All Shipshape

 As we approach the end of March and move into spring (not that you'd know it, the weather's not been that great), Ginny has already had a couple of runs out. I re-taxed her on March 1st and then rode her up to Battersea for her service at Park Lane BMW the following day. Included in this visit was some recall work on the suspension linkage. I was assured that everything would be completed in a day, so once I'd dropped her off, I bused it over to the Imperial War Museum. I could easily have spent all day there, as there is so much to see. As it was, I'd been there 4 hours or so, when I got the call to say Ginny was ready. I'd got lucky with the weather. It was cold but thankfully sunny and my new jacket did a great job of keeping me warm, along with the heated grips and seat! (I can hear Grizzly groaning 😉)

As expected, the guys at Park Lane had given Ginny a wash, her first since September, so soon as I got her home, I put the covers on her. There's still so much dust flying about this building site we live on and a thick layer on the garage floor. 

Ginny's second outing was on March 21st, a 2 mile round trip to Ryder Motorcycles, for her MOT. On a walk out with Catherine one afternoon, I dropped in to book her (Ginny) in. We were actually away when the MOT ran out, so this was the nearest suitable date. Needless to say, Ginny passed with flying colours, which means we are good to go for our trip to Vimy and the big tour. The only thing required now, before the tour, is to get the pair of tyres I have in the garage, which were removed last summer, put back on. That will guarantee me enough rubber for the 4500+ mile tour.

Over the next few weeks I'm expecting to be booking up ferries and attractions, so the next update will be after that, when I have a bit more information to impart.

Till then. Stay save.

Coming Together

  So, since the last post, I have replaced my PC and my laptop. New tech for a new year. In fact, I've been on quite a spending spree since the turn of the year. With my leather jacket suffering from a prolonged bout of mold (any advice on how to cure welcomed), I decided to invest in a textile jacket, that would keep me both warm and dry in the cooler months, which might make me more likely to ride earlier and later in the year. I looked at a few but decided on an RST Pro Series Paragon 6 and with my chief negotiator by my side, when I went to try it on, I got it at a price I was happy with. At the same time, I also got a new pair of waterproof boots, TCX X Five.4, again at a negotiated price.😉 I already have a pair of waterproof boots but the soles on them don't extend beyond the toe, so when touring and walking in them, the leather starts to wear away. As with a similar non waterproof pair, that will eventually lead to holes at the toe. Not what you want for something designed to keep water out. I'd read a good review about the TCX boots, so that's why I went for them. There'll be no toe leather wearing away on these and once the soles wear, it is possible to get them replaced, apparently.

Ginny is booked in for her service on 2nd March at Park Lane BMW. I'll re-tax her the day before, so we'll be good to go. That will be her last service of the service contract I took out when I bought her. She'll be 5 on 17th March. Whilst the service is being done, they will also complete some recall work on the gearbox again. I'm not entirely sure what the issue is but it doesn't sound like a big job, as they have said they'll only have her for the day. I plan to spend the day at the Imperial War Museum, as there's little point in coming all the way home and back again on the train, for a day in the workshop. Not to mention the extra expense of the train fares. I'm not made of money! 😁

I've yet to book Ginny in for her MOT but that shouldn't be any bother. Catherine and I are looking to get away for a week in the sun, so until that is booked, I can't really book the MOT.

On the tour front, I've now booked our eurotunnel tickets, which is the first major expense of any tour. It's a little more than I was expecting but the alternatives don't really fit our plans. Maybe next time a ferry might be cheaper, though I'm not really sure how their fares stack up. Swings and roundabouts probably. Ferry might be cheaper but takes longer, which means less riding time when across the channel day 1, so might mean an additional hotel over the course of the tour, which then negates and saving on the crossing. It's something I'll investigate though. Not that there are any plans for another tour after this one....YET!

On the planning side, I've had a couple of tweaks with hotels but most recently I've been looking at the free day itinereries, as well as checking when we need to book things up. There's no point in waiting to get to somewhere before thinking about tickets for a certain attraction, unless we want to wait in a massive queue. Places are bound to be busy. It will be the middle of summer after all. 

I think that's all for now. Next report will probably be after Ginny has been serviced.