Posts

Licence Plate

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It's Arrived! Shadowfax's new licence plate was half-hanging through the letterbox when I got home; so much, Postie, for the "Signed-For" stickie on it! But, hey! It's only a couple of days since I ordered it. The plate (letters obscured by "X"s by me) It looks pretty snatty though, eh? The photo doesn't quite catch the colours but it's not far from the brief. It's only missing the solid blue stripe on the left, but they've aligned the top of the St George's flag against the "L" exactly as asked, and I'm chuffed to see the personalisation in having Shadowfax's name across the bottom of it. It makes it subtley unique. You can see how close to the brief it is - and the brief was written by me so no fault on CraftyPlates at all. My mock-up from which I wrote my brief All round, thumbs up CraftyPlates . I got the plate through their Ebay shop but the link goes directly to their web site. Have a look-see; they do car pl...

Nige, a Fox, and The Mummy

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Mixed Bag The ride home was late; not leaving work before 8.15pm. It was damp and it was cold and I was extremely aware the tyre pressures were low. There was a tell-tale feeling from the front; one which I usually answer by inflating the tyres back up to 42psi and all feels right again. Earlier, I had pulled in to see Nige at Taylors Garage in Droxford where he'd promised during Shadowfax's servicing to check my front disk pads when I reckoned them to be near worn. He didn't disappoint and while there I was introduced to an interesting chap who had taken a BMW Transalp from the UK over to Tibet through the various-stahns, Ukraine, and Russia; a regular Long Way Round. Indeed, Charlie had helped brief the trio of adventurers during their preparations. "Don't do it", he said. Nothing could have been more motivating, it seems! The bloke also has a Honda Hornet on loan from Honda of Portsmouth. Apparently, I can waltz in to the shop with my two licences and a uti...

Easy Tiger!

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Keeping it in the family The lad on the bike is ours. He was trying out for the Tigers Motorcycle Display Team last week. It's not a done deal but he seems keen and I'm pretty sold on the idea of him having a go too. The Tigers perform at events all over the local counties during the Summer and spend much of the rest of the year training. The kids we watched performing at the Southwick Police Training College open day the other week and again at the Tigers' selection presentation day all seem to thoroughly enjoy their time riding around in circles, doing cross overs, and by the look of it, jumping - anything; even nothing as long as it was high and it was far. Mind you, it could be said I've lost some money on bikes already this year - this'll all but clean my 4-wheeled budget out! Getting a second-hand 65cc bike is near impossible in the usual on-line markets and a reasonable-looking new Honda 80cc is coming in around £1000 (ouch!) I must have money to burn or some...

Brown Snow!

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Salting There's something about having a white bike in the countryside in the salty throws of Winter: it don't half show the shit splatter. Brown Snow! (Or salt, badger, and other assorted road kill and farmyard animal excriment

I'm Snow Virgin

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White Out Snow Virgin Snow More. Look. It had snowed around Farnham and Frimley. I have ridden in times of snow (evidenced in the photo - look closely). My, it’s grim up North!

Solar Heating Panel

Heat-seeker This morning was pretty cold; perhaps the first morning not only to be cold, or cold and damp but Winter cold. There was frost threatened and soon found. Every damp patch (outside of my bed or pants) was treated as either black ice or a diesel spill: it seemed a sensible assumption to keep speeds down on corners and junctions. The Sun was out though, so psychologically the spirit was lifted by the stunning colours displayed by the late Autumn leaves and bright, crisp blue sky (more the reason to imaging slides and pain at every deviation from long and straight). By the end of the A32 I saw my first snowy car; by the look of it I guessed it couldn’t have done more than 5-miles as its bonnet was still powdered and the engine’s heat had not yet had effect but I knew there was snow reported some 20-miles North in Basingstoke. On the A31 more snowy cars tipped up; some dropping their ice indiscriminately in their wake and in my face. My Richa gloves managed surprisingly we...

Storm; Tornado, and Tempest

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Storm over nothing "So what?" I wrote my last bloggette with an error. The Buffalo leather gloves I've parted from Ka are the "Tempest" model, not the "Tornado" as claimed. Now, if this were an argument over aircraft we could get all spotty and hairy-arsed over whether the Hawker Mk. V Tempest could lick it with any of the Tornado aircraft from the B-45 (USA's first jet bomber) to Panavia's GR Mk1+ / F3 Tornado of Great British fame. There's probably a valid point of overwhelming evidence that one could turn another to matchwood in a dog fight (there's a hint) but each is an aircraft, each is a miracle of Human-Kind's achievements, and each was brilliant at the time of their conception and construction but there's better available now. The "Tempest" Buffalo gloves are every bit as leather, black, and Harley-esque as the "Tornado"; I just get the idea neither can match their name-sakes in nature... ...either w...