tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46567936158821187932024-03-05T00:46:21.959-08:00Nomad RacingThe efforts of an unfit, Sixty something year old now retired from Rally Bike Racing to combine motorbikes with Myasthenia GravisTony Ferrarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13620754191187809627noreply@blogger.comBlogger207125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-3540759589805731342023-09-05T08:57:00.002-07:002023-09-05T08:57:46.950-07:00Yes its so infrequent, I wonder why I bother!<p><span style="font-family: arial;">But then again once a year is 'regular' I guess đ</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Just not enough spare time really.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Since starting the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/c/bywaynomad" target="_blank">Byway Nomad</a> channel on YouTube, a lot of spare time has been taken up riding and filming, editing videos and even then I don't always get them out by my (self imposed) deadlines! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">When I started I had visions of producing one new video a week, after all a single ride out can bag ten or more lanes, so that's ten weeks worth isn't it? Well yes but it's amazing how quickly that goes by, not helped in the least when I realise that lately having finally got into the groove that I tend to post every five to six days rather than every week, so the videos get used up even quicker.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I also created a rod for my own back when I decided to add voice commentary to the videos which increased the time it takes to produce each finished video. As a result i've actually gone back to the text only format.You'd be amazed at how difficult it is to get a suitable period of quiet to do the recordings. I've been disturbed by delivery drivers, children playing outside, ice cream vans and even the cat jumping on my keyboard at a vital moment!!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifeBS7xxSp6KN-h3LVwr1SCym1mtIvKN_QkEY2Uc8ijeIFZEwC-133dYQ5hzhMEyEADPD6BbK2csCIaOXU9nURxxseTYmsk2ozGp1HuMBG_NGgKHqf7OBgYAZKm5RYyVVV9y5oxyvbZD_hdlSsDKIbLQOsNUfgGqBhcvUf7MCPyh_-apv7TWa0szbbs_5f/s2016/Hugo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifeBS7xxSp6KN-h3LVwr1SCym1mtIvKN_QkEY2Uc8ijeIFZEwC-133dYQ5hzhMEyEADPD6BbK2csCIaOXU9nURxxseTYmsk2ozGp1HuMBG_NGgKHqf7OBgYAZKm5RYyVVV9y5oxyvbZD_hdlSsDKIbLQOsNUfgGqBhcvUf7MCPyh_-apv7TWa0szbbs_5f/s320/Hugo.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>In fact I've only recently finished churning out videos from the </span><a href="http://rallymoto.co.uk" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Rallymoto</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> weekend at Haggs Bank Bunkhouse, which took place in August 2022! But it did give me the opportunity to ad some County Durham, Northumberland and Cumbria lanes on the channel And then there's those very </span><a href="http://rallymoto.co.uk" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Rallymoto</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> events, which take up enough time....</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This year has had a fair few, they kicked off with our first training weekend on Salisbury Plain in January, although that had to be curtailed to classroom training only as ice made the trails and minor roads very dangerous. In February the training on the Saturday and an Adventure Rally Raid on the Sunday went ahead and these events were well attended and went very well with many satisfied customers.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTtl4G56o6Z3xBUskVBsQ9haeldebZ2kApDYfylyzOhekJN_jGW1YMmvurV8TQN1TD5kZ-UWpbTjOMozC770u4sie8LJ5jNmYE3XhNZWQ97qa0qlt9JvSSufv396hzXFkImiQepN3YqIOmvE2mOA0KO5CvqFc7V_86O6FSWMGl3vdWZUZYjtsFoPklcpgO/s2016/VStrom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTtl4G56o6Z3xBUskVBsQ9haeldebZ2kApDYfylyzOhekJN_jGW1YMmvurV8TQN1TD5kZ-UWpbTjOMozC770u4sie8LJ5jNmYE3XhNZWQ97qa0qlt9JvSSufv396hzXFkImiQepN3YqIOmvE2mOA0KO5CvqFc7V_86O6FSWMGl3vdWZUZYjtsFoPklcpgO/w400-h300/VStrom.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">After that it was March training, the Kielder 500, running Suzuki's demo rides at the ABR Festival and at Suzuki Live at Cadwell Park (photo above), then the Wales 500 and Adventure Rally Raids in the Peak District and Cotswolds. Not to mention writing risk assessments and method statements for the Suzuki events.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROrWq8Aq00y-4tHZsunD3B_-HpTFxmdpee8y6MyZZtgoAgUueWMADTxIdRYeuGgkKPXrfa8XRnuO6ZxLfcJiJ8PzShL8Oz30yCnN5Eep9xZ6gWCMemOSUiJ3LXk7LgfGC5xEfByUyRFkukvwqQMLZLZLT2P9XDf9GI5VvNWZQDravNossRKT6gGYY2Exp/s2016/Cotswolds.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROrWq8Aq00y-4tHZsunD3B_-HpTFxmdpee8y6MyZZtgoAgUueWMADTxIdRYeuGgkKPXrfa8XRnuO6ZxLfcJiJ8PzShL8Oz30yCnN5Eep9xZ6gWCMemOSUiJ3LXk7LgfGC5xEfByUyRFkukvwqQMLZLZLT2P9XDf9GI5VvNWZQDravNossRKT6gGYY2Exp/w300-h400/Cotswolds.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Then the planning, recce'ing and creating the road books for three of the six Blazing Saddles remote Road Book challenge routes (as well as a number of future</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> projects). </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRERwlhMxP9_ynm_KpMouftYsmhUEjIWMPQacdI_SLFmiiAW09N92VvgKZASE80AD0b-yi3JfH-J38M25I-yS_TsGFigSe8TIT0Xt8QW73i6T994VAa2-AMBUE-ePqKSk8iJqR1bTBMJPUCAtpyjgwNkV5goM4gFll0Z2cR3XVZUPn_0sEpSNlHSw42ntd/s2016/road%20book.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRERwlhMxP9_ynm_KpMouftYsmhUEjIWMPQacdI_SLFmiiAW09N92VvgKZASE80AD0b-yi3JfH-J38M25I-yS_TsGFigSe8TIT0Xt8QW73i6T994VAa2-AMBUE-ePqKSk8iJqR1bTBMJPUCAtpyjgwNkV5goM4gFll0Z2cR3XVZUPn_0sEpSNlHSw42ntd/w300-h400/road%20book.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">For the Blazing Saddles Challenge, I created the Peaks, Kent and Thetford routes and despite the odd issue with missing waypoints (whoops)! road closures, fallen trees and fly tipping, the feedback has been fabulous.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And I also launched the <a href="http://www.bywaynomad.co.uk" target="_blank">Byway Nomad</a> website, which of course took time and requires keeping updated, so please go take a look</span></p><p><a href="http://www.bywaynomad.co.uk">www.bywaynomad.co.uk</a></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Then there's all the rest, holidays, weekends away with friends, family barbeques etc, etc but at the end of </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> it all I do actually like rambling away in text, so here I am back again.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And getting back to videos for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/c/bywaynomad" target="_blank">Byway Nomad</a>. i'm just about to publish my last video in my stock, Mill Way/Mill Lane in Bedfordshire. After that I need to get out on the bike and video a few more!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The next videos may take some time to appear as I'm off on a holiday in Cape Verde for a week. Most unlike what I normally get up to as on face value it's a 'Beach Holiday' but seeing as we've already booked quad biking and sea kayaking trips, maybe not!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-183VqQF0DSGtdbUMaRXsWPY8BQazftzU5mHs2ULKA0UKS_WIGQT5Scyf4621cgps-9_1XGdSEYxF_bl7a0Dix77PLjga67K37ABWzdv8whbP_Mw4zFPgQqHAfsrzuA_2bbT4MWEDCuTl8MiMffcwW4vwFVIOS6ohBA4aOCWWBm2YgBomIp8sGX6awMM/s934/Logo%20in%20red.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="934" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-183VqQF0DSGtdbUMaRXsWPY8BQazftzU5mHs2ULKA0UKS_WIGQT5Scyf4621cgps-9_1XGdSEYxF_bl7a0Dix77PLjga67K37ABWzdv8whbP_Mw4zFPgQqHAfsrzuA_2bbT4MWEDCuTl8MiMffcwW4vwFVIOS6ohBA4aOCWWBm2YgBomIp8sGX6awMM/w400-h272/Logo%20in%20red.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Tony Ferrarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13620754191187809627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-32742267845905483402022-09-11T03:22:00.004-07:002022-09-11T10:29:38.436-07:00Nine months of ramblings to catch up on...<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">OMG is it really that long since I last posted any ramblings!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I originally titled this episode of the blog 'Six Months of Ramblings to catch up on' but it's been another three months to finish as I keen adding stuff. So Nine months of ramblings it is!</span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So whatâs been going on?</span></h3><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Well not a lot really, looks like Iâm becoming a fair weather rider! But seriously, life has been very busy, work is keeping me very busy with a big project to introduce our new risk management system. And weekends seem to be chock full of catching up with friends and family after the Covid restrictions were lifted at the beginning of this year. For example we only got together with GrĂĄinneâs family for âChristmasâ in April. </span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Snowboarding & Helicopters </span></h3><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We managed to get away for a weeks snowboarding in Cervinia in Italy in March. Unfortunately GrĂĄinne got caught out by the âfirst day curseâ again and got taken out on the slope by another snowboarder. This resulted in a ride in an ambulance and a helicopter to hospital in Aosta (a one hour drive by road). Luckily it only resulted in a few bumps and bruises but did rather spoil her holiday. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xh8VvHgqQgxylD8ZysBOmMs5icuUUM3vK7PVicWImB0gprLIJhh0HUSlFOfPu1bXW61p2P-ktLjGYV4ibyWKktrmQUBu2Dww1UrI-6N-vyRCj-Z2iF2x3hiTbJJzkqwk3Cw5mYS5AvI66wOVklaaQCdGN3ntQbgRNFCKyFxXNeUV0Ry4gkn8SOILwQ/s4032/IMG_3845%202.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_xh8VvHgqQgxylD8ZysBOmMs5icuUUM3vK7PVicWImB0gprLIJhh0HUSlFOfPu1bXW61p2P-ktLjGYV4ibyWKktrmQUBu2Dww1UrI-6N-vyRCj-Z2iF2x3hiTbJJzkqwk3Cw5mYS5AvI66wOVklaaQCdGN3ntQbgRNFCKyFxXNeUV0Ry4gkn8SOILwQ/w300-h400/IMG_3845%202.HEIC" width="300" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I had some great lessons which helped my technique no end. Iâm still nowhere near competent but improving slowly from 'complete idiot, out of control on the slope' status.</span><div><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Rallymoto Part I</b></div><div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On the event front there have been some huge frustrations for Rallymoto trying to fix dates and the Wales 500 ended up having to be combined with the Welsh Dark Skies Rally last month. It all went well but for logistical reasons we couldn't run a separate night stage (too light in August and the nearest decent forest trails are too far from Llandovery). Mind you t</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">hat didn't stop some riders returning after dark on Saturday after a mammoth day's riding.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsQ7oKsWs564_8SaO57SlM4fZDJN2Gm115SAOhmuNwf5UB_ImtmC6xaRSYwFHU5zmmzOmUXr2dT1GNY6WuuRvSh5K0BWgqYd9b03VjQUNajwnsTpyqQ6-xr-9oZE_SKY4PN2ZshrMC7Ry8a1tZsWmyCvbAzCyH2sOlIIleBFW6Tujf1NarSxKxwl-pA/s4032/IMG_3137.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsQ7oKsWs564_8SaO57SlM4fZDJN2Gm115SAOhmuNwf5UB_ImtmC6xaRSYwFHU5zmmzOmUXr2dT1GNY6WuuRvSh5K0BWgqYd9b03VjQUNajwnsTpyqQ6-xr-9oZE_SKY4PN2ZshrMC7Ry8a1tZsWmyCvbAzCyH2sOlIIleBFW6Tujf1NarSxKxwl-pA/w400-h300/IMG_3137.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I planned a few routes earlier in the year with the Hertfordshire and Cotswolds </span><span style="font-family: arial;">A</span><span><span style="font-family: arial;">dventure Cannonballs </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">(albeit with a slight problem on the day on the Cotswold run, see photo below) </span><span style="font-family: arial;">and the Wales Extreme Adventure Cannonball running successfully earlier this year.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLI5jX3gWMGtxnYJ0jt8hKlYsLmUgBCzUVU6ZhPdd0AqAEox0VHiyObmB7-gpxOtSz_kKRjvz4zmv6YMvD4RQ1lKdYXyDVnCCQkILAoJ90VKofQWj8Ruox5k38m8IhTx9pecejVLCtNS0XqoRwkWQXIARoamHqXksgAyzf7jR1opTW-7YeFrIZJ4K1g/s1599/IMG_3719.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1599" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLI5jX3gWMGtxnYJ0jt8hKlYsLmUgBCzUVU6ZhPdd0AqAEox0VHiyObmB7-gpxOtSz_kKRjvz4zmv6YMvD4RQ1lKdYXyDVnCCQkILAoJ90VKofQWj8Ruox5k38m8IhTx9pecejVLCtNS0XqoRwkWQXIARoamHqXksgAyzf7jR1opTW-7YeFrIZJ4K1g/w400-h225/IMG_3719.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Ice Breaker Challenge went well now all digital and I plotted three of the eight routes available. </span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">VMCC</span></h3><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Iâve also been working for the Vintage Motor Cycle Club (VMCC) producing route descriptions (road books) for their âTrain Robbers Runâ which visited the site of the 1962 Great Train Robbery. Then following the gangâs getaway route to their hideaway at Leatherfield Farm, only a couple of miles from where I live. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Then I was asked to do the same for the VMCC Banbury Run. This event has run since 1949 for motorcycles manufactured before 1st January 1931. Starting from the British Motor Museum at Gaydon, Warwickshire and covering three different routes up to 62 miles through minor roads through Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire, visiting Banbury on the way (obviously). I went and recceâd the three routes on the 390, having first fitted the original cast wheels with the road biased Continental TKC70 tyres. Five hours in the saddle and amazingly I felt comfortable throughout, for reasons explained below.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5__KA7FlTKzxrdoHW0uqS05ElSEhzdNXXF_Jbodk4Z5_jVuX8dlANMxrAG5zQ16JrdbcPozmFz4i3NSaxGB3fTavtjAIZU0XDlEDLEts_CkYPBFs_GwMbI3VZk7zG2taXjaOASpoYRK_Aow3EbtmQj63Jhx1VThlDBYIRAlS89kI5o1T1xwkZuoikVQ/s4032/IMG_4136.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5__KA7FlTKzxrdoHW0uqS05ElSEhzdNXXF_Jbodk4Z5_jVuX8dlANMxrAG5zQ16JrdbcPozmFz4i3NSaxGB3fTavtjAIZU0XDlEDLEts_CkYPBFs_GwMbI3VZk7zG2taXjaOASpoYRK_Aow3EbtmQj63Jhx1VThlDBYIRAlS89kI5o1T1xwkZuoikVQ/w300-h400/IMG_4136.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On the day I helped out calculating the results, there were some amazing bikes especially as you realise the 'youngest' bike that qualifies is still going to be at least Ninety One years old .</span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Upgrading the 390 Adventure</span></h3><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On the KTM 390 I have been continuing to try and change it from an Adventure to a sort of Adventure R.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To clarify, KTM often offer their Adventure bikes in two versions, the Adventure and the Adventure R, the former usually having a 17"/19" wheel set, cast wheels, road tyres and short travel non (or limited) adjustable suspension, being more road orientated.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And that's exactly what the 390 Adventure is (and doesn't get an R version from the factory) although the shorter travel suspension is still fully adjustable. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The 390 Adventure after all, is effectively the same frame and engine as the 390 Duke road bike, fitted with different wheels, suspension, subframe and bodywork. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As a result the ergonomics are still road oriented but more on that below.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The R versions of Adventure bikes have 18"/21" spoked wheels, fitted with more knobbly tyres, longer travel and fully adjustable suspension. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So how to make the 390 more R like?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Well the obvious step was already done, fitting the spoked wheels and some more aggressive tyres, although these are still in the original 17"/19" diameters.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The next obvious step would be the suspension but to be honest the standard suspension works so well, I can't see much reason to change it just yet. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The riding position as mentioned is road oriented, so whilst perfect on tarmac, does suffer off of it. the bars sit very low, resulting in a forward crouch that is not best for control. I first added some 18mm spacers under the bar riser/clamps to see if this made a difference, it did but not enough. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbxKPEUZ7csxDfV0mOX-MEAG2bEN-PJZtubUYZNb795DktDOtavgK6mFAbTkg5C3zQVI1gjGoinFcIxQ3SBrcDHYoinP5mwLAx-G4lFHmyq7bVJ22UsV_jxaS7IgmzcElEahV08Zha5BPg8lVSxjR6ZY7WNPzLVPQX-Ugm5xSaew4AreYDQeUToyPPmA/s4032/IMG_3293.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbxKPEUZ7csxDfV0mOX-MEAG2bEN-PJZtubUYZNb795DktDOtavgK6mFAbTkg5C3zQVI1gjGoinFcIxQ3SBrcDHYoinP5mwLAx-G4lFHmyq7bVJ22UsV_jxaS7IgmzcElEahV08Zha5BPg8lVSxjR6ZY7WNPzLVPQX-Ugm5xSaew4AreYDQeUToyPPmA/w300-h400/IMG_3293.HEIC" width="300" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I combined this with trying to switch the odd handlebars with their unique 26mm diameter centre section for some 'proper' fat bars, the Renthall RC High bars I have always used on my rally bikes. This appeared quite simple as I just swapped the handlebar clamps for some from a KTM EXC. But unfortunately the Renthal bars are not the correct bend for the 390 and you cannot fit the controls on the shorter straight bar sections at the ends. Apparently there is a Pro Taper bar that works so I may explore further.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As noted above the 18mm risers were not high enough so I fitted some 30mm risers. However this meant changing the clutch cable to reach. Fortunately the stock clutch cable from a Royal Enfield Himalayan is identical apart from being about 25mm longer (and only ÂŁ13 compared to ÂŁ20 for a KTM one). The riding position is now much better! </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVHIBIRZQVfn_456Wfny80jgfyClTRK6AuYrcODveknQy0PSNgWL6sF68OSTW8v9utOpKz8zWZEF4yQFz0Fl1TYsp0mmsYoF1RcuAsmwf0DtuE8t16ttITNyFEw8Hi9inLNvXoCeDriE4Z-0--8AkLErs8Ndr-a9tYhqBuJnqUj0bHuQIQ_uUxGnImg/s2721/D2D6D72E-42A7-4FD6-9745-1E03F44E1EC3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2721" data-original-width="2721" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVHIBIRZQVfn_456Wfny80jgfyClTRK6AuYrcODveknQy0PSNgWL6sF68OSTW8v9utOpKz8zWZEF4yQFz0Fl1TYsp0mmsYoF1RcuAsmwf0DtuE8t16ttITNyFEw8Hi9inLNvXoCeDriE4Z-0--8AkLErs8Ndr-a9tYhqBuJnqUj0bHuQIQ_uUxGnImg/w320-h320/D2D6D72E-42A7-4FD6-9745-1E03F44E1EC3.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The problem of the front tyres available in 19" not being aggressive enough in the dirt was solved when someone on the KTM 390 Adventure UK FaceBook group discovered the Maxxis M7304 Maxxcross IT is available in a 70/100x19 (for bikes like the KTM SX85). Its much skinnier than the standard 100/90x19 but surprisingly fits really well, although a 2.75 skinny front tube is required (luckily I had a HD Michelin version in the right size sitting on the shelf).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Another recent addition was a set of Bark Busters handguards to replace the standard Plastic items that from experience are too flimsy to protect the levers very well.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwLDEILjwrECuNDXOMGsEXlJQwKleStw1lNzognfZ38KrSTn37CWZLzm02ZxsP0bmgBA674b3JrVuoWcK3DaGBdJOQGHEGngu0bEy9RQmR2j2fZFjgPyVXeXm-2XUXikNOIeyEqqDwoTqbuYAQrBbD0yGrv3SbC2lyGGQimTUUPY0NmxP3ph3ud4bYWA/s4032/IMG_4184%202.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigXQS5A2mYMqGEI8tS2VgXGOMCC7-IZ_3v8Bcd_whvyvpmI0VlEti-NvE3hiAk_H5W9HW7_6pEdXKqkqC4luNVmRpyKj0o8KdvcskjEUKhAdNG4AAMEBeHpyA1mZYSxruZdT58aNpFJOv6vuRywRz2eC5l9OkemWV-4nr3JP_l7sph1IINGFnxx8MUCQ/s4032/IMG_4190.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigXQS5A2mYMqGEI8tS2VgXGOMCC7-IZ_3v8Bcd_whvyvpmI0VlEti-NvE3hiAk_H5W9HW7_6pEdXKqkqC4luNVmRpyKj0o8KdvcskjEUKhAdNG4AAMEBeHpyA1mZYSxruZdT58aNpFJOv6vuRywRz2eC5l9OkemWV-4nr3JP_l7sph1IINGFnxx8MUCQ/w200-h150/IMG_4190.JPG" width="200" /></a><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwLDEILjwrECuNDXOMGsEXlJQwKleStw1lNzognfZ38KrSTn37CWZLzm02ZxsP0bmgBA674b3JrVuoWcK3DaGBdJOQGHEGngu0bEy9RQmR2j2fZFjgPyVXeXm-2XUXikNOIeyEqqDwoTqbuYAQrBbD0yGrv3SbC2lyGGQimTUUPY0NmxP3ph3ud4bYWA/w200-h150/IMG_4184%202.JPG" width="200" /></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAXFxXgjBnMZQ4QwebIWchSpqa9Eu7OBY1A-WC0IOzQTLLPERA1dnVrnGNhspZzQfWycfajeP197xQ35VmvNgZ3JUnID8VgI1dhe1SVA1dz1k0tBRuZISvrUBwKUoI4CahGr8eIAIyS0nAecG7L_vSGC9NvshaW8vri-iIzl_pnOFfRg9hkFSfIwrGQ/s4032/IMG_0122.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAXFxXgjBnMZQ4QwebIWchSpqa9Eu7OBY1A-WC0IOzQTLLPERA1dnVrnGNhspZzQfWycfajeP197xQ35VmvNgZ3JUnID8VgI1dhe1SVA1dz1k0tBRuZISvrUBwKUoI4CahGr8eIAIyS0nAecG7L_vSGC9NvshaW8vri-iIzl_pnOFfRg9hkFSfIwrGQ/w150-h200/IMG_0122.HEIC" width="150" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">The Maxxis M7304 is the same tyre as I have used (albeit in 21"/18") when racing on my KTM 525 EXC so I know they are good. </span></div></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It has transformed the bike on the trails, with excellent steering abilities in mud and ruts. Although to be honest for the last few months most trails have been rock hard. One unforeseen problem is reduced ground clearance. The stock 100/90 tyre is 90mm tall; 100 being the width in millimetres and 90 being the 'aspect ratio' which is the height of the tyre as a percentage of the width. So in this case 100mm x 90% = 90mm.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Maxxis being a 70/100 means the width is 70mm and the height is 100% i.e. also 70mm and therein lies the problem, a 20mm reduction in ride height at the front wheel (90mm - 70mm = 20mm). </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It's a bit annoying but doesn't seem to be too much of a problem (but see photo of bash plate below).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On the comfort front I fitted a Cool Covers seat cover, this was essential on my old 1090 R as it chucked out so much heat from the rear cylinder straight into the seat. This is obviously not a problem on the 390 but it massively improves the comfort as well as its original purpose..</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJC_zC2t5u7b0Hnx6C1R5sIsyBqA6RUE7_w685DfMBZ7vc1zY0pVJLTjgcFjIY_o8a3c9yz20lrU-H3NS5NgXHMUNzqrRNkLNt5INNLX2jSYFtAnPmubzIHSp-W_AKZznAjYKH7NWhGCTyWlxsVNkmzkHaEL1BtZIkzk2gtSJ1y42x013Drz7I7Y2XQ/s4032/IMG_4191%202.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJC_zC2t5u7b0Hnx6C1R5sIsyBqA6RUE7_w685DfMBZ7vc1zY0pVJLTjgcFjIY_o8a3c9yz20lrU-H3NS5NgXHMUNzqrRNkLNt5INNLX2jSYFtAnPmubzIHSp-W_AKZznAjYKH7NWhGCTyWlxsVNkmzkHaEL1BtZIkzk2gtSJ1y42x013Drz7I7Y2XQ/w400-h300/IMG_4191%202.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The troublesome brake pedal that sticks out too far has not been satisfactorily resolved but after straightening it out, changing the foot plate for a Freeride one (about a third of the size and rounded, not pointed like the original so less likely to snag). Finally I fitted a 'brake snake' a short cable from brake pedal to bash plate to stop anything getting caught behind the pedal i.e. vegetation.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbG945t-DcRBsKRamvevV5H9R_5nXASMu02EkEIDzJkJ-fcHI4P9q8wNStdbNu0IwyTImtahvCX7MbXTeBzEiMrO_DPOcgB634NVyqJRgIWScF9v178PLjc7GcAPxKRO8KDl_5_E70ywa857Cc5qJhoVZO7Y_Oa3ZD4tQKoRfhk-vziANPNjbd3ULhg/s4032/IMG_0121.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbG945t-DcRBsKRamvevV5H9R_5nXASMu02EkEIDzJkJ-fcHI4P9q8wNStdbNu0IwyTImtahvCX7MbXTeBzEiMrO_DPOcgB634NVyqJRgIWScF9v178PLjc7GcAPxKRO8KDl_5_E70ywa857Cc5qJhoVZO7Y_Oa3ZD4tQKoRfhk-vziANPNjbd3ULhg/w400-h300/IMG_0121.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">KTM 390 Adventure R or Gas Gas 400 Adventure to come?</span></span></h3></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Mind you after all this there have been spy shots published of what looks like a 390 Adventure R prototype, definitely using a 390 engine and frame but with different sub-frame, wheels, swing arm, suspension etc:</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgjSD6TS4tQL2dn8wCkjXte-SVsU-48k9ADEHuntUfkiVmLMXTgwtYwwjH1JM1ASb6qly8w6g0bo3Wy6zLNJEsmTZaINfzUhabLZ1ZjnC-q3PIJhYrvgXvAR4wtnjnqCnSW5sZpyPVWD5uhwSJN7R9aWqxBTpsuadYLs3GvgeDM1DyPdurCtkUNjEqQ/s1001/Screenshot%202022-09-11%20at%2011.12.37.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="1001" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBgjSD6TS4tQL2dn8wCkjXte-SVsU-48k9ADEHuntUfkiVmLMXTgwtYwwjH1JM1ASb6qly8w6g0bo3Wy6zLNJEsmTZaINfzUhabLZ1ZjnC-q3PIJhYrvgXvAR4wtnjnqCnSW5sZpyPVWD5uhwSJN7R9aWqxBTpsuadYLs3GvgeDM1DyPdurCtkUNjEqQ/s320/Screenshot%202022-09-11%20at%2011.12.37.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And then some more of a '400 Adventure bike" under the Gas Gas name (Gas Gas now being part of the KTM Empire) but this does not appear to use the current 390 engine. There are rumours this is a 400cc motor that will replace the current 372cc motor in the 390 range (Adventure, Duke & RC)... the plot thickens!</span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQ_XI4Ej7QTzY4L8oAf4zeHq1UKhIsIw9Vglow0YstttvjIrFRgXVByETkPUfPpnwDkLMd7uUIGutZQCRCXk1c_m99gp13Uy3GjoY7Rsajm8JTIZt4fTbeLxdzLViVI68hcz93gzZIGBRNRscDY6IFHOpMPWxuUpjzDE0NV3px6HJ9v7_TkKuC1yWNg/s811/Screenshot%202022-09-11%20at%2011.17.18.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="811" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQ_XI4Ej7QTzY4L8oAf4zeHq1UKhIsIw9Vglow0YstttvjIrFRgXVByETkPUfPpnwDkLMd7uUIGutZQCRCXk1c_m99gp13Uy3GjoY7Rsajm8JTIZt4fTbeLxdzLViVI68hcz93gzZIGBRNRscDY6IFHOpMPWxuUpjzDE0NV3px6HJ9v7_TkKuC1yWNg/w400-h264/Screenshot%202022-09-11%20at%2011.17.18.