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My IT skills are poor but I am trying ... very trying ! I know there was a similar thread on the "old" forum but I have started this so I and perhaps others can try stuff out before "posting live" if that makes sense. We have Sandpits at work for this and its very good. Hope this helps.

I know there have been IT issues but tried to update the Norway 2021 thread for the 3rd time in as many weeks and it just tells me "An error has Occurred" 
I have tried the deleting cookies advice ... never mind so just seeing if it works on a separate new thread or perhaps I may just start it again .. here we go !!!!

I have been, like others on here unable to post or update due to "glitches", "technical errors" or just "pilot error" (on my behalf). I have taken Steves' and Asifs advice and deleted cookies and things from my pooota so that may help in the next few days ... photos and lines of text are not liked and it just tells me there are "error reports"  I am sure all will be well soon so I can bore you with a Norway update (really not very interesting) and my Scottish trip (more interesting). I tried the Norway thread twice but it was having none of it .. perhaps it will only allow me to post if I sell the BM and go on a GTR !

They do very good routes that you can view in their mags or online and download .. then Bluetooth across to everyones Nav and you are away ... just 5 of us yesterday, when the weather was pretty good. Started in Brighton... heading out in a 150 mile loop with coffee stop on the way and a few photos. GS,s and KTM thingy that they have lent to Brucey (#Teapotone) for a write up evaluation ... he loves it ! Just a nice day out  A few photos for you.
GS heaven ....


And here is part of the KTM ... sounds lovely I have to say  :yes



A little break for coffee snacks and love ....



Then down to Goodwood ...



Brucey ...



And finally a farewell ice cream down at the pier .... a fun day was had by all ...

I am sat here with a beer thinking how unfair life can be ... my friend Phil Nicholas whom I have known many years and was on Traffic with as a PC in the early 90,s passed away last night after trying to fight leukaemia for 12 months. Mid 50,s happily married, children etc .. just like me just like you ...retired a year ago ... how unfair is that ? What a top bloke and he is gone. It is just so sad.

So my point is .... whatever is going on in this world near and far just be grateful that most of us wake up every morning with not a lot to worry about. Ride your bike clean your bike go here go there .. just enjoy it ..This life is not a rehearsal. 

When I say NORTH obviously I mean NORTH of the Watford Gap ... 

Sussex is freezing with a -5 forecast tonight ... and snow in the next couple of days but nothing yet ..... 

Chaps ... this is a straight lift from the GS site ... so it is from the "dark side" but none the less looks like a decent offer. I know, as Laura my daughter is at Uni that their Halls of Residence are rented out in the summer to generate money and this is no different. I have added some photos from Booking.com. So .. if you fancy bit of touring around Inverness and want a base for a few days or a week then this looks to offer good value for money.
And clearly its booking up very fast already !
Just to let you know. 

Morning everyone  So here we go. Haven't been too active here since I went to the dark side but I am still here lurking in the background and like any decent chap would like to share my "adventures" with all of the Forum.
Every year at work we try to get away for a week, last year North Wales ( a mix of Biblical rain and blue skies ... it was the same this year ! ) .... Northern Spain and The Picos.
My mate Bruce Smart ( and I make no apologies for brazenly advertising his name and social media sites ) organised everything .. Ferries Hotels Routes etc and a very good job he did too. All we had to do was pay and turn up. 3 years ago he took a career break and went around the world on a GSXR 1000 .... well documented on FB and You Tube under either Bruce Smart or @TeaPotOne .. please take a look if you have some spare time and or like adventures ! 

Sunday 21st May I meet up with everyone (10 in total ) at Portsmouth Ferry Docks ... they have come down from Central London after a set of "Days" ( we are all  )
24 hr crossing to Bilboa with a stop in Roscoff enroute. Eat drink catch up laugh sleep and repeat for the journey. The weather forecast was super hot and the route was along the north coast and inland staying at Öjedo Gijon Navia Leonand Santander.

