I'd hoped to write some lengthy update on all the many jobs that have cropped up and been sorted in the last few days, but in the spirit of this week, every minute has had a job attached and this update is being posted on the fly. The bike is packed and with lots of goodbyes already said, its time to get off the laptop and take care of more. Goodbyes are far better said in person, so a last night for a little while in Richmond is just 10 minutes away.
I should be able to post something that makes more sense in a couple of days from Belgium to run through the run up to leaving as busy just doesnt do it justice!
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
5 days to go...
And still not a huge amount to report... My bike's still with Jeffries BMW in Shipley as they need a part to repair the throttle and couldnt get it in time, so packing and loading it up is all being left to the very last minute. On the ride down I discovered that only the right hand of the heated grips work. On the plus side, it meant I could sort and store everything that's not coming with me in the loft at home.
With just a few days to go, there'll be a flurry of activity with any luck. I'll add a packing list and some photos / details of my bike out of interest to refer back to when I've thrown half of it away because it weighs far too much.
A big decision at the moment is how many spares and bits to buy now. I'm mechanically hopelessin a way you might find surprising for someone riding solo around the world, so far all I have is WD40 and duct tape:
A lesson in motorcycle maintenance: If it should move but doesnt, use product 1. If it shouldn't move but is, use product 2.
The problem is looking at Hein Gericke's catalogue there's thousands of useful looking bits (puncture repair kits, chain adjusters, seals and all the rest) that look so useful and tempting, its just a bit galling to realise I have no idea how to use any of them! And this from someone whos dad builds bikes from scratch as a hobby...
A big decision at the moment is how many spares and bits to buy now. I'm mechanically hopelessin a way you might find surprising for someone riding solo around the world, so far all I have is WD40 and duct tape:
The problem is looking at Hein Gericke's catalogue there's thousands of useful looking bits (puncture repair kits, chain adjusters, seals and all the rest) that look so useful and tempting, its just a bit galling to realise I have no idea how to use any of them! And this from someone whos dad builds bikes from scratch as a hobby...
Sunday, 5 June 2011
This time next week...
Just a quick update to say not a lot’s happened in a practical travelling sense. Great night out with fantastic friends aside, the real work starts tomorrow with the bike booked in for a service and van ready to move the last of my bits and pieces from Leeds to Tunstall.
Oh, and lastly, I did manage a test ride and my helmet cam works brilliantly, if I manage not to break it on the first days riding, it’ll be fantastic to be able to take some short videos from time to time. Last summers ride around Europe made me think about it as the roads are gorgeous but you don’t want to stop every minute to take a pocket camera out and snap a pic, so a helmet camera is perfect. The battery life is less than impressive but you can’t have it all.
I'll do an update after the bikes service tomorrow, fingers crossed there are no nasty surprises waiting!
Monday, 23 May 2011
Occasional update... Mon 23 May: General update
First and foremost, thanks to everyone who helped put together a fantastic surprise leaving do! It meant the world and the photos & artwork is brilliant!
Back down to reality, my list of jobs to do looks like this:
It turns out the RAC are fantastic, they really can turn round a Carnet application quickly despite a very late application, though if you're reading this because you're thinking of travelling yourself, brace yourself when you're looking up how much a carnet will set you back. Before you dash of and lay down £11,625 for a new Ewan and Charlie style BMW R1200gs Adventure, the cost of a carnet works by multiplying the value of your bike by the highest rate of import tax you'd be exposed to. In India this is 500%. You then either (sell your house) and leave this amount in full lodged with the RAC, or take out insurance and pay 10% of that value, plus up to £195 for the carnet paperwork and £350 extra charge just for fun. Oh, and 6% insurance premium tax. Aaaaaand breathe... Luckily they accept Visa and do give you some back when your vehicle comes back into the country. That would be cold baked beans for tea again.
Back down to reality, my list of jobs to do looks like this:
It turns out the RAC are fantastic, they really can turn round a Carnet application quickly despite a very late application, though if you're reading this because you're thinking of travelling yourself, brace yourself when you're looking up how much a carnet will set you back. Before you dash of and lay down £11,625 for a new Ewan and Charlie style BMW R1200gs Adventure, the cost of a carnet works by multiplying the value of your bike by the highest rate of import tax you'd be exposed to. In India this is 500%. You then either (sell your house) and leave this amount in full lodged with the RAC, or take out insurance and pay 10% of that value, plus up to £195 for the carnet paperwork and £350 extra charge just for fun. Oh, and 6% insurance premium tax. Aaaaaand breathe... Luckily they accept Visa and do give you some back when your vehicle comes back into the country. That would be cold baked beans for tea again.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Occasional update... Tues 17 May: Freebies and fettling
First up, great news, my first free things of the trip!! Lest anyone say I won't sell my soul for free stuff, let me suggest any round-the-world motorcyclist worth his/her salt should be stopping off at Alt-berg boots for their footwear requirements. Hand made in Richmond dont-yer-know. 5 pairs of spare laces, waterproofing treatment and a suede brush for nothing was a nice touch and all helps...
Next up, a six month Nepal visa was approved and returned this week, more good news and an absolute doddle as well.
Then a bit of mixed news, today's job was to the bike taken apart to fit some new connectors to the battery terminals. These will power a small 12v socket for on the road charging of my phone and other gadgets worked brilliantly, but revealed a few horror stories...
The red ring around that big gap is where the air intake goes through the air filter and is supposed to be sealed tight, not gaping open letting all sorts of muck get in and clog up the filter. Sort that later. Today's job though was getting the power socket fitted, and that, we did! Before, the bars had a heated handle-bar grips switch unit that actually has two switches on, the top one doesnt do anything, so...
A fit of fettling and milling to make a bracket...
