Tuesday 21 January 2014

France with Friends..... Part One

Part one of many in this saga methinks.....

Holidays to me usually mean only one thing..... Motorcycle touring in France....
Anywhere below Orleans is good as the north, to me, is still a bit Agincourt....

Been doing it for three decades now and usually go by myself but around the millennium I con.... er.... convinced two friends Ric and Neil to accompany me........ Oh the fools....

Neither of them had been abroad on a bike before and they were both looking to me for advice..... Nah..... Not gonna happen..... I,m was  just gonna watch them make the same mistakes I did.......  And that was pretty much how it went...... And it turned out to be, possibly, the best ever holiday I've had

My usual habit on holiday is to find a little "municipal" campsite well out of the way of anything remotely touristy and simply enjoy the roads 'n' scenery and if I spot something worth looking at I may stop for a gander but never ever plan anything and for the evening meal I would try to find a, simple, out of the way, backstreet, place where the local eat........ So nothing like what most people get up to then........

In truth I used to simply hide away..... Not think about problems, life or work....

So it was a total change for me..... I had to actually think.......  Carlsberg........


My bike was a Honda VFR750FJ, owned this for 14 years in total, 5" CBR rear wheel, Ohlin's rear shock, outback seat, and yes that is not a Honda front end its a Yamaha Thundercat. The complete front end is a  straight swap. took me an hour and a half to fit and boy what a difference in handling, not to mention the extra breaking power.....

Neil had a very odd Suzuki GS650GT
Nice little bike with strange handling and very frugal fueling. The bike was an American import and was a chain drive whereas the UK GT models were all shaft drive and, as we found out later, had not had the emissions plumming removed properly.
He did burn less fuel than Ric or myself but ended up with burnt out valves, cylinder head etc


Ric rode a Yamaha TDM850. Which I wish i could say that he put so many miles on it the results are shown on the left but the mini bikes are just a later hobby, The TDM's are amazing machines, could not believe the engine braking they have. Ric was also the only one of us who had breakdown cover...... More on that later........

Anyway plans were made..... Ric and Neil - Where are we going..... Me - South..... Ric 'n' Neil - Do we book campsites..... Me.... No..... That's the plan done then.....

Ferry,s booked and a meeting time arranged for 6am at Tesco's Copdock Mill and at 6 Ric and I duly arrive........ We wait.... No Neil...... Phone Neil.....  errr hmmmm... yes... who..... Neil its 6.15 and were Tesco's...... What!!... Bugger.... Crash..... Be there in 20..... and he was, which was quick as he lives over 12 miles away......

So off we trot to Dover getting faster and faster as we went and arrived at the port just in time to be loaded straight onto the boat.... Literally down the ramp and into the parking lane behind the other, now moving, bikes and straight up onto the boat, don't think we even stopped...

Natural break point here I think folks as Part two starts in Calais....

Monday 20 January 2014

Snakes and Sleeping Bags....

Among my many and varied friends is Ali Treeman, who is definitely the most "varied" of them all, and he used to carry round this very nice
little python called Smeagle.

Now Smeagle was a really friendly snake and he even had a friendly little face, seriously.... made a good anti theft device to as Ali often wrapped Smeagle around the handle bars on his bike... or in his crash helmet.....

Now I was camping for the weekend over at the Edwardstone White Horse for its spring bank holiday beer festival and was, steadily, working my way through the beer list when Ali arrived and proceeded to catch me up.....

Problem was, though, that Ali had brought Smeagle, in his pillow case, but not a tent.....
So I suggested that he share with me, as I had a 4 man tent and only me in it.

It was a really good evening, as usual, but then again cant think of a bad evening at the Horse as Cliff and Penny ran an amazing little, out in the sticks, place with bar billiards, shove ha'pny and no electronic games...

So when Cliff finally kicks us all out we stagger back to the tent and crash........

Now Smeagle had been in his pillow case all evening but when I was startled awake at 2 o'clock in the morning I realized that this was no longer the case as the "thing" I had hold of, by my neck was in fact he...

Can only be glad that I used to wake up alert, in those days, and I immediately let go.... And Smeagle just, calmly, carried on down inside my sleeping bag........ a mummy style bag..........  not a big roomy square one.....

Guess he thought my sleeping bag was warmer than his pillow case...

But I now had, more than, a slight problem as Smeagle was wrapping himself around my thighs.....

Actually had two BIG problems as.........
One.... I had no idea which way his head was facing, or where it was....
Two... I move about A LOT in my sleep....

So I am there punching Ali and calling him, just, a few things.... but would he wake up.... NO... not on your life... or on the life of important parts of my anatomy.....

