October 15 on the Ferry

The Spanish journey is over. Back to "reality". Lots of Pommie bikers, all pretty good blokes old blokes on old bikes. They are amused by my "giant" bike. And yes it is big for sure. So I am reminded of rides past and one in particular where a group of us went from Texas to Panama. One of the group disappeared in a cloud of dust and I can recall the concern. Two bikes down in the dust of an old roadside slip and no one injured which was terrific. I suspect Fletcher a retired rancher from the Mississippi did exacerbate an old back injury which laid him low for a day or two. Our mate was also on a "big bike" which later expired in Panama and had to be shipped home. So they all went in a container back to Texas and I meantime had a sojourn in Cuba. So not all bad things are bad. However it was on that trip the custom to finish dinner with what he called a flan and we call Creme Brulee was born. So last night aboard this odd amalgamation of the United Nations, a British boat with a french crew sailing from a Spanish port set sail. All this reminds me of a wish to learn Spanish and the "best" places are either in Salamanca in Spaian or Central America in fact close to our shower of dust incident. Calm night with a bit of a flurry rounding out of the Bay of Biscay, which I remember from 1962 on my first "crossing"....aboard the Fairsea, an Italian boat. The departure from Spain was easy in reality. The ferry is a pretty slick operation. Spain was a very good experience and one worth repeating. The hills and valleys the roads, the feel of the place, in fact 5 days better riding than I could find anywhere else that I have encountered, including NZ, but I hope I have not finished exploring... yet.

October 13 on the road to the Guggenhiem

That was never the actual plan but I was passing. So I looked and kept passing. Bloody incredible really. But here I am in another pub in another city and waiting to eat because in Spain the dining room does not open till at least 8 pm ! But at least I have a log for the missing days, and in order. All I need now is pictures.

October 12. Rioja and extras

What a day. 700 k of pure bliss except for the last two hours belting down a motorway in pitch black at 130 km and 10 degrees. It did take a lot of hot water and a few scotch's to fix me up. Better now.

October 11 from Olite to Argomani

Argomani is an old castle (well they all are really) near the City of Vitoria xxxx. I am here for two nights. Tomorrow I will explore the Rioja wine region

October 10. One the road in rural Northern Spain

Mountain road, mountain road and more mountain road, pure bliss, more to be added. I left the Sant Vincenc spa in Catalonya and went mountaineering. B marvelous. Ended up in Onalite. A castle built by some old frog King ! Sorry about the. Flippancy, I will rectify !

October 9

I thought I had posted. Will amend but I had a day of R and R

October 8th. Nth Spain..finally

After a log ride last night to get to Nimes,in the dark and given the run round by Garmin again I came to a conclusion that the expression killed in friendly fire is a Garmin PR matter. It is clear the US military are not using google.....so it must be Garmin, that universally hopeless GPS system. Good on them. Chances are they would not find NZ if they had to ! So I got a bed. And a meal, of sorts. And because beggars cannot be choosers it was expensive. Not the least of my concerns. When I loaded in Barcelona it suggested it was 338 km on the back roads and would take to 3.30 pm yet the motorway said it was 350 km and that at express speed I would lucky to get there late in the day. So I did the un-mentionable, I got on the motorway for 2 hours. Then I turned inland toward Andorra. Wise move. Great riding through the mountains. Even a UNESCO village Saint Louis. Stunning spot on the top of a nearly mountain, and the french military still occupy it it seems. The roads again wonderful and as 5.30 approached my lazy day stop and find a pub time, I saw a little Hotel, having spurned some earlier stylish establishments in ski villages which abound round here, only to find this was a full on Spa. Mineral water the lot. So here I am. Had the Spa. Darn it that was good. Now onto the Temperanillo (it is a Spanish soft drink)...... Mind you I was well sold. As I pulled in a lady was loading a kid into a car so I asked, Hotel any good ( very stylish) and she replied, it is a mineral Spa, the food is superb ( she is the cook I found out) and we have a special rate for you ( she is the owner I discovered), so I was pretty much hooked and landed. So yes the Spa is good, the Temperanillo is very good and as for the food I am off to find out.