Some of the scenery .. as you can see it was HOT. A mix of bikes .. Ducati BM's Yamaha R1 KTM Triumph Exploders .. they were all there.


And the back end of a few bikes too !



The first day was only about 100 miles .. plenty of time for coffee and lunch. Bruce has, as part of his armoury of kit for social media a new toy .. A Drone .. a Mavic Pro ... GPS,camera, screen .. about £1000 worth of kit and I know nothing of them but the footage and capability of this was amazing.... no kids toy. His bike was also kitted out with plenty of Go Pro front and back. I know he is very busy but when he sends the video out I shall try and get it on here or at least put out a linky thing for you. Astonishing quality. Into a 3/4 star hotel for the night .. shower drink and walk across the road for some local Spanish scoff !



And some refreshment .... obviously 



Breakfast included ( how do they do it ? ) ... Ham eggs continental coffee orange ... everything is so fresh yum yum 
Into Gijon for the next day .. a coastal town with a fairly big seafront and plenty of places to relax. The roads to and from these places were all through the mountains ... carefully planned out. A mix of some quick "A" class with just enough bends to keep you interested and twisty turn mountain technical roads that when you get it right are an absolute dream to ride. Its a fairly quick group and we mix the leader up every hour or so and then we get a different pace set... no one gets left behind ( not really )

A few more piccies thrown in ... think I,m chatting too much !









Good Lord it was HOT .....



It was 135 miles to Dijon and the next day to Navia was 170 ... very twisty day today so we were all pleased to go for steak and chippins and salad and beer all for 12 Euros  More Drone footage along the way ... and then it started to get a bit cloudy .. but not cooling down until we got into the mountain proper ... then rain wind more rain and then hailstones .. it was like a UK winter storm ... I shall with out doubt get the video footage ... shocking ! ..as we came down the hailstones turned to rain as it warmed up the wind dropped and an hour later our soaking kit is drying nicely in the warm Spanish sun !!! You simply wouldn't believe it ! Some cloudy photos but still the scenery is lovely.





And NO this is not Mr Wolfs K1600 ! I can assure you for a "big tourer" it bloody well shifts especially with Micky at the helm.

Then onto Leon and that was the second day of nearly 200 miles ... not big milage but in hot weather and most of it pretty technical we were all pleased for a good hotel at the end of the day .. underground secure parking and bike friendly staff .. in all the paces we stayed I have to add.


Lovely town squares and scenic coffee stops called all day long ... with the Hotel dog keeping guard ! Any ideas what he is ?






And so it was off again to our final stop in Santander .... mountain morning with a couple of hours A class roads to get on with the milage ... more days are ALWAYS required on a trip like this !
A couple of more piccies for you ....









And finally ...

So there you have it ... I have mastered the technique of posting pictures on the forum ... for a while anyway. 
Pretty sure we are going back next year .. it seems a good way to go ... ferry .. catch up chat eat drink sleep and rest .. ride .... then repeat without having to spend a day or two riding to where you actually want to get to. Hope you enjoyed sharing my little trip .. been home for a few days now and i haven't yet washed the bike 

The original thread on Photobucket has clearly changed in the last 5 years since it was posted ... Mr Wolf did a fine job and helped me post many threads of our Scottish Trips etc ... I would like to create a thread for my recent trip to The Picos .. and share with you all  But I haven't done it for a while and yes I have read the original ... can someone please help me ?
I have the photo I want on Photobucket .. hover my mouse over it ... nothing appears under the image but there is a box of 4 options to the right. I left click on the 4th one "IMAGE"( I have in desperation tried them all !!!! ) .. then go to the new thread .. paste .. and I just get a long line of letters etc ... preview and it doesn't change  :2guns
HELP pretty please !

Ok chaps and chapesses I have been here long enough to know that many of us like to clean our bikes and for our steeds to look good as much as possible and others who clearly don't .... and I understand that 
IF and only IF you would like to unleash a whole new meaning to keeping your bike (and car) free of muck then may I direct you to "Detailed Clean.co.uk" ... this is NOT for the faint hearted or those who wish not to clean as viewing is at your discretion and may make non cleaners feel faint or even sick.
Just for your info. 