Longest night of my life...... Not that I did not trust the snake but if I went to sleep and started rolling over then something was going to get bitten or crushed.....

And to cap it all when he did, finally, wake up, and I informed him of events, he simply shrugged he shoulders, smiled, and said " Well I guess your warmer than me"

Thanks Ali......



Tuesday 14 January 2014

Snooker Memories - The one and only Alex Higgins

From 1979 to 1984 I was the cellar-man at the Corn Exchange entertainment complex in Ipswich. A superb job that had me, as well as all the in house events, running all over town setting up mobile bars for everything from concerts, council meetings, parties, weddings, shows and big "in the park" events..... crap wages but brilliant job....

While I was there the Tolly Cobbold Classic (also 1979 - 1984 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolly_Cobbold_Classic ) snooker tournament was happening I would just like to impart the one, out of many, memory of that event.

Alex Higgins had won the first "Classic" event in 79  and he was late for the start of the second..... quite a bit late.... in fact he was still in a helicopter, with Kirk Stevens, when the first match started and he was meant to be playing in the second....

If I remember correctly the two Taylor's, Dennis and Graham, were playing the first game and they did make the game last allot longer than it needed to, as they had been told that Higgins was late.

I was in the technicians office at the side of the stage when up the back stairs, literally, staggered, Alex and Kirk. the were swaying away, holding each other up, and everyone was looking at each other thinking....

hows he going to play... what do we do....

when......

Alex Higgins was a star, a true showman and a brilliant, if eccentric, player.... The man just stood upright, shook himself and said "give me my cue" and went from drunk to sober in the seconds it took him to assemble it.

And then he simply strolled out the door to a crescendo of applause and even went on to win the classic for a second year.

Meanwhile Mr Stevens  was slumped in a chair, holding a basket..... he was playing to....

I have many memories of Alex but watching him transform and then perform that day is the one that truly stands out.

ttfn

Friday 10 January 2014

Street surfing is not optional in motorcycling

Street surfing is not optional in motorcycling

I recently used the above quote in a Facebook message to a good friend who had an unfortunate slide this summer and It got me thinking about accidents and injuries as I hate to think how many times I had  bounced down the road in my younger days.

Started riding at about 8 years on in the woods and foreshore where the Orwell bridge now stands. Initially on little Villers powered "bikes" and then on to larger triumphs, Norton's and BSA,s as in the late sixty's no one wanted the British stuff.

Jap machines were faster, didn't handle but, much faster so you could by a 500/ 650 bike for a couple of quid, with a full tank of gas, and just rag it about the woods... Really hate to think about how many bikes my brother and I destroyed as teenagers.

Anyhoo the street surfing comment came to me because of a memorable slide on a DT175 in about 1975.

I was coming into Ipswich, along the Hadleigh road, and as I turned left into town I suddenly found myself sitting on top of the bike, which was on its side underneath me, with both feet across the front wheel. No idea how my left leg cleared the tank and bars but there I am sliding towards a petrol station.....
Not a big problem you might think but my problem was not the patch of diesel I had just , unknowingly, hit but with the fact the the early DT,s had a high and side mounted exhaust.......  that I was now sitting on.....  Still sliding...... Getting warmer....... Wonder if they have some eggs to go with this bacon......

Guess there are two basic types of accidents.... Those where it all happens so fast you have know idea about anything and those where it all goes into slow motion and you see everything unfolding in front of you.

The DT slide was instantaneous but I have had many where I had time to roll a fag, if I actually smoked, and I must admit I quite liked the adrenaline rush.

Take my little "incident" in September 2012 (not going into how bad car drivers have got in general lately - do that another post) I'm I Bury St Edmund's and I'm heading towards this roundabout as I  follow a MPV who was turning right - I see this Golf to the left and did not get that glazed/ straight through you look so imagine my surprise when, as the MPV in front of my turned off, I heard the engine revs rise on the Golf.
I just look at him, he was still looking behind me while pulling out, and think " this is going to hurt"  -  didn't panic -  just lent towards him so as he hit me the bike slid rather than being punted over....
When I'm on his bonnet he, finally, sees me.... And brakes..... And I slid off.
Very lucky that this all happened at about 10 mph

Really spooky thing was that my niece, who I had not seen for months, was in a car coming up the other way and saw the whole thing. I am still sitting on the floor when she comes running up to me, shaking more than I was.... Just another small world moment I guess.

Its strange but I knew I would be all right because I had time to, was able to, react whether through 50+ years road riding, all the enduro and trials riding, or just because I fell so many times I don't know....

I do know that ridding off road make you a far better road rider. Your responses are quicker and you don't panic if you come out of a corner broadside.....

