On the Road Again!

Sunday the 17th October 2021.  The Meldrews Sunday Breakfast meet incorporating Ride the World. Didn't happen. Why? The Meldrews part did and that is blogged already.  The Ride the World bit didn't. Why? To complete the challenge to ride to two places on the Overland magazine's challenge, I needed to have the TomTom fully functioning and on the bike.  I had done the groundwork. I had made sure that TomTom could communicate with the Cardo Scala fitted on my Shoei Qwest helmet. TomTom fully charged. All good. What was a stumbling block as that I had not actually foreseen nor had I checked was that the locking kit was in fact locked or maybe unlocked. There are two keys. One locks the whole shebang to the RAM ball on the bike that means the TomTom cradle is locked in place and can't be removed. The other key locks the cradle so that the TomTom can't be easily removed or it can't fly off the cradle in bumpy, possibly off road, conditions.   And yes, both were locked...

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...

I have taken a while to buy a new summer jacket. My Joe Rocket has given sterling service since I bought it way back in 2006 but has started to get a bit on the ragged side.  I fitted new elbow armour last year as the original had started to break up.  A few years back, Claire stitched up the front as one side of the zip had started to part company with the body of the jacket. I looked at a few different designs and had planned to go for a ride to GetGeared 's shop in Leatherhead (Surrey) over the Easter holiday to try some on for size. With the coronavirus lockdown and shops shut, that can't happen. I got the search down to two that I liked the look of and the price I want to pay. In the end I liked the look of the Rev'It Eclipse. It has smooth lines and doesn't look like I am about to ride across the sahara.  Seems to have enough pockets and a decent manufacturer. Comes with elbow and shoulder armour too. ...

Toasted Teacake Despite getting up a little late as I was suffering with what we call "dehli belly" after a curry a few nights before (it was there all the day before too!) , we managed to get to Dover and part way back in an aborted attempt to "take the air" on the White Cliffs. We did have a walk with Reggie at the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne, plus a tea for us. A little painting needed doing before I could leave Claire pottering in the garden and set off on the bike for a short ride. It was warm when I left and perhaps the choice of the mesh Joe Rocket jacket wasn't the right choice. Even with a polo shirt and V-neck jumper underneath once above 50mph it was freezing. Of course, as the afternoon wore on, even with the sun still shining, it got colder. I headed west along the A259, through the neighbouring seaside resort of Dymchurch, the self-confessed "Childrens' Paradise", where there were many people enjoying the amusemen...

Was so warm today for my first ride on the bike for three weeks. So warm in fact means I wore my Joe Rocket mesh jacket. A bit chilly early on but arrived on my course pleasantly warm and not a sweaty mess. Yee hah!

Here goes.... an attempt at a ride report.... Choosing the dates of the MiniTour® for July 1st was a slight miscalculation, or a lack of forethought – 90th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme? But, in the end the ladies of the party didn’t want to do any “war” things on this trip and so we avoided the wars of the 20th Century. Instead of 20th century wars we opted for the earlier conflicts in the 14th and 15th centuries, namely Crécy and Agincourt. Crécy was our Saturday stop en route for the hotel in Abbeville. The group consisted of 8 people on 4 bikes. Two of the riders had never ridden abroad despite years of riding experience and came equipped with a Pan European (Ian & Amanda) and a Blackbird (Simon & Debbie), with Claire and me on the GS. The fourth was Nigel with wife Jane on a Suzuki GSX600. Doris (my Quest) ably navigating us across the forest at Crécy to the badly signposted battlefield. Talk of underwhelming. Okay, so the French lost but thi...

Here goes.... an attempt at a ride report.... Choosing the dates of the MiniTour® for July 1st was a slight miscalculation, or a lack of forethought – 90th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme? But, in the end the ladies of the party didn’t want to do any “war” things on this trip and so we avoided the wars of the 20th Century. Instead of 20th century wars we opted for the earlier conflicts in the 14th and 15th centuries, namely Crécy and Agincourt. Crécy was our Saturday stop en route for the hotel in Abbeville. The group consisted of 8 people on 4 bikes. Two of the riders had never ridden abroad despite years of riding experience and came equipped with a Pan European (Ian & Amanda) and a Blackbird (Simon & Debbie), with Claire and me on the GS. The fourth was Nigel with wife Jane on a Suzuki GSX600. Doris (my Quest) ably navigating us across the forest at Crécy to the badly signposted battlefield. Talk of underwhelming. Okay, so the French lost but this is quite appalling. ...

With the weather being into “heat wave” mode, riding into London everyday to work could hardly be described as “fun”. My Hein Gericke jacket is too thick and heavy for summer wear. Enter: Joe Rocket’s Phantom 4 Mesh jacket. A revelation. The styling is quite good with two inside pockets, a waterproof one for phone and wallet etc, and a huge one labelled “face shield”, I assume American for helmet visor? Mine is in all black although on website there are different colours, but black is best, doesn't show the dirt! It comes with a zip-in liner that provides some wind proofing and waterproofness. It’s not cheap at £119.95 but I had to have something that leaves me comfortable on the 75 miles each way trip to work! I wore if for the first time on the trip to France (blogged elsewhere Eddie III and Henry V) and it was fantastic to ride in comfort in 38C weather.