I don't want it's looks marred by all the satnav gubbins. More to follow.   https://www.flatoutmag.co.uk/gear/beeline-moto-review/

Maybe this is an extravagance when I already have a TomTom satnav. But with a second bike coming back online in the next few months, I began looking around for a way to incorporate a route tool.  I didn't want all the paraphanalia of mounts and the TomTom stuff cluttering up the bars on the Kettle. The Beeline Moto isn't cheap but it looks good and easily fitted to the bike's handlebar and easily removable to keep it safe from theft. It's not due to arrive for another couple of weeks so I have plenty of time to do more research. https://beeline.co/pages/beeline-moto If anyone has got one of these doohickies and wants to comment, now is a good time!