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Rallymoto Part II</span></span></h3><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Back to riding real bikes and my latest event was the Rallymoto Adventure Cannonball Camp at Haggs Bank Bunkhouse near Alston in Cumbria (No not the Lake District, the bit of Cumbria on the other side of the Pennines). This one was non competitive and just for fun, with two routes each day Adventure and Extreme. A fantastic weekend especially as I got to ride my bike for a change. And a great opportunity to film some new green roads for my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/bywaynomad" target="_blank">Byway Nomad</a> project.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRHytlncEkO_F_sUq106AUKmt643v2FQILuqGJslmgZx5lGnbXInfbL1dlUWy6VXsK4Lwpp_qB7aTCYoBrMBcQgpmSznQzJWzxUaNXAukD5sYUsFAJuuWRmJD0XMUJZF8DBB-2MdAkJ1tLyOnyXFuNU2Kbbc2eYQI2u0dYJa-RFkxrNXFE3aYpSZT5A/s4032/IMG_4393.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRHytlncEkO_F_sUq106AUKmt643v2FQILuqGJslmgZx5lGnbXInfbL1dlUWy6VXsK4Lwpp_qB7aTCYoBrMBcQgpmSznQzJWzxUaNXAukD5sYUsFAJuuWRmJD0XMUJZF8DBB-2MdAkJ1tLyOnyXFuNU2Kbbc2eYQI2u0dYJa-RFkxrNXFE3aYpSZT5A/w400-h300/IMG_4393.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The lack of ground clearance showed itself on some of the very rocky trail but at least the Powerparts bash plate earned its keep. I'm not sure the standard plastic item would have fared too well...</span></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9oA3x-cNJRm0Qe-X87SCcEyAkvTI1ANFrc0eXjhtoPCe0W5ynW6hCdK02UT03oWFoRyTbaXOwt1avgtL-X5IWayLwxsAfKAnARQ0UvZ-lfNKpMu5Xh_pGtzS1ikIJMDpspnrH9ra7vVA1V8IUdrVqRs0HFiweezTkNjtx8a2Mw363Ht81CeQN1Vi3Q/s4032/IMG_0120.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9oA3x-cNJRm0Qe-X87SCcEyAkvTI1ANFrc0eXjhtoPCe0W5ynW6hCdK02UT03oWFoRyTbaXOwt1avgtL-X5IWayLwxsAfKAnARQ0UvZ-lfNKpMu5Xh_pGtzS1ikIJMDpspnrH9ra7vVA1V8IUdrVqRs0HFiweezTkNjtx8a2Mw363Ht81CeQN1Vi3Q/w300-h400/IMG_0120.HEIC" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPVMFPM-5v7FUO0QjKnBFjwrzHNVlIi6roPHMBPLF15mWnaN6Zd_Du3lydq66EeGXLKrY9Pp4SMtbJHYcmXFjsmY18PL9vRB9cucXCUDSygmdXXFxtUHucAMcr5X80AB4Jsj0gzVpB5280mnJdGzkPT9MU7EevsybqoX7CeYs0s10sZcbGvQ2pDWv_7w/s4032/IMG_4397.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPVMFPM-5v7FUO0QjKnBFjwrzHNVlIi6roPHMBPLF15mWnaN6Zd_Du3lydq66EeGXLKrY9Pp4SMtbJHYcmXFjsmY18PL9vRB9cucXCUDSygmdXXFxtUHucAMcr5X80AB4Jsj0gzVpB5280mnJdGzkPT9MU7EevsybqoX7CeYs0s10sZcbGvQ2pDWv_7w/w300-h400/IMG_4397.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That's it for now but hopefully the next edition won't take so long to write!</span></span></div><p></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p></div></div></div>Tony Ferrarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13620754191187809627noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-13380874493141726562021-12-24T06:53:00.005-08:002021-12-25T01:05:08.847-08:00Yes I know it's been ages since my last post!<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">12th September to be exact but hey i've been busy with the Byway Nomad Project.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But first a very Merry Christmas to all readers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">So how's the Byway Nomad project going?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The last time I reported, back in May I had 50 subscribers on Youtube and 139 followers for the Facebook Page. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">As of today I have 89 subscribers and a whopping 480 followers for the Facebook page!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Also in May I had published 82 videos but now have 141 available.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Having covered the Peak District National Park, I have added green roads from Cumbria, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire and most recently Gloucestershire. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Next on the list will be some Hampshire and West Sussex green roads when I get out to recce a new route for Rallymoto.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It would be nice if some of those on Facebook would subscribe on Youtube too, only 11 more and at 100 I can start doing more stuff like getting a custom URL. Instead of the totally unrememberable </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb4vXOKCHh04Y8z9K4wJ7KA </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I can get something like </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">https://www.youtube.com/channel/bywaynomad</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And it would be nice to get to 500 Facebook followers too (only another 20 to go).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In another improvement I have a new logo, following the Nomad Racing theme and very shortly stickers too! </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiImpows-JqZKXqXZN51eXGbP-hKdNb_FSoG0NV9GecZxxwZiVteoa8Uv5m4NQ7AWZQVOo-MJNwaXfakoIXYB7KTy4gmTLHe4j79sVo8TF5dzjXiVcGW8I-m3pqAyEhTq2w2JAD-9iaUbxKC2YPj3czmCseFk-myA6FiNpt-9yNj7XwYwrAH4ZOi0Oy1Q=s934" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="934" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiImpows-JqZKXqXZN51eXGbP-hKdNb_FSoG0NV9GecZxxwZiVteoa8Uv5m4NQ7AWZQVOo-MJNwaXfakoIXYB7KTy4gmTLHe4j79sVo8TF5dzjXiVcGW8I-m3pqAyEhTq2w2JAD-9iaUbxKC2YPj3czmCseFk-myA6FiNpt-9yNj7XwYwrAH4ZOi0Oy1Q=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p>I</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Tony Ferrarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13620754191187809627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-61164412573800476252021-09-02T09:09:00.003-07:002021-09-02T14:18:28.953-07:00Project Downsize Part 4<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In my last blog, I told the story of the rear brake pedal and how I managed to bend it in half after getting it stuck in the side of a rut on Salisbury Plain.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH9ys-4EZbLflhReNLNqoALIYndvc0qLsCrOLgblOiqSBoVFFJogYIgibU-AkvcVMuqYeLMLkJiq7oNskbN7gOLBUlJWVL64-9T9_QnZRz1Jbm6hETcJMwq42UCDWVPTKp_lRhO0N74_xB/s1536/IMG_3066+3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="710" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH9ys-4EZbLflhReNLNqoALIYndvc0qLsCrOLgblOiqSBoVFFJogYIgibU-AkvcVMuqYeLMLkJiq7oNskbN7gOLBUlJWVL64-9T9_QnZRz1Jbm6hETcJMwq42UCDWVPTKp_lRhO0N74_xB/w296-h640/IMG_3066+3.JPG" width="296" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">This was a result of the standard brake pedal sticking out a long way from the side of the bike and the foot plate on the end being very long too. So I started to look at how I could prevent this in future, now pay attention here comes the technical bit....</span></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">First I bent the pedal back to its original position as far as possible and then attempted to straighten it a bit more to tuck into the side of the bike by the simple expedient of clamping it in a bench vice, heating it up with a blow torch then getting a very large ring spanner over the lever and bending it as required. I also replaced the (very bent) original foot plate with one from a KTM EXC that is only half as big, this was a bit better but not perfect.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaMeeoxjJwdzL_PqNmhnKlghAVISU_rp_uOHgoEjJXe2nkQyefKFqQzHRQp33a9eKAES91ivLmmd7wTWF7c_DgPbK97swL0fUTyrskquYYy_k9m8rpDTyaluSKpCRjqjjUWITYn_Fl6Iw/s2048/IMG_3070+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaMeeoxjJwdzL_PqNmhnKlghAVISU_rp_uOHgoEjJXe2nkQyefKFqQzHRQp33a9eKAES91ivLmmd7wTWF7c_DgPbK97swL0fUTyrskquYYy_k9m8rpDTyaluSKpCRjqjjUWITYn_Fl6Iw/s320/IMG_3070+2.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Next step was<span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to find an alternative pedal that doesnât stick out so far, I took a close look at the 790/890 pedal and it certainly looked like it might fit. Although the obvious issue was it mounts inside the frame, whereas the 390 pedal fits to the outside, so maybe it was just an optical illusion that it doesn't bend as far? The only way to find out was to get hold of one and try.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdxrjsaECPeA1_cWYxM-ESj9Z4bcdIgMzGmzo1b2bD28VGz1X7ShKWbZjGDf2pqkluzhf7JtP4sYH5x-XqBbppg6L8AuAcOEiUvGub3Vxd-ukE4dHQSqd7JgADHHa-YeuOIwZ0JRPc1eX/s2048/IMG_3075.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdxrjsaECPeA1_cWYxM-ESj9Z4bcdIgMzGmzo1b2bD28VGz1X7ShKWbZjGDf2pqkluzhf7JtP4sYH5x-XqBbppg6L8AuAcOEiUvGub3Vxd-ukE4dHQSqd7JgADHHa-YeuOIwZ0JRPc1eX/w300-h400/IMG_3075.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The downside is that a replacement 390 pedal is bad enough at ÂŁ55 but a 790 is ÂŁ79!!!</span></p></span><p></p><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A bit too steep to start experimenting until I spotted a replacement 790 pedal on AliExpress for only ÂŁ24 (with new user discount) so I thought it was worth a punt. It ended up costing me about ÂŁ30 with postage but still not bad.</span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So it turned up eventually and a first look it seemed like everything was in the right place when comparing it to the original:</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQU7BGOqBmIB-gOCvTqJelhirBRiBAWeSSmhnssy7kw8DMWoRv7xJf5lZ2B77zktNGv_6y1W79edhm3YUPWeLd678AzfvQlpW_cYpLDPzgeSpAeHj9k_Fa3NIhbxcaygEz6SaOlyH1LDj/s2048/IMG_3097+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQU7BGOqBmIB-gOCvTqJelhirBRiBAWeSSmhnssy7kw8DMWoRv7xJf5lZ2B77zktNGv_6y1W79edhm3YUPWeLd678AzfvQlpW_cYpLDPzgeSpAeHj9k_Fa3NIhbxcaygEz6SaOlyH1LDj/w300-h400/IMG_3097+2.JPG" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijo5NrLgyFXebQhHJW2jqOWJW0AL0wkNRX5mI2dMXwW7OjQQ007xLXwci_5u7oKOeNe_WNCuZDrZYMAEcPvh8tZX75xCqJS4Oxc8PEXVPbHR8UfsozkLb4GhHwOyOioNQ6u6iV4GwxWRMl/s2048/IMG_3096+2.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijo5NrLgyFXebQhHJW2jqOWJW0AL0wkNRX5mI2dMXwW7OjQQ007xLXwci_5u7oKOeNe_WNCuZDrZYMAEcPvh8tZX75xCqJS4Oxc8PEXVPbHR8UfsozkLb4GhHwOyOioNQ6u6iV4GwxWRMl/w301-h400/IMG_3096+2.HEIC" width="301" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">After removing the original pedal from the bike it looked even better</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_TTzBJDIT_uENz9crI8lgkqPZQJ5WV4s25MxMmEOQd0MS8vMaN9F3GiupCo_ZkdMm3GMhW9aGCJd0W0b0499Zv9VUwpJlXF6O2I7Ii2Vaquc8Pr8P1HIWBxpgdfJ2PJX-Y_TCt5M59QG/s2048/IMG_3098+3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_TTzBJDIT_uENz9crI8lgkqPZQJ5WV4s25MxMmEOQd0MS8vMaN9F3GiupCo_ZkdMm3GMhW9aGCJd0W0b0499Zv9VUwpJlXF6O2I7Ii2Vaquc8Pr8P1HIWBxpgdfJ2PJX-Y_TCt5M59QG/w300-h400/IMG_3098+3.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /></div></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But then a few problems First problem is the part where the brake rod attaches is thicker on the 790 pedal.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This is because instead of a forked rod with a clevis pin that the 390 uses, the 790 has a rose joint that bolts to the side of the pedal.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9VkyTBiCLhTvfZQnWLXtrObim6Xytn-Yg_MvoUrydGgAxFxUVOtFALMbePYSIMPJD68QGG6uf5LJDIFtjUkwLsrB0VegZDHUP5Qs60bmqbmmfStF19RDv_BlHRSBEi5yaHp56EjiN5Qs/s2048/IMG_3099+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC9VkyTBiCLhTvfZQnWLXtrObim6Xytn-Yg_MvoUrydGgAxFxUVOtFALMbePYSIMPJD68QGG6uf5LJDIFtjUkwLsrB0VegZDHUP5Qs60bmqbmmfStF19RDv_BlHRSBEi5yaHp56EjiN5Qs/w400-h300/IMG_3099+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I considered stealing the rod from my 525EXC as itâs the same type as the 790 but realised it was quite different where it goes into the master cylinder. So instead I spent a few minutes with a file and reduced the width to match...</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitIO5n39kHUdQqAxjX2ol25T-HPom9oU4-km_syWN5i8O9E6NyswoJI-9NZGxW0rF9G2U-OP6sbMhU46CcVvub8p8XILtoW23zQ4iPbt0YhJsnI2-6bX5UVbNksosPdV4wJeizAokhSINZ/s2048/IMG_3101+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitIO5n39kHUdQqAxjX2ol25T-HPom9oU4-km_syWN5i8O9E6NyswoJI-9NZGxW0rF9G2U-OP6sbMhU46CcVvub8p8XILtoW23zQ4iPbt0YhJsnI2-6bX5UVbNksosPdV4wJeizAokhSINZ/w400-h300/IMG_3101+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Then I tried to push the clevis pin through the hole and discovered it is both smaller and lacks the steel bush the 390 pedal has:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dubnJYZ5itFLOkiwdumlRNsEF6uc7h70-XYdWcj6IQ-Z6KEwLju-4PdSjjrND2UpQtawHin3BkPUASSs9aLCTdXWMhqL8K1s6xkaCSeyysabMt0iZCT7-RJp6AKXLqJTGfNI4urD_CtC/s2048/IMG_3100+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dubnJYZ5itFLOkiwdumlRNsEF6uc7h70-XYdWcj6IQ-Z6KEwLju-4PdSjjrND2UpQtawHin3BkPUASSs9aLCTdXWMhqL8K1s6xkaCSeyysabMt0iZCT7-RJp6AKXLqJTGfNI4urD_CtC/w400-h300/IMG_3100+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So I pressed out the sleeve (with two small sockets and the vice) </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Then drilled out the 790 pedal to almost big enough, then carefully finished it off with a round file until:</span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHTdyNFlpVsFyRFGINIP3ib0d-Y4CI3wJ8i6Mq-Z7bq6ngey0wrF66bN2bBuiZKOxEKV_GInlWOVDeol6Nz9tifvzBWxhoe49j0EmeDssUtTc9iAVnShOitbVE35DpoCDvo1kjbvRCwdz/s2048/IMG_3103+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHTdyNFlpVsFyRFGINIP3ib0d-Y4CI3wJ8i6Mq-Z7bq6ngey0wrF66bN2bBuiZKOxEKV_GInlWOVDeol6Nz9tifvzBWxhoe49j0EmeDssUtTc9iAVnShOitbVE35DpoCDvo1kjbvRCwdz/w300-h400/IMG_3103+2.JPG" width="300" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD09i8_gBNEmJsoVWNk5y8zTYRgRyatp2ems9Zpoz5bx93nnX8lyIMmTsG3__qH-YHhkPsdF2qYjRknh01kPWRa-rssmPklxxAqZdqwkCiP9kbVG_HI1UYQaQYAAmm62mAIJgZlSPVjF8o/s2048/IMG_3104+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD09i8_gBNEmJsoVWNk5y8zTYRgRyatp2ems9Zpoz5bx93nnX8lyIMmTsG3__qH-YHhkPsdF2qYjRknh01kPWRa-rssmPklxxAqZdqwkCiP9kbVG_HI1UYQaQYAAmm62mAIJgZlSPVjF8o/w300-h400/IMG_3104+2.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I was then able to press the steel bush into the new pedal with the vice...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLUOqoMduHP0AAJmiitdWWh4Aw1vGna4QnB3elSi8JYQpzw71kxLJveFVhnjuR-XkC_as-3XGJgZ2lPnVczTCehNtyrSnUrQBKoAepVuoV7_0lr_6WoNhe4SAEdJJflcAXYIy8P1B7sx5c/s2048/IMG_3102.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLUOqoMduHP0AAJmiitdWWh4Aw1vGna4QnB3elSi8JYQpzw71kxLJveFVhnjuR-XkC_as-3XGJgZ2lPnVczTCehNtyrSnUrQBKoAepVuoV7_0lr_6WoNhe4SAEdJJflcAXYIy8P1B7sx5c/w300-h400/IMG_3102.JPG" width="300" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ERsQ1qYIVcJFM0-RIpM-NfyLRa76N7WwzSUvai9g8ilFvSYEv_3cuFCkX42wVUq6HR_eD7aFS-xeTAz3CDY03VLGZHYFyynTOLc2dqxVsyNA4ika3ozGxVyqILalUZSt9wRoH3pBmSB_/s2048/IMG_3105+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ERsQ1qYIVcJFM0-RIpM-NfyLRa76N7WwzSUvai9g8ilFvSYEv_3cuFCkX42wVUq6HR_eD7aFS-xeTAz3CDY03VLGZHYFyynTOLc2dqxVsyNA4ika3ozGxVyqILalUZSt9wRoH3pBmSB_/w300-h400/IMG_3105+2.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And it all fitted together as standard...</span></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhngp5vcVGIQh8bXAZbFQfYomHPclZtJ3EiUr4Vj6ktoE5ardpWMJFQWm3WkJv38Hzrx47JLpGMDAGo7ysft9B3CH672joaFJyc07DEAFN82clQtyYmODCnWpejzNMLp8LurDxOteCusAA/s2048/IMG_3106+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhngp5vcVGIQh8bXAZbFQfYomHPclZtJ3EiUr4Vj6ktoE5ardpWMJFQWm3WkJv38Hzrx47JLpGMDAGo7ysft9B3CH672joaFJyc07DEAFN82clQtyYmODCnWpejzNMLp8LurDxOteCusAA/w300-h400/IMG_3106+2.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Another problem can be seen in the photo above, the hole for the return spring runs back to front, whereas on the original pedal it's from side to side. Not really an issue as I drilled another hole with a 2mm bit in the correct orientation.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Next issue was the thickness off the lever at the pivot, i</span><span style="font-family: arial;">f you look at the 390 lever the bearing just pushes in from either side. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">But on the 790 it can only go in from the inside as it sits against a shoulder on the outsideâŠ</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pBaXcQzWP3nevMN6zJP7El5JByHNkTyz7izH_8wb6lmuViMH81gqFdFe6ZAi-taDza7V_7y-M9mLlFa6HxfxI5__RdiHp2i7VV7pbomabQTDMJJGsvyZjSfGuqakSfp3nsDvCZBFeq8D/s2048/DCB915AA-6B11-4455-9497-871DB7BA7CEE+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pBaXcQzWP3nevMN6zJP7El5JByHNkTyz7izH_8wb6lmuViMH81gqFdFe6ZAi-taDza7V_7y-M9mLlFa6HxfxI5__RdiHp2i7VV7pbomabQTDMJJGsvyZjSfGuqakSfp3nsDvCZBFeq8D/w225-h400/DCB915AA-6B11-4455-9497-871DB7BA7CEE+2.JPG" width="225" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This means the pedal is thicker here and the unthreaded portion of the pivot bolt is not long enough and pinches the pedal up against the frame so it doesn't move. I cured this by finding a bolt with a slightly longer unthreaded section in my "box of spare bolts that must not be thrown away as they are bound to come in useful one day"</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And so the final test, and everything seems to fit just right. The adjustment bolt, didn't quite line up but was enough to still work OK, I also fitted a footplate from a KTM 250F Freeride, even smaller than the old EXC one I used before.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZVqahyphenhyphenZzIFiaCRDwdi_mgnepyACpvFbi8cdeCz8bRgU-tl_JpDzos4_YPKP0uipB5yG-ibTa_fu6wex-foYHXpbINQV-2qPrX8cvexHp1b72545ZR0czJNHuR3m1kUMvAAc9IS4xYY8D/s2048/IMG_3113+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZVqahyphenhyphenZzIFiaCRDwdi_mgnepyACpvFbi8cdeCz8bRgU-tl_JpDzos4_YPKP0uipB5yG-ibTa_fu6wex-foYHXpbINQV-2qPrX8cvexHp1b72545ZR0czJNHuR3m1kUMvAAc9IS4xYY8D/w400-h300/IMG_3113+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It certainly achieves the aim of tucking the lever in out of harm's way, especially when compared to the position of the original pedal (and remember the foot plate in the photo is from an EXC so still about half the size of the original:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZVhQsMj1KvUsEj0k-oy8jDSG2Bh2cDfvlL3fOhbsK6COEYrVdElSA1AcbVCEKr3rzjalFCd1UcPXqCF8I2jhUx3fC-AWW7LAYC7UsIu8mzhYDeWBU9On3_xQDargxm050x1zlhA3Cc95/s2048/IMG_3115+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZVhQsMj1KvUsEj0k-oy8jDSG2Bh2cDfvlL3fOhbsK6COEYrVdElSA1AcbVCEKr3rzjalFCd1UcPXqCF8I2jhUx3fC-AWW7LAYC7UsIu8mzhYDeWBU9On3_xQDargxm050x1zlhA3Cc95/w400-h300/IMG_3115+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">so all that remained was to road test it:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And this is when it all failed miserably as I</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> found two problems both with the same cause:</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Despite the brake actuating rod being adjusted to its shortest length, the brake pedal sits too high. This means you have to physically lift your foot to find the back brake, annoying and not ideal when off road.</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Also due to this, in trying to get the pedal as low as possible, the travel of the pedal is extremely short, so the brake is effectively on or off, with hardly any travel between the two positions, not helped by the pedal being much shorter than the original so it was always going to travel through a shorter arc.</span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So it's now really good at locking the back brake due to a total lack of feel <span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu" style="display: inline-flex; height: 16px; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;"><img alt="đ " height="16" referrerpolicy="origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/tab/2/16/1f620.png" style="border: 0px;" width="16" /></span></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As a result I have written off all the work done and I've reinstalled the standard pedal (now with the smaller </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">250F Freeride </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">footplate).</span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The answer to these problems would be a shorter actuating rod, I looked again at the one on my 525 EXC to see if that would work but it's different, being fatter at the adjustment end due to having a threaded hole in it for a rose joint rather than being threaded itself like the 390, shame as they only cost ÂŁ10.</span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Or I could buy another standard one and try cutting a longer thread for more adjustment and/or shortening it but wouldn't want to do that until I had a spare.</span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But the problem with that is the brake rod is not available as a separate part for the 390, only as part of the master cylinder (ÂŁ93.66 each) <span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu" style="display: inline-flex; height: 16px; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;"><img alt="đ±" height="16" referrerpolicy="origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/tcb/2/16/1f631.png" style="border: 0px;" width="16" /></span></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So it's time to start trawling through the KTM parts fiches to see what I can find.</span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The investigation continues.....</span></div></div><p></p><p></p>Tony Ferrarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13620754191187809627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-34912592970238709042021-08-23T13:18:00.001-07:002021-08-23T13:23:37.945-07:00Project Downsize part 3<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">After the mud had been washed off after the ABR Festival, I made a few more minor adjustments.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQe9wSOcwjrqmIS4Vlv-EeQkDSSfGBFIAHMO2yfA76P4TxZfiGTdkcPk2o3wA2HNE1vQMHEFgNuTXeejOwh0PJzHwlFtVSSpttPJxE4onRzZmHaGzeZoE3ba6Vl5lsIh1JNlAVMZk5s2pN/s2048/IMG_3022+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQe9wSOcwjrqmIS4Vlv-EeQkDSSfGBFIAHMO2yfA76P4TxZfiGTdkcPk2o3wA2HNE1vQMHEFgNuTXeejOwh0PJzHwlFtVSSpttPJxE4onRzZmHaGzeZoE3ba6Vl5lsIh1JNlAVMZk5s2pN/w400-h300/IMG_3022+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">First was getting rid of the ridiculously long reflector bracket behind the number plate. At first I had just turned the reflector upside down which raised it a bit.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDAJ4c_aBrPLodLJGqcay23gSO_WMFkfp_5IqsSIhq2c7vGuj8I3TPwByHxTztByO8LwzyQVXsGTJBMJj64HlNKn-TMSipJL6dvY9pZOt80y0b4K3nvoCqTKHjovLUrBBHBe1IZYfiECD/s2048/08BEDB2F-D4CE-4149-993F-1EB10C000543+3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDAJ4c_aBrPLodLJGqcay23gSO_WMFkfp_5IqsSIhq2c7vGuj8I3TPwByHxTztByO8LwzyQVXsGTJBMJj64HlNKn-TMSipJL6dvY9pZOt80y0b4K3nvoCqTKHjovLUrBBHBe1IZYfiECD/s320/08BEDB2F-D4CE-4149-993F-1EB10C000543+3.JPG" width="180" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Later I crafted a plastic bracket from some 2mm plastic plate to position the redlecter right at the bottom of the number plate and did away with large moulded bracket altogether.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">At the ABR festival I had picked up a new rack for the bike made from HDPE by French company AXP from Ollie Crowie at <a href="http://wrenchride.co.uk" target="_blank">WrenchRide</a>, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">v</span><span style="font-family: arial;">ery simple to fit and perfect for my purposes.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyy-rOdy57vNmwaVbdgtSuqp2InNcFUYGGaYYm_vdt4YlkIW0WtH9iPd6x3q65p2QGiAkBPlVndmIV6zDOCVIIBya36Oe9EeaSXrsboMxdJCg29oHrCv39rNWYwaZoJlgqws1BKrnlebcW/s2048/IMG_3017+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyy-rOdy57vNmwaVbdgtSuqp2InNcFUYGGaYYm_vdt4YlkIW0WtH9iPd6x3q65p2QGiAkBPlVndmIV6zDOCVIIBya36Oe9EeaSXrsboMxdJCg29oHrCv39rNWYwaZoJlgqws1BKrnlebcW/w300-h400/IMG_3017+2.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I then had a pleasant day out adding more miles as I had the 1000km (620 mile) service booked, this e</span><span style="font-family: arial;">ntailed just going out and getting lost, I discovered a few new byways and filmed them for the </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Byway Nomad channel, one each in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire (living as I </span><span style="font-family: arial;">do right on the border of the three counties). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I</span><span style="font-family: arial;">n fact, I rode more than that having included several I </span><span style="font-family: arial;">knew but unfortunately hadnât quite got the hang of my new camera (a ÂŁ30 knock off of a </span><span style="font-family: arial;">GoPro) so several of the videos were unusable, or I simply had managed to turn the camera off </span><span style="font-family: arial;">instead of on! Oh well at least I had an excuse to go and ride them again a week later! You can check them out at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb4vXOKCHh04Y8z9K4wJ7KA/videos" target="_blank">Byway Nomad</a></span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQ08TmgmTkziTDnWAF8hMe7Az8hLL4fvV4lz0TBbeFe4s4c0NHKRuv9HwZOhM6xop_CxUHcq_t0cRopKkLkK2GmVElFA7rBVxPeKtKPPckpumMZ_HDes9XTU4OtU5aDbTh1viXZ41LvZM/s2048/IMG_3014+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQ08TmgmTkziTDnWAF8hMe7Az8hLL4fvV4lz0TBbeFe4s4c0NHKRuv9HwZOhM6xop_CxUHcq_t0cRopKkLkK2GmVElFA7rBVxPeKtKPPckpumMZ_HDes9XTU4OtU5aDbTh1viXZ41LvZM/w300-h400/IMG_3014+2.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The next week I took my bike in for its service in the back of the van as I also took along GrĂĄinneâs KTM 250F </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Freeride as we had a plan! GrĂĄinne had decided that rather than have both a trail bike and a road </span><span style="font-family: arial;">bike, a 390 Adventure (with a lowering kit) would replace them both. I was somewhat disappointed on arrival to discover </span><span style="font-family: arial;">the KTM Centre had no more 390s in stock and were unlikely to get anymore until the 2022 models </span><span style="font-family: arial;">started to arrive later in the year. This appeared to be the situation across the country as the model had proven </span><span style="font-family: arial;">so popular.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Luckily as there was no stock to be had in the UK, KTM were prepared to allow the KTM Centre to sell their demonstrator, so a deal was done and the Freeride part exchanged for the demo bike. It still only had 370 miles on the clock and the first 110 of those were done by me!