Just an update June 2013

Been neglecting me story telling so I’ve been told, so I thought I’d catch up.

So the year so far, as everyone knows the winter just dragged on and not just for me and my fellow island inhibiters here in the UK, it was just as slow to start stateside so I hear, but that’s behind us now and summer has finally shown its hand and it’s looking good.

My riding started if you remember back in March in the snow scouting the northern meet up in the Lake District and very successful meet it was, every year it gets bigger,

I got out to Belonga Mick in April on the bike, it was itching to get some good wind and I found it.

We had a VRCC event in London, guided ride around our capital by no other than our very own DaveMac, his day job is a London cabbie, you want to see London? They’re the best guides. We’d stayed the night before at a hotel just north of the capital with some of the guys before setting off on the Saturday on the tour

By about 12 ish it was time for me to drop meJulie off at Euston station for her train home, me I was off to France, after I’d had a quick ride back to the guys at the Ace café, was hoping to grab a bite to eat and chill for an hour before I had to go to the tunnel and the train to France.

But no, about a mile after dropping meJulie off the GPS went off, stopped, checked power, none, popped seat, melted wires, shoot, middle of London, no map, oh well lets see how we do. I headed off in the direction I was travelling prior to loss of GPS. Traffic was building up by this time and I made slow progress, I’d love to say I was guided by my navigational skill and sun position but, well put simply I don’t know how but I found my way to the Ace  and met up with the guys. With a little help we got power to the GPS and system working again, just in time for me to leave and head for the train south.

With temps in the low 60’s, steady ride south to the tunnel and a very enjoyable crossing, I found one of the quickest crossings I’ve had due to another fellow rider and the stories we exchanged. Arrived Calais and temps down to 50 F and I’m looking at a night of riding thru France.

I intended to part scout the ride for this years VRCC Belonga Mick ride in October, I got as far as Amiens and had to accept that at 53 though not old, with the punishment I’ve given my body over the years it wasn’t going to make it thru the night, already my left knee was aching and my right wrist was starting to burn, checked the temp gauge on the bars and it was now below the 50 and sure to get lower, I booked into a flee pit and got my head down for the night, sure tomorrow will be warmer and the ride more enjoyable.

Is that a big deal? Yes suppose it is for me, not that I’ve been beat or even that I have to admit defeat, it’s not a battle riding a bike, for me it was/still is the feeling of oneness, man and machine chopping thru the night, watching the sunrise, smelling the morning after a night ride is an experience,,,,,,,,,,, well it’s like the dog sticking it’s head out of the car window, if you don’t ride you wouldn’t understand, I hope you do.

I like to think/hope my discomfort was as much temperature related, maybe I was over tired, after all we had spent the morning touring London, whatever, I made the call and stopped.

The next morning I was up and back on the road by 7.30 and although the temperature was now only 38 F I knew it would be getting warmer as I headed south. Sure enough I arrived at the house mid afternoon, wall to wall sunshine and grass that wasn’t too long.

I had taken the opportunity to ride part of the planned October route and thoroughly enjoyed it, beautiful French country side and historic villages and no other better way of seeing them than from a bike.

I’d only been out 3 weeks earlier in the van to deliver some materials so had given it its first trim of the year then. Now that trip was another story I should have told you, stuck in a snow drift just north of Paris, cold? Boy it was so cold my camping gas froze, another lesson learnt. Will be sorting snow chains and other essentials for the van before next winter, cuda died.

I was hoping on this trip to get the plastering done in the new house, but I had managed to bring finish over last trip instead of basecoat plaster, so that was a non starter, however I did build the fire base up ready for the stove to be installed later this year. Also I picked up Neil (master chief and stone mason) who apart from his many other skills is a very good random stone pointer, he spent a day pointing the stone work either side of the fireplace and an excellent job he did.

Pic after

Pic (will get one next visit and post)

Can’t remember what else I did that trip, general tidy and ride, I did discuss with Paul the options for the new door in the end house, old opening is very small and a standard door wouldn’t fit, I could get one made but at over £1000 ($1540) I felt it a bit expensive. Paul suggested we make the opening fit a standard door, assured me it was a cheaper option and would work ????????? I had my doubts; you have to remember these cottages are over 2 to 300 years old if not older, and built from random stone held together with nothing more that mud, walls 3 ft thick and in filled with rubble and all sorts. No he insisted it would be fine, Paul is one of the few builders I would trust. I again put my trust in him and we ordered a standard door from suppliers and made arrangements for Paul (and Neil) to call on our next visit and do the deed, that was going to be in May, when I’d be accompanied by meJulie, her first trip out since Christmas.