Monday 7 October

Start with the end in mind they say well that would be good if I knew where I was. I had a night in Nuit St G a wine town, then a night in Vichy a water town, and tonight it was to be Ales perhaps a beer town who knows, not me because I got a bit misdirected and ended up in the next town. All right no excuse so the map says Nimes so I guess that's it, or I hope so. The GPS is a love hate affair, as it took me on a journey today that bikers dream of, and even us tourists on a bike get pretty excited about the countryside the roads and the absolute beauty of this place. OK I admit France was not on my list of places but now it is. It is extraordinarily beautiful. The roads, the towns the scenery and the old world charm of this country is breathtaking. Not only that but I got to ride with a bunch of bikers on their way home from a super bike meeting. About 10 bikes. Half were couples. We stopped for lunch together and that was another thing. Salad entre, steak and potatos ànd the now famous fromage which I totally love. Couldn't manage the desert ! Good bunch of people. New Zealand, yes, All Blacks, yes, Jonah Lomu! Yes ....and not the first time. The weather has not been that good but not that bad either. Yes it was between 8 and 12c most of the day but at last sunshine broke through. It shot up to 18 almost immediately so a lot warmer. Petrol is about 1.50 Euro. A bed at a pub hotel chain ranges from 40 to 80 Euro A meal of any sort costs 15 Euro and then add the wine the coffee and so on. Wine by the glass goes from 3.50 to 18E so caution is advised. Well I may get to Spain tomorrow. Depends how long it takes me to find the Roman bits of Nimes. What a magic day. Didn't manage a smile for the speed camera. The GPS said fixed camera 90km and I was at 86 and lo and behold FLASH ! Perhaps I better get over the border tomorrow. Now about the hate part of the GPS. Garmin insist we update maps and pay for them! but they still are way out of date ! I was sent on and endless loop in the city, wrong turn recalculate, go round again and the same result, go round again, and could have done that till I was exhausted, so I jumped the curb into a bus lane, got a strange look from the Police and bolted out of there to end up where I am now and not much idea where that is until tomorrow. Bon soir.

October 6 Vichy

Yes where the water comes from. It is hellish valuable I find. There is a huge hall dedicated to people with "prescriptions" where water is freely available in several flavours to the 20 people that were there. The rest of us had to buy a paper cup to taste the "free" water. Quite a city Vichy. However I may quickly put your minds to rest it was not a patch on Nuit St George where the fluids there are of a vastly superior sort. Their best Pinot is pretty drinkable thats for sure. I was told by a lady at lunch time in a roadside cafe that all the wine in the Baune Nuit SG region are Pinot Noir. They are close by and they also have Pinot Noir but not as good, so they serve it chilled. So I learned something today. That was not the only thing. I remembered I do not like riding in rain. So I sheltered under hedges , in bus shelters, and in doorways, there is not much shelter about in general. They have not heard of awnings or verandahs which I find odd given that it can rain pretty well here. Anyway I left NSG after a very pleasant visit. The proprietor of the Hotel that I stayed in last visit was still there. I remembered him but I doubt he did me ! So as I left town the pickers were everywhere on the north facing gravelly slopes. There were a great number of them, picking in the damp and I noticed that many of the driveways were muddy. Odd for harvest time. They are two weeks late I am told. The vinyards themselves are very grand. The French countryside is almost as good as the English. Both are a delight to ride through. Here it is the HUGE white cattle and they look like they are body builders, huge bulging muscles, I don't know whether Charolais or Simmentaal, I should have asked, I just assumed the former. The villages are somehow more austere. But big churches in every village. The countryside is rolling and plenty of trees. The route I took I ran beside a canal with lots of boats and lots of Locks and little keepers houses, even the odd frenchman under an umbrella sitting on a camp stool fishing. That amused me a lot. Had not intended Vichy but the target in the South was where the rain was heading so I kept going south west instead of south. I am getting keen to be in Spain. Without wanting to be critical they are not so welcoming to "visitors". They warm a bit when I get into conversation and say New Zealand, but until then its pretty frosty. Hardly surprised given the obviously foreign element that now occupies France. I guess we have that to look forward to. The other thing that is obvious in France, no foreign papers, TV or radio that I can find. I have no idea what is going on anywhere in the world as there is as good as a blackout here. Well thats another day on the road. I have nearly learned how to ride again, it has taken a while, but I do enjoy the big bike and being on the road again. The world is really an amazing place and we each occupy or live in such a small part of it. And when you see some of the beautifully manicured gardens that I see over the hedges as I ride by, we don't need that much either.

