Weather Limits This Years Biking Weekends...

It’s been nearly two months now since I wrote anything. Does this mean that not a lot is happening in my life of much interest, or that a lot is happening and I just do not have any time to write up my thoughts? To be honest it is a little bit of both. Looking back through my days off tally for the current year at work I noticed that I have only had four days off up till now and so I am looking forward to some time off next week. I am heading off to Dublin for a long weekend with my girlfriend and hope that the weather over there is going to be paradoxical to that we are experiencing in this country at the moment. Knowing my luck the opposite will be true and it will be fantastic here and miserable there!!!
So anyway the last couple of months have been hectic at work with me regularly clocking up 50 plus hour weeks and not having much time to get out on the bike at all. I did manage to get away for the weekend to the Horizons Unlimited get together in Ripley near Derby at the end of June though. I even invested in a small tent to take that I could carry on the back of the bike for the occasion (see picture above). I have to say that again, despite the weather it was a great do.
The place was awash with biking long distance travel royalty, all of whom were completely approachable and down to earth. The likes of Lois Pryce, Austin Vince, Nick Sanders and Dan Walsh were all there, all of whom have achieved fame through their travels in one way or another (Nick: fastest man round the world on a bike, Lois Pryce: Tip of Alaska to Bottom of South America solo on a Serow! Etc). Highlight of the weekend for me personally though was meeting Ted Simon, author of Jupiter’s Travels and Dreaming of Jupiter to name just two of his works. The first book mentioned was one of the main inspirations for Boorman and McGregor doing ‘The Long Way Round’ and currently their trip from John o’ Groats to South Africa. Ted spent over four years travelling the world on a 500cc Triumph in the early seventies and his book chronicling the journey became something of a cult hit. I first read it a few years ago and as well as being well written, it is hard to put down. In the second of the books mentioned, Dreaming of Jupiter, he retraced his initial route from the first book at the start of the 21st century and waxed lyrical about how the world has changed through his eyes over the prevailing years. The second trip took him two and a half years to complete, which is no mean feat at the age of 69!!! Although I do not agree with a lot of his conclusions from this book, it is still an interesting read and a fascinating account of a great journey around this planet. His slide show presentation on the Saturday evening was great too and there were a lot more pictures and anecdotes than were in the book. I will certainly be going again next year if this years one is anything to go by.
Just recently I have been keeping my eye open for a cheap and cheerful run-around as a second bike. The bike I have is great if I am travelling any distance or if I want to get somewhere quick, but it is not so easy just to get out and run the shops on or something. I am thinking about a small trail bike or something. We will see.

Home Ownership? No Thanks!

One of my previous entries into this blog stated that at some point towards the end of this year I would have, or would be in a position to buy a house. That very nearly happened a couple of weeks ago. A company running a new development near where I live were advertising free legal fees and your five percent deposit paid; basically it is a marketing ploy to get you to buy in the area and I was nearly caught. I viewed one of the apartments and even spoke to their financial advisor about arranging a mortgage, and then something inside me told me to cut this ‘opportunity’ loose.
A lot of people, when they have tough decisions to make draw up lists stating the pros and the con’s of whatever that decision is. In the case of buying this apartment (posh word for a flat in my book) the con’s seriously outweighed the pro’s; too expensive for what it is and where it is situated, lack of secure parking for the bike, interest rates on the up and the flat already being at the limit of my affordability etc etc etc. The only pro that I could think of was that it would be a place to call my own, but in fact even that was not true as it would belong to the bank for around thirty years and even then I would only own a box on someone else’s land! (The joys of leasehold) It is strange to think that a lot of ordinary folk in this country have been brainwashed into thinking that it is acceptable to be in debt to the tune of over A HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS or more, for something that in many cases is nothing more than a shoe box. Those of you that owe this kind of money, or more even, should just say the amount out loud. It’s frightening, and this isn’t even the amount you owe, as after interest has been added it comes out at a lot more!
I think that in this country we have become hung up on the idea of owning our own property. People see their houses as ways of making a fast buck rather than as a place to live. When I tell people that I live in a rented flat it is almost as if I am saying to them
‘Hi, my name is Pete and I am a second class citizen.’
‘What, you don’t even own your own home?’
‘No, but Barclays owns yours and at least I am not tied to a Mortgage’
A guy in the place where I work blames the current situation on Thatcher. Of course it is not hard to find anyone in the north-west willing to blame Thatcher for any of society’s current problems; however he does have a good point. That point is that in the eighties her government came up with a great plan for everyone in Britain to be able to afford their own home. A grand plan you may think, and very bold until you look at the main problem that blighted that Tory government; that is strikes. People sticking together to support their colleagues and create better working environments etc. If you live in a council house or private rented accommodation it is very difficult to boot you out for non payment of rent (which you don’t have the money for as you are on strike). If you ‘own’ your own home though and do not pay the mortgage then the banks will have you out and your house sold as quick as a flash. Weather this is right or wrong you would have to see that there is a point there.
Of course this could just be me being bitter at being priced out of the housing market by situations beyond my control, but in the meanwhile I am totally debt free and all the things I own belong to me and not the credit card people or some other financial institution and I have to say I have never been happier.
In conclusion then, what I thought I wanted was my own place, but what that would mean is a lifetime of debt, and debt is the one thing that I have spent the last 15 years trying to get out of. Therefore my previous entry stating that I would like to own a house can be scratched from the record until the prices in this country drop to a real, honest and fair level.