For those of you who like clean wheels and stuff carry on ... Asif ... look away now !
Ok .. some time ago a chap at work told me about "Merlins Blood" .. a wheel cleaner that basically like all other stuff you spray on leave for a few minutes and jet wash off .. but this turns red just to show up all the muck. I looked at it on You Tube and yes it all looks very good. Better than Muc Off ? Don't know till I try it out.
So ... via Amazon or else where it comes in from the USA but I found a "similar" cleaner called  "CarPro Iron X" available from a UK company called Detailed Clean.co.uk .. and guess what ? It goes red and costs less ! Mine arrived a few days ago and it was tested on the FIAT 500 recently back from a round trip to Exeter ... well my ghast was flabbered and my wheels are quite amazing. And yes it appears to be better than Muc Off .. just cleaner and a little shiny and no residue.
Anyway, I have no connections to this Detailed Clean.co.uk but if you fancy trying something else then have a look at this site. That's all. Thank you. 

The truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth  .... ok... its been a few weeks since Steve posted his version of what went on north of the border but here is the shocking truth, the reality, the hard core bare bones of an 1,800 miler, through all weathers, getting through Bradford in one piece and even managing to fill up before we ran out ....  ... ok .. its basically the same as before, but because that was SO long ago you will have all forgotten about it and so this will be like a new story and we like stories so close to Christmas ....
Well ...Gtr and Gs ...would the Bavarian tractor survive such an ordeal, where the air is thin and the locals so scary ??

Here we go ....


It was decent weather for me heading North from the Sussex Coast, a blast on the motorways and a stop for a Costa and a sticky bun on the way .. can't go anywhere without a Costa ! 260 miles and i found myself at Steves ... a warm welcome from T and the dogs and out to a local for a wee beer and some decent grub.

Leaving Steves' abode at 0500 we made good progress towards the Highlands .. it was a bit chilly to start with but soon the air warmed as we took the well trodden route to Glen Coe through Loch Lomond ...



We took a pub lunch there, at a new place that has been constructed on the main road on the left as you come into those lovely views ... Sausage and chips with a Coke for £10 .. pretty reasonable I thought ... Riding onto towards Isle of Skye i was hoping that I may get to see the Island in all its sunny beauty .. not a chance .. 2 years in a row and I couldn't see much further than Steves' rear pipe ...
It started to rain, but no downpours this time. I havn't included many of the photos as Steve has done such a good job first time around ( yes thats right .. all those months ago when I should have put this on !! )

We arrived at the guest house .. nice ... run by a retired RAF chap who invested his lump sum / pension into his retirement .. nice bloke nice place BUT his wife was out in town with a friend so there was no food going    Hang on .. from Steves shack to guest house .... 371 miles and your'e telling me theres no food ? WTF !  ... So down the road 5 miles... I know I know ... whats another 5 miles .. thats not the point !! ...to The Claymore Restauant where they could fit us in for T ... I had the fish cakes and pork .. Steve went for the crab and then the childrens burger ....  .. I couldn't fathom it out either !


I know Steve put this up too ... but bloody lovely it is too so you can have it again.
Total for me so far ..631 miles and I'm not aching ... well my ears are aching listening to all that northern drivel ....

The next day .. brekky at 0830 and we were off around the IOS ... it started to rain and it got worse and stayed like that all day .. we went to Portree ... to Uig .. to the castle at Dunvegan and then across the bridge to do The Applecross Pass ... wet.... drizzle.... zero Viz .. cars with no lights .... but fantastic hairpin bends ... oh to ride that on a warm dry day with good views ..WOW !! Snacked at the pub on the other side .. chessy chips Steve ? Can't remember that bit  ... turned around and back to the GH for 5 .. hot shower and T ...chat chat chat .. great evenening .. total miles for the day ? 220 ... trip ? 851.

These next piccies are not in any particular order but just convey some of the great scenery up there in Scotland ... perhaps the best I thought on the way up in Central Scotland heading up towards the very north coast on our way to JOG ....