Post 29/9

Not quite 9/11 but biggie for me. Left the countryside behind me mid morning on Sunday and enjoyed the ride down through Oxford and Reading and then the A4 which allowed me to remember that I was not "over the hill" totally and managed 100 mph.....just to remind me ! London was great. The good old GPS took me right through the middle Regent Street, Picadilly Circus and London Bridge.......all on a motorbike in London traffic and hoping like heck I did nothing silly like falling off while trying to take a photo. Found the Pub hidden in the Borough Market, just where it was when I worked here 49 years ago. Sadly it has changed. The whole place would have fitted into the main saloon bar so the quaintness is no longer the feeling of the place. It is now just another mock "old pub". Never mind it was the thought and the memory that I came for. The magic of St Pauls is still there across the river, but the skyline has changed seriously. I will see if I can get my pictures from Banbury to attach.

Well there are some things that are pretty good. Nuit St George is one

I could not think of one reason why until today. Yesterday I rode through some truly wonderful stretches of roadway in France. I chose the hilly region because I like the remoteness. No trucks ( well not as many) and fewer cars and splendid countryside. And it was. The European villages are pretty special. Clean and tidy. It is all a garden. There is a country that claims to be clean and green, but in comparison this place leaves it for dead. The roadsides are tidy. No wrecked cars. No shitty rubbish dumped in odd places, no evident willful damage, no graffiti, no rubbish stacked round the houses, in fact a pleasure to be here. And I mean it too. Not the usual Stuart moan this time. However the weather got me. It started to rain late afternoon yesterday, but I had a mission. I came to Baune a small wine town and could not find a place ( that I could afford anyway)so I carried on up the road to Nuit St George, and pleased I was also. Spent a few very happy days walking and watching the wine harvest pass the door of the cafe. Not so this year. It is raining. The harvest is late, a late autumn, the leaves are still green right down the Moselle Valley. So today I have a forced rest day. I have been round the village tasting but the best was right here in the Cafe. Domain Chicotot a Nuit St George local. I am having trouble establishing the variety but I am sure it is a Pint Noir and it is a beauty. The lunch was special as well. A salad but served with fromage ( cheese of 4 types and beautiful). So long may the rain fall ! In case anyone is thinking of buying a ACER laptop, don't. Crap does not describe this shitty little system, top of the line my bum ! And notice I have refrained from an outburst about Garmin. The system is American. Say no more. It never ceases to amaze me how America goes to war using their own technology when it cannot safely negotiate a motorcycle through a village in France. I once had the opportunity to suggest to them that they give the system to the Indians who would make it work properly. They did not respond. Ideas good execution pathetic. Anyway, lunch was excellent. Now I must go and find something interesting to occupy my time before I return for dinner. I suspect Bouillabase and Creme Brulee and perhaps a Nuit St George Pinot Noir. And the weather may be better so I may continue south. There are some Roman ruins that I need to inspect a little further south.

Thursday 3rd of October.