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This is the bike..</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxASwVSNUaS7tJ9z3_rXui1Nr1gUQ99V6QeQOEXGGCQXP__AXXE42YduD87AEKIhLuouGeuG-PhZvRkwhOPbatE7fm5z71xKXV5-1WSrYuFgGDB4boo7CwI_dFBblcxOzLeiQrVCpHLH-C/s2048/IMG_3031.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxASwVSNUaS7tJ9z3_rXui1Nr1gUQ99V6QeQOEXGGCQXP__AXXE42YduD87AEKIhLuouGeuG-PhZvRkwhOPbatE7fm5z71xKXV5-1WSrYuFgGDB4boo7CwI_dFBblcxOzLeiQrVCpHLH-C/w400-h300/IMG_3031.JPG" width="400" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At the time of writing we are still waiting for the lowering kit to arrive but the bike is safely ensconced in the KTM Centre, no longer available as a demo bike.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The next outing on my 390 was an Rallymoto training day on Salisbury Plain followed the next day by an Adventure Rally on the Plain. Saturday was fine with classroom sessions and a couple of short roadbook outings.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On Sunday, I was to be the course opener and all was going well until I entered a lane near the 'German Village' in the Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA), this was badly rutted from the passage of military vehicles and I caught the brake pedal in the side of the rut and next thing I knew I was on my side!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Luckily the only damage was to the pedal and the mount for the black plastic radiator shroud. The latter was easily pushed back into shape but I definitely need to get some crash bars as it could easily have been the radiator that got damaged. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The brake pedal was a different story... </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8iS9QAR8QEZpiPpbyQIy5EdjXtKS_NJ_EBTg3uLxO25mBHhzE_gziIG8MqYmrXRG5j_1-JIsf3MxV0h1wD1YIWTneLqJOMW4pzX9AXmMlo9ulGv6iVNDt-PsIXRMRnJEeCfSzUeN1NQAi/s1536/IMG_3066+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="710" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8iS9QAR8QEZpiPpbyQIy5EdjXtKS_NJ_EBTg3uLxO25mBHhzE_gziIG8MqYmrXRG5j_1-JIsf3MxV0h1wD1YIWTneLqJOMW4pzX9AXmMlo9ulGv6iVNDt-PsIXRMRnJEeCfSzUeN1NQAi/w185-h400/IMG_3066+2.JPG" width="185" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Whoops!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I was able to straighten it a bit but for the rest of the day had to use my heel to brake, that was fun on wet chalk!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The saga of trying to resolve the pedal issue will be the subject of the next episode of the blog.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One good thing was </span><span style="font-family: arial;">i got</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">this cracking photo of me on the 390 from Gabby our photographer.</span></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnADNMpH1DsQvZ_JLF2onVulN5-loJac_pH1A59oP3fs7-utVFi6HCF76gi2MMvYu7YIuUWWomgpwKvW3P4-8eVvFvQodBFnyRsyqh6xYJTGinMeB7ag6A7X24XORfZk0HvzAk0e3VjXC/s1600/DSC_0131.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnADNMpH1DsQvZ_JLF2onVulN5-loJac_pH1A59oP3fs7-utVFi6HCF76gi2MMvYu7YIuUWWomgpwKvW3P4-8eVvFvQodBFnyRsyqh6xYJTGinMeB7ag6A7X24XORfZk0HvzAk0e3VjXC/w400-h266/DSC_0131.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To be continued...</span></div><p></p>Tony Ferrarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13620754191187809627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-31159605712022844512021-08-10T00:28:00.001-07:002021-08-10T00:28:14.739-07:00Project Downsize continues....<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So what was next for the baby Adventure?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On buying my 390 I also ordered a set of spoked wheels from KTM, this was due to the original cast alloy wheels not being so suitable for off road use as they can easily get damaged. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The spoked wheels have more flex in them so can absorb abuse on the trails. It took another 10 days but they finally turned up. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYpt5caN8D2fyf-2X3xb2yFguQR4uB72Nk2D8_kgX5yZM9dWTdLoj3EohqSM2vgOXOF2ougkWrxP-mKDwo1vIYYhRXFB6quNORV8-E9hA7x3H86naFZkfvAYtln2HQgz-GBS5jPN8fjkf/s2048/IMG_2967.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYpt5caN8D2fyf-2X3xb2yFguQR4uB72Nk2D8_kgX5yZM9dWTdLoj3EohqSM2vgOXOF2ougkWrxP-mKDwo1vIYYhRXFB6quNORV8-E9hA7x3H86naFZkfvAYtln2HQgz-GBS5jPN8fjkf/w400-h300/IMG_2967.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">They were soon unpacked and I checked through the parts. They include everything you need, discs, a new cush drive/sprocket carrier. ABS rings, spacers, rim tapes and all the bolts and nuts required. The only thing not supplied is a second rear sprocket. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I had ordered some Mitas E09 tyres as the best value/most aggressive available in the 19"/17" wheel sizes so got around to fitting them, as you can see I had a willing (but not particularly helpful) assistant!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_Ck47PSk2oWdSXr1jjAsTC_7Bo3CT8G6yjnKNcut9bnxLcSGRiSLUvYC96kdhPeetR-y3asC9DLL_VGfpStjNvTYSBkomGsz2NJIMwVCZdAexaYOAPWaGSVHMvwWxrJ-uhkMEG7IvID5/s2048/IMG_2970.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_Ck47PSk2oWdSXr1jjAsTC_7Bo3CT8G6yjnKNcut9bnxLcSGRiSLUvYC96kdhPeetR-y3asC9DLL_VGfpStjNvTYSBkomGsz2NJIMwVCZdAexaYOAPWaGSVHMvwWxrJ-uhkMEG7IvID5/w300-h400/IMG_2970.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I had forgotten just how stiff the sidewalls are on these tyres, not the easiest to fit especially as the spindle on my Rabaconda tyre changer is too fat to fit through the wheel bearings, the 390 having much skinnier wheel spindles than most other KTMs, so I had to fit the tyres without using it. Keeping the wheels centred on the changer wasn't exactly easy as a result. Also the changer is designed for 18" to 21" wheels but I was able to adjust it just enough to accommodate the 17" rear wheel. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I wondered why I had got a new cush drive/sprocket carrier with the new wheels thinking I could just use the existing one, saving me the effort to swap the sprocket over. After 20 minutes of trying to get the back wheel to fit and finding it a couple of millimetres too wide, I took a look at the other cush drive...</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXrWRhxnUEG7L1vJiUn7KLXfIK8n1KLpYi2RlHHsIJSL3XD95oW4zzTTW6ZK2N-fqxoIJU-w7EhYJnWXAxwSgVQfrjGWzPtnzXB4wuVljermHYiOr4qxAzCduQ2JG3psvAT7FQf1SY_MMe/s2048/IMG_2974.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXrWRhxnUEG7L1vJiUn7KLXfIK8n1KLpYi2RlHHsIJSL3XD95oW4zzTTW6ZK2N-fqxoIJU-w7EhYJnWXAxwSgVQfrjGWzPtnzXB4wuVljermHYiOr4qxAzCduQ2JG3psvAT7FQf1SY_MMe/w300-h400/IMG_2974.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">That'll be why it doesn't fit! The spoked wheels carrier is thinner than the cast wheel one as the spoked hub is clearly wider, no wonder it wouldn't fit. I also compared the spacer supplied with the spoked wheels, only a very subtle difference here but a difference nevertheless. I swapped over the sprocket (must get round to buying a second one) fitted the correct carrier and spacer and all was sorted. I particularly like the fact that the kit includes an upgrade of a Galfer wavy disc for the front wheel.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimuTq27cZHQKPTcbh3_Fq6BBxD4ty_1SKr14YDVQEO_W-oRiI_j1lpVQdxrHIbAMQB3_OV-vcArLDPJXMqcRPiI3M0nT4A4DGNB1TzlALxBMY5cYFWZCBvi3vAW2sZfVbNrKpSNCybay9Q/s2048/IMG_2973.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimuTq27cZHQKPTcbh3_Fq6BBxD4ty_1SKr14YDVQEO_W-oRiI_j1lpVQdxrHIbAMQB3_OV-vcArLDPJXMqcRPiI3M0nT4A4DGNB1TzlALxBMY5cYFWZCBvi3vAW2sZfVbNrKpSNCybay9Q/w400-h300/IMG_2973.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Job done, I was all ready for my first proper ride to Ragley Hall in Warwickshire to recce the adventure trail for the Adventure Bike rider Festival the following week, as I was the Clerk of the Course for the trail.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82PynnyUFtxjUQ_bBcNlC8csGDSkG80Wv_N9bsZ7PmX7IRQ878F6nTFOgUtIOL31M_yDG4PhqWj4raA9BuHblLQ1ntnOfbzLAYL6sIGPmQKRMPDINCd9HAMUHAS6f239SRKhxpaB6p9w8/s2048/IMG_2977.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82PynnyUFtxjUQ_bBcNlC8csGDSkG80Wv_N9bsZ7PmX7IRQ878F6nTFOgUtIOL31M_yDG4PhqWj4raA9BuHblLQ1ntnOfbzLAYL6sIGPmQKRMPDINCd9HAMUHAS6f239SRKhxpaB6p9w8/w400-h300/IMG_2977.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The tank bag is the Rigg Equipment bag I had bought for the 1090, luckily it fits the 390 as well. The rear bag is a Kriega US10 that fitted neatly on the rear seat and held my waterproofs. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So off I set off, a</span><span style="font-family: arial;">nd if you look you can see the rear tyre is fully inflated, which is important because...</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> I got only two miles down the road when the back tyre went flat!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Thinking I must have punctured it when fitting, I rode slowly ba</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">ck home and re-fitted the rear cast wheel and road tyre, to get on my way, only an hour behind schedule.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The recce went well and I had no real problems with the back tyre although the trail was pretty dry.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mPONVUv9Wkkrrx8N0pNuYZ_5nLbizEj-ugaSr1fGXHGIM7SraNDbWBLhUH_yHY9CiKAbj4ths9Pyw32bcWYivsziHd8sjo3DBeOK7HuzakPSm_ZwEGy7k6i2T6-Fr9E7bdwBhhucSCZB/s2048/IMG_1195+2.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mPONVUv9Wkkrrx8N0pNuYZ_5nLbizEj-ugaSr1fGXHGIM7SraNDbWBLhUH_yHY9CiKAbj4ths9Pyw32bcWYivsziHd8sjo3DBeOK7HuzakPSm_ZwEGy7k6i2T6-Fr9E7bdwBhhucSCZB/w400-h300/IMG_1195+2.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtg5fFS6iX1Er-2Eq9lFsjt3ru_e22HSOonsmVSRAiNZIN2iQiVP_-okIpCQCQZkCXVvpiNZMqvNtwFIa5nudTrWva8bblbU5LXplSFH4f16LvnzA3UJsBVHJyDEOfbqRFzJ3cA87kFRho/s2048/IMG_1199.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtg5fFS6iX1Er-2Eq9lFsjt3ru_e22HSOonsmVSRAiNZIN2iQiVP_-okIpCQCQZkCXVvpiNZMqvNtwFIa5nudTrWva8bblbU5LXplSFH4f16LvnzA3UJsBVHJyDEOfbqRFzJ3cA87kFRho/w400-h300/IMG_1199.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When I got home, I removed the tube from the offending wheel expecting it to be trashed by riding on it flat for two miles but it look perfect so I and pumped it up to see where the puncture was but found nothing. The next day it was still inflated, </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I put a new tube in the wheel anyway</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> but</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> over a month later it's still sitting in the garage and hasn't lost any pressure???</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I can only guess that something got stuck in the valve or maybe because it's a few years old, it has become slightly porous over that time. OK when stationary but riding on it forced the air out. I decided I wouldn't be using it again anyway, just in case.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The following weekend was the ABR Festival itself and the 390 acquitted itself very well, excelling in the wet and muddy conditions we had on the Friday and Saturday. The only minor mishap was when I lost grip coming out of one of the bomb holes on the trail. This resulted in me hurtling backwards to the bottom of the hole!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Damage was confined to a bent exhaust bracket and the carbon fibre heat shield on the AkrapoviÄ got torn in two pieces, the first was an easy fix but the second more frustrating, i'm still trying to get hold of a replacement.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHzgwgdDrREoNFNxtRoZ84W8SJFUyYqSbLu7fUOvCKDD2Od5lFdvdiWMAWKc_E7KsSlS3aThsAGeuf-5vt7WQ4Ovbi60gO5_4XlWIPviN76lJa51GJzHo7K-RXAe9YoAfPmC0m8yqbDwxc/s2048/B37056A7-DA1E-45FA-BDAF-CADFBFD388EC.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHzgwgdDrREoNFNxtRoZ84W8SJFUyYqSbLu7fUOvCKDD2Od5lFdvdiWMAWKc_E7KsSlS3aThsAGeuf-5vt7WQ4Ovbi60gO5_4XlWIPviN76lJa51GJzHo7K-RXAe9YoAfPmC0m8yqbDwxc/w400-h225/B37056A7-DA1E-45FA-BDAF-CADFBFD388EC.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgSdgLie-4gItMvxxH1A-vJKrHYqLsgzsshCq049W_e2dP5uY2sSOpPD0R9PZ-OJkrsRlnQzde7zVOR3nKVbRBgB_zBMH9Kbq5zGgwPik3JfsCEIg4PDCqsxOpfZzrnOGzmC4Y6WZCI6q/s2048/E4DCDB8D-5D64-47E3-BB72-3F037C65EDCE+3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgSdgLie-4gItMvxxH1A-vJKrHYqLsgzsshCq049W_e2dP5uY2sSOpPD0R9PZ-OJkrsRlnQzde7zVOR3nKVbRBgB_zBMH9Kbq5zGgwPik3JfsCEIg4PDCqsxOpfZzrnOGzmC4Y6WZCI6q/w400-h225/E4DCDB8D-5D64-47E3-BB72-3F037C65EDCE+3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVfMFsbTRQlsz7ihsT1dkyZ1H_G5ZzTKV3TDtL1QR_zkl1uEXG5VsexSzr9EUwzBE57HPsCDSaOTy06cAlfslWvWbSHJ1T8vvS7X41klCgwUSm_6Iopb7iM446qqGo1gAxyCCgq0DEcvbe/s2048/IMG_2998.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVfMFsbTRQlsz7ihsT1dkyZ1H_G5ZzTKV3TDtL1QR_zkl1uEXG5VsexSzr9EUwzBE57HPsCDSaOTy06cAlfslWvWbSHJ1T8vvS7X41klCgwUSm_6Iopb7iM446qqGo1gAxyCCgq0DEcvbe/w400-h300/IMG_2998.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Tony Ferrarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13620754191187809627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-589160191008938602021-07-27T00:07:00.002-07:002021-07-27T00:10:56.352-07:00Apparently I've been farkling!<h1 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #404040; display: inline-block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 2.2rem; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">FARKLE</span></h1><div id="MainTxt" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #404040; margin-top: 15px;"><div id="Definition" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><section data-src="acr" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 7px 4px;"><table id="AcrFinder" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><tbody style="box-sizing: inherit;"><tr style="box-sizing: inherit;"><th style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; margin: 6px 0px 2px; padding: 6px 16px 6px 0px; text-align: left;"></th><th style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 1.1rem; margin: 6px 0px 2px; padding: 6px 16px 6px 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="hvr" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Definition</span></th></tr><tr data-cat="32" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><td class="acr" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-right: 10px; vertical-align: top;"><br /></td><td style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span class="hvr" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Adding accessories, improvements or customising a motorcycle. Said to have originated from a Honda ST1100 Pan European online forum and may be an acronym for: Fancy</span> <span class="hvr" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Accessory,</span> <span class="hvr" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Really</span> <span class="hvr" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Kool,</span> <span class="hvr" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Likely</span> <span class="hvr" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Expensive</span> <span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span class="hvr" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">(motorcycle</span><i> </i><span class="hvr" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><i>accessories)</i><br />Alternatively a combination of 'Function' and 'Sparkle'<br /><br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></section><section data-src="acr" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 7px 4px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Whatever the correct meaning or origin, 'farkle' has become the default phrase for adding accessories or changing parts on your motorcycle to improve the looks or performance.</span></section><section data-src="acr" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 7px 4px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So it seems I've been farkling, although to be honest my first changes on my new 390 Adventure were fairly mild....</span></section><section data-src="acr" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 7px 4px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">First was to change the rather ugly standard mirrors for the Vicma folding mirrors I fit on all my bikes, these came straight off my 1090 Adventure R as I replaced the standard mirrors before selling it.</span></section><section data-src="acr" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 7px 4px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsnlU-Ek3l9W020XFIRp5EN6n08JfuRoys9GYATSNAXXG8NH3Pqjgp0NHz6jinORFuKDze-UBu6B-PrS4-_o5510zzmPVvbLtiob-yfH3Ph26oDtHLI8GIsp5rljg52I0JC9Du1CS7uUua/s2048/IMG_2941.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsnlU-Ek3l9W020XFIRp5EN6n08JfuRoys9GYATSNAXXG8NH3Pqjgp0NHz6jinORFuKDze-UBu6B-PrS4-_o5510zzmPVvbLtiob-yfH3Ph26oDtHLI8GIsp5rljg52I0JC9Du1CS7uUua/w400-h300/IMG_2941.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><section data-src="acr" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; padding: 7px 4px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This was slightly frustrated by the fact that unlike other KTM's the 390 has a left hand thread on the left mirror! The Vicmas having conventional threads. So the right hand mirror went on OK and a thread converter was ordered for the left. Until it arrived I fitted a separate mirror clamp to attach the mirror as a temporary fix.</span></section><section data-src="acr" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; padding: 7px 4px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwcTXrOUHy5QNGXCN4j16cZl8LUu7wwyYGfuAkTgbxPkpqqHCA1T4xHwaupbcHGS6YtyVzuoA4Ygq4lkQ3Cg9xd-TJK2PS1tBBS3HEGG2j2nwTjsuZAbRhkcUzVxObUJma-ICyXAPQkCK/s2048/IMG_2950.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwcTXrOUHy5QNGXCN4j16cZl8LUu7wwyYGfuAkTgbxPkpqqHCA1T4xHwaupbcHGS6YtyVzuoA4Ygq4lkQ3Cg9xd-TJK2PS1tBBS3HEGG2j2nwTjsuZAbRhkcUzVxObUJma-ICyXAPQkCK/w300-h400/IMG_2950.JPG" width="300" /></a></div></section></div></span></section></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #404040; margin-top: 15px;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit;"><section data-src="acr" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 7px 4px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><section data-src="acr" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 7px 4px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Much better looking than the originals, a better view and they fold easily for riding off road and conveniently for loading into the van, another benefit is they cause less wind buffeting than the standard mirrors, owners often change screens to try and sort this problem without realising the impact mirrors can have, the helmet they are wearing or even what jacket they wear. For me at 6' 1" the standard screen in its lowest of two positions is fine for me, in fact a lot better than my 1090.</div></section></div></span></section></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #404040; margin-top: 15px;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit;"><section data-src="acr" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 7px 4px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><section data-src="acr" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 7px 4px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpVHGcyitbiKEf4CPzZ4Z5xrzFMdCjuFSn8GbwWyJseyDMDTCtsZ3cjww-66KoQ2EsB39E5hql7dIyOIIyZrzTl99XaXJeVV6Vpjt8AejzKEm_mH1eR-6IhyUn5Rbxswu25zmnQmB9QBSb/s2048/IMG_2951+2.JPG" style="background-color: transparent; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpVHGcyitbiKEf4CPzZ4Z5xrzFMdCjuFSn8GbwWyJseyDMDTCtsZ3cjww-66KoQ2EsB39E5hql7dIyOIIyZrzTl99XaXJeVV6Vpjt8AejzKEm_mH1eR-6IhyUn5Rbxswu25zmnQmB9QBSb/w400-h300/IMG_2951+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></section></div></span></section></div></div></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Next on the agenda was an AkrapoviÄ Silencer, I picked this up second hand online for a much better price than new. But when it arrived, it might have well been brand new, the condition was perfect. A simple job followed of bolting it on. I have to say it doesn't make much difference to the sound but it is lighter than the original and looks far better in my opinion.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxj0FuXT8IO35FgiGJDuU0jRIqN-S3zOTiL0OTAbeV5Rc8IyW0pS2Py01Raj0Q03ouhLxRNg7tdRwSLwn1AxOe5JpzF3prQpjsOCfHUYrPC5MR5P_lk3gQ9LXjMS20hiDVt30FZdWj8hn_/s2048/IMG_2952.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxj0FuXT8IO35FgiGJDuU0jRIqN-S3zOTiL0OTAbeV5Rc8IyW0pS2Py01Raj0Q03ouhLxRNg7tdRwSLwn1AxOe5JpzF3prQpjsOCfHUYrPC5MR5P_lk3gQ9LXjMS20hiDVt30FZdWj8hn_/w300-h400/IMG_2952.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6iObnY2co6EKmE8M9ce6AvlV7e6DBxdDWtVe12APqnT1EuiRbNAwfWDKJqqtDGAiHzTUTUKUjufpp00NQtdpU35y9TThUAII_iB4WNprNSZHBZEmGpALBVyXOe13EDdrxzngtM10Mci8U/s2048/IMG_2953+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6iObnY2co6EKmE8M9ce6AvlV7e6DBxdDWtVe12APqnT1EuiRbNAwfWDKJqqtDGAiHzTUTUKUjufpp00NQtdpU35y9TThUAII_iB4WNprNSZHBZEmGpALBVyXOe13EDdrxzngtM10Mci8U/w400-h300/IMG_2953+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">After this I mounted my Quadlock phone mount and anti vibration mount on the bars, although this proved a bit tricky as the 390 has very strange sized bars. Usually handlebars are 22mm diameter or 1" (25mm) on older bikes or more normally on KTMs they are 'fat bars' that taper from 22mm at the controls to 28.6mm in the centre. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The 390 bars also taper but only out to 26mm in the centre, a size I have never seen before. So none of the mounting spacers supplied by Quadlock fitted. I eventually found some plastic spacers in my spares box that fitted (I think they were originally for mounting auxiliary light clamps onto 25mm diameter crash bars).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFcU8ua1NZoSH2oCvT46GfFEedhyphenhyphenR_x2MVYYYNMmYQNuugfQiwU0RYSQuerpLV8iY8PhhT2p9uueUpWctieBTvwv5mt0BtqwZ9cSuU94mqEUa5bAGgVfATpjfTt3DZZuFEDJlrabpg5Z1/s2048/IMG_2955+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFcU8ua1NZoSH2oCvT46GfFEedhyphenhyphenR_x2MVYYYNMmYQNuugfQiwU0RYSQuerpLV8iY8PhhT2p9uueUpWctieBTvwv5mt0BtqwZ9cSuU94mqEUa5bAGgVfATpjfTt3DZZuFEDJlrabpg5Z1/w240-h320/IMG_2955+2.JPG" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHt_1bBlHEpFPwIASSfSx7A5c0AcFCHKE-u7H9aeNm_I8ZwblSGECzlU1rOLyP95VgNhII4OxsJp0qh-hho1AA-4_nnbi0Y20rQQ25qwORGqJ8bmjA4-fJSNhPTpunmKowOnVI668uEDT/s2048/IMG_2954.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHt_1bBlHEpFPwIASSfSx7A5c0AcFCHKE-u7H9aeNm_I8ZwblSGECzlU1rOLyP95VgNhII4OxsJp0qh-hho1AA-4_nnbi0Y20rQQ25qwORGqJ8bmjA4-fJSNhPTpunmKowOnVI668uEDT/w240-h320/IMG_2954.JPG" width="240" /></a><br /><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>To be continued....</b></span><br /><p><br /></p><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #404040; margin-top: 15px;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit;"><section data-src="acr" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 7px 4px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><section data-src="acr" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; padding: 7px 4px; text-align: left;"><br /></section></div></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></section></div></div>Tony Ferrarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13620754191187809627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-53803630528900316592021-07-16T04:39:00.000-07:002021-07-16T04:39:03.185-07:00Lots of changes!<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Yeah, yeah I know it's been two months since you last heard from me but I have been busy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So where to start?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">First off I had arrived at the decision that due to Myasthenia, the KTM 1090 Adventure R was simply too large and heavy for me. The lack of muscle strength MG causes had meant even manoeuvering it in and out of the garage was really difficult and I was in constant danger of dropping it. Riding was fine but every time I stopped I felt like I could drop it any moment, clearly something had to be done:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At first I started looking at the "middleweight" contenders, KTM 790/890 Adventure or Yamaha Tenere 700 were the obvious choices but were deemed not suitable for a couple of reasons. A) both were more expensive than what the 1090 could be reasonably sold for and I simply didn't have the spare cash available to make up the difference and B) the weight saving of less than 30kg was simply not enough to make a difference. Trying both they felt just as unwieldy as the 1090 when maneuvering.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So I started looking at the small adventure bike market and decided the following were contenders:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Honda CRF 250 Rally</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0TOx8gbS3sjypONylW5awB5tckltZ_kUtGgWsGuIoruHWqbAzuATe_QQwwT_lQfalfPeoKYZNdQ2SQfcseJgTFzTPUU69IuE-gKGEtipKEz7Z0V4-cFK2FhlDVDKmyNii1-GBhBl2e4lb/s1340/Screenshot+2021-06-30+at+12.28.17.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0TOx8gbS3sjypONylW5awB5tckltZ_kUtGgWsGuIoruHWqbAzuATe_QQwwT_lQfalfPeoKYZNdQ2SQfcseJgTFzTPUU69IuE-gKGEtipKEz7Z0V4-cFK2FhlDVDKmyNii1-GBhBl2e4lb/s320/Screenshot+2021-06-30+at+12.28.17.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Or the replacement, Honda CRF 300 Rally</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cj3IFRuImmN-Scp6EYld2ShhvVjmc64Rnm1t9H5f5OC2YDcfSmlXcKFs2YzbMdTcMLO7vwLdrHT8UCK5vV7L9tJLuK2u_QWPQvjZ6Z8-WCsJSj0gp6eXGVzXNvJfA5zPMlAu7Zx550qL/s1426/Screenshot+2021-06-30+at+12.27.44.