The final point has to be at Jon O Groats .. Steve has put those piccies up so I wont duplicate them ... what a great place and decent weather for our photos too !

We stayed at a great B+B that night and after a huge breakfast we began to heads south ...down the A9 .. towards Edinburgh ... I thought the A9 and its scenery was disappointing compared to the west coast .. I think everyone says the same .... arriving at the GH in Ed for about 430 ... an Old Victorian style place with great secure parking at the rear .. it was a tad dated but like most of these places it served a purpose ... bed and roof ! Good Wifi and an EXCELLENT breakfast in the morning .... I know Steve didn't rate Edinburgh much but to be fare we wern't there very long and i would like to go back and take a proper look for a few days and stay in a nice hotel .. that might make a difference !!!



So .. with a ride back to Steves and a wet likky greeting from the dogs it was nice to be back "home".

Another great trip up north and I was so pleased to be able to ride such fantastic roads and see such natural beauty once again ... Scotland, well the bits we saw. is just such a lovely lovely place.
Thanks to Steve of course for putting me up and for putting up with me !
I think his garage is taking a turn for the better with some major improvements going on at the moment.
Sorry this has taken a while to get up on the forum... hope its made you smile in the dark depths of winter .........

  It is true Debs and Gentlemen .. These unused boxy things have been dusted off and secured to the Gs .... That can only mean one thing .....

This time to Erlangen Bavaria, Germany for a 3 day beer festival .. a bit of German sausage and plenty of Steins to keep us going .... it's filthy hot down there so only a small bag packed with shorts T shirts and Euros ! "Nights" then an early off from Stansted Sat morning back Tuesday .... I hope to return in future years and make it part of a "trip" .. lockng the Gs up safely in the garage for a few days to dry out ! 

Ok so leading on from Steve's "East meets West" thread this little story began last year on a dark and wet evening in November when Her Ladyship and I were discussing where to go for a UK break with the hooond that we hadn't been to before ... she suggested that we went NORTH, yes NORTH of Wolfland and into a place called "The Lakes". !     
Well one can imagine the horror on my Southern Softy Peroni drinking face when she said that but I was put at ease when she told me that it was "close" to Scotland, looked a bit similar and they spoke a sort of Scottish dialect. Well my learned friends that was it, that was the blue touch paper for getting things booked and this is how it went .................

We booked into a lovely little place at Bowness on Windermere that was just big enough for the 2 of us and Molly (the Border Collie) .... Laura is currently doing her AS levels and said she wouldn't come ... err till a few days before and then as all women are entitled to do ... changed her mind ! So 3 humans and a K9 stuffed into a fiesta headed Norffff ... a total of just under 6 hrs driving and 350 miles, a couple of breaks and we were there ....    Fantastic view of Lake Windermere from the lounge and the hot tub ! Oh baby.

We had 3 days of great weather, the middle Wednesday was shocking and the last Thurs and Fri were ok, so mainly dry meaning we could get about and appreciate everything.
Now, so as not to bore you too much here are a few piccies to interrupt my drivel .............

    This was the view from said Hot Tub .. fantastic !

   And this was part of our "back garden"... over the stone wall and off we went ... for nearly 2 hours and there was no one except for sheep a few coooos and some deer. Can't argue with that !   

The first afternoon was spent just in the local village ... a Cream T was calling and then a nice walk back for a spot of home cooking and bed .... knackered.

Next day dawned as a BH so things were a little more busy ... another walk in the garden then onto a small car ferry over to Hawkshaed and Coniston ... a bit of a picnic whilst Molly played and cooled off in the freezing water ... the swans didn't mind, just so long as she didn't get too close ! 



Then it was a little walk into Coniston where the girls went to the very busy local butchers to purchase the meat for forthcoming BBQ ... and Molly and I wandered across the road into St Andrews Churchyard where I found this fellow ......