And after:
12 v socket fitted on a little riser above the unused switch on the heated bar grips panel, fantastic job...And thinking ahead, we added a double connector so the Sat Nav can plug straight in without having to get at the battery again. If only some idiot hadnt left the mounting bracket and cables for it in Leeds this weekend!!
Monday, 9 May 2011
Life in balance
Taking a break from a paperwork nightmare (you could do worse that buy shares in passport photo booths right now), time for an emo post… back to business as normal next time.
As excitement about setting off grows, to keep things in balance, doubts about everything left behind similarly grow. I’m just going to copy and paste a few lines from “The Postman’s” blog. Though it was whilst he was on the road (he did the trip in reverse, coming home to the UK from Australia) it’s freakishly close to my thoughts and I couldn’t put it any better:
To give it everything, do everything you can to get what you want and never once let go. Trying; it’s such a beautifully simple concept without any confusion as to what is meant. And we’re all doing it, even if all you’re trying to do is nothing. And what I was trying to do right now was make both these terrifically important things in my life work right now. My trip, and my relationship. But I failed. Trying wasn’t enough. It needed something else, like commitment guaranteed at the other end of this long uncertain journey. I just couldn’t give it and feel a weaker man for that.
But this all has got me thinking these last few weeks. In life we have so many things to think about at any one time. Jobs, houses, girlfriends; we’re stretched in so many directions with each demanding of so much time and dedication leaving us not knowing quite how much to give it. I’m useless at it. My mind gets muddled and I never know which problem to tackle first. It means none get solved, allowing the cycle to continue…
Am I running away from it all? Yes, I suppose I am, from the problems and dilemmas that all of us face in life. But what a way to run, on the back of a beautiful machine.
http://www.thepostman.org.uk/
Yep.
As excitement about setting off grows, to keep things in balance, doubts about everything left behind similarly grow. I’m just going to copy and paste a few lines from “The Postman’s” blog. Though it was whilst he was on the road (he did the trip in reverse, coming home to the UK from Australia) it’s freakishly close to my thoughts and I couldn’t put it any better:
To give it everything, do everything you can to get what you want and never once let go. Trying; it’s such a beautifully simple concept without any confusion as to what is meant. And we’re all doing it, even if all you’re trying to do is nothing. And what I was trying to do right now was make both these terrifically important things in my life work right now. My trip, and my relationship. But I failed. Trying wasn’t enough. It needed something else, like commitment guaranteed at the other end of this long uncertain journey. I just couldn’t give it and feel a weaker man for that.
But this all has got me thinking these last few weeks. In life we have so many things to think about at any one time. Jobs, houses, girlfriends; we’re stretched in so many directions with each demanding of so much time and dedication leaving us not knowing quite how much to give it. I’m useless at it. My mind gets muddled and I never know which problem to tackle first. It means none get solved, allowing the cycle to continue…
Am I running away from it all? Yes, I suppose I am, from the problems and dilemmas that all of us face in life. But what a way to run, on the back of a beautiful machine.
http://www.thepostman.org.uk/
Yep.
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Bin that idea. Time for Plan B
Well, you plan for years then Osama Bin Laden gets shot in Pakistan not 5 days after you put an application in for a visa to travel overland through there, and an already poor situation looks set to deteriorate.
Time for a Plan B.
Speaking with some other people on Horizons Unlimited, the motorcycle travellers forum, it seems the consensus is to give travel in Pakistan a wide berth. These aren't people who read the Sun and panic, but people on the road who've been there and done it. With no experience of the area, I can't justify ignoring this body of advice for the sake of making a continuous overland ride from here to India.
Added to that the stress it would cause friends, family and myself, and the known difficulty of obtaining a very expensive Iranian visa, I'm now thinking of this:
Spend a bit extra time in Turkey, fly myself and the bike from Istanbul into Kathmandu and enjoy an extra month to walk in the Himalayas at the best season weather-wise. This will also buy some time for me to visit Bangladesh, something I have wanted to do for ages, but couldnt on my previous plan because of time restraints.
On 'Plan A' I would have to enter India, exit to go to Nepal, then stay there for 2 months as you can't re-enter India within 2 months of leaving, and head back to India in January until April when my visa expires. Taking another 2 months out of the country wouldn't leave enough time to see anything in India itself. 'Plan B' means I fly straight to Nepal at least a month ahead of schedule, without incurring the mandatory 2 month wait to get into India, have time to walk in Nepal and visit both India and Bangladesh.
Thats a confusing explanation, but it reflects the situation. I'll draw a map and post it later.
Time for a Plan B.
Speaking with some other people on Horizons Unlimited, the motorcycle travellers forum, it seems the consensus is to give travel in Pakistan a wide berth. These aren't people who read the Sun and panic, but people on the road who've been there and done it. With no experience of the area, I can't justify ignoring this body of advice for the sake of making a continuous overland ride from here to India.
Added to that the stress it would cause friends, family and myself, and the known difficulty of obtaining a very expensive Iranian visa, I'm now thinking of this:
Spend a bit extra time in Turkey, fly myself and the bike from Istanbul into Kathmandu and enjoy an extra month to walk in the Himalayas at the best season weather-wise. This will also buy some time for me to visit Bangladesh, something I have wanted to do for ages, but couldnt on my previous plan because of time restraints.
On 'Plan A' I would have to enter India, exit to go to Nepal, then stay there for 2 months as you can't re-enter India within 2 months of leaving, and head back to India in January until April when my visa expires. Taking another 2 months out of the country wouldn't leave enough time to see anything in India itself. 'Plan B' means I fly straight to Nepal at least a month ahead of schedule, without incurring the mandatory 2 month wait to get into India, have time to walk in Nepal and visit both India and Bangladesh.
Thats a confusing explanation, but it reflects the situation. I'll draw a map and post it later.