Time to Ponder

It took me nearly two hours to get to Manchester yesterday morning. This is unusual as it normally takes me no more than an hour and a half! That means that I travel the 38 miles to work at an average of around 25 MPH, and nearly all of that is along motorway. Stop, start, stop, start. Naturally when you spend this amount of time sat in a car every day you get to thinking a lot, and yesterday I thought about how much of my life I have wasted sat in traffic just going to work. It is frightening. If on average I have to go to the office twice a week (although sometimes it is more) then in seven years at this place I have sat in traffic for 91 days, or 3 months, or a quarter of a year!!!
So it is at junctures in life like this that I wonder why I bother working hard and wasting so much of my life simply to live in a rented place and scrape a living. Don’t get me wrong, I earn a decent wage, but at the end of the month I am still struggling to last till pay day. I wonder why I bother sometimes when friends of mine cruise through life and seem no worse off than me! I suppose it comes down to pride in the end. At least I can hold my head up high and say I have worked for the things I have in life. But am I confusing pride with stupidity? Who is right and who is wrong? Me for wasting months of my life sat in a stupid car going nowhere but holding my head high and saying at least I have worked for what I have, or my mate for screwing the system and still having as much as me?

The Wannabe Traveller.

A few weeks ago I went to the local Hein Gericke store for an evening event featuring Nick Sanders. Nick holds the record for travelling round the world solo on a motorbike, just short of twenty days on an R1. I suppose you would call him a modern day adventurer. He has travelled round the world on numerous occasions both by cycle and motorcycle. He was giving a presentation about his life as an adventurer and I have to say it was fascinating. My earlier rant about being sat in traffic for so long go me thinking about the type of person I actually am. Deep I know, but like I said, you get a lot of time to think when you are sat in traffic. I came to the conclusion that I am the kind of person that moans about stuff rather than doing something about it? What’s happened? Have I taken a turn somewhere in life that has lead me into some kind of comfort zone? Why do I moan about the things in life that do not matter rather than actually doing something about changing them? In front of me at the presentation was a man who was not willing to do that, not willing to put up with the mundane things in life and all the shit that goes with it. Here was a man that dared to be different and dared to actually live his life and do something different. How many people do any of us know personally that have ever or will ever have the balls to do that?
An example of how he got started in the game was quite funny. For his first trip round the world by push bike in the early eighties he wanted to mark the occasion by doing something special. As he was basically a nobody at the time he called the Daily Telegraph newspaper and said that the Nolan Sisters would be waving him off and that they should come and do an article about his adventure; then he rang the Nolan Sisters agent and said that the Telegraph were coming to do an article on his adventure and would they like to come and wave him off? Free publicity and all that. I suppose your mind has to work a certain way to pull something like that off, but it worked and he got his send off printed in the nationals.
I am not putting myself in the same category as this guy, but part of doing the kind of thing he does must be having an iron will to do it, and as time go by and the hours, days and months sat in a car rack up, my will to do something different with my life increases to the point that something is going to give and I will have to do that one big crazy thing in my life and just fuck it all off and go out and start living MY life for ME. After all, maybe, you only get one. Until then though and in the meantime I will have to content myself with fulfilling my ambitions through reading the travel tales of the likes of Nick, Ted Simon and Mondo Enduro as well as the real world people on the road now having their own adventures and updating their blogs on the Horizons Unlimited web site.

