Motorbike trip to UK and Europe July/August 2018

  Vincent Comet Runabout Nicely Modified 1990 "Red Wing" Honda RC30 600cc 2 stroke Scott Squirrel at Braddon Bridge Couple of  Crazy Yellow BSA's My first motorcycle in 1967 was one of these Honda C72's The owner of this Turbo-charged Hyabusa claimed 400 hp Classic Triton at Kirkmichael Kick-starting a BSA "Goldie" at Kirkmichael Honda RC45 on the Douglas seafront Bultaco Metralla at the Bungalow NSU Quickly Moped - Alan's first motorcycle. The original Postie Bike - BSA Bantam in red. Douglas Dragonfly outside Murrays Motorcycle Museum Bimota Kawasaki at Ballaugh Elgi Vincent at Ballaugh MV 350 Twin at Calf of Man Nice Norton International at Brandywell   

Kms today 142 Kms to date 11,148 Margaret cooked us all bacon and eggs for breakfast, with potatoe bread!  She will be gone before we get back from dropping the bikes off at Bournemouth.  So we made our farewells after breakfast.  She is not keen on travelling to Sydney for Carol's wedding, so dear knows when  we will next see her. We left about 9 am and I asked Alan to set up the GPS to use the same route we did when we picked up the bikes through the back roads to Bracknell and down through the New Forest.  But instead we got Mabel's fastest route using Motorways.  Ironically we hit a huge traffic jam just outside Bournemouth  There was some soil investigation drilling going on for a new overpass, but they had closed one lane on the dual carriageway for 2 miles before the drillers, who were right off the road anyway.  This resulted in a 30 minute delay as two lanes of traffic tried to funnel into one lane and so completely unnecessary....

Kms today 442 Kms to date 11,016 We got up to a forecast of rain all the way back to Twyford.  But when you looked at it more closely there were rain bands and with luck we might be able to miss most of them.  We left at 8 and headed down the M6, which was relatively free of traffic.  We branched off along the M56 to Chester to avoid the traffic and wound our way down A41 to Whitchurch for refreshments.  It was raining off and on all the way so we were a bit bedraggled.  Then on through Telford and Kidderminster.  Once we got there we let Mabel take us home.  It's too difficult to program the interesting routes on the GPS and it takes us along motorways mostly.  These were not my favourite routes but going other ways really needs Google Maps and a lot of stopping to check the map. We got back to Pennfields at 3.  Margaret shouted a birthday dinner for Alan and I at the George and Dragon in Wargrave.  Alan's birthday is tomorrow but ...

Kms today 88 Kms to date 10574 This is our last day on the Island and Betty cooked a big breakfast of liver and bacon.  Unfortunately I felt queasy again but I worked out it was the Aspirin that was making me fell that way so they went in the bin. We rode to Jurby to check out the Manx Motor Museum.  The museum was excellent and had some  unusual exhibits including a Car/boat, a 75L 24 cylinder rotary Pratt and Whitney engine that produced 4,300 HP and a space capsule!  Amazing 24 Cyl Pratt and Whitney rotary engine A space re-entry capsule made for the Russians! The bikes were stacked 3 high in shelving and included an Aprilia just like mine and several of Joey Dunlop's race bikes.  An Aprilia RSV Mille R, just like mine! They had a Kawaski Z2 which was a JDM version of the Z1 and a bike that had gone down at Bonneville with all the scrapes and gouges on the bodywork. There was a memorial to Bob McIntyre with a Gilera 500 four. ...

Kms today 10 Kms to date 10,486 The weather was wet today and I had developed another cold, so I went down to Ramsey to get some lunch and some Aspirin.  It was dry down there.  I bought Ethan a TT shirt and a young chap in the shop had fallen off in practice and was nursing a few injuries.  Sort of brought home how dangerous the circuit is. When I got back I went to bed! Betty, our host, meets Darth Vader