On the 2nd I left my friends in Tilburg in Hoilland after spending a very happy night with them and their new 7 month old Son. I was on a mission to sort the brakes that were grabbing on light pressure. Fixed. My old helmet had been battle scarred and was loose by now and smelly. Helmet pong. Not nice. And the usual troubles with Garmin remain. For the Company that sells the most units for bilkes (GPS units) they run a pretty poor business. Anyway I spen the day at it and that night in Thorn. A "created" tourist resort on a lake and river. Ordinary and expensive. However Yesterday started well, cool but clear. I took Particks advice and visited his small village in Germany, Hammer, I can see why someone would want a holiday house there. Almost Hansel and Gretle stuff, pretty as a picture on a card, walkers everywhere and the road in and out was made for oohs and aaahs for everyone bikers included. Once away on to the plateau again more wind power generator. They are absolutely everywhere. They dominate. However the riding was good on good roads and I was soon in Thien. If I spelled it correctly. A University town on the river. Looks good and pretty but the first shop is exotic underwear and then the Hash shop........neither of which hold a particular interest for me, so I carried on. It was downhill fron their. The roads got wider more crowded and the wind got up so I had a les pleasant ride in the afternoon. Lunch was hgood however in a roadside service station a shop where I got goulash and a breadroll followed by coffee and apple trudel.....how german is that ? I was heading for St Die which I made on dusk to find that they were hoilding an ecological conference. So down the road and what a road, probably one of the best biker tracks I have ridden and I have tried a few. Corners, surface, wooded both sides, like riding in a green tunnel, beautiful.It was getting pretty dark however and the GPS showed a Hotel ahead. And it was and it had 1 room and a restaurant, so my day ended well. Must have done about 400 km. But I am now officially in the South. Perhaps today it will be Nuit St George. Lets have breakfast and see what develops.

Wednesday, it must be .........the 2nd of October

Where from to get here. I am sorry about the pictures. Technology moves oin and left me behind. I used to load pictures from the camera to the computer now I have to load to Sky or Cloud or some other place that I can not recover from to put ionto the blog and it is very distressing. I ised to hate Microsoft because they were actually immoral. then I got to hate Apple because they will not let you communicate with other applications then I got Samsung and that is so hopeless that it does not even talk to itself ! So I will just keep trying. I had a lot of fun in England. Stayed at Wellesbourne. A bit of a dump but handy. So I got to visit Stratford on Avon, and some Pubs. And I went to the Malden Fair ( and some Pubs) and had a good time. Then I took off down the kotorway to London on Sunnday and had a night in Southwark. It is stunning, across the river from the cxity and old St Pauls. Breakfast in the Borough market, and lunch, Oysters and stout, good thing the only thing I had to do was ride the bike down to the Train ! So I got the Chunnell and met a bloke and his wife. Fred was a good bloke, and we had a beer on the French Coast where he was staying, and I went to my new found favourite about 20 k inland. Usual good fare, and a happy night. The next day was bloody cold. Off to Hasselt to pick up the last of my bits and then to a town in Holland where a chap and his wife that I met in TRurkey a long while ago, now live. Patrick and Heleen and thewir new son live in a Tilberg. These guys were great while we were trying to outlast the Iran immigration, while we sat freezing our bums off in Turkey. Erzrum in fact. Patrick took us ( Christopher a scots biker) and myself to the local hot pools. I had to confess to him last night that the sukphur cured what I call bikers bum in a day. The sensitive can delete that last reference but it truly works. Sit on a bike for a month and the heat and the fumes really cause some skin distress. Now the really quasey should nit read further but the Docytor in England told me I had ( dont read any further).... "Jockeys nuts" something to do with heat and compression that causes small blood blisters..........those with a guilty conscience wonder about social diseases.....but NO it all has a simple explanation, horses or bikes.... So where was I oh yes in Belgium and the bike was not going so well. So I found a garage. The place that put on the tyres seems to have dropped the wheel and bent the disk brake. So new brakes disks and pads, and a new nelmet. My one was now so loose and scratched that I though it needed to be replaced after being dragged across Russia and the people here could fit the hearing devices......first place I found.......and that led to a GPS because mine has Australia on it and that means the poor simple minded people in the US that designed these "international" devices believe that motor bikers only ride in one place........yeah right ! So if you have the US why would you want Europe, well the simple answer is because you go there. Oh they did not think of that ! So that comprimises the system memory and either you have a map and no music ( which they are designed for) or no music and directions. How did the US ever win anything other than baseball ? Well in fact they didn't. So here I am in a quaint little village in southern Holland. Tomorrow the world.