First Run Out of the Year

The last weekend in March saw my bike get its first proper run out of the year. After spending so much money getting it back up and running I was chomping at the bit to get a good run on it. My original plan was to head for Cornwall, but go down through Wales and take the scenic route, rather than sit on the M6/M5 for six or seven hours. However, as it turns out, events transpired against that course of action, and instead I found myself heading up north, across the border and into Scotland. My mate was going to be up there and had tickets to go and watch Rangers. And so it was I took the scenic route in that direction through the Lake District.
Over the last three years I have been lucky enough to spend a lot of time working in Cumbria and have come across some fantastic roads, but surprisingly I have only been up on the bike a hand full of times. Anyway that Friday the weather couldn’t have been better for a jaunt. Co-incidentally I was also giving my new helmet it’s first run out too. (I thought a helmet was just a helmet, obviously with some being slightly better built than others, that was until I got a new Arai. It’s as comfortable as having a duvet wrapped around your head!). I left home a lot later than I would have liked as I had to put my bike in for it’s MOT re-test (it had been in the day before and failed on a loose foot peg, a two minute job to fix!!!) but around half past eleven I was ready to go. By Half past twelve I had come off the M6 at Lancaster and was heading for Kirkby Lonsdale and Devils Bridge. This route along the A683 through Hornby and then along the A65 to Kirkby Lonsdale should be a pilgrimage for all bikers in the country. It has everything from long fast straights to tight bends, and generally the road surface is of a good quality. Early morning mid week when there aren’t as many rozzers around is probably the best time to do it.
I stopped off for the obligatory brew at The Bridge and as is so often the way got chatting. Sat there with my tea, I started talking to the guy next to me. He was an older bloke, probably close to sixty, dressed in black one piece leathers and looking for all the world like he had just got out of bed. He told me that he lived local and also that he worked nights. As the weather was so good he couldn’t go to bed straight after his shift and waste the day so took a ride out here to do the same as me; have a brew and a chat. With the rolling hills surrounding it, the stream meandering below its arches and general good atmosphere, Devils Bridge is the kind of place I could spend the whole day, just basking in the aura of the place. However the hours were passing by at a rate of knots and I had an appointment to keep.
I headed off another few miles along the A65 up to and across the M6, then along the A590 past Kendal and towards Windermere. The route took me along beautiful roads and scenery past Kendal, Windermere, Ambleside, Keswick and finally up to Carlisle. This route is amazing, taking the rider through the best of what Lakeland has to offer. At one point you could be engrossed in the scenery through deep valleys riding alongside mirror smooth lakes reflecting an icy blue sky, the next riding through a typically picturesque Cumbrian village. Traffic of the four wheeled variety aside, it is on days like these that you realise what the pleasure in biking is all about.
Sadly though my indulgence was affecting my timekeeping and by now I was falling behind schedule, having arranged to be in Glasgow for around half past six. Therefore, reluctantly I was forced to sit on the motorway for the remainder of the journey. Just a quick note about the traffic around Glasgow, if ever you are planning on being there up around tea time, either make the journey by train or get a bike. The only place I can compare it to would be the M5/M6 junction in Birmingham at the height of the roadwork’s a couple of years back.
After meeting up with my mate and sorting out secure parking for the bike we imbedded ourselves into his mums flat, where she had kindly allowed us to stay for the weekend.
In the evening we headed to the east end of town for a few beers before indulging in probably the best curry I have had in years at a fantastic restaurant. A great night was had by all, the only blot on the landscape being the bouncers in a couple of bars. It is remarkable that no matter where you go in the country you will always come across a bouncer with attitude, and no matter how hard you protest, if they say you are not coming in then you are not coming in; in our case I think our faces simple didn’t fit. It would be interesting to see how much money these idiots loose their employers over the course of an average weekend!
Saturday we went to the match. Rangers were playing Inverness in what turned out to be a pretty mediocre game. My mate was full of apologies for the lack of action, but I loved it anyway. Celtic had more or less won the title and Rangers had more or less sown up second slot so I suppose this could have had some bearing on the tepid one all draw, but as an afternoon out I thought it was great. Needless to say, both pre and post match we indulged in a few ales.
And so to Sunday and the trip home. I really wish that there was anything worth writing about this but there really isn’t. Short of the weather being decent the ride itself was pretty average. I had to stick to the motorway all the way home as yet again I had an appointment to keep, and with the amount of beer consumed the night before I had already left Glasgow as late as I could.
Anyway as a first proper jaunt out of 2007 the weekend turned into a triumph. Hopefully there will be many more ahead in the coming months.

