On the Road Again!

Baloo has been with me now on lots of different trips both in Europe and at home in the UK. He first arrived in 2004. Originally he was a kids' toy from McDonald's! How he came to be left on the beak of the GS I have no idea.  He survived the ride home and he then became our mascot... Since then he has been cable tied to five bikes now. And now we are getting ready to go to Aragón for the MotoGP. 

When I got back on Sunday I was hoping the weather would stay nice in the week. And luckily it has.  From sitting in the sun surrounded by greyhounds yesterday, to plenty of warm sunshine today. I moved Baloo from Suzi Triplo to Vera.  Then thought as it was sunny and Claire was out at a friend's on her regular Tuesday afternoon gossip and craft session, I would tug Vera out of the garage and take a ride. A fifth bike for Mr Baloo! I hadn't intended to be out all that long. Just somewhere with a café for a coffee maybe?  I headed towards Canterbury and then out on the A28 (Sturry Road). This seemed like a good idea. After all, it was before the kids are out of school. Wrong. Traffic was at a standstill for a long way into Sturry from the Park'n'Ride on Sturry Road. There's no hope of slipping past as the road space for cars/trucks/buses and of course, motorcycles,  has been reduced by a three foot cycle lane on both sides of the road. The good people of Canterbury m...

With the chance of a downsizing move that could be sometime this summer, I decided to move my mascot, Mr Baloo, from Pepé to Suzi Triplo. A simple snip of the cable tie and he was free. And here he is on Suzi.

I decided to move the TomTom mounting from "in the wind" by the left side switchgear. As it is already removed what could be simpler? Easier said than done!!!! For some reason the spare RAM mounting kit I had in stock came with 11mm nyloc nuts. I hate nyloc nuts. Also who the **** uses 11mm! The supply spring washer too! In the end after what seemed like hours I finally managed to get it behind the screen and above the clocks. The area is so confined I could only turn the nut about a quarter each time.  It took wiggling and a jiggling to get it where I wanted it, also to be able to lock it in place with the anti-theft kit!  The key to the ram-ball mount is a little bit of a squeeze. The next job is to fit the new power cable and connect it to the battery rather than the accessory socket. Oh yeah. Baloo is back after a wash and brush up.

My mascot on the BMW GS  was called Baloo. In response to a lockdown boredom breaking thread on Facebook I posted a photo of Baloo on right handlebar of the Rocket - Red Pepé. Going back through Flickr to see when was the earliest revealed that the first view of him is 26th May 2004. He actually joined the family weeks before then but avoided photographs!!! 😉 An earlier photo shows the front of the GS unadorned with a bear mascot. Baloo's first appearance on camera! Since this first outting in France, he has been transferred to the Triumph Explorer, and then to Pepé. Located on Red Pepé On the Explorer He is still my mascot after nearly 16 years. Since the Pepé photo he has at last some reprieve from the elements, with the touring screen fitted. Baloo on Flickr

Baloo, after a wash and a spot of sunbathing, now enjoying his retirement. A large nice gin and tonic. No ice. No slice.