There are some here who like me love this "old war stuff" so I shall allow you to Google him and read for yourself about the amazing story of this local lad ... and he was a lad in both age and spirit. So there I was standing at the foot of a VC winner who I had never heard of, who had died just a few months before I was delivered into this world and fought for his King and Country. I spoke to him briefly and felt humbled just being there in his presence.

Here of course is the result of the girls trip to the butchers ............


Having managed to get out of bed the following day it was time to pop up to Ambleside to meet Mr Wolf .... he called us up and told us to meet him at a local pub ... we were standing next to it .. how spooky was that ? A great lunch was had whilst sitting outside and Steve was able to stay for coffee afterwards in the very nice pub that of course like all places up there will let dogs in no problem .... suitably stuffed Steve managed to get back on his bike and making sure the suspension adjuster was up a turn or two made off for home ! In the meantime we preambulated down to the pier to sample the local mint ice cream dipped in hot chocolate ..... surely we had had enough but no we found a great Tapas bar for the evening, and my dear colleagues it was excellent dining !

Now ... more piccies ......
  Lots of swans and ducks and smaller birdies too .........


  For those of you who like a little boating.


  The dockside at Bowness in the evening ... as you can see just luuuvly. 

The last couple of days were spent on boat trips, lunches, more walking, oh plenty of "more walking" and of course an occasional pint of local ale.

This next piccy shows Molly guarding "her" part of the harbour at Newby Bridge as we sat in the National Trust picnic area having a Cumberland Sossy Sarny ....

  I loved this place "Lazy Daizy's" in Windermere. Surely you can't beat this twin menu?                                                                                                                                                                           Cream teas AND a variety of Pimms ? What Ho !


So there you have it everyone. I went North, Norther than Wolfland and survived ... better than that we shall being going back without a shadow of a doubt and I hope to return with some work chaps for 2/3 days of biking .... In the meantime a lovely pic of myself with MollyMoo. It was truly a super place to visit in many many ways and I hope it stays like that for ever.

Sadly not on a bike but that would be a massive adventure I'm sure.
So, back in January with a couple we met at ante natal classes 22 years ago we made our plans for the 2014 yearly weekend away .... and decided somewhere "not hot" just for a change  ...... ( we got that wrong ! ) St Petersburg Russia was picked for no good reason and so it was to be.
Lots of "Googling" and hours on the pooter we booked our flights and hotel. To get into Russia of course you need a VISA ... fill out the forms take them up to London what could be easier ? They were all passed and sent off after the 3rd attempt .. pedantic or what ? Forms that say " if unknown leave blank " .. left blank ...  " Niet " she said to me at the desk " You must fill that in with the word none " .. but it says leave blank ! " Niet " !! ... and so it went on, but I have to say if the British Border Agency were that thorough .....
So .. Visas in hand (and paid for at £92 a go) we were ready ........
St P was founded, if that is the right word, in around 1703 by, strangely enough Peter The Great who built a massive fort on the river front and saw it as Russias' exit to the West. Trade followed and it all went swimmingly. It's a massive river, the Nerva (?) and made up of 7 different islands all linked with bridges etc ... !,400 Sq KM with 5 million population it's quite busy. 3 hrs from Heathrow T5 and we arrived late Thursday ..  3 hrs ahead in time we made our way into town ...
Pretty chilly at 6pm but the sun shining still ....

      The soft focus picture is in fact a dodgy Iphone camera lens .. soon to be replaced by a Samsung S5 ...

There are many places  to visit depending on what you want to see but most will involve Church/Cathederal/Museum ....
The main place of course is The Winter Palace which houses The Hermitage Museum .. the largest single museum in the world it would take 3 possibly 4 days to do it justice .. I love that sort of thing but to keep the peace we did a fraction of it in 3 hrs ! Trying to keep our Russian Roubles to pay for bits and pieces like beer coffee and cakes we tried to pay the entry fee with plastic .. A passport was required as you were paying to get into a "Government" building said the old bat behind the screen .. " sorry don't have it with me " ... didnt even look up .. just tossed the credit card back and said "No passport, no welcome " .. out came the roubles !! 10/10 then for customer service !!!!