Capital of Culture

Liverpool, European Capital of Culture 2008 and my home city. Isn't she beautiful? My brother took this photo from the place where he works across the River Mersey early on morning and if i do say so myself it is absolutely stunning and I felt the need to share it. Amazing what you can do with a mobile phone these days!

Joys of Bike Ownership!!!

It seems to me that writing is a strange beast. Sometimes you have lots of ideas for things to talk about and discuss, and then at other times the well just runs dry. The last month for example has been a bit of a barren spell.
Anyhoo, it’s been a while since I wrote anything, and that is mainly because I haven’t really had too much to say. Some may argue that I never have anything to say and to a point they would be right.
This update though, let me get the ball rolling by having a mini rant about the cost of owning a bike these days. It is just dear dear dear!!! This month for example I will be paying out close to £400 to get mine back into good order for the road. Firstly there’s the tyres which are coming in at over £150. on top of that after two months under cover outside my flat it is no surprise that the battery on my bike has finally given up the goat. First press of the starter confirmed this. The main problem with not having a garage during the winter months is that there is nowhere to plug a trickle charger into, and as the battery can’t be taken out (or the alarm would not work) it is either a case of starting it every couple of days, no matter what the weather. So there’s another fifty quid. Then on top of this there are the consumables such as filters, oil, brake pads etc. Finally once all this is bought and fitted/installed, none of it will add anything to the value of the bike. But as a biker let me just say that every penny is worth it. I may bitch and moan about the cost of stuff, and to be honest I do think there is a hefty premium added, but personally I would never be without a bike again. Work being as busy as it is may not allow me to use it as much as I would like, but that just means that the times I do get to go for a ride are extra special.
Anyway all things aside I have to spend out big this month as I am off for a little jaunt down to Cornwall at the end of March and to me this also signifies the start of the summer. The nights are already getting progressively lighter and before long the weather is going to perk up too. Can’t wait to get going…

HELP

I have to apologise for my previous post but surely a man is in charge of his own destiny. Since the age of 16 I have never asked for nor relied on my family for anything yet they still feel the need to meddle in my affairs. I have looked after myself and hope to carry on doing so……Hopefully my next blog will feel a bit less venomous….

Big Time Rant!!!!

Who the hell do people think they are trying to run or influence your life? Even now ten years after I finished a relationship with a girl I was not in love with , my family are still trying to compare my girlfriends to her. I have to admit that Bridget was one of the few girls in this life that any person would be glad to spend the rest of their lives with, but if you do not LOVE someone is that a reason to ruin yours and their lives by pretending to love them and by staying with them? Do my family think that by telling my current girlfriend, who I am/was madly in love with that my ex was nicer that this is going to endear me more to them. Fucking get a life…. It is over ten years in the past!!!!!!!!! Am I not an adult? Can I not make up my own mind about my life? Why don’t these people realise that they are wrecking my head and driving me deeper down the drain of life? I need to get away!!!!!!!! Sorry for the rant!!!!!

