Cup of Tea - 3

After the problems of last weekend when TomTom decided to have a bit of a loon, I managed to visit only three of the waypoints.

So I have had to re-plan for the last four places I need to complete the challenge. Finding U isn't the easiest in Kent. Finding one on a main road is even harder.  Many of the tracks and shitholes I had to go down on Sunday aren't for the Rocket.

The last four? I hope!!

Cup of Tea - Having a go at it!

Well that didn't work out as I expected. 

The TomTom satnav/GPS had a wobbler and so I only managed P, O and E before calling it a day. I need to connect it and delete the routes it thinks it has and update the one that I will amend on MyRouteApp.

The E wasn't the one I was expecting.  That both village signs were in quite dangerous areas meant a stop wasn't very clever.

Some of the roads TomTom chose would be difficult on a DR trail bike. But we managed it in the end.

P - Peene Railway Museum

O - Ottinge Court Farm

E - Eythorne

Maybe a POE challenge!

In the end the stats were:

Cup of Tea - Continued

The best laid plans of mice and men.  Unfortunately there is a balancing act to be done as a married man with a dog.

I sometimes envy people that on a whim, tog up, and then go for a ride all day on their expensive motorcycle. My brother for instance.  He regularly plans trips with a mate that take three or four weeks in the summer before the school holidays make hotels and accommodation too expensive. I can't do that.

So when "real life" gets in the way, then the bike trips have to take a back seat.  Don't get me wrong.  I like going out in the car with wife and dog to places of interest or just to the White Cliffs for a cake and coffee and walk with Reggie. But. Sometimes I want to get my gear on and go for a ride.

Last Sunday the "Family Paul" won out.  Hopefully tomorrow, June 6th and of course the 77th Anniversary D-Day, I can get out and do the trip around the county and get the "Cup of Tea Challenge" chalked off. I need to ride the £15000 worth of bikes locked up in the garage! Thank god for Abus U-locks and chains!

I made small change to the "F" place and have made it Folkestone Invicta FC rather than Folkestone West railway station!

Hopefully......

Czech Invader Rally 2022?

Looking to next year for what maybe a jolly-boys trip to the Czech Invader Rally or what might end up a Billy No-Mates trip.

I have been to five previous Czech Invaders but only once when I rode there completely alone. I did that in 1992 on my DR800SL. It's not something I would do again. Not in one hit. When I arrived I could hardly get off the bike I was so stiff for sitting in one place for hour upon hour. Those were all held at the same "rally-inn" in Chudčice near Brno.

The last one I did was way back in 2004 with Claire as pillion. The BMW GS wasn't well received - not being a Suzuki!

BMW at Rally.

There is no way I'll be on the Kettle. At 37mpg it will cost a kidney to ride the 1700 mile round trip. So Pepé will need to be the bike of choice. If only I had cruise control as well to help with the saving of fuel.

If I am to go over as a solo traveller I will stay in Youth Hostels. After all I will be an old age pensioner by then. We did that way back in 1992, 93 and 1994!

Maybe other former SOC members will sign up too from our "Old SOC" group on Facebook.

When my brother and I went to Brno for the MotoGP in 2016 we had two stops on the way across Germany. 

On that trip we took the southern route via Nurnberg. 

To fit in a couple of overnight stops that won't break the bank I have already begin to look at routes, either A3 or the A4 autobahn.  Either way, I have booked a YH in Hagen just to the south of Dortmund.

The second stop is as near to the German/Czech border without spending serious money on a room! I would have liked another YH. But the Bavarian YHA still limit stays to under 26's!  At 66 I will be a little too old.

I search on booking.com and found a small gasthof in Königstein in der Oberpfalz. It's a little detour off the A3 to the north-east of Nuremberg. It look good, gets good reviews and has a restaurant/bar on site. Food, beer and bed all in one place.

All this is based on the rally being once again held in Vernířovice and not in Chudčice. The route for last leg of the journey from Königstein can be changed. The overnights are important.

It's almost a year away in any case. 

Here's some photos of the 1992 Invader as mentioned above! http://walk77.com/7invader_rally_suzuki_owners_club_czech_centre_-.html

Ride to the Wall 2021

The "Devall Boys" are booked in. 

We registered last year but it was cancelled due to Covid.

This year the registration was capped at 4000 also due to Covid. Our wristbands and screen stickers arrived so we are in that first group. The organisers and those not in the initial 4000 will have to wait and see if the Government relaxes the lockdown later in the month of June.

This year I bought a t-shirt. I have loads but the cause is good.

See how it goes shall we?