So today I tried to remove my rear wheel and the new Oberon socket rounded off like it was made of cheese so I'm Panigale-less for another couple of days until I can get a decent socket delivered. Should have known better ordering a non steel socket but thought it would be nice to have something light to stash in the tool bag
Toyoya RAV4. Draw in a Golf Magazine. Entered, they drew 10 names. Those ten travelled to The Open, for a few prizes - day at Open, driver clothing etc, and at the open one of those ten was then drawn to win the car - c'est moi.
finally got round to straightening the rear set frame tabs. just put the oem ones on and twated them back into place with a nylon mallet. no paint flaking round the welds neither. (after) (before) (after) neither.
On the way to work today, I pulled out of a junction after letting an H-D rider go by. He was wearing an open-face helmet with sunglasses and a bandana over his face, a leather jacket (I don't think it had tassles), and pale combat camouflage trousers which flapped about a lot in the breeze. His Hawg had one of those hideous leather boxes on the back with studs, and he had one saddlebag. The back of his matt black helmet had some sort of custom design and, I think, a reference to "Angels". So he looked like a bit of a knob. I know all this because he went through the immediate 50 kph limit (already quite excruciating on the 999) at a miserable 45 or so (and it must have been less as my speedo exaggerates by about 3 kph. Well, if you want to make yourself up to look like a badass bro, it's all fine if you can ride like a badass bro. But exiting the village, there is a slight kink in the road before you trundle straight downhill and into a well-surfaced 180 with perfect visibility. Hawg-Bro was already braking for the kink in the road, which wasn't even sufficient to endanger the pathetic ground clearance on his Hardly-Ableson in any shape or form, so I immediately drew my own conclusions (or let's say, more realistically, they hardened up - seeing as I had been up his tail pipes already in the village). I knew that he was going to make a three-course dinner out of the hairpin bend, and I was not wrong. So despite there being a solid white line, I went round the outside of him without crossing it and blasted off into the distance. No, it wasn't very polite of me, but there is something about wannerbes that can't ride that quickly uses up all my goodwill. It's like dressing up in full Paris Dakar kit on your Adventure Bike and then putting your feet down and trickling about in first if you ever encounter any gravel. My view: if you can't ride, keep a low profile. In any case, I can't stand camouflage combat trousers. What sort of statement are you trying to make for god's sake? That you might kill me with your AK47? Get a life.
Yest(today) was very pleasant. Garnished myself with passport, and ventured(en famille) over the old Severn Bridge- so much nicer than the new one, a much better class of pothole.... and ambled down the country roads from Chepstow to near Abergavenney. Stopped short because i wanted to have lunch. I had booked a table at 'The Hardwick", been past it no end of times, owned by Stephen Terry. Enjoyed a lovely two course set lunch, plus pudding (ok - technically three courses, but as pudding shared, i am claiming two courses). Welsh pork meatloaf with sweet onion marmalade, pickles and toast, main was pork and chorizo burger with coleslaw and thrice cooked chips ( whats wrong with just once?) and then a chocolate brownie with salted caramel sauce, choc mousse and white chocolate ice cream. Lovely. Nice half pint ( driving, see) of local ale. Well those are my foodie descriptions, not the 'cheffy' words from the menu. I'd go again, a reasonable choice of nice dishes from the menus, and a good view of the Blorenge Mountain. although the revelation from the staff that Bonnie Tyler had dined there ( and then sang..) a fortnight ago, would introduce a note of caution.... From lunch, a gentle drive to Crickhowell and then more back roads to Talybont on Usk, for a stroll around the Talybont reservoir - lovely scenery, clean fresh air........whats not to like. Afternoon tea at a small cafe in Talybont, and then more gentle exercise with a stroll along the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal path, feeding a few ducks to boot. Gentle drive back to Monmouth, and quick nose at the old 13c bridge and then down the Wye Valley to Chepstow, mway and home. Lovely day. Nice weather. Gratifying to enjoy views of the green fields, forests, Black Mountains, valleys, wildlife and countryside. Worth (just) £6.40 of anyones money to cross over the old Severn Bridge into Wales. ( They don't charge you to leave the country - odd)
yesterday i got woke by my son in tears due to his gerbil dying in the night then when he asked me to take the day of for the burial and i couldn't i got the bad dad speech. about the amount of hours i work.. bad dad.
Yest(today) was very unpleasant I had to put down my basset hound and have felt fairly shit ever since.
Rear tyre time today after the bloody screw earlier in the week. Finally got a socket thats not made of chocolate.