Don't Look Back With Regrets

When I was a kid I went to the local sea cadet unit. It was a great place to go at the time as the place I lived was fairly run down. Me mum and dad never had much money and so for a small fee I got to do all kinds of things from sailing to adventure training to canoeing and a lot more besides. I honestly feel that the place set me up to be a better person as an adult. I feel as though I have grown up with a healthy respect for other people and an honesty that few of the other kids in my area from the time have. Part of this was obviously down to the good running of the place. A lot of the stuff we did there taught us a respect for other people; friends, family the elderly etc.; and I mean respect in the true sense of the word, not the way it is banded about these days, as in ’respect me because I am bigger than you and I’ll pummel you if you don’t’.
Anyway, the guy that ran the place at the time, Ken Griffith, was, and still is one of the nicest blokes you could ever meet. Unfortunate then that I had to go and visit him in hospital the other day. He is now well into his seventies and unfortunately has recently been diagnosed with cancer of the lower spine and prostate. When I left and joined the Navy in 91, and in the subsequent years in between, I kind of lost touch with him and only rarely saw the guy. So as you could imagine it comes as a shock when someone you only ever remember as strong and relatively fit is dealt a blow such as this.
The same is true of my dad, who two years ago had a stroke and is now, to me at least, a very weak individual. When I was younger I never really got on with him as he was a bit of a bully really. I won’t go into that too much here, but lets just say that we never really got on. Anyway the point being, again that here is another person I know and remember as being fit, untouchable if you like, but who now is a very fragile person.
So in a round about way, what I am getting at is this.
1. I am now at an age that my dad and Ken were at when I remember them being at the top of their game, fit, healthy etc. and that doesn’t seem so long ago to me, therefore…
2. You have to make the most of your life while you can because, although you never know what awaits you round the corner, time will eventually catch you up, and when it catches me up I want to…
3. Look back over my life with as few regrets as I can.
I know that a lot of this is ok in retrospect, and that you are always going to have regrets no matter what you do and which choices you make, but in general I think that if you go with your heart and not be held back or dissuaded by others then you should be ok and at the very least you will only have yourself to blame if things go wrong. What I am trying to say is that I don’t want to get to a certain time in my life and think, ‘oh I could have done that if it wasn’t for so and so’, or ‘it would have been nice to do X, Y or Z, but someone wouldn‘t let me go‘.
Finally, for my part, there are several things in my life that I want to do and will strive to do while I can. One of these is to travel round the world on my bike. Some may think this a pipe dream, but it is something I have wanted to do for years and the desire has never waned, so why not? If I don’t do it then I know one day I will regret it, but at least I will only have myself to blame.

New Year Wish List

I’ve decided to rest up on the motorcycle travel part of this blog for the minute, or at least until I have finished writing up our entire European trip from the summer of 06. This could take a while and in the meantime my bike is due have new shoes put on, a major service and an M.O.T. Don’t these things always seem to come at once, usually just after Christmas when you are already strapped for cash. Then as soon as all this is done I have booked a couple of days off work to travel down to Cornwall to see Mo. I am going to take it easy on the way down though, possibly travelling through Wales and stopping off there somewhere overnight.
So in the meanwhile I am going to be using my blog as a vehicle to air my views and feelings on stuff that I see around me on a daily basis. Get the things out that in general I tend to keep bottled up inside.
I have made a couple of decisions for this year and hopefully when I read back through this towards the end of the year I will be able to say I have achieved them. I wouldn’t call my decisions ‘New Year Resolutions’, as that would suggest that I have ‘got’ to follow them through, these are just things that I want to try and do in 07.
Firstly, for my own sanity I have decided to stop watching and listening to the news on the TV and radio, as well as reading it in the paper. In general I like to keep abreast of current affairs, but with all the shit going on in my head recently I have decided that all the news does is depress you. Soldiers dying in a pointless war in Iraq, hospitals having to lay off vital nurses and doctors due to insufficient funding even though we are paying ever higher taxes, children being given ASBO’s, politicians demanding 40% pay rises to top up their already sound pay and benefits packages, global warming from carbon emissions, the list is endless. Then there is the ‘so called’ news that you get in rags like The Sun; Jade Goody ‘shocking confessions’ in the ‘Celebrity’ Big Brother household, Nicky and that looser with tourettes split up (he broke my heart), no-mark Pete Doherty wasted outside yet another nightclub. WHO FUCKING CARES? Trust me, if you cut these things out of your life you will feel the benefit. As I write this it is only the 17th day of my news cold turkey and I am already feeling better for it.
Secondly I ‘am’ going to buy a house, or at least be in a position to buy one by the end of the year. Nearly five years after being ripped off for all I owned by an ex who never worked a day in her life, and in that time watching house prices go through the roof (so to speak) I am finally in a position to do it. Just need to get the deposit together now so long hours in work are going to be a must for me this year.
Finally I am going to stop being taken for a mug by the ex, emotionally blackmailing me with my daughter. I’ll try not to go on about her, either here or in future blogs as I know I am not the only man in the world that’s been suckered before. The only thing I will say is that to me, a band called Terrorvision could have been singing about her in a song called Bad Actress when they said ‘You never gave me anything, but I ended up with less’. Wish I could write down stuff like that, it says more in one line from a song than I could write on a whole page. Someone in that band had obviously been taken for a ride at some point also!
Anyway on a different, brighter note, things aren’t all bad in the world. Liverpool are still third in the league and it looks like the takeover of the club will go ahead some time soon, putting much needed money into the club and hopefully putting us on a level playing field with the top three. As well as this I have my daughter overnight tonight and get to take her into school tomorrow. When you don’t see them for a few days, the day you do have them seems to drag until you pick them up.
Hope it’s not too late to wish anyone who reads this a happy and prosperous 2007!