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="944" data-original-width="1426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cj3IFRuImmN-Scp6EYld2ShhvVjmc64Rnm1t9H5f5OC2YDcfSmlXcKFs2YzbMdTcMLO7vwLdrHT8UCK5vV7L9tJLuK2u_QWPQvjZ6Z8-WCsJSj0gp6eXGVzXNvJfA5zPMlAu7Zx550qL/s320/Screenshot+2021-06-30+at+12.27.44.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">BMW G310 GS</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4OYqK09g3VZEgbYm4tVos-sbCDZjMmnvMvaCfOzxUakxo808WpGTVLMh_g-uvLiw1v76K9EbrMlE13j0zq9V0v26KrVzK-rT3tQYEKzWbL82TQce147YHixOhzwjVJ_Ia6UctQtHH-g9j/s1366/Screenshot+2021-06-30+at+12.29.27.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4OYqK09g3VZEgbYm4tVos-sbCDZjMmnvMvaCfOzxUakxo808WpGTVLMh_g-uvLiw1v76K9EbrMlE13j0zq9V0v26KrVzK-rT3tQYEKzWbL82TQce147YHixOhzwjVJ_Ia6UctQtHH-g9j/s320/Screenshot+2021-06-30+at+12.29.27.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Royal Enfield Himalayan</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfj8J0H6_BLavT9_5Xt7mjy84zN5_LtomsLuX7K6R5Yw6GEKj-hA4kqzCrcKKdaUMMrjGAT2X2h9Q4nqIYPmvoGC4sIB2ys5cwj4C8pDAS1w5BKLULXsWIXJHRsGnT3qZcAyF45g3C_i5P/s1432/Screenshot+2021-06-30+at+12.31.11.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1322" data-original-width="1432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfj8J0H6_BLavT9_5Xt7mjy84zN5_LtomsLuX7K6R5Yw6GEKj-hA4kqzCrcKKdaUMMrjGAT2X2h9Q4nqIYPmvoGC4sIB2ys5cwj4C8pDAS1w5BKLULXsWIXJHRsGnT3qZcAyF45g3C_i5P/s320/Screenshot+2021-06-30+at+12.31.11.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">KTM 390 Adventure</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM2VtG9MR6KsTe5khKbVwFivDURGiO_VEkuMBmux45j3KMbTuTJjT3FcMoJlmqWNWJUJRUfNZnSFlsVkRYkOLkrgoJ8NwoKrFYYNRkmh0yPlOHb8b5mIw3vrjTI4yiXhYZe8-IeCxXw-fz/s1410/Screenshot+2021-06-30+at+12.30.26.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="1410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM2VtG9MR6KsTe5khKbVwFivDURGiO_VEkuMBmux45j3KMbTuTJjT3FcMoJlmqWNWJUJRUfNZnSFlsVkRYkOLkrgoJ8NwoKrFYYNRkmh0yPlOHb8b5mIw3vrjTI4yiXhYZe8-IeCxXw-fz/s320/Screenshot+2021-06-30+at+12.30.26.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So a quick comparison showed:</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Bike<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> Cost<span> </span><span> </span><span>Wet weight<span> </span><span> Power<span> </span><span> </span><span>Torque<span> </span><span> </span><span> Seat Height</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span><span><span>250 Rally<span> </span><span> ÂŁ5599<span> </span><span> </span><span><span style="background-color: white;">157kg <b><span style="color: red;">23hp</span> <span style="color: red;">22.0Nm</span> <span style="color: red;">895mm</span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="background-color: white;">300 Rally <span style="color: red;"><b>ÂŁ6039 </b></span> <span style="color: #44e420;"><b>153kg</b></span><span style="color: #26ee69;"> </span> 27hp<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span>26.6Nm<span> </span><span> </span><span> <span>885mm</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="background-color: white;"><span><span><span><span><span>310 GS<span> </span><span> </span><span>ÂŁ5435<span> </span><span> </span><span>169.5kg<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span>34hp<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span>28.0Nm</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span> </span><span> </span><span>835mm</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="background-color: white;">Himalayan <span style="color: #26d53b;"><b>ÂŁ4599 </b></span> <span style="color: red;"><b>191kg</b></span><span style="color: red;"> </span> 24.5hp<span> </span><span> </span><span>32.0Nm <span style="color: #14c756;"><b>800mm</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="background-color: white;">390 ADV ÂŁ5849 165kg <b><span style="color: #2fe62c;">43.5hp</span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"> </span> <span style="color: #3dda55;">35.3Nm</span></b><b> </b> 855mm</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: red;">Red text</span> </b>indicates the worst scorer in the category, <span style="color: #4dd566;"><b>green text</b></span> indicates the best.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As the CRF 250 Rally has been replaced by the 300, I would have to either buy second hand or find a dealer with old stock. But to be honest I rejected it because of its low power output (the lowest here) and its tall seat height. It is also more focussed as a trail bike with the "correct" 21"/18" wheel set up but as a result would be less suitable for road trips. In its favour was its light weight but this was not enough on its own.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The CRF 300 Rally is essentially the same bike but lighter, with more power and torque and a slightly lower seat but this wasn't enough of an improvement with only 4kg off the weight and an extra 4hp and 4.6Nm in its favour to make the grade. Additionally there are simply none available at present and I could have waited several months plus there would be no opportunity for a test ride as a result. I was actually offered a cancelled order (thanks George) but by then I had pretty much made my decision.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The BMW G310 GS is pretty much a known quantity as GrĂĄinne has the road version, the G310 R. so i'm familiar with the engine but other factors were against it, the power was better but it was middle of the road in all categories. It also has 19"/17" cast alloy wheels that can limit tyre choice and ground clearance.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Himalayan has the advantage of cheapest price and lowest seat but despite being the largest capacity at 411cc it has barely more power than the CRF250 Rally. Also the seat height is not so much of an advantage as having sat on one I found it too low and therefore too cramped for me. It does have a 21" front wheel but the 17" rear wheel limits tyre choice again. The other major factor is I simply don't like the look of them.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So that left the KTM 390 Adventure, this was well priced, a good weight, had the perfect seat height and available for both a demonstration ride and for sale. It also had the most power and torque of all the bikes. I was still a bit concerned about the 19"/17" cast alloy wheel combination but after riding one I was blown away, a fantastic little bike! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On top of the considerations above, was the cost of getting them ready for the trails. The Hondas are well known for their poor suspension and so I would have to budget to improve this but this would only be a few hundred pounds.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The BMW has cast wheels which are not ideal for trail riding and have fairly basic suspension but spoked wheels and suspension upgrades are available from Rally Raid Products but at a cost of ÂŁ2036, bringing the overall price to ÂŁ7191.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Himalayan works as it is but I still don't like them đ</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">KTM have recently brought out a spoked wheel set for a quite reasonable ÂŁ814* and the WP suspension needs no upgrading.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">*By comparison a Talon wheelset for the EXC is over ÂŁ1100 đ±</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">All I had to do was sell the 1090! </span><span style="font-family: arial;">So it promptly went up for sale.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Next up was a Rallymoto training day on Salisbury Plain. Having cleaned the 1090 thoroughly, I was reluctant to take it and get it muddy. So Instead I travelled down in the van with the EXC in the back. Only to have it constantly cut out on me. Nothing I did would fix it and I've subsequently learnt it's almost certainly the pilot jet blocked by the fuel I left in it for over a year. This is apparently very common with unleaded containing ethanol. So a carburettor rebuild is on the cards. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">I ended up marshalling in the van.</span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After the Timber Woods Trial in April, the opportunity to enter the Peaky Boulders LDT in the Peak District came up. I decided this would be great to do given my knowledge of the Peaks, plus it would cover some common ground with the Edinburgh Trial.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On the day I drove up early but left the poorly EXC at home and took GrĂĄinne's 250F Freeride instead. I was entered in the "Easy Route" class as it isn't on proper trials tyres and I'm glad I was. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">After starting I soon arrived at the first section.... Or rather the queue for the first section. An hour later I finally got to the front of the queue, I had considered missing this and the next stage but there was no other way of getting out of the woods. the way we entered being down a steep and slippery slope and only wide enough for a single bike and of course very quickly clogged up with queuing bikes, so getting back up that way was not going to happen!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In the end I paddled my way through the first section that had no grip at all and guessed I had got away with a three but when the results came out it was maximum five (not sure how but that's life). </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The second section was just as bad and I only got a couple of feet in before loosing all forward momentum, so I took a five, backed out and managed to work around the edge. The next section was nigh on impossible and that's the way it went, if this was the easy route I'm glad I wasn't on the hard route. This was full on trials, whereas you normally expect LDTs to be easier, a) due to the long distance and b) they are primarily aimed at trail bikes. I was surprised at the start to see many riders on pukka trials bikes, these are normally banned from LDTs or Classic Trials but it was clear this event was definitely geared towards them. I can only guess it was because this was the first running of this event by what I presume is a predominantly trials club.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">After failing on almost every section, and ending up with bike on top of me on one stage, not to mention the constant rain. I threw in the towel at the first fuel stop (couldn't until I got there as I didn't have the range to get back)! I headed back via Hollinsclough for tea and cake at the church hall (well recommended).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Then I got a message from an Argentinian, living in Dunoon in Scotland with an offer on my bike, we haggled a bit and settled on a price we were both happy with and a deposit was paid.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">He took the nine hour overnight train (and ferry) trip from Dunoon to pick up the bike the next Sunday. And then promptly rode the nine hour journey home again as he had to be at work on the Monday morning!!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So off I went to the KTM Centre in Hemel Hempstead and a deal was made on an unregistered 2020 bike from stock, that I got for the 2020 price. A good deal when you consider KTM made no changes for 2021 other than the emissions control changing from Euro 4 to Euro 5 compliant.đThey also threw in the powerparts bash plate for free. I also ordered the spoked wheel set at a discount and with some half decent tyres, the whole package was under ÂŁ6400. I also picked up a second hand AkrapoviÄ silencer for around half price and when it arrived I would swear it had never been fitted to a bike. It's no louder than the stock silencer but much better looking and a lot lighter.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo4zOh57TJWGGNg746Fsa5o6bUFEMX5KyBjqU96PMDMAQhm0CrDGoSjA5OQgwJ1qIOdkiphRXQlqEJrRoVc2f2N77qUXIDCyCBUA9bDjhs4lKzY5FAf87Sb9nYtR1Jz2MKrAZCJ0fJXYJo/s2048/IMG_2948.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo4zOh57TJWGGNg746Fsa5o6bUFEMX5KyBjqU96PMDMAQhm0CrDGoSjA5OQgwJ1qIOdkiphRXQlqEJrRoVc2f2N77qUXIDCyCBUA9bDjhs4lKzY5FAf87Sb9nYtR1Jz2MKrAZCJ0fJXYJo/w400-h300/IMG_2948.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As it came</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUMnmwIdMN5k1CYMEzZxNUpJFobbg-HWKF5MCYbD1YSIaoHjKQHJXSF5P-T_NZQ74Cj4_c0t-PyeUUf7eFMLi00Ne2TtETIqTQrV-hj3b6NlDJseUNfWiw8nfKPl8zKOQunafYqYic26ko/w400-h225/E4DCDB8D-5D64-47E3-BB72-3F037C65EDCE.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">With the spoked wheels, new tyres and exhaust fitted</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUMnmwIdMN5k1CYMEzZxNUpJFobbg-HWKF5MCYbD1YSIaoHjKQHJXSF5P-T_NZQ74Cj4_c0t-PyeUUf7eFMLi00Ne2TtETIqTQrV-hj3b6NlDJseUNfWiw8nfKPl8zKOQunafYqYic26ko/s2048/E4DCDB8D-5D64-47E3-BB72-3F037C65EDCE.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Since then, I've started a new job, spent a great four days at the ABR Festival as Clerk of the Course for the Adventure Trail and started to make a few changes to the bike but more on that next time....</span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Tony Ferrarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13620754191187809627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-56664630455204201372021-05-15T04:05:00.004-07:002021-06-30T03:08:55.918-07:00Normal Service has been resumed... sort of!<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The latest lockdown having ended, I was released from house arrest (aka shielding) and sporting events were allowed again (and that includes motorcycling), it almost feels like the old normal. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But more on that later, for a start let's look at how my Youtube Channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb4vXOKCHh04Y8z9K4wJ7KA" target="_blank">Byway Nomad</a>' is progressing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Back in January I had 25 Subscribers, that has now doubled to 50 and views have more than doubled as have viewing hours. On the linked Facebook page, I have 139 followers, up from 100. So steady progress is the name of the game.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There are now 82 videos to view of green roads, mostly still in the Peak District</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Check out the channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb4vXOKCHh04Y8z9K4wJ7KA" target="_blank">HERE</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So what's been going on in the world of Motorsport?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Regular readers will recall my abject failure to compete in the <a href="https://www.themotorcyclingclub.org.uk/" target="_blank">Motor Cycling Club</a>'s <a href="https://www.themotorcyclingclub.org.uk/the-edinburgh-trial/" target="_blank">Edinburgh Trial</a> 2019. Well hopefully the trial will go ahead again in October this year and recently the club advertised for some volunteers to help with the organisation, so I held my hand up and I'm now Covid Compliance Officer for the trial. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hopefully there will be a fairly easy requirement come October to stay Covid safe but we always have to plan for the worst. Since then I have also volunteered to write the route guide for the trial, so the first draft is nearly ready. Quite different from the road books i'm used to producing for </span><a href="https://rallymoto.co.uk/" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Rallymoto</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> events as rather than use symbols in the FIM format, it's basically just a written description; the pictures show the difference.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB76QjaEgKbVXUNk5AVJcWcOLRyO26ZfIoEFRIftB_gZ09HkIyqEG-I4Gt7X8bXVaGOllnC_EYEbG2_Y5G79QwpKsLxDBV6c5SsRfJ53eApDqEV6ACRGQFOljx8lBBWNDvoug6E8qM829_/s1144/Screenshot+2021-04-21+at+13.26.36.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="1144" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB76QjaEgKbVXUNk5AVJcWcOLRyO26ZfIoEFRIftB_gZ09HkIyqEG-I4Gt7X8bXVaGOllnC_EYEbG2_Y5G79QwpKsLxDBV6c5SsRfJ53eApDqEV6ACRGQFOljx8lBBWNDvoug6E8qM829_/w400-h353/Screenshot+2021-04-21+at+13.26.36.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The MCC way of doing it<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The other weekend I competed in my first event since the beginning of 2019! The Timber Woods Long Distance Trial held in Kent.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7_3ItXP-MB0a-8yg36RY5TIxjr-JKwMtwa_3mGZuw50RX7gSW9adHoLX7XVwKo5dB8oPlgkIqmI_N4aD0FdbLBfO3fk2T_eFgfo0gsFHV8ARHWAvkvGc-za0_1WNsOZj03Ipj_wIfe9f/s698/Screenshot+2021-05-13+at+23.02.17.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="492" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7_3ItXP-MB0a-8yg36RY5TIxjr-JKwMtwa_3mGZuw50RX7gSW9adHoLX7XVwKo5dB8oPlgkIqmI_N4aD0FdbLBfO3fk2T_eFgfo0gsFHV8ARHWAvkvGc-za0_1WNsOZj03Ipj_wIfe9f/s320/Screenshot+2021-05-13+at+23.02.17.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rallymoto (and FIM) way of doing it.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The EXC was dragged out from storage, treated to new oil, a clean air filter, new wheel bearings, new brake pads, a new air box cover (the last one fell off somewhere), new chain and sprockets, a new MOT and was taxed. Having removed the navigation tower and rally fairing I had fitted a headlamp from my old 690 Enduro with an LED bulb for night time events. Unfortunately a change in the MOT rules this year does not allow LED Bulbs to be retrofitted to headlamps designed for halogen bulbs. So a quick swap for a totally ineffective Acerbis enduro headlamp and mask (actually the truly awful one from my old CCM but OK as I will only riding it in the daytime for the time being). It did the job and it duly passed the MOT.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The road book for the event was published and was in a third variation of the genre;</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgizEkObkypXWrMR2ZC6A-cNp39UlDae3ouVxWHS4Xv7_Tv4C8dZzku9zXOim9LW9i63FExald3_rr5apWW1PfpkGioOeYt4O0hS63G9QBgH3HAa133VEBOLuJFLDg9J6I5P982TP1QIXeG/s1428/Screenshot+2021-04-21+at+13.25.33.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1428" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgizEkObkypXWrMR2ZC6A-cNp39UlDae3ouVxWHS4Xv7_Tv4C8dZzku9zXOim9LW9i63FExald3_rr5apWW1PfpkGioOeYt4O0hS63G9QBgH3HAa133VEBOLuJFLDg9J6I5P982TP1QIXeG/w400-h236/Screenshot+2021-04-21+at+13.25.33.png" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The LDT way of doing things </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I Find this format really difficult to read on a bike as apart from being designed as an A4 page you have to go left to right then down a row, then left to right again, it just doesn't flow for me. So having spent a year plotting out the Stir Crazy Virtual Rallies for Rallymoto, I applied the same technique; Using the road book I plotted the route on OS Maps online. This produced a gpx file of the route that I then uploaded to the software we use: Rally Navigator and produced my own road book in Rallymoto style:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLLPF8zDI7HJfX7mBRQLx5y3ds1Id7KhLcZ_qJxHZlCJ8jfSl2Sb8FFSoUIzPQXJdzdMXpeFUu4RlkmbvPZkJTtM1s3M9emYn9vF4MH3oe91i_u5MKD40-bVu1bLakRLL2Jzhuml9CHfoB/s772/Screenshot+2021-05-09+at+11.42.55.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="504" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLLPF8zDI7HJfX7mBRQLx5y3ds1Id7KhLcZ_qJxHZlCJ8jfSl2Sb8FFSoUIzPQXJdzdMXpeFUu4RlkmbvPZkJTtM1s3M9emYn9vF4MH3oe91i_u5MKD40-bVu1bLakRLL2Jzhuml9CHfoB/w261-h400/Screenshot+2021-05-09+at+11.42.55.png" width="261" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The same section of road book as shown above but in the more familiar layout</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This had the advantage of being easier to follow for me, gave me cumulative distance readings from the start; the standard LDT format only giving distance between waypoints meaning you have to either keep resetting your trip meter or doing lots of mental arithmetic on the fly. I also discovered the distances were quite different and as it turned out, to be more accurate on my version. To top it all it now fitted into a Rallymoto manual road book holder.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So how did the event go?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The thing that attracted me to this event was it started at Canada Heights, the Motocross circuit near to Swanley in Kent. This being only five minutes away from my Brother and Sister-In-Laws house in Farningham. But of course Covid restrictions at the time meant we couldn't stay. No problem as we camped out on their drive in the VW. It was a cold night but we stayed nice and warm under the duvet but decided the mattress we use in the van (from an old futon) has seen better days, definitely not the most comfortable night! </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The next morning saw a frost and the bike did it's normal trick of not wanting to start on the button (it's never liked the cold) but I was able to kick start it easily. Setting off for Canada Heights and it wasn't happy, running very rough; it wouldn't tick over and kept stalling and the starter wasn't having any of it. So I resigned myself to a day of kickstarting (never much fun with a 510cc single). Arriving at the start seemed to confuse some of the officials when I asked where to park the bike? "By your van" was the answer, I had to patiently explain three times I had ridden there and my van was about 3 miles away!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03X2QCGKpOLbRQoW-lm5-IDcDZ1qBF5g-XmgmvjLisRhC4eJ7ob4eJYlW0GIjNsMd1qB_GAJjvukOIHgn9ir7uTS2jSGQMZ4Sjmu4Fo1dNgMHkxnshrN2_NRILFmMzY4rn6GGep21ZSEV/s2016/IMG_2804+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03X2QCGKpOLbRQoW-lm5-IDcDZ1qBF5g-XmgmvjLisRhC4eJ7ob4eJYlW0GIjNsMd1qB_GAJjvukOIHgn9ir7uTS2jSGQMZ4Sjmu4Fo1dNgMHkxnshrN2_NRILFmMzY4rn6GGep21ZSEV/w300-h400/IMG_2804+%25281%2529.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My bike parked near somebody else's van!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">After getting my numbers and a programme I attempted to get the bike running better but despite turning up the tickover, It still wasn't happy. I eventually started the trial at my allotted time and the first section was straight down an extremely steep slope and through some trees. Typically the bike stalled as I went over the edge, with no electric start and a surface too loose for a bump start, I had only one choice: clutch in and coast through the section with a dead engine.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Remarkably it worked, maintaining enough momentum to wiggle through the trees and I got a "clean" with no penalty points.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I started the bike and headed off to section two, only to find I was at section three! A quick backtrack and discovered I should have turn left not right out of section one... doh!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Section two was the opposite of number one, a climb back up the steep slope, with a few tight turns around trees. I thought I had cleaned this one too, having one 'dab' of my foot as I exited over the lip of the slope. I was convinced I had done this outside the section but obviously not and I scored 1 penalty point, still not too shabby.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Back to section three and I failed miserably getting the maximum five points when I ground to a halt mid section. This then started a pattern, as I cleaned the next section (four) and got a five on section five when I missed a turn round a tree, then cleaned section six. The route then left the grounds of Canada Heights and headed off on minor roads and byways for a 90 mile loop around Kent, with occasional forays into Greater London, albeit a pretty rural part. After a couple of tricky sections we reached a petrol station so I pulled in to refuel. Shortly afterwards the bike started to run much better and I realised the previous fuel had been sat in the bike for eighteen months so had clearly 'gone off'.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The sections seemed to fall into two distinct types. The first very easy for me, resulting in a clean or a few where a single dab resulted in a single penalty point. The second type very hard which produced a maximum five penalty points as I failed to negotiate steep banks or tight turns around trees and often ground to a halt. Although a couple where I thought I had scored five, I was awarded threes instead but I think the observers were just being generous to my rather pathetic efforts. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I remembered why I like classic trials like the MCC events better where observed sections are hill climbs with a completely different scoring system (0 to 12 penalty points dependent on how far you get up the hill, the penalties reducing as you climb).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At around halfway I met up with Grainne, having lunch in a pub garden beside the route with her Sister in Law and nephews, I had to settle for a sausage bap and a cup of tea in an old quarry at the trial's lunch stop.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRNSqkq-mUWyUgaaVG1HcULXT-8zhPCoKUekfzk3wVDn1Oyi83YwHlB0OEXBiDEefJLlKNeW5rC3dkS4z9jbTMSw-j9pBruXnRF_pXGmIjIyhsrsDZAHqSs2SwpSySXniA59QmJQsV-CXv/s960/175894441_10158291935057914_8410183338027329597_n.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRNSqkq-mUWyUgaaVG1HcULXT-8zhPCoKUekfzk3wVDn1Oyi83YwHlB0OEXBiDEefJLlKNeW5rC3dkS4z9jbTMSw-j9pBruXnRF_pXGmIjIyhsrsDZAHqSs2SwpSySXniA59QmJQsV-CXv/w400-h400/175894441_10158291935057914_8410183338027329597_n.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By the end of the day I was truly sick of kick starting the bike, the oil seal on the kick start shaft had failed coating me and the bike in oil and the fatigue from Myasthenia was kicking in big time, I was glad to arrive back at Canada Heights where we had to ride the first six sections in reverse. This was a near repeat of the morning when I scored 5 then 0 then 5 then another 0 another 5, and finally another 0. Gladly the engine decided to work on the last section as the extremely steep descent was now of course an extremely steep ascent.