Catch up Blog from arrival

Don't know what happened to the missing entries. Arrived London. Left bags at St Pancras and on to the Euro Train to Brussels. Lesson #1 take coins........the Belgium toilets are pay to p. With no coins it was an issue and they do speak a strange language. Found the IBIS which is a half decent cheap hotel (costs 69 Euro) so stayed there. The morning was less easy. Getting from the town to the village next door was a bit of an adventure. I decided to go by bus. Finding the right bus took 40 minutes. Got off the bus to spend another half hour walking round trying to find an address that no one seemed to be able to identify so resorted to the old trick, ring up and in two minute down the road was a bloke in the street waving a hand. At least that worked. Spent that day re-acquainting myself with the bike and a whole lot of "stuff" I had left and forgotten. The usual problem with things missing and a good riding suit swapped with an old worn out one but when you leave stuff it gets checked out no matter where you are. Dinner of the Belgium special dish, a stew, was just OK. Early night then back to the garage loaded up and off about midday. Then the ole GPS kicked in again. Instead of going round Brussels, right through the middle. Traffic, people congestion and a glimpse of what is a pretty significant city. Found on the outside of town a BMW bike dealership. Nice guys that took the bike for a run, I was worried about a new rattling sound, which the mechanic determined was "normal" for these bikes ! So back on the road through what I believe to be a very pretty rural farming countryside. I was scrambling to get the Chunnel train and took a "shortcut" that was like most of my shortcuts, it was the wrong way but it ended well as I found a wayside Hotel that turned out to be rather pleasant. Stayed the night. Belgium special menu so I had Mushroom and Snail (escargot) pie....followed by a roast or casseroled pigeon, very nice too and would you believe they had a creme brulee so I again had the proprietor select a glass of wine, and again perfect, so I had a pretty good night. The next day was actually on to the Chunnel train. That was Wednesday. In to town. Parked the bike at a pub and then off to organise the bag I left at St Pancras. Took it to store near the Elephant and Castle. Back for the bike. Leave the bags in store and I am out of here. Through the 6 o'clock traffic but this time the GPS got me out nearly cleanly ( the second or third exit is something she or I have not co-ordinated yet) but out in the dark until I found a pub for the night. Pubs are expensive. I learned that 150quid plus is normal for London. Rural costs from 60 to 90 depending where you are and when. The Oxfordshire countryside is just splendid. I would be tempted to stay and ride here for longer however the weather is so much a consideration that Spain beckons.

Oxfordshire England 26 Sept

Headed out of London to explore the countryside. What a battle in rush hour traffic. Not a good choice of timing to get through the city. Found a place to stay as night closed in on me. Quaint old places English Pubs. Next day walked round Amersham before heading west. Nice riding and a wonderful bit of the country. Country lanes and villages that seem to have been there for ever. Got to see the lady on the white horse in Banbury. It was a terrific statue. Went through some terrific villages. Past farms stately homes and delightful countryside. Lunched at the Pickled Ploughman and yarned with a delightful old bloke from the local village. On to the Kings Head in Wellesbourne. It is such easy and enjoyable riding and with my rather conspicuous bike I get no shortage of people that stop and talk. It makes for a terrific bit of riding. Sorry about the pictures which I have not managed to up or download as appropriate.

Hooray hooray away today

In case I speak too soon I will add "fingers crossed" But from the departure lounge I am optimistic. The fluids are bagged a quaint and inexplicable procedure that creates jobs for those that can not find meaningful work. Whom it makes happier or safer I can barely imagine. Not me. So at last I am off. Too often delayed but in that I have learned that a perfect time does not exist and not just for taking trips but all human endeavors. So as they say watch this space. The flights were delayed but the joy of having no timetable is that one is never late. Flying is just that. Best done partly tired partly intoxicated and very tolerantly. The foolishness of the airline industry. We were told to leave the plane at Dubai in order to pass into the facility, and to then pass through the Xray, to queue to get into the departure lounge, to have the ticket examination redone, and finally after 40 minutes to end up back in the seat just vacated. Why we were not taken directly into the departure lounge is something that would have deprived 40 staff of their meaningful employment. Immigration at London was fine. It seems the US has a special place in world travel as immigration barrier to avoid. So London. It is an unusual and special place for sure. Special due to History. Unusual because it would be hard to determine from the occupants which country you were in.