The Final Run In

Friday 14/04/06, Day 5 of the Irish Trip

We were on the road relatively early again on the Friday. Our intention was to make Dublin by mid afternoon. We would be travelling mostly via main roads, the N6, N4 and M4 directly into Dublin. Main roads and motorways are not the most challenging ones to ride on, but these did pass through some amazing scenery and also did the job of getting us to our destination relatively quickly. One other positive about this route was that it took us straight past a town I was eager to visit, Athlone.
A couple of hours ride from Galway and we were at the picture postcard village on the banks of the Shannon. We both parked in the same car park space outside of a beautiful cathedral, St Peters, and also right next to Athlone Castle. As I mentioned earlier it was good Friday, and so there was an open air service going on outside on the steps of the cathedral, so would you believe that just as we were walking away from the bikes to have a look round my alarm started sounding. As is the norm in these situations I had already put away my keys and could not remember for the life of me which pocket they were in! As the alarm continued to sound I was searching more and more frantically for the keys, while at the same time getting more snooty looks from the congregation. Well if they are practising Catholics then they would surely forgive me for this faux pas, wouldn’t they?
On closer inspection the place seemed to me to resemble one of a number of Cornish villages with lovely cottages leading straight onto the road, all painted in bright colours and with a number of lovely little shops. I suppose the main difference was that you don’t get cathedrals and Castles in Cornish villages! However what you do also get in Cornwall are those shops selling curios such as josh sticks and strange ornaments. You know, the sort that spring up next door to surf shops. As we were having the by now obligatory brew in a nice café over the road from this shop, we spotted a t-shirt in the window that Mo just had to have. It was a plain blue t-shirt with the message across the front ’My Other Body Is A Temple’. Say no more.
Before leaving we took the opportunity to take a few photos of ourselves and the bikes down between the castle and the banks of the river. Well worth it. The two photos towards the bottom of the blog were taken here. My only regret was that we couldn’t stay longer but time was marching on, and as they say at kicking out time in the pub, ’if you want to stay longer you should have come earlier’.
Back on the road and this final leg of the journey seemed to be taking for ever. We eventually arrived in Dublin about half past two after completing the last bit on the M4, a toll road that I never knew they had in Ireland. Still, while travelling you learn all sorts…
As it was still a bit early to head round to Santry (where Martin, Michelle and the kids lived and we would be staying) I thought we would head into the Temple Bar area of the city, park up and maybe get something to eat or drink. The bikes ended up being parked up on the kerb because the place was so busy. We went and had a walk on the banks of the river Liffy (which runs through Dublin) and I had a coffee at a small stand that was on a walkway suspended over the river. Nice coffee, nice weather and a nice city. It was here that I received a text asking what time we would be round. It was obviously time to go, so we headed back towards the bikes via the Hard Rock Café. I remember we felt it best to stop off here and use their toilet facilities rather than pollute my uncles house.
I had heard the rumours but it wasn’t till we entered the Hard Rock that I realised it was no joke. It being Good Friday, nearly all the pubs in Ireland were shut, and those that were open could only serve soft drinks. So upon entering the place we saw that all of the pumps were covered by black bags forbidding their use. AAAAHHHH.
We arrived at the house shortly before tea time and after saying hello to everyone and introducing them to Mo, we set to putting the bikes away, showering and getting ready to relax about the house for the evening.
The beer came out relatively early, and shortly after that the guitars came out. And so the evening passed by with just the right balance of beer, food, conversation and music. My cousin Anthony who is a lot younger than me turned out to be a great guitarist, and between the three of us we cobbled together an impromptu performance of dancing in the moonlight by Thin Lizzy. When you don’t see someone for a while it is easy to be surprised by them when you do see them. As well as being a great guitarist, he is also an accomplished drummer, a kit being set up in his room next to his amp and guitar.