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Finally there was a timed special test included as a tie breaker, this involved riding over a series of railway sleepers, a slalom through cones and a see-saw. The cones were my failing as I simply didn't have enough lock to get round, the other obstacles being no issue at all.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So what was the result?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Well the good news is I came Second in my class (Class C for bikes over 450cc), the bad news is there were only two in my class!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I came 82nd overall out of 88 finishers, so at least I wasn't last đ</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Remember my plans for World Domination in Classic & Long Distance Trials?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Maybe not today.....</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Or maybe never đ</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><br /></p>Tony Ferrarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13620754191187809627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-1929998844081400332021-01-30T03:11:00.000-08:002021-01-30T03:11:08.474-08:00Statistics<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Whilst the rest of the Country seems to be obsessed with the Covid statistics, i've been checking out the stats for my new Youtube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb4vXOKCHh04Y8z9K4wJ7KA" target="_blank">Byway Nomad</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">OK so it's hardly great numbers but then again it is a fairly niche subject so 25 Subscribers is not bad in 28 days. I don't quite think I can describe myself as a "Youtuber" anytime soon though!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In that same time period my videos have had 724 views, that amounts to over 20 hours of watching, also not too bad.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Byway-Nomad-101255511933389" target="_blank">Byway Nomad Page</a> on FaceBook to promote the channel is doing well too.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">97 Likes so far and even better, 100 Followers đ</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">To date I have posted 62 videos on Youtube, these cover 61 separate Green Roads, 55 of which are in the Peak District National Park, mostly in Derbyshire but also in Staffordshire, Cheshire East and Sheffield (South Yorkshire). I still have about another 45 to post.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The other video is in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria and I have another three to post from there. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Of these I have promoted 29 via the FaceBook Page and more will follow. Once I've posted all the ones already on the channel, my aim is post new videos on Youtube and FaceBook simultaneously.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">So what happens when I've posted all my videos?</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well that depends on Covid! Hopefully by then I'll be able to get out on the green roads again and start videoing new lanes.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsaKGKONseFMxCZyFJ_i_Z34Gx606zGJ8P0nbLJTRs_SL2CqfR2CU2WW4AGZNe6FyJrpgbj4oSoGT1VdvknblL7NOQ_s3G6_jspXZYjh4_hr4ZKK9TdP3Vgas2OHl6JqW__eFbBm98Cr2/s1114/Screenshot+2021-01-29+at+15.21.30.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="908" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsaKGKONseFMxCZyFJ_i_Z34Gx606zGJ8P0nbLJTRs_SL2CqfR2CU2WW4AGZNe6FyJrpgbj4oSoGT1VdvknblL7NOQ_s3G6_jspXZYjh4_hr4ZKK9TdP3Vgas2OHl6JqW__eFbBm98Cr2/w326-h400/Screenshot+2021-01-29+at+15.21.30.png" width="326" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><br /></p>Tony Ferrarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13620754191187809627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-43132040288722278072020-11-29T06:00:00.006-08:002020-11-29T07:56:41.432-08:00<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">You may have been wondering where I've been as I haven't posted since May.<br />
<br />
Well OK I doubt you have been wondering but I've been here... At home!</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So time for an update and news of something new, see below for that.<br />
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Given that my blog is basically about motorcycling, not much has been going on!</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">After shielding ended at the end of August I continued to work at home and at present apart from a couple of days back in the office I'm still doing that eight months after I first started in March!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Well it isn't actually true that nothing has been going on on the motorcycling front as at Rallymoto we were able to restart events in September with a couple of Adventure Cannonball Road Book events on Salisbury Plain, then the Tour of Wales and Coast 2 Coast Marathon Adventure Cannonballs.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Salisbury Plain Event was our normal format apart from the fact that due to Covid-Safe requirements we weren't able to hold the start at a café as normal. Instead it was a remote car park and social distancing was required during the hand out of road books, holders etc. with all equipment sanitised and contact minimised. Once out on the trails of course, social distancing came naturally:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTeYesrzbg2hggxwn5-TFq706R9VwNFdFqwCkl1GW3eAT_DfGUAmGbz2TX-KZ_evJkE9Pgm5_e95wjZVBs6UL6nIePRoe2ty6GoOOjYx0Z-DgTT0BDJgPl_P78mDi5eJ7O6DSuQ_HMkN98/s2048/IMG_1981.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTeYesrzbg2hggxwn5-TFq706R9VwNFdFqwCkl1GW3eAT_DfGUAmGbz2TX-KZ_evJkE9Pgm5_e95wjZVBs6UL6nIePRoe2ty6GoOOjYx0Z-DgTT0BDJgPl_P78mDi5eJ7O6DSuQ_HMkN98/w300-h400/IMG_1981.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This was the principle we were able to adopt for all these events, which proved very successful. Of course this all stopped again when we went into lockdown again and I went back into shielding, although we don't calling it shielding anymore, even if it is just like shielding, confused? I'm not surprised!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So what else have I been up to?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Well this week I decided on a new project...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">You may recall I spent 18 months or so surveying green roads in the Peak District National Park for the Trail Riders Fellowship (TRF). Whilst doing this I also videoed every single lane and after suitable editing posted these up on my Vimeo account to back up my surveys. At that time they were password protected but recently i've been using them to answer a few questions on Facebook for people who were asking questions like where was a particular lane, or what condition was this lane in?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As a result I made them all publically available but as Vimeo doesn't seem to the most popular video hosting site for this sort of thing I decided to start a channel on Youtube under the title Byway Nomad. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There's only a few there at present but I have 107 videos of the Peak District to upload over time. I also intend to make a few explanatory videos on things like how they were researched or what the surfacing information actually means and a few other ideas I have. So please check it out and subscribe if you like what you see....</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Click here to view the channel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb4vXOKCHh04Y8z9K4wJ7KA/" target="_blank">BYWAY NOMAD</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And here's a taster, Three Shires Head:</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-BUjBZ2Fbms" width="320" youtube-src-id="-BUjBZ2Fbms"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From now on I intend to video all the lanes I ride and slowly build up a record of green roads open to motorcycles across England and Wales.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So watch this space.....</span></div></div>Tony Ferrarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13620754191187809627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-30307558891276387922020-05-23T04:12:00.000-07:002020-05-23T04:12:07.390-07:00What's in a number?<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So whilst under "house arrest" during the covid-19 lockdown, I decided to review my 60 by 60 list (see right).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And if you can't see it, that because you're reading this on the mobile version and it doesn't appear on that, scroll down and select "View Web Version" and all will be clear</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And yes I know i've only got 56 on the list at the moment but there's still time.... or is there?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now the "rules" of this exercise were set by Gina, my sister who had the idea first as 60 things to do before the end of your 60th year on the planet. This sneakily gives you an extra year over if it were only until your 60th Birthday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So that's until October 2021.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But it would appear that 2020 is going to be a complete write off due to Covid 19.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBr8pyru9NrbbqAlOqD16wcSNFWojVOfzfTUdjN7GxDbwBWsVt1rlQU6xftXKZyzdvWS5NUEUjEwFxU5roCUOchE2Z0bUcno2f7YztMst78-i0xqt9vX3tXLw-dvRHO-yZPo05S17udtR/s1600/Screenshot+2020-05-19+at+18.53.23.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="737" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBr8pyru9NrbbqAlOqD16wcSNFWojVOfzfTUdjN7GxDbwBWsVt1rlQU6xftXKZyzdvWS5NUEUjEwFxU5roCUOchE2Z0bUcno2f7YztMst78-i0xqt9vX3tXLw-dvRHO-yZPo05S17udtR/s320/Screenshot+2020-05-19+at+18.53.23.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Funnily enough when I came up with the idea (or rather stole the idea off Gina) </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">in August 2018</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">, I wrote:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>"but how to come up with a full sixty (and possibly a few in reserve in case some became impossible to achieve, either through cost, unavailability or zombie apocalypse⊠it pays to plan for all eventualities)."</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">OK so Covid 19 is not quite the Zombie Apocalypse I was thinking off but i must have known something.đ±</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So back to my list, I have already done:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. Go on the London Eye with Champagne Lounge Reception (November 2018)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. Enter a Long Distance Trial (the Clee Hill Trial January 2019)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">8. Visit the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris (November 2018)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">25. Learn to SnowBoard (December 2018 to March 2019 at Xscape in Milton Keynes)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">26. Participate in the Ride to the Wall to the National Memorial Arboretum (October 2018)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">42. Opera in Verona (June 2019, actually twice in one weekend, Aida and Carmen)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">45. Go on a Snowboarding holiday (Bormio, Italy March 2019)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">46. Have a spa day with Grainne (The Y Spa, September 2018)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">49. See Michael McIntyre live at the O2 (October 2018)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">50. Drink Rum Cocktails on the Golden Hinde whilst dressed as a pirate (November 2018)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">52. Visit the Sacre-Coeur in Paris (November 2018)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">53. Ride along in a Piste Groomer at a ski resort (Bormio March 2019)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yes a paltry 12 off the list.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was due to do Nos 18 and hopefully 19 and 20 in September:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">18. Visit the Isle of Man<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">19. Ride the TT Course (doesn't have to be in TT week)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">20. Climb the highest peak on the IoM, Snaefell<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPH3E7ZkzZBAAuFKkua-X16saMdbQ58lfmoTHfpyagJdvSrBWN4yzRSO222wF2XjErQvW3fEt-JBcIaep9ClZhCBmNyLSEeRXxDs8bagnIXZC3h5LEaRNYExaAaY0A4qDb4ioUbiY2sZje/s1600/Screenshot+2020-05-19+at+19.04.22.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="354" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPH3E7ZkzZBAAuFKkua-X16saMdbQ58lfmoTHfpyagJdvSrBWN4yzRSO222wF2XjErQvW3fEt-JBcIaep9ClZhCBmNyLSEeRXxDs8bagnIXZC3h5LEaRNYExaAaY0A4qDb4ioUbiY2sZje/s400/Screenshot+2020-05-19+at+19.04.22.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This would have been whilst working on the Rallymoto Isle of Man 500 but that has now been cancelled due to the pandemic, so still just about time if it's on in 2021.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We had already booked our hot air balloon flight (No. 2) but this had to be cancelled due to bad weather. The good news is certificates have been extended for another 18 months as a result of Covid 19, so we still have plenty of time for that. No flights before July at the moment but who really knows?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This and no less than 34 others are currently impossible due to my having to isolate, social distancing rules, the ban on non essential travel that's still in place in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and the restrictions that still apply in England, because events have been cancelled, venues are closed or borders cannot be crossed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">OK some are still in the planning stage but still no idea when they will be possible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You'll see that includes competing in the Motor Cycling Club's (MCC) Edinburgh Rally. You may also recall my failed attempt to start in October last year but it is hoped that the trial will go ahead this year on its normal October date so here's hoping for a second try! Entries are due to open in July so hopefully we'll know more by then.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have also decided to add the MCC's Lands End Trial (normally at Easter) and the Exeter Trial (January) as No's 55 and 56 to my list which will also mean completing the MCC "Triple" if I do them all in the same year (So is that another for the list?) as they are all events i've wanted to have a go at.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So what's left? Well the list currently stands at 56, but....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've already had to discount:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">23. Complete a parachute jump<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As my heart attack in 2018 means I fall foul of the British Parachute Association regulations. That means there's actually only 55 on my list.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Then there's</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">22. Compete in the Hellas Rally, Greece</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Although the Rally was postponed it is still planned to go ahead later this year in October but to be honest finances won't allow it, we did after all buy a new house in January and i'm still not sure the myasthenia would react very well to a week long rally in extreme heat in any case so I think my international rallying career is definitely at an end! đ</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">That's 54 accounted for so what's on the list that I can still do?:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">44. Get a new job<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Obviously I can still do this and jobs are still being advertised and a job closer to home is certainly an ambition but only if the right job appears and i'm able to get selected, so who knows? I originally put this on the list as an aspiration as I was getting fed up with my daily 50 minute commute. Of course since moving that has become a one hour, ten minute commute! So very much still an incentive. At least at present as I'm having to shield due to being in the very high risk category my commute only consists of walking downstairs to the study!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So maybe instead of 60 by 60 and having to come up with another six activities to complete my list, I come up with another seven and making it 61 by 61... giving me until 2022</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now there's an idea!</span></div>
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Tony Ferrarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13620754191187809627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-87041774765623098592020-05-18T10:05:00.003-07:002020-05-18T10:11:33.563-07:00The Covid Chronicles<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A longer blog than normal as I have decided to document my experiences over these very strange times....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So I write this in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak and what an impact it has had both on my biking activities and on life in general.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the start of the outbreak I was pulled off my normal day to day duties at work and transferred full time into the Northamptonshire NHS Incident Coordination Centre to work on the response to what we were then still calling the Wuhan Novel Coronavirus. So why me? A result of being the Business Continuity lead and the legacy of twenty five years experience in Emergency Planning, that's why.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In this mode we went from a disease occurring overseas, to one that reached our shores, to the first UK deaths then the first cases locally in Northamptonshire and eventually the first death in the County. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">All very sombre stuff, especially as in the back of my mind was the fact that having a compromised immune system due to the medication I take for Myasthenia makes me at increased risk from the virus. Not only would it be easier for me to catch it, with no available treatments all the health service can do is support patients whilst their immune system fights the disease. Oh hang on a second, what if your immune system doesn't work properly!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We started to learn new terms like Social Distancing, Self Isolation and still my favourite Covidiot! Yes of course it can travel down 5G radio waves you numpties! And of course the virus and disease also got proper names, SARS-CoV-2 and Covid-19 respectfully and our knowledge grew as we dealt with a deluge of information as constant updates to guidance came flooding in from Public Health England and NHS England.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And then it all changed when Grainne went down with a sore throat in mid March, she duly contacted NHS111 and despite none of her symptoms being any of those listed for Covid-19 she was told to self isolate and of course that meant me too. So I switched to working from home, this of course makes it quite difficult to work on the emergency response so I actually switched back to doing more of the day job again. Grainne thankfully recovered after a few days but as she was never tested at the time, we don't know of it was Covid-19 or not? We do doubt it though.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Grainne was able to go back to work after her symptoms had cleared but I was to continue to self isolate for 14 days in case I developed symptoms. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But then everything changed....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">During this time the government guidance was published on shielding those at extreme risk and contained the category:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0c0c;">"People on immun</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0c0c;">osuppre</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0c0c;">ssion therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection."</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0c0c;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sound familiar?</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0c0c;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So I sat back to wait for my letter from NHS England, which eight weeks later, still hasn't arrived! đ</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b0c0c; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Despite this It was certain this applied to me and work agreed that I was definitely in this category, so it was 12 week</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0c0c; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> complete isolation for me. This was confirmed when work circulated the letters being sent by NHS England to GPs and one states:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>"All patients on the following medications have been centrally identified
and will be contacted via the letter: </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>âą Azathioprine </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>âą <b>Mycophenolate </b>(both types) </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>âą Cyclosporin </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>âą Sirolimus </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>âą Tacrolimus"</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Me? I'm on the immunosuppressant Mycophenolate Mofetil so no doubts there. But as I said I still haven't received a letter! It would seem i'm only one of thousands who have been missed so I'm not feeling singled out. As I said work are OK with this so a letter is not essential for me but it seems on getting a letter your name is also given to the supermarkets to allow you to get priority on their home delivery services, which would have been useful!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">OK we weren't desperate for food and supplies as we had gone in to this with a well stocked fridge and freezer and even had plenty of toilet rolls in stock as we already have them delivered from the excellent <a href="https://uk.whogivesacrap.org/">Who Gives a Crap</a> and recently got a box of 48! and Grainne can still shop but It's not exactly fair on her after working long days as a community midwife, including the stress of doing so in full PPE and never knowing if she's going to contract the virus and bring it home with her, to expect her to queue for who knows how long in a supermarket car park after her shift.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I registered on the gov.uk website as extremely vulnerable and eventually Ocado came up trumps and offered me priority slots for deliveries every two weeks. Even if it did then take a week for them to agree our post code does actually exist. come on Ocado we've only been here five months and the road and house has existed for over a year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So currently I continue to work at home, I'm not supposed to leave the house (no not even for one period of exercise a day) but of course as mentioned Grainne is back working in the thick of it, so it is social distancing at home for us as well: separate bedrooms, separate bathrooms and trying to maintain a two metre separation in the house. Not easy at all!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And the guidance on shielding has increased the period to the end of June so that makes it 14 weeks for me and they are already talking about having to extend the date!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: blue;">News update! I finally got my shielding letter after eight and a half weeks! It still says to remain at home for 12 weeks from the date of the letter.... err that would make it mid August</span></i> đČ</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I did get ill the other week and actually got out of the house for a trip to the car park of the John Radcliffe Hospital for a covid-19 test in a tent in the pouring rain. Thankfully that was negative, not sure that i've ever enjoyed failing a test so much. Turns out it was likely to have been a (non covid) viral infection that triggered a flare up of myasthenia.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So what about bikes?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the bike front, I'm getting a little fed up with all the facebook posts from people saying how great it is they have all this time to maintain their bikes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Apart from not having loads of extra spare time as i'm still working, t</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">hree out of our four bikes are still in off site storage after the house move in January so inaccessible to us. To be fair only the 450 EXC could do with some TLC but of course that's one of them that's in storage! I have the 1090R at home but at 18 months old it doesn't need anything doing to it. I've cleaned it and done a few bits of fettling but nothing more to be done. So at present all four bikes are on a SORN and out of use.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And why is it all these people seem to have immaculately tidy workshops? Or perhaps those with messy ones like me don't bother posting pictures. Although to be fair I am in the middle of painting the garage floor a bit at a time, which involves shifting everything around, not to mention having the contents of Owen's flat in there as he moved out of his place in Sheffield back in March as the university was shut down and his tenancy was ending. So he is now staying with us for the time being and enjoying our 120 mbps internet compared to the 6 mbps he was "enjoying" in Sheffield, luckily he can continue his research and work online but what else would you expect when his doctorate is in cyber security.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the rally front obviously all events are cancelled or postponed and at present we have no idea what the future holds, so we have turned to virtual rallying...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP9jb0HXYJ3GEH-jQFtZ-gAU6nnDjjeI1Ud36rr7y6qlLQZjKOIp_AAE65pRoQdoK1drpCK-mwSFRrqL8R1G_acmoYd2SwQXZKEH348bMYYqok4np6y1vfRxQ0xPgo4Er6GA_r6KLfjwHS/s1600/96522205_1406188566232572_6730373375291555840_n.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="300" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP9jb0HXYJ3GEH-jQFtZ-gAU6nnDjjeI1Ud36rr7y6qlLQZjKOIp_AAE65pRoQdoK1drpCK-mwSFRrqL8R1G_acmoYd2SwQXZKEH348bMYYqok4np6y1vfRxQ0xPgo4Er6GA_r6KLfjwHS/s400/96522205_1406188566232572_6730373375291555840_n.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">With Burt, Tony and Mike from the Rallymoto team we created daily road bok exercises over four weeks. Entrants were asked to donate to the NHS Charities together and every day they got sent a short road book of about 40-50km and a map excerpt and had to find the finish point.</span><br />
