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.
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.
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