Sometimes you're just too close...

...to see the obvious mistakes. I quickly fitted the bar risers to the Triumph, remembering to cover the tank so I didn't scratch the new paintwork. Then I fitted an extension spindle to the offside mirror, as all I can usually see out of it is my shoulder. Then it was off for a ride in the sun. I went off down into the pleasant Surrey lanes at a nice slow speed so the engine gets run in properly; stopped at a little village for some lunchtime refreshment where I took these couple of photos.

 Then it was off home, with a detour to my son's house to show off the bike in all it's shiny glory. 'WTF' was his first comment, followed by roars of laughter. I have to admit that, standing back and looking at the bike with detachment, the single high mirror does look a bit goofy. That spindle's coming off straight away!


 

The weather gods can be so cruel

We've had the warmest, dryest winter since records began (allegedly); we've had so little rain in the south of England that last week the Water supply companies implemented a hosepipe ban to protect our dwindling water reserves. Then on Monday, just as the delivery driver was unloading the Triumph, it started raining. The past four days have seen non-stop torrential rain, gale force winds, hailstones, even a light sprinkling of snow in central London (again, allegedly).

Thats my exscuse for not having ridden the Triumph yet. She's sitting downstairs outside my flat under a cover. Here's a picture I took through the window using my Sony NEX-5N @ 55 somethings on the lens. Crap isn't it?

 Now here's a picture I took using my new "Kiwi" adapter on the Sony, and an old Canon zoom lens I had, set at 300 somethings on the lens. Still crap, but much bigger.

I saw Bobskoot do this on a recent blog and his photos were fantastic. Guess it goes to prove that even using the same equipment,  a bad photographer takes bad photos, a good photographer takes good photos.

Still, I've got some bar raisers to fit on Saturday, and some mirror extenders ('cos Sandy lost mine during the rebuild) and a shiny new petrol cap and a new screen; the weather forecast says light winds and only 55% chance of rain so hopefully I'll get some riding in. Maybe even a better photo (don't hold your breath)!

Getting close....

Picture sent by Sandy, bike's back together, MOT'd and roadtested. I just need to pick her up and get some miles in. Can't wait!

Making the best of the warm weather

 The weather has been unfeasibly warm for days and I still don't have my bike back; I've been even more grumpy than usual, so I decided to take a few days off work, hire a bike and ride around aimlessly to cheer myself up. Hired this Kawasaki Versys, which is a bit small for me but goes well enough.

Yesterday I rode southwest and ended up at Beaulieu national motor museum in the New Forest, it all looked impossibly quaint and picturesque in the sunshine. Spent some time wandering around then rode back. Neck muscles ache like hell, the legacy of four months without riding the bike. Off today on more aimless riding - in fact I intend to keep this up throughout the weekend, neck muscles permitting!

My first scooter was one of these - different paint scheme tho'

My first car - 1961 Mini

Looking down on the museum from the monorail

I may be biased, but I found this amusing...

A recent scientific study found that women find different male faces attractive depending on where they are in their menstrual cycle.

For example, when a woman is ovulating, she will prefer a man with rugged, masculine features.

However, when she is menstruating, she prefers a man doused in petrol and set on fire, with scissors stuck in his eye and a cricket stump shoved up his backside.

Best laid plans and all that...

It's been a strange couple of weeks - I set off to darkest Derby to visit a man who said he could fix my hands (my old doctor in Paris who I last visited has now retired), travelling first class on British rail (advance ticket £40, bargain!). I booked a hotel, return journey and 10 days off work to recover, only for said Doctor to tell me he couldn't do anything, and that I needed surgery, and he could recommend a place 10 miles from home. So I got the next train home, didn't fancy the delights of Derby on a wet Wednesday.

So while I was trying to decide whether to go back to work or take advantage of a little holiday, LF turned up on the doorstep...one thing lead to another and a couple of days later found the two of us flying to Portugal for a short break. Now I probably should have thought this through beforehand, but to embark on a 10 day holiday with a women you've broken-up with twice in the last 6 months isn't the best of ideas. This truth dawned on me on the first day while walking around Lisbon. Old town with narrow cobbled streets full of smells and sounds - is this romantic (European idea) or just another old town that needs pulling down and replacing with new skyscrapers (South American mind-set)? It went downhill from there. We hired a car and went to Sintra - lovely old castle or pile of rocks? Drove down to the Algarve - quaint fishermans villages with sandy beaches or ....? I'm sure you've got the picture. We did find a lovely hotel up in the mountains with a Spa where they gave a fantastic room, breakfast included and free massage for the princely sum of 40 Euros, but even this wasn't enough to stop the moaning. So I booked another flight and came home early, back to work to the suprise of all my work colleagues. Ah well, another experience to add to the filing cabinet of life. Portugal was nice though, I'll probably go back there (alone), hopefully on the Triumph if Sandy ever finishes it.

Lisbon view

Moorish castle

Trams move so slow the graffiti artists are in heaven

Police vehicles

Problem with pigeons?

Sintra castle

Transport options

Beach

Not bad for 40 Euros

I finally ventured out

The Triumph is still in deepest Wales having it's internals fiddled with. I've been locked-up in Diente towers in a fit of depression for months. Finally decided to get out - went to the London Bike show. Some retail therapy helped cheer me up; bought a ridiculously-expensive Belstaff jacket and a new pair of boots, oogled the rear ends of bikes and ladies (as you can see from the photos below). I also met a man while I was buying a book "Tortillas to Totems" by Sam Manicom - the man turned out to be Sam Manicom, which suprised me no end. What a nice chap; we had a chat and he signed my copy of his book. I had to confess that I'd been to a lot of the same places as him in North and South America, but by Jeep, which made me sound like a real wuss. I also tried-out my new camera Sony NEX-5N (prompted by Bobskoot buying that same model) but as you can see it made no difference whatsoever to the quality of the photos - guess I'm just a rubbish photographer.



 

This was comfy, but man its ugly!

Shapely rear end

Nice to be back.

Cheeky