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<a href="https://rallymoto.co.uk/introducing-the-stir-crazy-desktop-roadbook-rally-series/">https://rallymoto.co.uk/introducing-the-stir-crazy-desktop-roadbook-rally-series/</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Every week the answers were put into a conversation table (that sneakily has several wrong answers that are close to the correct ones) and these gave a letter for each correct answer. This created a five letter anagram that gave a word related to bikes or rallying. Entrants could then submit their answers each week for an entry in a prize draw to win some Motoz tyres courtesy of Adventure Spec. Enter each week and that was four goes in the draw.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The eventual winner was drawn last week and we raised ÂŁ2600 for the NHS Charities Together.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some of the comments we received back were great, so we are now looking to what we can do next. My Dakar Rally quiz is currently online and seems to be causing a few problems!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We are also putting together plans for our postponed events when they eventually happen, hopefully this will be the first...</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b0c0c; font-family: "nta" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 19px;"><br /></span>Tony Ferrarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13620754191187809627noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-64948017390586257482020-03-15T07:58:00.001-07:002020-05-13T09:52:53.205-07:00The blog is back!<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Well you might expect something on Covid-19 but that'll have to wait after a bit of catch up....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">After my failed attempt at the Edinburgh
Trial last October, things have been relatively quiet on the
bike front.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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A trip to the Lakes District later in October on the KTM 1090 R for the next Rallymoto Adventure Cannonball turned out pretty wet! Unfortunately we only had 6
competitors turn up but everyone agreed that despite the weather, it was a
great event. The ride home down the M6/M1 was less than pleasant as although
the rain eventually stopped, it was cold and traffic was awful.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Plans then turned to future events and a decision on whether to continue to
use the KTM 450 EXC or not. Given that I can no longer enter Rallies in the UK due to my heart attack but can still have a trials licence, it
might be time to convert it from rally trim and make it more suitable for Long
Distance Trials.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">I had already fitted Pirelli MT43 Trials
tyres and lowered the suspension slightly by sliding the forks up through
the yokes and reducing the preload on the rear spring. So what else to do?</span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">First step was to remove the navigation tower
and fairing. These to make the bike lighter, improve visibility and hopefully a
bit more </span><span style="font-size: 24px;">maneuverable</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">. Obviously this also means losing the lights, but as my
experience on the Edinburgh showed me they are bright but the beam pattern is
not ideal. Also removed as a result are the road book holder and ICO trip meter
but more on that later.</span></span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC1eA2lQ_YQGar2lUmI_0_GUK4LJFb92MpLXY_-kEtZiifSb2F7BW2SCKZG_BsiFrO416qi7Ie1PufssDjVRoUDDl2tx6Fts5LehAzY-61T0itGIYXihhakKS_0GBxso5ywq3C1SXFeEkj/s1600/Hr4zNptwTxa49X1kgz%252B9Jw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC1eA2lQ_YQGar2lUmI_0_GUK4LJFb92MpLXY_-kEtZiifSb2F7BW2SCKZG_BsiFrO416qi7Ie1PufssDjVRoUDDl2tx6Fts5LehAzY-61T0itGIYXihhakKS_0GBxso5ywq3C1SXFeEkj/s400/Hr4zNptwTxa49X1kgz%252B9Jw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">I decided to leave the mounting block bolted
to the headstock on the basis it would make it easier to restore the navigation
tower if I wished to do so in future and removing it does mean having to strip
out the forks and yokes, which is a fairly involved process. </span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">This causes a problem as the obvious next
step is to restore the standard headlight cowl but this fouls on the mounting
block. In the past I have used the headlight cowl from my old CCM as it offers
more clearance but both of these set ups suffer from having woefully inadequate
lights, something I wanted to address.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">The answer presented itself from the spares
box in the shape of a headlamp cowl from my old KTM 690 Enduro. Which has a
halogen headlamp, it too fouls the mounting block but I had a solution in mind
for that. It also has the advantage of already being fitted with the short KTM accessory windscreen</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHI5YPQlb6fgnimZ1YRqIor23wEcaRd8cZVYJFfLU4gBbVToGWFnwZMY97Q1AVoUUTzg1-kO_-XwyX_gj5SKpEtQpV9haTDwX8oxEDZq6aetGSiTjXIwRrsFACYzrv8XDjMT65rdyMZ71I/s1600/2FVTLS0dQ26zXFSQzbhpwg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHI5YPQlb6fgnimZ1YRqIor23wEcaRd8cZVYJFfLU4gBbVToGWFnwZMY97Q1AVoUUTzg1-kO_-XwyX_gj5SKpEtQpV9haTDwX8oxEDZq6aetGSiTjXIwRrsFACYzrv8XDjMT65rdyMZ71I/s400/2FVTLS0dQ26zXFSQzbhpwg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Another issue is that it has a 55/60w halogen bulb which is a bit too much for the EXCs electrical
system. I had learnt this with my original light set up in the fairing that
used two 55w halogen lamps and had necessitated the fitting of the 30w LED
lamps to stop the battery constantly going flat. This did however allow me to experiment with different bulbs to reduce the
electrical load whilst still increasing light output.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<o:p></o:p>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">First experiment was with a H4 HID (High
Intensity Discharge) bulb, this seemed to work OK and it certainly produced a
very impressive bright, white light. It also has the advantage of requiring
much less power than a halogen and doesnât have a great impact on the beam
pattern. Unfortunately it suffered from a âflickerâ on both dip and main beam,
although I suspect this might have been as a result of the battery being low,
definitely more testing needed there.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">The second experiment was using an LED bulb,
again these are very bright but due to the way they produce light can have a
significant impact on the beam pattern. Fortunately the effect is not too bad
and it has certainly improved the lighting. Another issue with the LED bulb is
the large ballast with cooling fins on the back of the bulb. This absolutely
fouls on the mounting block so a solution needed to be engineered.</span><o:p></o:p><br />
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This was achieved with two 4mm aluminium plates cut to shape and mounted each
side of the forks and another on the base to use the standard mounting pegs to
push the headlamp cowl forward. Currently mounted to the forks with cable ties,
the plan is to adapt the rubber straps from the standard light.</span><o:p></o:p><br />
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Next plan is to build a small dash panel on top of the cowl, firstly to block
the backwash of light from the headlamp but also to allow the fitting of a fuse
box, switches and power socket.</span><o:p></o:p><br />
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So how to address the lack of road book holder and trip meter? This came from
my friend Andy on the Edinburgh Trial. He had simply used the road book to work
out the route and create a GPX file that could be uploaded onto his Garmin
Montana GPS. So no need for the road book holder or trip meter at all and with
the added bonus that by using the powered mount the GPS is lit up and so
clearly visible at night and takes up much less space on the handlebars too.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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In its new set up I used the 450 to recce the Northamptonshire Adventure
Cannonball that took place in November. It performed really well and without
the rally fairing feels so much lighter and nimbler on the lanes!</span><o:p></o:p><br />
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The Northamptonshire Adventure Cannonball was also beset by rain which made
conditions on some of the lanes "interesting"! But numbers were much
improved with over 20 competitors turning up on the day.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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After this the bikes went into storage ready for our move of house to
Oxfordshire. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The move went well in January and we have almost finished unpacking!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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So far I have only retrieved one bike, my 1090 R, so used this in January to
ride to the Peak District for the next Adventure Cannonball. This was an
"extreme" designed for enduro bikes rather than the big adventure
bikes. Although I did create a slightly modified road book for anyone crazy
enough to bring a big bike along! </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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This was nearly too well attended with a glitch on the website causing two
separate entry forms and at one stage it looked like we might have 60 riders
turn up! In the event we had 34 riders turn up to the Old Smithy Tea Room in
Monyash and needless to say it rained again!</span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hKL77NuQa_Q4ScpjJSon_Wb6XyWbx8s-Nc2jM1sateR1MRrLVyRMuZF9kp5Ng9cn2zLPA4LefeiqkBxfZVhKIzl4NOrWK9p_Wtki-bvibM2wDaPgTWPL0I6AkFLdosvhl9eIN9RjSuNn/s1600/7UAlid2%252BRVSDLxNcWqQq8A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hKL77NuQa_Q4ScpjJSon_Wb6XyWbx8s-Nc2jM1sateR1MRrLVyRMuZF9kp5Ng9cn2zLPA4LefeiqkBxfZVhKIzl4NOrWK9p_Wtki-bvibM2wDaPgTWPL0I6AkFLdosvhl9eIN9RjSuNn/s400/7UAlid2%252BRVSDLxNcWqQq8A.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">
Overall it went well with only one unfortunate accident when my friend Michael
forgot he was riding back in the UK and hit a car whilst on the wrong side of
the road causing significant damage to the front end including a flat tyre!
Luckily he walked away with just bruises; the AA got the car mobile with the
spare wheel and plenty of cable ties! We recovered Michael to the cafe along with his bike that unfortunately didn't fare too well with a large chunk taken out of the swing
arm!!!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
Another cold, wet ride home which wasn't helped by the side stand cut out
switch failing again (although I was able to rectify that after cleaning mud
from it), the battery in my intercom died, so no music on the journey, my phone
(that I was using for navigation as I'd never ridden from the Peaks to our new
house before) wouldn't charge as it got water into the charging port. NB: newer
iPhones may be waterproof but not if you want to charge them. So the battery in
that died and I had to navigate round the M6 toll near Litchfield (no easy
task) as best I could. And to add insult to injury my heated jacket stopped
working after I stopped for fuel, forgot to unplug it and pulled the wires
apart as I got off the bike!!!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">I got home, bored, cold and slightly damp
(although to be honest the waterproofs worked as they should).</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
Apart from a few rides to work one day, the bike has remained in the garage since, although I did eventually get round to cleaning it!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br />
Since then I have been involved in getting ready for the next big projects,
writing the Safety Plan and Risk Assessment for the Kielder 500 in March and
starting the arrangements for my role as Clerk of the Course at the Adventure
Bike Rider Festival in the Summer, although this is where Coronavirus has thrown a spanner in the works, that i'll cover next time.</span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-20419259131907331432019-10-19T14:51:00.002-07:002020-10-29T08:47:11.075-07:00Edinburgh Aftermath<br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">My ad hoc recovery service eventually dropped
me back at the Duke of York at 02:30!</span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">The bike was unloaded from Tonyâs trailer
and he then decided to bed down in his van in the car park. I returned to my
van in the camp site and crawled into bed, I had fortuitously loaded a camp bed
and sleeping bag as I guessed I would need a sleep after completing the Trial
and before leaving had set these up in the back of the van!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">About three hours later I was awoken to the
sound of bikes arriving for the compulsory breakfast stop. Realising this would
go on for a couple of hours, I decided to get up. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Walking to the marquee
erected behind the pub revealed a scene of tired bodies grimly clutching bacon
rolls and cups of tea or coffee with that glassy eyed stare of the sleep
deprived! And they still had about six hours more riding ahead of them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">I got myself a bacon roll and cup of tea,
both of which were nothing to write home about and at first revelled in the
welcome heat of the propane space heater⊠that was until the smell drove me
back outside. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">I bumped into Richard and his wife Clare
outside and they were both doing well and both had scored cleans on all the
sections so far!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">I then considered my next moves; I could go
out and spectate but realized the competitors would now be on their way up
beyond Buxton to the Goyt Forest for sections like The Incline and over Pym
Chair to The Corkscrew. These had the disadvantage of being in the opposite
direction to my journey home. Alternatively I could wait until they started to
loop back to sections closer to the finish but a check of the route guidance
showed I might have to wait another two hours before they reached them. So I
reluctantly decided to head slowly for home and the very inviting prospect of
my own bed!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">I deliberately took a route back avoiding
the motorway as much as possible and I did have to break into the emergency can
of Red Bull to keep myself alert As well as a couple of coffee stops but
eventually made it home OK. After a hot shower I went to bedâŠ.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">The next day I awoke feeling a lot better
and started the task of unloading the van. This was of course made easier by
the fact that I didnât have to clean the bike or my gear, only having done a 53
mile road ride.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">I pulled the rear wheel out and checked the
bearings, the offside bearing was perfectly OK but the nearside was a complete
disaster! It came out in a dozen different pieces. It was clear that the
bearing had corroded and seized up which is why it had shown no play at the MOT
or when I checked it. It would seem that the ride from Pomerey to Tamworth had
been enough to free off the corrosion and cause the bearing to fall apart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">There is still part of the bearing stuck in
the hub but this shouldnât be too hard to remove and damage to the hub seems
minimal so shouldnât be a problem. I stuck my other wheel onto the bike so it
was mobile again and started thinking how to prepare for the next MCC event,
the Exeter in January!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Lessons learnt.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 17.85pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 17.85pt;">
<ul>
<li><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Donât just check
the bearings; replace them before the event.</span></span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Look at the
possibility of fitting heated grips to the bike</span></span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Get a decent
battery if the Lithium one doesnât perform.</span></span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Rig a method of
jump starting the bike without having to unbolt the seat</span></span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Buy a battery
booster pack</span></span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Look at an
alternative lighting solution (HID or vLED)</span></span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Fit a helmet
mounted light (LED)</span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">But then whilst checking out the entries
for the MCCs Exeter Trial in January, it seems they have introduced a new class
just for Adventure Bikes, so maybe the 1090 Adventure R would be a good
prospect instead:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">The pros:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Heated grips<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Enough Electrical power for my
heated jacket<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Comfortable seat<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Easy on road cruising<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">200 mile+ fuel range<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">The cons:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">125 bhp (or still 100 bhp in
off road mode) = too much!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">220 Kilograms = too much!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Its Big!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Restrictive choice of tyres<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">On the latter the rear rim is much too wide
for a trials tyre so you are restricted to a list of tyres, or to those that
comply with the standing supplementary regulations (SSRs), This specifies The
space between the tread blocks must NOT extend across the complete tyre,
measured at right angles to the tyre wall unless broken by a blockâ which
pretty much ensures they will have limited grip off road. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">My current Mitas E07
does comply with this rule but is not the best tyre if it gets really muddy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Of the allowed tyres the Continental TKC80
is most probably the best as it is the original fitment on the 1090 R. But they
are expensive, wear out very quickly and I although I do have one in the
garage, it has limited tread left on it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Two of the tyres, the Michelin T63 and the
Dunlop 603 are no longer manufactured!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">And the other two, the Bridgestone TW302
and the Kenda 270 are not made in a size large enough for the 1090 (or for most
Adventure bikes these days).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">I know the MCC is all about tradition but
I think they do really need to move with the times on this subject!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">On the other hand I guess that anyone else
on an Adventure bike </span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">will have the same handicap!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">The class is defined as:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">"Adventure motorcycles manufactured from 1980 onwards, with multi-cylinder engines and
a capacity above 470cc"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">And looking at the results from the Edinburgh I can only see one
bike that would have genuinely fallen into this class, Richardâs KTM 990
Adventure, so in any case the
competition might be limited. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Choices, choices!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-62992949276712588212019-10-16T14:23:00.001-07:002020-05-13T09:33:41.101-07:00Edinburgh Trial(s and tribulations)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Leaving straight from work on the Friday evening, I
drove straight to the finish point for the trial, the Duke of York at Pomeroy where I had arranged to leave
the van. Arriving shortly after seven oâclock I booked in as I'd paid for
overnight parking on the adjacent camp site and went to park.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I immediately
had a sense of déjà vu from the ABR Festival as I was directed to a hard
standing next door to my friend Andy. We both unloaded bikes and Andy decided
it would be a good idea to check if his bike started OK. It wouldn't on the electric start but did on the kick
start. I did the same and mine started on the button no problem. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I decided to
go back into the pub for dinner and Andy decided to have a kip in his car, with
a request for me to wake him at 9:30 if he wasnât already up.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">After dinner
where I shared a table with a former car competitor who had driven all the way
from Aberdeen to work on the control at Carsington Water (thatâs dedication) I
returned to find Andy already up. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">We had decided to head down to the start at about 10:00
oâclock. My start was at 00:21 and as it was about a 1 hour 15 minute ride down to
Tamworth Iâd have plenty of time, Andy wasnât off until 01:55 so had an even
more time to spare. So we got kitted up ready to leave.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">And then my
bike wouldnât start!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">We tried kick
starting it but no joy; we tried bump starting it down the short slope of the
campsite but no joy! So off came the seat and the jump leads came out but
again, nothing doing! </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">All very strange, then a fellow competitor turned up with
a battery booster pack and it started straight away, Iâm guessing the jump
leads werenât connected properly as it should have started just as easily (well
it was pretty dark). So whilst Andy kept the bike ticking over, I bolted the
seat back on and got kitted up (again).</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">All ready to go
and the bike decided to stall as soon as I put it into gear!!!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Andy asked if I
minded if he headed off, which was only fair so I set about unbolting the seat
again and getting the jump leads out again. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">This time it started easily and as
it had warmed up enough not to need the choke, I used my trusty clothes peg to
jam the throttle partly open and keep the bike running whilst I put everything
back together, put the jump leads away, got kitted up again and locked up the
van.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">This time I got
underway without problems and headed off down the A515 and a few issues were immediately
apparent. Remember the problems the MOT tester had with the beam pattern of my
LED headlights⊠I could see why!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16pt;">It occurred to
me that Iâd only ridden the bike in the dark once before in Morocco on the
Tuareg Rally. That had been along a virtually straight road to the petrol
station 15km outside of Merzouga. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I recalled they chucked out plenty of light
straight in front, in fact enough to clearly annoy every car driver coming the
other way! Since then I had blanked off the top of the low beam to create a
flat topped 'dip' beam.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Now this obviously worked
as I didnât seem to be having any impact on oncoming traffic, none of whom
flashed me and although the light was nice and bright, the beam was pretty much just a âblobâ of light in front of me.