I had to cut my trip short by a couple of days and return to the UK, decided to split the trip into two and stop at Abbeville, maybe when the weather warms I’ll be able to spend more time in the saddle before stopping, but in the damp and cold no, just not worth it.

I picked up a new GPS for this year TOMTOM Pro Euro, I like my TomTom, had experience of other systems and find TomTom the most reliable and this new system had a new feature “winding roads” oh yes, set your destination, then set the degree of “bendy roads” you want and set off, I did this a s I left Abbeville that morning heading to Calais, travelled some great roads, just have to put your trust in the GPS and go, I seem to remember it rained some of the way but when you’re enjoying the ride as much as I was that don’t matter, I’m glad I updated the system, (even more so when the next time I used the old one in the car back home it stopped working and hasn’t worked since) that was it for April.

Loaded the van again in May for another trip out, this time with the right plaster and well loads of stuff, every time I take the van out it’s fully loaded, in fact I’d say over loaded, back axle nearly on the floor, my old trafic has had some punishment and it just keeps on going.

This trip the weather was…bad….rain and cold and this was May, like I said winter dragged on this year, just when we thought it was all over it returned with a vengeance. We made the most of our time out there, me plastering and Julie cleaning, we did manage to spark up the BBQ a couple of time and had some exceptionally nice sirloin I’d bought back home, nice strip I cut myself, gave me 20 pieces of steak, not huge but boy were they tender, that’s what we’ll be putting on the menu in October.

Friday and Paul arrives to “make the opening fit the door”, he sent us off to collect the new door from Limoges, didn’t think my heart would cope with the stress, these things can and sometimes do go wrong, random stone is unpredictable, Julie and me, we enjoyed the drive south for the door, stopped off for lunch and made a trip out of it. When we got back they were just putting the finishing touches to the inner skin of stonework, and a very nice job they had done of it, they packed up about 6 and went on there way, now all I had to do was fit the door and light the BBQ.

Fitting doors in France isn’t a hard job, they come pre mounted in a frame, as long as the opening is square and the right size you can’t go wrong, and opening was bang on, raised door up ½ inch to allow for new floor clearance and I had it fitted and sealed within the hour, BBQ smoking we ate more steak at 7.30, life’s good.

Couple of days gardening and tidying and we were on our way home, via Paul’s new park and fly service, we'd decided to fly back and Paul was allowing us to park the van at his place, and Paul’s wife Rose would take us to the airport and we would fly back to Liverpool.

2 reasons, well maybe three for leaving the van in France, first it’s cheaper to fly than drive, flight tickets £28 each, with train ticket this end (UK) for £6.50, so 35 as near as dammit, where as to drive, train is £35 plus diesel at about£80. next reason we didn’t want the van on the drive at home as we have the house on the market so want it looking it’s best and although I love old faithful it’s not everyone’s cup of tea parked on the drive, can make the place look untidy.

And third, was there a third? Oh maybe yes next trip over I’m on the bike and have decided to bring it back in the van as I need to bring some other stuff back so makes sense that way, wrong I know, only time a bike should move is when it’s wheels are in contact with the road, but sure the Dragon will forgive me this once.

So that’s where we’re at, away again on the 13 June, I’ll be stopping at Dreux  scouting accommodation for Belonga Mick in October (someone has to do it) then scouting the ride proper, with coffee stops and site seeing down to the house, where I’ll be spending a week plastering, gardening and riding, oh yes plenty of enjoying that warm French wind.

Got to get back for the midsummer gathering another of our VRCC events up north,

just a days riding with friends, nothing much, no life doesn’t get much better than that, really.

This years road trip, July, we are off (that’s me and meJulie) to France then down to Italy and around to Nice, then along the coast to Spain and back into France, we will be avoiding tolls and using old mountain passes, pictures and story promised, keep watching.

I know I’ve said it before but I’ll do my best to post an update when I get back end of June, till then, this is where I am, can’t think of a better place, hope you’re in the right place also, enjoy

Mick

If you’ve got this far and found a link that isn’t working, let me know, thanks.