I am not, in any way, trying to belittle any accident as I have lost far to many friends, over the years, and seen parts of some of them that were meant to stay on the inside.

Ride smart ride safe and if you can try riding off-road.

ttfn

Wednesday 8 January 2014

New Toy - New Lens

New Toy

Bought a new camera lens of fleabay the other day and a football sized ball of bubble wrap arrived this morning

I mean was it well packed or what as the lens itself, a 10mm fish-eye, is tiny, only half filling the box it came in which was, just, a 3" cube. But kudos to the seller as there was no way this lens was going to get damaged, short of nuclear fallout..

So you just have to play with new toys..... just to check they work you understand.... and the result is the pic on the left of my humble abode and bearing in mind that this is a fish eye lens with, about, a 170 deg angle, my very small abode and yes that's the front end of a VFR on the mug.

The camera is a Samsung NX20, to which I upgraded to from the NX200 as I found myself really missed the optical viewfinder of my old Nikon 90X set up that I used for my pics in the 90's. It was a really nice handling camera but with cost of all the lenses and developing, in those days, it did keep me fairly brassic.

Like all new cameras its full of bells, whistles and effects, some of which are even useful, did think that this "sketch" effect was pretty cool though.

I always considered photographs as "other peoples memories" and, to that end, lately it has been really good to get so many great comments back from those posted to date.

Well time to put some clothes on (please........ refrain yourselves....) and go out and find some more victims for Facebook.

ttfn

Monday 6 January 2014

Great Danes and Other Animals

Great Danes and Other Animals

Up before 7 today, bit of a shock to the system, as the old Honda is in for new rear brake pipes, ready for its MOT. And they have this adorable Great Dane."guard" dog who, after 10 minutes of "Oh no who is this invading
my space.... don't like it....... run away into my corner,
simply glued itself to my leg, sat on m foot, looked up as if to say "well you gonna pet me or not"

Love guard dogs like this... lets you enter... But you can never leave.....

Anyhoo brake pipes replaced, anti roll bar rubbers etc  etc done and I got to thinking about the home i grew up in.

As, although at the time it seemed simply normal, I now realist that I had a very eventful, if frugal, upbringing as my father ran this scrap yard cum garage and my mother was very inventive in she spent what little money we had.

But where the Great Dane comes into the story is that we always had animals..... Many and varied.... very varied....... and sometime far to many.....

Would come home from school find.... pigs, goats, turkeys, rabbits, horses, an avery full of finches and monkeys.( good story about the monkey and the finches but that's for another post)... usually one species at a time but on occasion....
Dad sort of looked after things for people, only way I can explain it really, so 200 rabbits would turn up for a couple of month and then be gone... and then maybe some pigs rutting around for a week or three etc

Dad like liked BIG dogs so we have several Great Danes, Alsatians on a couple of Rotties and mum liked small dogs.... toy poodles, Chihuahua's etc 
Better than watching the telly some time watching a Chihuahua tie a Great Dane up in knots...

Anyway it just reminded me that I had more toys to play with than other kids even if they were not real toys, in the usual sense, but cutting up an old car with a gas axe when your nine is great fun...

And then there was this one bonfire night when dad had stacked a couple of cars he wanted to burn out for scrap..... but he forgot about one petrol tank.... 
I learnt that cars can fly........ right through the neighbors fence.

Yes folks you are right there were often times when my parents did not talk for a while and other times when Mum was very skilled in a different way of using a frying pan.

Sunday 5 January 2014

Into the Unknown - not so much an update more a spell check....

Into the Unknown

2014

Like a lot of people I suppose "never thought I would make it this far" and its taken the last two years to work out how strange the previous twenty two have been.

Walked away from someone in 1990 because, as my brother puts it, of being a complete commitment phobic but that's not a complete untruth or a complete truth either.

Anyway hiding never works and everything is still there when you open the door.

2014 awaits and its time I started taking photographs again as its been the one thing that I have always enjoyed even if I was not always sure why I was doing it.

So the plan is to take a few photos of anywhere I am and do a bit of a video/ photo year and any info/ idea/ memory that pops up along the way will get included.

I like the "gezzer with a grudge" blog and like him my thoughts are simply my thoughts. You don't have to agree with them, you don't have to read them but if you do..... then Thank You and if they make you smile..... even better.

New to this..... lots to learn.... and the car is in for brake pipes tomorrow so we will see what that turns up.....

28/03/2015
Car, amazingly, still running, it is a Honda though......
Videos... Where are the videos...........  Doh......
Not taken enough photos....
Not written enough blogs.....
Not put enough miles on the Buell.......
Amazed that I am about to hit 100 views on one blog.......