Great in a straight line but not great for sharp bends where I really needed a
wider spread of light. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">It was a bit better on main beam (i.e. both LEDs
illuminated) and to be honest I could maintain the 50 mph speed limit but
certainly no faster.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Also when
trying to get the bike started I had worked up quite a sweat, which despite my
several layers was now cooling rapidly and making very cold.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">The other
problem was my road book; I had added instructions for the trip to Tamworth and
before the event had thought of how to illuminate it for the night session. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">The
obvious solution was to buy the LED lighting strip from F2R designed for just
that purpose and which simply plugs inside. But of course Iâd have to order
that from Portugal and Iâd left it too late! </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">The other alternative that I had
read on an LDT forum was to use chemical glow sticks inside the holder, I had
one of those so all sorted, or at least so I thought</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16pt;">!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I did think of
testing it out before the trial but as I only had the one, I didnât want to use
it. Yes I could have ordered more but again I left it too late! As it was it
turned out I activated it before leaving only to find it
produced a very dim glow behind the road book, totally useless! I then
remembered I had a second glow stick in my first aid kit.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">And you guessed
it⊠a marginally brighter but still very dim glow that still made it impossible to read
the road book! </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Oh well I had memorised the route (as I had decided to ride the
trial route in reverse to familiarise myself with it) and then back again as far
as the first checkpoint at Carsington. I had also driven half the route on my
way to Pomeroy so no great problem.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Around Alrewas,
I started seeing signs for the National Memorial Arboretum and temporary signs
for the Ride to the Wall (RTTW) and realised it was the next day as it
generally coincides with the date of the Edinburgh.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Last year the
Edinburgh had run in appalling conditions and I remembered the torrential rain
on the RTTW, the very first of my Sixty by Sixty list and the first time Iâd
ridden a motorbike following my diagnosis with myasthenia. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I had only got through
that day on a combination of medication, sheer bloody will power and the
comfort of my heated jacket! Sadly the EXC doesnât produce enough electrical
power for luxuries like that!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGK7fQsw2KaxJNQZpupLnzfHLYaIOJkL45-oC42vd5MbTpT3YS5jREXaDNPC7ApIAR7pzKHssrlo89lyoYomvd7bZenvfpKWjN-GppY06Md6Eo8W5eWztXWDgNkoiJnNEY3B6FXY2lv1WV/s1600/43534334_2160771420621371_75470031453945856_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGK7fQsw2KaxJNQZpupLnzfHLYaIOJkL45-oC42vd5MbTpT3YS5jREXaDNPC7ApIAR7pzKHssrlo89lyoYomvd7bZenvfpKWjN-GppY06Md6Eo8W5eWztXWDgNkoiJnNEY3B6FXY2lv1WV/s400/43534334_2160771420621371_75470031453945856_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
The weather last year, shared by the RTTW and the Edinburgh Trial!</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Passing the
roundabout at the entrance to the National Memorial Arboretum, the signposts
said Tamworth was only eight miles away and straight on but I knew the route
turned right and switched to minor roads here. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Almost immediately I found the
navigation tricky as the âroadâ was indistinguishable from a couple of farm
tracks leading off and despite stopping and checking the OS Map on my phone, it
wasnât clear. So I decided to back track to the roundabout and follow the road
signs to Tamworth. In fact when I later checked the map properly I had taken a wrong turn.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">This way was
straightforward until I was just riding into the outskirts of town with about three
miles to go when the bike started to shake and weave around. My first thought
was a puncture but a quick stop to check and both tyres were fine! I pushed on
keeping the speed to under 30 mph until I eventually pulled into the services.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Immediately the
problem became clear, a rear wheel bearing had collapsed resulting in several
inches of sideways play in the wheel. There was no way I could continue so
sadly had to accept that my first attempt at the Edinburgh Trial was over
before it had even started!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Upon arrival at Tamworth Services</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">This was particularly annoying as not only had I checked the bike over fully before loading it in the van the night before, it had of course only just passed an MOT less than a week previously.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">I went inside
to the sign on desk to declare myself as a non starter and then decided to get
a coffee before calling out the RAC. I spotted another friend, Richard who was
competing on his KTM 990 Adventure and was explaining what had happened when a
car competitor on the next table offered me a lift back to the pub. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">His friend
(another Tony) had brought him and his car to the event and was going to the
pub to wait it out before taking him home again but didnât actually know where
the Duke of York was. So in exchange for navigating I got a quick recovery back
to my van on his trailer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16pt;">As it turns out this may have been very fortuitous as I discovered
another competitor later had a puncture on the course and waited five and a
half hours for the RAC sat at the side of the road at the exposed Pym Chair. </span></div>
</div>
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<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">OK a similar wait in the services would not have been as bad but Iâm glad It
didnât come to that.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16.0pt;">To be
continuedâŠ</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-65659789668494055502019-10-15T04:48:00.000-07:002020-05-13T09:27:25.092-07:00Here we go again...<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Having put my plans for world domination in
Long Distance Trials on hold after my less than successful outing to the March
Hare Trial, I decided it was time to resurrect my campaignâŠ.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My target this time was one of the big
three of the classic trials world; the Motor Cycling Clubâs Edinburgh Trial.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But no I was not off to Scotland.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">To explain, the MCC as it is known is possibly the
oldest motorsports club in the UK having been formed in 1901. A fact that is
seen in the name, not âmotorcyclingâ as we would say now but two separate words
âMotor Cyclingâ as back then nobody was sure what exactly to call this
new-fangled sport involving motorized bicycles.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Soon after, in 1904
the MCC came up with the idea of the London to Edinburgh Trial. This was what
was then known as a "Reliability Trial" as motor vehicles of the day had dubious
reliability at best, so just finishing was a considerable achievement. The aim
was to ride from London to Edinburgh in under 24 hours, which doesnât sound too onerous in today's world as that would take about seven and a
half hours non-stop.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But in those days we were talking about
motor cycles with only a couple of horsepower, belt drives, often no clutches
or even gearboxes, manual oiling systems and acetylene lamps for lighting, so
even on the main roads, which of course were largely still free of tarmac, not to mention the very basic riding gear available, it was a
supreme challenge!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The trial also includes sidecar outfits,
three wheelers and two wheel drive cars (4x4s being banned from the event) and
these have become the majority of entrants these days, this year the 225
entrants comprised:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">94 solo motorcycles, 2 sidecar outfits, 128 cars and 1 three-wheeler<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As roads and machinery started to improve,
the club sought out steep, rough and loosely surfaced hills to add to the
challenge and in time these became âobserved sectionsâ where the aim was not
just to get up them but to do so without putting a foot down or stopping or
indeed falling off! </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is the format that still applies today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the 1960âs falling entries forced a
change and âThe Edinburghâ was combined with the clubâs Derbyshire Trial but the name was retained and
has remained that way to the present day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It now forms one of the MCCs "Triple" the Edinburgh and the Exeter Trial and the Lands End Trial. The latter two follow the same format but as the name actually suggests both take place in the South West.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Edinburgh starts in Staffordshire at Tamworth Services on the M42,
the first competitor leaves at one minute past midnight and takes a route to
the Peak District on generally nothing larger than a single carriageway A
roads. After a checkpoint at Carsington Water, the first observed section is
reached (in the dark of course as the first competitor gets there shortly after
02:00 am).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The event continues through the night using
a variety of sections, some on private land and some on public rights of way (with
permission of course). At around 05:15 competitors start arriving at
the Duke of York pub at Pomeroy near Buxton for a compulsory 40 minute rest
stop and breakfast. Continuing on minor roads and more observed sections around
Buxton to another 20 minute compulsory rest stop at the village of
Hollinsclough just after 09:30. The trial eventual finishes at around 1:00pm
back at the Duke of York.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yes thatâs potentially twelve hours of
riding!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In reality competitors can make up time on
the road as there are no penalties for early arrival at checkpoints and the
average speed is never more than 30mph and on some roads as low as 15mph so
when on A road sections you can obviously go a bit quicker, weather and vehicle
lighting notwithstanding and bank some time, this can be vital as itâs also possible
to end up queuing at observed sections if conditions are bad.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So that was the plan but first the
preparationâŠ<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">First consideration was what bike to use?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On previous classic trials events I had borrowed Grainneâs
KTM Freeride 250F but wasnât so sure this time round. The bike is lowered but
by sliding the forks back through the yokes and winding up the preload on the
rear shock and adding several more clicks to the damping front and rear it fits
me pretty well and the lowered height can actually be an advantage. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">However it
has a low seat on it and even fitting the original seat doesnât give much in
the way of comfort. And then there is the barely adequate standard headlight
and the small matter of fuel range. On gentle trail rides it can do 70 miles
before the fuel light comes on but the Edinburgh is not going to be a gentle
trail ride and the first fuel stop (at 03:30) is 66.6 miles from the start! Could be interesting!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So what else, well in theory I could use
the 1090 Adventure R, it has a 200 mile fuel range, a nice comfy(ish) seat,
good lights (and additional driving lights) butâŠ<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Itâs big, tall, heavy and even in off-road
mode has 100 bhp, which is way more than is needed. Also these events are
restricted to trials tyres only but they are too narrow to fit the wide rims of
the 1090 and bikes like it. So there is a list of alternative tyres but this is
an issue as a) I would have to buy them just for this event and b) theyâre not brilliant
when it comes to grip.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So what about my KTM 450 EXC Rally Bike? </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I
had discounted this in the past but it started to make sense. A 13 litre tank
gives it a range of around 120 miles, the fairing might be a hindrance in the
observed sections but would offer welcome protection if the weather got bad.
The bike has nice bright LED headlights. As I have a spare set of wheels for
it, swapping my Pirelli MT43 trials tyres to them would be no problem and the
rims are narrow enough for them. So that was it then!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The slight problem was that since my
diagnosis of Myasthenia Gravis the bike has sat in the back of the garage
unused since last year. It obviously had no tax or MOT and was in need of some
TLC.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">First step was a service but that meant
getting it running to warm up the oil ready for draining, this was the first
hiccup as the battery was completely dead, a couple of days on the trickle
charger had no effect whatsoever so a new battery was ordered.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I decided on a lithium battery as these are
much lighter and supposedly perform better. And sure enough once it arrived and
was fitted the bike turned over easily but wouldnât start! I soon learnt that
one downside of lithium batteries is they wonât crank the starter for long
periods of time so soon started to flatten. It turned out that the choke
wouldnât stay out which was why it wouldnât start either on the electric start
or the kick starter. That was easily cured with a clothes peg on the choke to
keep in out!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Suitably warmed up, I drained the oil, replaced the oil filters, cleaned the oil screens, added fresh oil, checked the tappets (no adjustment needed), adjusted and oiled the chain, added a clean air filter and did some rewiring to power up the road book holder and ICO trip meter (which were both refitted) and I added a 12v power socket so I could keep my phone charged. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Pirelli MT43 trial tyres were removed from Grainnes bike and the original virtually</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> unused Maxxis Trialmaxx tyres refitted but I didn't get a chance to fit them to the 450 before....</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Th</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">e next weekend when it got a shakedown at the TRF Come and Play day, all on private land so the lack of Tax and MOT was no issue and i'm glad to say it all worked fine. Apart from not wanting to start again and needing a jump start from the van. Once it had been ridden a bit it started on the button no problem, so hopefully it wasn't going to be an issue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After this the trials tyres were then fitted to the 450's spare wheels with new rim locks and inner tubes. and after the bike had a good clean were fitted to the bike.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next week it went for an MOT and apart from an advisory because half the LEDs in the rear light had died (luckily you are allowed only 50% to be working for a pass). The LED headlights also caused some problems as the test stations Beam setter won't work with the not very defined beam pattern! This should have sent out a warning but more of that later....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tax was quickly sorted online and the route book for the Edinburgh was downloaded and modified so it only had information for my class (the route splits in places as Class C misses a couple of sections and different classes have different restarts) and just for good measure I increased the size of the font to make it easier to read and after that we were ready to go....</span><br />
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-67904493373457012552019-10-04T01:24:00.001-07:002020-05-13T09:23:06.705-07:00Bugs, Bobbies, Birthdays and Bikes<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">Motorcycling was put on hold for a while as
both Grainne and I suffered a nasty stomach bug although as I was recovering I
did manage to spend a day representing the TRF at the Emergency Services Show. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">We were showcasing our work with the Police including the South Yorkshire âGreen
Road Watchâ Scheme and also promoting the use of trail motorcycles in disaster
response. This follows the successful assistance given to the Fire and Rescue
Service by TRF members during wildfires in the North of England earlier this
year and based on the example of Italian trail riders where the Italian
Motorcycle Federation (</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">the
Federmoto)</span><span lang="EN-US"> are in Partnership with the Civil Protection
Department (</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">Dipartimento
di Protezione Civile)</span><span lang="EN-US">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After this it was Grainneâs birthday so
various events were planned. A trip to the Secret Cinema on the Thursday to see
Casino Royale was great fun although a very late night! Then on Saturday we
were off to Cambridge for a night in a Spa Hotel. This started well enough with
a nice relaxing time by the pool although the combined heat of the sauna and Jacuzzi
did bring on the fatigue from my Myasthenia but we were there to relax after
all! </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A decent dinner followed but then it went downhill⊠woken no less than
five times during the night, first a fire alarm and evacuation saw us standing
in the car park for half an hour until we were allowed back to our rooms as it
was a false alarm. Then we had the delight of someone in the next room being
very noisily sick! At around 01:30 the fire alarm went off again, this time it
was soon silenced but we were well and truly awake; it was LOUD! </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">At around
03:30 what sounded like a door slamming contest started in the corridor, thanks
for that whoever you were! Then to add insult to injury the fire alarm went off
again at 05:20. Of course the hotel were very apologetic and offered a full
refund⊠like hell they did, quite frankly their attitude was awful, you get a
better level of customer service at a Premier Inn (they guarantee a full refund
if your sleep is disturbed and from experience we know they deliver on their
promise). So The Hallmark Hotel, Cambridge is definitely on our black list.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the Sunday we were meeting up with Gina
and Mum for a meal in Cambridge as the next day was also Mumâs birthday.
Caitlin and Owen were coming over with boyfriend Rick and girlfriend Nicole to
meet us. Unfortunately Rickâs car had a blow out on the A421 near Bedford.
Thankfully they were OK and were recovered in only 20 minutes and taken to a
tyre dealers in Bedford, only to find their compressor had broken, so the car
could not be fixed until Monday. We were able to call on a favour and our
friend Kate was able to pick them up and give them a lift to Cambridge, so they
managed to get their lunch before we had to rush Owen and his girlfriend to the train
station for their trip back to Hull. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then it was a drive to Welwyn Garden City
to drop Rick and Caitlin off as her car was at Ricks place.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We had been scheduled to take a hot air
balloon ride from Cambridge that evening but that too got cancelled due to bad
weather. Typically the Saturday had been perfect weather but Sunday it poured
down... typical! This was of course to be one off the Sixty by Sixty list but
will have to wait for another day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next weekend we were back to biking
with a trip to the Herts TRF âCome and Play Dayâ a chance to use some private
land in Essex to ride off road. For Grainne this was her first chance to really
try out her 250F Freeride. The terrain wasnât very technical but had enough variety
to test her ability and her confidence as this was also the first time back on
a bike since breaking her shoulder on our snowboarding trip in March. </span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And she
did really well! Culminating in the âFord of certain sogginessâ although I did
have to promise to stand in the middle of the stream to catch her if she fell
off. There was no need of course and she rode through it four times in total
and I got soggy feet! </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was also a chance to try out my 450 that hasnât been
used since my diagnosis last year, a new battery and a full service were done
on the Friday night and after a few problems starting it due to the choke
refusing to stay on, it ran perfectly. All ready for my next challenge, the
Edinburgh Trial, more on the preparations for that in the next episodeâŠ.. </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-83378140491383770582019-10-04T01:24:00.000-07:002020-05-13T09:20:29.410-07:00August was kinda busy too...<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After a busy month in July, it didnât
really let upâŠ.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After my very relaxed ride around
Leicestershire and Rutland doing the first recce for the August Adventure Cannonball,
Burt and I headed off to do the final check. This was especially needed as we
had just had a week of torrential rain.</span></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And sure enough, what had been bone dry
lanes were now transformed into quagmires!</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Shallow fords a few inches deep were now a
couple of feet deep!</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A road closure needed diverting round</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And the byway I had found to be closed for
drainage work was still closed but they had moved the works the âwrongâ side of
a junction so some re-routing was needed for that too.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We managed to re-plan and in the bargain
shortened the route and also had a chat with the excellent Dairy Farm Café who
confirmed they would be more than happy to host us on the day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The day itself arrived and rather than take
the van, I rode up as it was only an hour and a half from home and the weather
was once again glorious.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The café had done us proud and given us a
separate field to park in and laid on extra breakfasts. Everyone was sent off
and Burt and I headed inside for our own breakfast!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Burt set up camp in the café to do some
work and I set off to sweep the course. Guessing how far the riders might have
gone, I headed straight for Bruces Lane near the village of Somerby. Sure
enough I pulled up just to see the last couple of riders come through, </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I leap-frogged ahead of them (and a few
others) and got some photos and video as they passed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Again cutting the course
I rode back along it in the opposite direction but only met one rider who turned out to be the lead bike before
finding another spot to sit and wait for the others. This didnât last long as I
got a phone call to tell me one rider had snapped his chain!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I wasnât far away and was able to get there
in five minutes. Unfortunately there was nothing that could be done so I stayed
with him until he had recovery sorted and then returned to the café. We had a
report that the last few riders were still out on course having stopped for a
break in Oakham.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I agreed to sweep the
course, heading straight to Oakham then following the route back in.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I took the A606 straight to Oakham and decided
to take the loop through town in case the riders were still there. They werenât
but I did manage to get stuck at the level crossing in the centre of town for
nearly 15 minutes! I had a very interesting chat with a Nepalese rider who
pulled up beside me and wanted to know how I could get my bike so muddy around
Rutland. Although running riding tours around Nepal, he was completely unaware
of the existence of Byways and Unsurfaced Unclassified County Roads in England and was excited to learn about the Adventure Cannonballs,
I of course directed him to the RallyMoto website.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After riding the remaining course, mostly
fast flowing B Roads, I stopped in Melton Mowbray for fuel when I got the call from
Burt that the last riders had turned up only a few minutes after I left!!! Oh
well it was a fun ride!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next outing was a trip to the Lake
District to plan Octobers Adventure Cannonball. Grainne and I decided to make a
weekend of it. I was going to ride my 1090 R but she decided to take her BMW
G310R rather than her trail bike on the basis the route is mostly on tarmac and
the few byways could be easily diverted round. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As it made more sense for me to go straight
from work in Northampton, I took the 1090R to work after loading her bike in the
van. She drove from home to the Northampton Services on the M1 where I joined
her and loaded my bike. We then headed up to Keswick and the B&B we had
booked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next morning dawned sunny and bright
and I unloaded the bikes, no mean feat in the very narrow and crowded street outside
the B&B. Grainne was understandably nervous not having ridden either of her
bikes since last year as result of her broken shoulder on our snow boarding
trip. I had just changed the levers on her BMW for short adjustable ones as the
standard nonadjustable ones are impractically large for a bike clearly designed
for smaller riders with smaller hands. Unfortunately the clutch was now out of
adjustment and the bike stalled every time she tried to pull away, I had a go
with no more luck, the cable needed adjusting but try as I might we couldnât
get the adjuster to budge by hand. What I needed was a pair of pliers to get it to turn
but of course I hadnât brought one with us.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We decided to cut our losses and put her
bike back in the van and ride the recce two up on the 1090.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It turned out to be a great ride, as mentioned
itâs mostly on tarmac but what tarmac! Narrow lanes, twisty mountain passes and
spectacular views all round. Unfortunately there is major water main replacement
going on around Keswick for several months and three parts of the intended
route were blocked, requiring some major re-routing. This will make the
navigation âinterestingâ but after all thatâs what these events are all about.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2d7HVwJ9GwM/XaCAqYEwRyI/AAAAAAAAGMc/TQlDFhTU-mga9q6I_Lhhz-ZT3_Dt7FCSwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_0997.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the end of the day Grainne admitted that
she would have struggled with some of the route, after all things like a twisty
1 in 3 (30%) downhill descent would not exactly be easy after twelve months off the bike!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was a long day too and turned out very
hot by the afternoon but the route was all done and dusted.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1uqY5jEQ1Jg/XaCAdj98-mI/AAAAAAAAGMY/OphfY6xI1BMjQAq3Coy2tFRYSucFuC9BgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_1006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next day we played tourists and visited
Ambleside, Tarn Howes and Hawkshead before the long drive home again.</span></div>
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-14896829462897502412019-08-23T07:40:00.000-07:002020-05-13T09:17:35.116-07:00A busy month was had in July part two!<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our busy month continued as the day after
returning from Verona as we headed to Hull for Owenâs graduation, a brief stop
in Rotherham to collect his girlfriend from her home and we arrived and
booked into our B and B, then all out for a meal.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next day we were off to the Bonus Arena in
the centre of Hull for the ceremony and of course the ritual of getting gown
and mortar board and photographs, funny how somethings never change as it felt
no different to my own graduation thirty seven years ago. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Owen received his degree, a First Class Honours in Computer Science and then it was on to a reception held in the next door shopping centre... somewhat bizarre!</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">More photos around the City Centre and another family meal
followed, this time it was Owenâs choice and we ended up in Weatherspoons! </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Actually the Three John Scotts in Hull was not at all bad and of course being
âSpoonsâ was dirt cheap!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We left Owen in Hull as he now
has a job there.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After the long trek back home (I have
decided that Hull is definitely the end of the known world) preparations
started for the next âadventureâ.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Following my visit to Ragley Hall the
previous week, I was off again this time with the 1090 loaded in the van (yes
it can be made to fit). I set up camp on the Thursday soon meeting up with my
friend Andy and an impromptu âCamp TRFâ was established in the motorhomes field (the
main camping being reserved for those arriving on their bikes). After unloading
the bike I set about swapping the van around to become my camper for the weekend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After that was done, I set off to inspect
the course, now fully marked and signed up. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">All was well so after returning to
the van and changing we headed off to the main marquee for the exhibitors
dinner⊠free food and bar, what was there not to like!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Concious that I would be on the bike all
day tomorrow I was suitably restrained on the free beer and managed not to have
too late a night.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next day saw a dampener to proceedings as a fellow TRF member had a bike stolen overnight and Patsy Quick from Desert Rose Racing lost five bikes! I was glad I had locked the 1090 securely: A large chain to one of the van wheels and through the frame, a disc lock and large steel tent pegs and ratchet straps holding the bike down, these were in case it got windy overnight and pushed the bike over and into the side of the van but had the added advantage of making it that much harder to remove. B</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">ut of course all the stolen bikes had been locked too. It seemed the thefts were targeted, so I can only guess 1090 Rs were not on the shopping list </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next three days were great fun, helping
out on the adventure trail, with thankfully very few accidents and breakdowns,
we had to do a few bits of rearranging as one very muddy section got progressively
worse and one particular off camber descent through a gate saw a few casualties!