Saturday 15/04/06, Day 6 of the Irish Trip.

Mo and I headed into the city centre to take a look round and get some presents for the folks back home. This was to be our final day in Ireland. The ferry would be another overnight crossing that night.
We took the bus in and got off at O’Connell Street, the main thoroughfare in Dublin. After taking a look round a few shops we ended up buying some DVD’s for ourselves and Anna (my daughter) and some jewellery for the ladies. We also headed back for another look round Temple Bar and along the Liffy.
Heading back to catch the bus we ended up walking through a demonstration celebrating the Easter uprising of 1916. I’m not going to go into a history lesson but it was one of the darkest periods of British rule over the Irish and turned into something of a massacre by the British, followed by a farcical trial for the rebels that turned them into heroes and only strengthened Irish dislike of the British. So as you could imagine, sensing the mood of the crowd once we realised what we were in the middle of, we kept our mouths firmly shut. All it would have taken was Mo to drop his Navy I.D. card and I think we would have been in for it.
Back at Santry we took a walk over to the park with Martin, and Kevin and Katie (my two younger cousins). This was a really enjoyable relaxation period before packing our stuff ready to catch the ferry.
After having some tea and saying our goodbyes we headed off for the ferry port and our bed for the evening. As it turned out there was a misunderstanding about what time the ferry actually left and so we ended up getting there just in time.
As it was when we boarded in Liverpool, we were on first and settled in before the ship had even finished loading. This time though, after having a look round we could only manage one beer before heading for bed.

Sunday 16/05/06. The final Day.

There is always a feeling of an anti-climax for me at the end of any trip. The realisation hits that the days of doing whatever you want are nearly over and the days of doing what you ‘have’ to do are nearly upon you. There is a definite difference between having to get up to go somewhere you want to go (Athlone, Limerick etc.) and somewhere you don’t. (Manchester to work for example).
As it was, the previous night was the first good night sleep that I had had all week so after watching the ship tying up alongside and then being called down to the car deck I was ready for the short ride home.
We were back home well before seven in the morning and rather than go back to bed we put on a DVD we had purchased the previous day, Team America, fuck yeah.
And so the trip was finished. Mo ended up staying at mine for another couple of days, which was good as we don’t see so much of each other any more. We would be seeing and speaking to each other a lot over the coming months though, talking over our Irish Trip and also planning for the bigger European trip that was coming up in August through Europe.
Several of my friends comment to me on how many miles I am putting on my bike doing the trips and get aways that I do, but my opinion is that there is no point having the damn thing if I am not going to use it.

Sunshine Always Follows Showers

Wednesday 12/04/06, Day 3 of the Irish Trip.

Like many of the worst days you have in life, this one actually started with an air of optimism. We had decided to stay another night in Limerick but take a day trip to Galway. As we headed out of Limerick the weather seemed to have finally brightened up. The roads were good, the scenery was great too and I started to get the feeling that the rest of the trip was going to be this good. After an hour or two ride we pulled in at a small town called Gort for a brew and something to eat. The small café we stopped at served the best coffee I had drank in weeks as I recall and the pastry I had was just as good as any Gregg’s have to offer. So after our rest, rather than spending time looking round the place we decided to push on to Galway.
As soon as we had set off, and I mean ’as soon’ as we had set off the heavens opened. Ever the optimists we decided to push on in case it was just a passing shower, but it seemed that the closer we got to our destination, the heavier the rain became. Neither Mo or myself are what you would call fair weather bikers, we can ride in the rain with the best of them, however because the day had started off so promising we were not wearing waterproofs and had only come out with the minimum of baggage. So just outside of Galway with fuel running low and near torrential rain we pulled into a service station to fill up and have a coffee and wait for the rain to abate while again trying to dry ourselves out a bit. Anyway, lets just say that over an hour later we were still sat on the inside looking out, praying that the bikes wouldn’t get washed away.
Eventually after not even getting off the bikes in Galway we headed back towards Limerick. The one thing that was decided however was that we would come back the next day and stay the night. We were not going to be put off seeing the place by something as trivial as a little rain…

