Monthly Archives: May 2013

Go east young man – well that’s what the weather forecaster said but I always have great difficulty in persuading my bike to head in that direction.

So – instead of reaching Kielder today as planned, I had a late start and arrived in sunny Portpatrick on the west coast facing Ireland around five o’clock —

There was a chilling breeze off the sea so I didn’t hang about long.

A quick pose for the camera and that was it —

The gixxer showing the benefit of my few hours spent fettling suspension and suchlike was spinning along nicely and with a following breeze the run back home was done in jig time even if I did take a detour into the forestry —

and down the Dee estuary for more pics —

It hasn’t been the best of weekends weatherwise or for that matter healthwise but I’m pleased to say I got myself together in time to catch the late Bank Holiday sunshine —

Go East Young Man

It’s nice having a bike out in the yard to tinker with. At the moment I have the gixxer out there and considering she hasn’t changed much since I rode her down in Croatia five years ago it’s amazing how I can still find things to twiddle with.

Here we are on a dirt road somewhere in Istria —

Susie and I spent the summer there and boy did we enjoy the sunshine and evening sunsets over the Adriatic —

and my ol friend Jake the Peg —

That was the day he arrived and made a one-legged landing on the electrical hook-up box beside my caravan. I hope he is still hanging in there 🙂

Tinkering

What a difference a day makes. I may have sounded as if I enjoyed my first ride of the season yesterday but in actual fact there were bits of it that weren’t much fun. It must be coming on for a year since I rode the Gixxer and I was expecting too much to think I could just take up where I left off last summer.

If truth be told I hadn’t gelled with the bike the way I expected to and didn’t think I would want to ride her again today. But – after an hour or two spent fettling the old girl I couldn’t wait to try again —

so it was off to the hills for another go —

The earky bonding sesh with the spanners had obviously worked for I was enjoying my ‘easy rider’ mode —

and even found time to watch an aerial display by a pair of red kites – (there’s one taking a rest in the field bottom left)  —

and pose by some roadside daffodils —

But it wasn’t all about flower arranging and she did manage to loft the front wheel a time or two on the run home.

It’s a poor workman who blames his tools so I might not stick my poor old gixxer on ebay anytime soon after all 🙂

What a difference a day makes.