We ended up having to transport straw bales on our bikes to make that a bit
safer!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzoqilQ6WZmNQcR6Mx5YwC-6ewjZCCDXUobS9m_Tr7j9nIhq0nZ1BU9gnaJkXYjYaQBB5hhuYNDQtfGrww0aQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Josh Costa Sa showing how it's done on Dad Mario's bike</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">All in all it went well and was deemed a
great success by all involved, it was great to see so many smiling faces all
weekend.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">From my point of view it could have been a
nightmare for the myasthenia but I was able to take plentiful rests, each lap
stopping to check on various sections or to chat to marshals, medics and
organisers as well as catching up with loads of friends I kept bumping into.
That way I was I was able to keep the fatigue in check and keep going all
weekend. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So a great weekend and we are hoping to build on the success for next year.</span></div>
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-74783615286454699472019-08-04T01:17:00.000-07:002020-05-13T09:14:22.964-07:00A busy month was had in July!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As Grainne
was leaving her current job for her new one in Oxford she had a few weeks of
leave built up so I took a couple of weeks off too.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the Monday I took the opportunity to
ride to Leicestershire to start the planning for the next Rallymoto Adventure
Cannonball. This was inspired by my role as Assistant Race Director of
Britainâs largest (and arguably the best) international one day cycle race; the
Rutland Melton International CiCle Classic. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBCKFVB3dvaAwklBGlP5GLOyIcxx8x7B9BjmdGuF9WGq4PBKVnj64SRbIUNIWZ_nz5CoGVtXZBt0HesOIOUUQXrZjJHxIB-zRwARqwy-ZZH23tO2cNXHULR8_Kg-Wr9ohFLLy4oWfGGWF/s1600/IMG_1397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBCKFVB3dvaAwklBGlP5GLOyIcxx8x7B9BjmdGuF9WGq4PBKVnj64SRbIUNIWZ_nz5CoGVtXZBt0HesOIOUUQXrZjJHxIB-zRwARqwy-ZZH23tO2cNXHULR8_Kg-Wr9ohFLLy4oWfGGWF/s320/IMG_1397.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Although a traditional road race it
is inspired by Continental events like the Paris â Roubaix and the Ronde van
Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) and therefore makes use of rough back roads and unsurfaced
highways. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Over the 15 years I have worked on the race I have often thought of
the potential for motorcycle events and this is the ideal opportunity. As well
as several sections of the route both current and previously used, I discovered
some ideal additional trails, too rough for bicycles but ideal for adventure
bikes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Two days later I was off to Ragley Hall in Warwickshire to inspect the proposed adventure trail for the Adventure Bike Rider Festival in two weeks time. Being run by the TRF I had been asked to take the role of Clerk of the Course. All was good and it was great fun riding the trail in the magnificent setting of the Hall's grounds.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After this it was off to Oxford for one of my
regular visits to see my Neurologist, Dr Leite at the John Radcliffe Hospital. A quick dash down the M40 and I arrived in plenty of time although the heat and effort of riding were starting to take it's toll. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Having been on the same dose of steroids for three months, I was hoping Iâd be
able to reduce further. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whilst she was
pleased with my progress, after the usual series of tests it was determined
that my performance had declined slightly since my last visit so it was deemed
necessary to remain on my current dose of 20 mg for another three months! It was
felt that the fact it was hot with temperatures in the mid to high 20s might be
a contributing factor as heat does exacerbate the symptoms of Myasthenia. Of course the fact I had spent a few hours riding the 1090 R off road most probably hadn't helped either!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The effect of heat on Myasthenia was something completely new to me as I didnât develop the condition until
September last year so hadnât experienced last yearâs heat wave. But it didnât
bode too well for the next few days.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As the next day and Grainne and I were off
to Verona for a long weekend in the city that didnât involve motorbikes but did
involve a fantastic apartment through Air BnB, a lot of espresso, pasta, aperol
spritz, opera and e-bikes. </span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We had booked online to see Carmen at the amazing
Arena di Verona, originally a Roman Amphitheatre. Having printed off our
e-tickets I managed to leave them at home! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So on the Friday we walked into the city
and visited the booking office to collect some âproperâ tickets. Whilst we were
there we enquired if there was any availability that night, which there was so
we immediately booked to see Aida. After that it was time to find a bar and
lunch (and a particularly fine Italian Craft beer for me and the aforementioned
Aperol Spritz for Grainne).</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Later that day we had hired e-bikes for 48
hours, a brilliant idea as even in the 35 degree heat you can wiz along with
the minimum of effort as just turning the pedals (but not actually pushing on
them) engages the motor and you instantly create your own cooling breeze, The
fat tyres on our âcruiserâ style bikes were perfect on the bumpy and often
cobbled streets and our apartment had a handy courtyard to park them in.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Certainly a great way to get to and from
the opera too!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We duly turned up around seven for the
production at nine and of course brought a picnic, only to be told we couldnât
bring a (glass) bottle of prosecco in because of the security restrictions. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">No
problem, we drank a 500ml (plastic) bottle of water and replaced the contents
with prosecco! The extra we poured into our (plastic) glasses and walked in
with them: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Team Ferrari 1 - Arena di Verona Security 0. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Unfortunately our plastic glasses looked so
much like the real thing we then got asked no less than eight times if they
were glass,,, argh!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Team Ferrari 1 - Arena di Verona Security 1.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It did of course mean we ran short on water
by the end of the night as despite the sun going down, not only was the
temperature still high we discovered the stones of the arena absorb heat during
the day and turn into radiators at night⊠phew!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aida was fantastic by the way.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On Saturday we toured the city and visited
the Castel San Pietro, this would have been a daunting task on foot or on a
conventional bike as it was part way up a very steep hill. But on our e-bikes
it was easy, in fact despite taking a wrong turn and going to the very top of
the hill, which did reveal fantastic views of Verona, it was no real effort. Grainne even
found time for some shoe shopping, well a girl has to do what a girl has to do!</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After returning to our thankfully air conditioned
apartment for a shower and a change, it was off to the opera again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After last nightâs security problems we
decanted a bottle of red wine into a 750ml plastic bottle to go with our picnic and also bought a 1.5
litre bottle of water only to fall foul of security again! Apparently you are
not allowed any plastic bottles bigger than 500ml⊠FFS!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">However the water obviously distracted them
so they didnât notice the wine being over 500ml as well. They said I could
leave the water in a box just inside the security check and collect it later.
So I duly crouched down by the box, waited until nobody was looking and slipped
the water back into my bagâŠ. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Team Ferrari 2 - Arena di Verona security 1.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Carmen was good but I certainly think I
preferred Aida of the two operas. Maybe it's the language? Opera sounds better in Italian than French to me.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another fun ride back through the city in the
early hours followed and back to air conditioned bliss.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next day we toured round on our bikes
and visited âJulietâs tombâ. What the City of Verona cashing in on Shakespeareâs
fictional story? Whoâd have thought it! </span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Later we returned our bikes and then
explored a bit more of the city on foot, discovering just how hot and sticky it
was.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Later that day we were treated to the most amazing hail storm....</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So how did the Myasthenia stand up? Yes the
heat certainly has an effect, everything is that little bit harder, the fatigue
seemed to set in quicker and at times I felt like I was wading through treacle,
not a pleasant experience but I coped.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next day we flew home but our busy
month was far from overâŠ.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-65380585342900926342019-06-27T08:24:00.000-07:002020-05-13T08:51:28.331-07:00Wales 500 Part Two<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Sunday dawned dry but a bit overcast so
looked good for day two of the Wales 500. Again an early start meant no breakfast
at the hotel so we headed on down to the event site and availed ourselves of
the services of the burger van.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The plan today was for me to head out to
the furthest part of the course where we were to set up a checkpoint. I was
introduced to fellow volunteer Rod Jones who was coming with me; we looked at
each other and realized we already knew each other! Thirteen years ago we had worked
together as cycle commissaires on the Trans-Wales MTB stage race. Rod had led
the race on his Honda CRF230 and I had been the sweeper in my heavily modified
Land Rover Discovery⊠small world indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We set off for our checkpoint taking a
direct route rather than following the course, to ensure we got there before
the competitors. Taking the A4103 towards Hereford the ride started well until
a few miles down the road it started to spit with rain, then the drizzle set
in, then persistent rain and finally a monsoon like deluge!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This continued all the way to the BP Petrol
Station at Ponterwyd on the A44 not far outside Aberystwth (yes we had just completely
traversed Wales from East to West) where competitors had a fuel stop at the garage,
whilst this might have seemed a perfect spot for our checkpoint with fuel,
toilets, shelter from the rain, hot coffee and food it lacked one vital elementâŠ.
A phone signal!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So our final destination was a remote car
park at Llyn Pendam as despite being in the middle of nowhere it was high
enough to have a signal but sadly no shelter, food or hot coffee and needless
to say âtoilet facilitiesâ were of a very basic nature.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the garage the first two competitors had
just arrived as had the Course Openers, Jonny and Stuart and as we stopped for
a hot drink, many more piled in and all seemed very reluctant to leave!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We set of up the hill to Llyn Pendam in
conditions that were truly grim, the rain was still hammering down and the
cloud had descended so visibility was only about 10 metres at times.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Arriving at the car
park we set up shop to await the competitors, they were doing a loop to the
north before passing us so we had some time to wait. After several hours
without incident, well apart from a few competitors arriving from the wrong
direction! The weather improved, the rain stopped and the sun even came out!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We finally got the news that the course was
clear as Jonny and Stuart had swept the loop so all four of us decided to set
off to clear the final 200km of the course, including the Tarrenig and Radnor
Forests. This was done "at pace" as we knew the course to be clear for some
distance ahead of us. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We had a great ride on forest trails and twisty back roads;
I lost touch with the other three after I had to stop for an oncoming truck on
a single track road section and soon after came across the last two
competitors. They claimed not to have seen the other three but certain I was on
the correct route I tailed them along the amazing road down the Elan
Valley and eventually into Rhayader where I spotted the others, stopped for
fuel. Rod headed for home from there and the three of us continued onwards picking
up the final competitors again in the Radnor Forest. From here it was a tarmac
only ride back to Malvern and a very welcome Paella from the caterers!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The evening was spent working out the
results, awarding medals and having a debrief on what was a very successful
event. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I eventually left for home at around 11.00 pm and soon realized I should
have included my heated jacket!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">By now the fatigue from the day was setting
in big time, with very severe pains in my neck, shoulders and back. By midnight
I reached the M40 and realized I needed a stop, Starbucks at Warwick Services
providing some much needed rest and caffeine. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I eventually arrived home at
1.00 am, very pleased that the Monday was a Bank Holiday and I didnât need to get
up for work.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mind you it was a satisfying feeling rolling up to work on the Tuesday with the bike still stickered and muddied up!</span></span><br />
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-25347630840814288462019-06-21T04:58:00.003-07:002020-05-13T08:48:28.408-07:00And so to the Wales 500âŠ.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So on the Friday afternoon I headed off toâŠ.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Malvern!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yes I know thatâs not in Wales but it is
where the event is based out of, the Three Counties Showground to be exact.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Seeing as last year I had suggested having registration
open on the Friday night to ease the queues on Saturday, I thought I really
ought to turn up and help, so set off on Friday afternoon to take a direct
cross country route to Malvern, via Buckingham, Aynho, Chipping Norton, Moreton
in Marsh, Evesham and Pershore.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I turned up about 20 minutes before registration
started and we were swamped! It seem the majority of the 190 competitors
decided to turn up that evening and by the time we closed at eight, 130 riders
had signed on. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The snack wagon had pretty much run out of everything except
chips but at least the bar was still open. As I had been booked into a hotel in
Great Malvern, I couldnât really partake but had a good night chatting, then
headed off to the hotel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was up at 07.00 although unfortunately
the hotel didnât start breakfast until 08.00, I headed to the showground on
deserted roads ready for the day. Thankfully the snack wagon had restocked and
I was able to grab a bacon roll and a cup of tea. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After registering the rest of
the riders and carrying out a briefing the riders set off on their short 106 km
training route, that apart from a short off road section in the showground was
all on tarmac. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The concept of the Wales 500 over those at Kielder and on the
Isle of Man being to make it more suitable for first timers. I left on the bike
before them to ride to my static marshaling point, the idea was that I would
check everyone past then move a short distance up the road to a petrol station where
Iâd see the riders pass me again on the return loop. Well that was the plan!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the way out Iâd passed signs saying âLong
Delaysâ and a diversion. As it was the weekend, I ignored them and sure enough
the roadworks were deserted and the road clear, so I didnât think thereâd be
any issues. Having arrived at my marshaling point, I called back to event HQ only
to discover that several riders had become confused by the diversion and
followed it. Although they eventually got back on route, it was not good as the
concept of the event is to stick as closely to the road book mileage as
possible. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I headed back, âmaking progressâ on the narrow country lanes, which
was fine until I started meeting competitors coming the other way!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Reaching the end of the diversion, I
witnessed a group of riders heading in that way but they had clearly worked out
how to get back on route as they were indicating to turn back onto the correct route.
I rode round the diversion but didnât see any more riders, getting to the start
I parked up and directed traffic. Certainly a lot of riders were indicating to
follow the diversion until I waved them to continue on route. I made a âmodificationâ
to the sign, Which was fortuitous as I then got a call to say the route was
blocked ahead and a diversion of our own was required.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Again I had to make rapid progress on
narrow roads but at least this time all the bike traffic was headed the same
way. Arriving at the last turning before the closure, I directed all bikes to
carry on as they would rejoin the route a short way ahead were I was assured a
rider had stopped to redirect everyone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After some time the last three riders on
course arrived (the beauty of everyone being on live GPS trackers) and I led
them off. Unfortunately the rider redirecting everyone had gone and we missed the
turning back onto the route, so took a bit of a detour before catching up again
at my original second marshaling point. After this I was able to tail the
riders back to the finish.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">That evening we had the fun job of sorting
the results, as we deemed those who had arrived early and worked out a way
round the road closure to be on the official mileage but also those who had
been redirected would be too despite having done a shorter route. Obviously
anyone deviating from the route elsewhere was penalised for it but we had to
work out a penalty system to account for those riders who had done one of the
two âofficial distancesâ so that riders who went wrong elsewhere didnât appear
above them if they just happened to get the correct distance. The competition
being judged on route keeping accuracy as well as adhering as closely as
possible to the official distance. We had previously discovered that you could
take the wrong route but still get the ârightâ distance!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">To mitigate this we had to visually check
the track of every rider to verify the results from the tracking company but
managed to do so before some excellent food from our evening caterers arrived.
Sadly the bar didnât fare so well and managed to run out of beer only twenty
minutes later!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For some bizarre reason they had not
thought to restock after Friday night. At least there was lots of free wine
offered and when they eventually got some more beer delivered, free beer! This
was good for me as I was leaving the bike at the showground and getting a lift
back to the hotel with John. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After some more good chat and a few beers, we
headed the 10 minutes back to Great Malvern and our beds for the night.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">To be continuedâŠ.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-40164991058390238492019-06-21T04:49:00.000-07:002020-05-13T08:46:16.908-07:00Road books, bicycles and all things French...<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the biking front I planned out the
second of my road book training events in the Peak District, essentially last
years route in reverse with a few extra green roads thrown in. On Good Friday I
headed up to the Peaks for a final recce and surprised myself by managing 10 hours
riding on the day. Needless to say I wasnât in a fit state for much at all on
the Saturday!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The following weekend was my annual trip up to Leicestershire and Rutland to assist in the running of the Rutland-Melton International CiCle Classic, now Britain's biggest (and arguably the best) one day cycle race. Now this involves two days of setting out the course and usually involves knocking in dozens of wooden posts for direction signs, sponsors banners, rope and tape barriers etc. This is achieved with a slide hammer but was quite evidently an activity completely at odds with myasthenia! Repetitive muscle movements especially of the shoulders and arms bring on severe fatigue very rapidly so this task had to be left to others and I spent a lot of time driving the van, so at least I got spend a lot of time sitting down!</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The race went well with a major change to the route this year that seemed to be a great success and certainly changed the character of the event. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It also gave me the opportunity to recce some potential routes for the road book training event I have planned in this area for August.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I wasnât able to take part in the Peak District road book event the next weekend myself as I was off on another holiday. Our friend Mike had arranged a surprise
holiday at a friendâs villa near Carcassonne in South West France for his wife
Linda and asked if we would like to come along?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Not only did Linda not know where she was
going but she didnât know we were coming too, in fact Mike only announced we
had âofferedâ to drive them to Luton Airport to save the cost of a taxi on the
morning we were leaving. We managed to keep the subterfuge going right up to the
point we pulled our bags out the back of the van in the car park!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A very different holiday to Italy with
relaxation very much the name of the game, lie ins, leisurely lunches,
historical sites, picturesque villages and a drop of wine (or two) were the order
of the week.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Once back home again I started preparing for
the Rallymoto Wales 500, a report on that will be appearing soon </span><br />
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4656793615882118793.post-55418445513081684112019-06-06T11:57:00.000-07:002020-05-13T08:44:43.215-07:00Mountains, Myasthenia and Me<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yes itâs me again!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I canât believe Iâve left it a whole two
months (OK nearly three) to update the blog, so whatâs been happening?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Last time you graced my blog with your presence,
I was just starting to learn to snowboard in preparation for our holiday at
Bormio in Italy with friends Jill and Andy at the end of March. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well it sort of
went OK, a bruised coccyx on the second lesson was quite literally a pain in
the arse! Thanks to co-codamol I was able to continue but it took several weeks to heal. Now I wonât say I was
transformed into a snowboarding god but I gained just about enough confidence
to get down the slope without falling over (too much). The three hour lessons
at the snowzone were just about doable as the fatigue due to myasthenia
generally kicked in big time at around two and half hours. So I knew how to
pace myself when I got out on the real snow.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We arrived in Bormio, sorted out hire gear and
were taken to our ski lodge, the Café Rhododendri by skidoo, all good fun! It
was quite strange being âstrandedâ up at 2250 metres in the evenings as the
only way in or out was on ski/snowboard or via skidoo. Or on a Piste groomer as it
turned out later!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next day dawned bright and sunny, the
late season snow was a bit icy but there was still plenty of it. I headed down
on my own to build up my confidence not wishing to have to try and keep up with
anyone or hold them up. Jill and Andy (on skis) and Grainne (on her brand new
snowboard) set off for Bormio 2000.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After bumbling around on the slope for a
bit and getting a bit frustrated as I seemed to have lost the vast majority of
my new found snowboarding skills, Andy caught up with me to say that Grainne
had taken a tumble and hurt her shoulder but he thought she was OK.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sad to say she turned out to be anything
but OK; after a trip to the local hospital the diagnosis was a broken shoulder, An
almost identical injury to that she suffered two years ago on her other
shoulder!!!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">To say she was gutted was a major understatement,
first run of the first day and her holiday was effectively over. She had her essay to
finish for her prescribers course so spent the rest of the week doing that, so
at least had some lovely scenery and minimal distractions but not exactly what
weâd planned!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I booked a couple of snowboard lessons and
had to spend a lot of time on my own, punctuated of course by the occasional cappuccino of course. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I canât say my snowboarding improved by much and the
fatigue was pretty bad at times. The altitude didnât seem to help either. I
think sleeping at 2250m was part of the problem, I remember from my
mountaineering days that 2400m is the level at which altitude sickness can
start to occur, so we were not too far off that. The Myasthenia has been pretty
well controlled of late but </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I discovered </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">the exertion of snowboarding was a real challenge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the highlights of the week was
getting a trip out on the Piste Bullyâs grooming the slopes at night. The
drivers stopped at the Café Rhododendri every night for their dinner break, so
itâs a bit of an exclusive for residents only, Which on most nights was only
the four of us!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After our return, life returned to normal
for me and recuperation, fracture clinic and eventually physio started for
Grainne.</span></div>
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