Thursday 13/04/06, Day 4 of the Irish Trip

We were up early to make the most of the good weather. After returning the previous day with little hope things were going to get any better, the weather man on TV had informed us that the next day was going to be a scorcher. After a hearty breakfast and packing up our belongings we headed out to the back of the place to secure our luggage to the bikes. The weather was indeed good, although both bikes were looking very much the worse for wear.
We headed off along the same roads we had taken only 24 hours earlier with a renewed hope for the remainder of the week; perhaps we could salvage some good riding after all. I don’t think either of us was disappointed. Both the roads and the surrounding scenery were stunning.
The initial stage of our ride took us back into Gort, where we stopped at the same café and had another brew. As we returned to the bikes to head off again, the sunny weather accentuated how much crap had been attracted to the bikes, especially the rear suspension on mine. More for the sake of keeping away rust than anything else, we decided to give them a hose down at the next garage. There was another reason for wanting to do this, on my part especially, because just as we were leaving Gort a bird (unknown type but probably a big one….) decided to empty the contents of its bowel onto my tank. This struck me as strange at the time because they normally wait until ‘after’ I have cleaned the bike/car before doing their business!! As it turned out the spray gun we used at the garage was bloody useless at getting anything off and I’m sure actually had a weak glue solution in it that attracted more dirt onto the bikes. Not to worry though as the weather was still good and if riding a dirty bike was all I had to concern me then life was good.
Compared to the previous days ride this one literally flew by. It is amazing to me how a state of mind can make such a difference. The weather is good so you are happy, because you are happy your riding seems better, because you are riding better you get happier and so on and so on.
We arrived in Galway relatively early in the afternoon and rather than riding round for an hour searching for somewhere to stay we took a chance on the first decent looking place we came across. As it turned out the hotel was not much dearer than the B+B in Limerick, but was a great deal better with its own bar and restaurant as well as the added bonus, for us, of secure underground parking.
After getting a shower and having a power nap (again Mo power napped while I just couldn’t sleep and had to content myself with watching TV) we headed into town for a look round the shops and to get something to eat.
A two minute walk from the hotel took us past some fine looking bars and into Eyre Square. At the time the finishing touches were just being put to a refurbishment of the square in time for Easter weekend. Even though some minor work was still going on the place looked idyllic. The place was alive with people lounging, enjoying the weather, socialising and generally enjoying each others company. It seemed that everyone was gearing up for the weekend ahead, Easter being just as much of a holiday in Ireland as Christmas is in England.
A further five minute walk through Eyre Square and we were on the banks of the Corrin looking out towards Claddagh Loch. The view across and out to sea was fantastic. Strange to realise that there was no land between the coast here and the east coast of the good ole ewe ess of eh (USA).
After looking round a few shops and getting a bite to eat in an Irish themed restaurant (so what if we looked like tourists) it was back to the hotel to freshen up for the evening and our jaunt to the local watering holes.
The night started with a quick beer in the hotel bar where the Liverpool youth squad were on TV playing (and about to win) the FA Youth Cup. After that we walked into the town. Everywhere seemed packed out, and queues were coming out the doors of most of the bars; that was until it suddenly dawned on us that all public places are now non smoking in the Republic and people were just popping out for a tab. Ironic if you think about it, they are stepping out into the fresh air so they can pollute their lungs!!!!
We only visited two bars outside of the hotel that night as the second one we went to had a rather good band on and I am a sucker for a good live band. What made this band so special though was the guy on bass, that’s if you can call it a bass, or even an instrument. What it actually was looked like a snooker cue stood on its end on top of a box with a piece of cord connecting the top of the cue to the box. To change the notes he simply bent the cue forward or back, what an innovative musician Wonder what he called it?
Finally called it a night relatively early as it was going to be a long day the next day. We would be staying at my uncles house near Dublin in the east of Ireland. That meant we would be riding coast to coast on Good Friday, hoping that the fuel stations did not have the same rules as the bars on this holy day!