          This is just a small bit of the front outside The Winter palace and behind this is the Square .. I imagine built and used for Military parades etc ... impressive !

   Inside The Hermitage ....

 

And back outside ...........


     

  It was all very clean and tidy, no street rubbish of any kind but perhaps that is the Russian way and also to impress the tourists ...   We walked some decent miles each day going to see about half of the many churches etc .. all of which were impressive with their gold decoration and colours ... beautifully maintained and so you could see why religion is such a big part of many lives. Here are a couple of such places and of course I havn't written down which is which but you'll get the idea !

     The Cathederal of The Spilled Blood .... sounds like someone came to a nasty end.

On the way around the back streets there were a few decent motors about ... Louise found this and wondered if she could have it instead of the Fiat 500 that's on order ! Bless her " I like the colour ! " ......

So ... The Hotel ? 5* in Russia is not The Savoy but still very nice indeed. Bucks Fizz for breakfast with an enormous choice of hot food cold food cereal etc ... but potatoes, broccoli and other veg for brekky ? Yep .. they loved it and it was all gone    I stuck to the scrambled eggs !    After a long day out and about it was down to the Hotel Spa for a chill out ....
    Upstairs in reception .........

     So the weather was warming up .. I had hoped and expected to buy one of those Russky fur hats but no need .. cold to start with but on the Saturday we risked it and went out with out coats ... just about ok but on the Sunday it was roasting .. so much so I had to improvise to stop my swa heed getting burned !

Finishing off with a few random pictures just to show you the sheer scale of this place so one can imagine the vastness of Russia as a whole. Some go onto to take internal flights down to Moscow but we didn't havn't the time and the Hotel concierge didnt really rate it !
We had a great time and loved the experience of going somewhere completely new. On a bike ? Love to but to get the visa sorted and have the funds AND the time to do just a fraction of it would probably not be achievable for most of us ... Steve S .. have you done any of that in Russia ?
    Fantastic colours and building work.

    This is The Commandants House within the original Fort .. he would come out every week to condemn local criminals to death who were then carted off to the waiting boats, taken across the river and duly dispatched !

    Das Boot !

       So there you have it .... a quick trip to St Petersburg.

Just read that this morning, Easter Sunday a 33 year old Motorcyclist was killed whilst riding his bike on the A87 near Loch Ainort between Luib and Sconser. No other vehicles involved and no other details at this time.
Be careful out there everyone.

Ok we are all used to bike videos by now and with the arrival of new GoPro 3+ etc the standard is amazing ... but ( and I am sorry I am so technically inept that I cant even copy to this forum ! ) on "the other" forum I use I have seen a great bit of video using one of these multi bladed copter thingys ... and it is incredible .. like a blockbuster film where it comes over the top of the mountains and films you as you ride through the lovely scenery ... Bryn.. have you seen it ?? ( Posted last couple of days ) 2 or 3 chaps on GS's in The Picos I think over the Christmas period.
Just wondered if anyone else had thought about this line of filming ... I'll see if I can locate it again and bring it to the Gtr forum fro us all to share. 

All booked up for a 3 day short break end of April with another couple.... sadly not on a bike but it's a pretty long way ( 1300 miles in a straight line ! ) Nice hotel etc slap bang in the middle ... anyone been ?
I love all this new stuff .. going somewhere that I have never been close to before .. lots of history, heritage, museums etc but also some great natural scenery to see ... and the language ? Oh my ! That's a bit different to my school boy French that I can get away with !
Hope the weather will be a little warmer than it is now !

Whilst on "another" Forum I now use I came across the following tyre supplier ... apologies if some of you know of this place or similar but I thought it was worth sharing .....

It's an E bay shop called ROUNDANDBLACK ... you order the tyres, they are a good price... either to your home or if you take it to an independent place you can have them delivered there and the postage is free on most orders ... can't check it out thoroughly yet as I have to dash off to work and catch the train but hope this is of interest ....