On the Road Again!

After all the poncing about to get the Cardo SHO-1 fitted and working the whole project has landed with a bump or a splash!   THUD! SPLASH! Why? I decided to test the setup was working. Connected my phone to the TomTom. Switched on the SHO-1. I could hear the voice quite loudly saying it was connected. The TomTom showed that the headset was connected.  YAY! I picked up the helmet off the bed and underneath was a load of dirt. Not a little but loads of it. Checking inside I can see that the headlining foam has deteriorated and has basically fallen to dust. I need to see if I can get a replacement but this helmet doesn't seem to have removable lining like more modern helmets have. I'll google and see. It does mean that with less than a week to got to my trip to Aragon I'll have to wear my LS2 helmet instead. Whilst I am googling I'll have to see what other Shoei helmets will accept the SHO-1!  I guess that they might also be out of date and no better! If I can't get a...

Okay. Not far. I had intended just a ride around after lunch. Despite temperatures in single figures the sun was out and with it actually on you, it felt okay. I togged up in my current "winter ensemble" of Oxford base layer, wool v-neck jumper, thicker jumper, FT Aqua jacket on upper body topped off with a Buff. Lowers taken care of with the ARMR trousers and TCX boots. I was warm as I hauled Vera from the cold reaches of the garage. I decided to wear the LS2 Metro helmet and Spada gloves. No sunglasses, as the sun would be over my right shoulder as long as it stayed out. If needed the helmet has a drop-down sun visor. I set the Yamaha My Ride app on my phone and set off. I only got as far as Hythe before the ambulance flashing lights up ahead signalled delays on the road. I worked my way past stationary traffic and a loop to come back on the A259 coast road further east of the town centre.  I decided on Dover and then set off through Shornecliffe to Cheriton. More traffic. ...

With it getting chillier, along with the Joe Rocket jacket being hung up for another year and getting the Frank Thomas Aqua Jacket out, it's time for the LS2 helmet to have a break. Cleaned and put away in the cupboard above the wardrobe and the Qwest taken down and dusted off.  I refitted the Cardo Teamset and made sure that it was charged and paired with my phone. It's not that I want to make a phone call, but you never know when there's an emergency and need to receive a call! Although saying that I did use it when a few years ago I was on the M25 to the south of London and I saw a car veering across the carriageway before crashing on the hard shoulder.  I kept my helmet on when I called 999 to get police and ambulance.  I did pull the guy out of the car and into the recovery position at the (safe) side of the road. A nurse stopped and helped me but the job of tugging him across the car from drivers to passenger side was done. I never listen to music as I prefer my own...

This is still my helmet of choice when I need to have the TomTom working and telling me where to go.  With lockdown it has been in the top of the wardrobe waiting to get out again. I have charged up the Bluetooth kit in case that day comes. Bought in 2016 before the Devall Boys trip to Czech for the MotoGP, it is still in excellent condition. As long as you are careful and don't bang them about. When I last wrote about it I said I was a little disappointed with the Bluetooth volume.  At around 70mph it is totally useless if you wear earplugs. And I do.  I contacted LS2 and asked if there was a firmware upgrade available to change the volume settings, but sadly there wasn't and isn't. I am amazed how many people spend hundreds of pounds on a helmet and then carry it, banging into people and harder things! Of course, I still have the Shoei Qwest as well as my "main" helmet.  It's a bit like have "Sunday Best" clothes that rarely get worn! I tend to we...

The helmet proved a good fit on the 1763 mile trip to the Czech MotoGP and back. The noise was no worse than my Shoei. The Bluetooth was easy to setup but at anything above 70mph not a lot of good. Far too quiet when you need some satnav instructions with junctions coming up. The volume simply isn't loud enough to work with a combination of wind noise and ear plugs.  With them out and testing the controls the systems own voice is pretty good. It's a shame as the main selling point of this kind of helmet is the Bluetooth.  Otherwise you may as well buy an alternative make or their own much cheaper model. Still a decent helmet but can't say I am not a little disappointed.

Managed to get out for a test ride earlier in the week. Like most new helmets it is a little tight and as a spectacle wearer I need to be able to get the arms into it to see where I am going. It does take a bit of jiggling about to get them in the right place. I need to check the fit with my Oakley specs as they have straight arms. The Bluetooth works well with the TomTom  and is also paired with my phone. Luckily the power lead I have for my phone is the same as the helmet. The block takes both micro USB and what appears to be the current Apple plug. My current S5 uses micro, so that's one less cable to take with me. The other feature is the sun visor.  My old Schuberth C2 also had one and even with sunglasses it was superb. With clear glasses it was a great addition. We'll have to see what happens when we are away later in the week.

Blimey. Ordered late on Tuesday. Arrived today. The helmet is very light and once I had got the box out of the thick plastic packaging courtesy of Fat Skeleton (http://www.fat-skeleton.co.uk) I couldn't wait to try it on. With Claire measuring my head at 59.5cms the large size is a perfect fit. Large is down as 59-60cms. The box contained a few goodies as well. Bottles of helmet cleaner,  a neck tube, a pair of riding glasses, their LS2 version of Pinlock, they even give stickers for France, plus the charging cable and an assortment of breath deflectors. I couldn't wait to turn it on and it spoke to me. In English. Phew.

For anyone that has read my " Don't Ride Angry " post will know of the events of last Saturday.  What they won't know is that what added to that sense of annoyance and frustration was that when we arrived in Hythe, I found my head was black. Not the black you get from Grecian 2000, a men's hair dye, but from the inside of my Caberg J1S that had finally given up the ghost.  Not the tough shock absorbing liner but the nylon foam padded liner. The foam backing had disintegrated into a lot of black grit!  The liner was dropping out as it no longer fitted and I rode back from Folkestone whilst transferring this grit into my sweaty hair and scalp. As we had a coffee on the field at the food and drink festival, I had a look and it was beyond repair. It went in the bin when I got home.   I then started looking for a replacement. I know it is a luxury to have more than one helmet on the go, but I am used to a few in the cupboard.  The past lame ducks (Sc...