Catching up.

I arrived in London. Arrivals at places is always stressful but hopefully manageable. I decided to take my excess bag to storage. There are no lockers at railway stations anymore. That business was sold as part of privatisation no doubt. And while on that matter the Government are sell shares in the Postal Service. That was most interesting, as even they see the future of mail as limited. So onward by the fast Euro train from St Pancras. Cost about 160 pounds. Fast and efficient. Arrived at Brussels needing a pee as you do and guess what they all cost -50 Euro and just arrived with no Euro.... Remember to take coins to Belgium. Anyway found my onward train, found the IBIS hotel, of the cheaper variety but still 69 Euro. I will deal with Hotels in one go. They range between expensive 50 Euro/pounds to 200 euro/pounds. Europe a little less costly than the UK. Cheap in London is 200 and elsewhere like the village I stayed last night 90 pounds. This will not be a cheap exercise. My Spot should reveal my whereabouts but it is having trouble with the smog. So two days sorting the bike and then away. The fun I have with my Garmin GPS is legendary ( well it is to me). It has a mind of its own so best enjoy it. It made me upset yesterday taking me right through the middle of Brussels, but two things emerged, it is a place to see, but not a place to go. Fortunately I got "lost" again as the day closed and I was fortunate to find a village hotel nearing the coast of Belgium. Had a memorable stay. Quaint but old, but the food, snail and mushroom pie; casseroled pigeon; and creme brulee accompanied by a glass of suitable wine selected by mine host. Cost 111E (euro). The fast train was the destination for Wednesday. Cost again about 114E. Left the bike parked in an accomodating forecourt and went for my stored bag. It took all day to collect and redeposit and cost 21Pd (pounds) and 63Pd plus insurance and a deposit (refundable) of 105Pd. Wow ! Message pack light and then take half out. Never take two when one will do. So approaching darkness I fled London. Up the A 413.......it was pretty good stimulating riding through the centre of London in the fast descending gloom, battling rush hour traffic (thanks GPS) got it mostly right, and out to the countryside when I found a Pub ( expensive but OK). It describes itself as " The Crown, a modern coaching Inn High Street Old Amersham Buckinghamshire. So here I am. Lets see what today brings.

17 September

Well for any of you that think I have been sitting round and not doing anything well here is the news, the 2013 ride is due to start. The plan is simple. Get myself to Belgium where NZL07 had been on holiday ( for too long). Take her back to the Lake District in England for the last of the summer sun and a good look round that part of England. Then head to London where I celebrated my 21st birthday and with a little bit of good luck will celebrate my next birthday at the same Pub. The Anchor on Bankside. Hope it will be fun. Then its back to EU and down the Rhine, visit some of the places I visited that long ago, and when I get to the Mediterranean turn right. Over the mountains into northern Spain, cross the Santiago de Compostella, and back along the Coast where Rick Stien showed some wonderful food in a recent program, and round the corner into Burgundy for the last of the summer wine (perhaps), and back to the garage for the bike in the UK. Well thats the plan. I will update as often as I can. S

Adventure 2013

Well with luck on our side the journeys should start again in September. The plan is to ride to Morocco. Watch this space.

On the Road again.....just can't wait

At last a bike is in sight...... The plan, collect NZL04 from the garage in Belgium where she has been sulking and ride France and Northern Spain purely for the wine and food. Ship to the US and ride round to arrive at the Vancouver BMW Rally in preparation for the ride to Alaska, Fairbanks on the Ice Road. No point in going further as the road ends before the land does. So a top to bottom is not achievable so next best thing, just ride to the arctic circle. At last some excitement......so come along for the ride !