InvictaMoto's Red Pepé Blog

I was up at 6.50am and out before 7 30am. Pepé needed the dbPower unit to start as I had expected. I had had it on charge to make sure it was at 100%. Why? I expected to use it a few times in the day. The first obstacle was J11 was closed other than northbound on the M20. A truck had overturned and the carriageway was damaged. A little self made detour (turning around the end of the centre verge (median),  and I continued onto the A20 to the Shuttle. Both UK and French passports were taking time to get through. A terrorist attack in London the day before was probably a contributor. At UK I had to take my helmet off. I had chosen the Shoei over the LS2 flip-up. It looked like I was going to miss the booked shuttle as I waited for the queues to move. In the end it was gone 8.30am before the barrier lifted and I was off to be squeezed into the last carriage. Or so it seemed. I was told to park, as usual front wheel into the kerb. The cars shuffled forward.  ...

So the weather is turning drier tomorrow. At least the rain looks to be holding off. Instead temperatures are to drop into low single figures. Centigrade that is. A high of 7°C. I popped out briefly last Sunday to fill the tank with our cheaper unleaded 95 fuel. With a full tank it means theoretically I could get to Ostend and back.  In reality I will need a top up. I'll most likely do that on the way to Ostend on the motorway near Veurne, once in Belgium. On Sunday I used the dbPower charger to start the bike, but risked starting it at Seabrook without it after fuelling and it started.  Still. The unit goes with me. Fully charged! Whether it will boot up at the Tunnel....  From my local riders I will be Billy No Mates. Instead I'll meet up with Tony Young at the Velodrome. He went today and booked in and got the special event t-shirt. It's €15 for the weekend and €10 for a day visitor. The t-shirt included.  50th & last So to tomorrow. Up early and out of the house for...

It looks like I won't be Billy No-Mates this year. CHEERING!!  Not at the moment anyway. Not a Meldrew's member but Tony Young. We first went in 1985.  This is sadly the last ever rally, or at least Sinterklaastreffen, so quite fitting we are both going 34 years later! Screenshot as original is pdf I was looking at the P&O ferry this year but although cheaper than the Shuttle it takes longer.  So I have booked 0836 out and 1850 back with Eurotunnel.  Tony will go over Friday and so could book in then. He's staying outside Ostend in a B&B.  If I was able I'd have stayed at the Polaris/le Parisien for old times sake. In term time I can't get away on a Friday.  Inscription is €15 for the weekend and €10 for the day. There are also special t-shirts for the event. I have loads but "I was there" shirts are good!!  So end of November and my mo should be luxurious. 

Still plenty of time before I become Billy No-Mates again for other riders to stand up and join me on the run across to Ostend.   Of course, we may have Brexited on October 31st and the EU might have erected a sea-wall between us and the mainland of Europe..... Or then again, everyone might see sense and carry on as normal and allow tourism to take place. Might. It won't be too bad. I will meet up up with long term biker buddy Tony Young and family on his trike.  When we went for the first time in 1985, Tony and Heather were there I think on his Aspencade or maybe a BMW RT.  My memory has faded. My partner at the time, Audrey, was on the pillion of my almost new MZ 250ETZ. Two up with luggage was a struggle. Back then we used to stay the weekend from Friday to Sunday at the Hotel Polaris.  It became "our" hotel and over the years we stayed there as a Suzuki Owners Club group we tended to meet the same  group German riders year in year out....

The last ever St Nicks Rally to be held.   St Nick and his Piets I have lost count how many I have been to since my very first back in 1985.  Then we went on my MZ250ETZ. Two-up  with a cheap plastic top box with our things in.   Back then we went practically every year and stayed in the the Hotel Polaris. That became quite the annual event until one year the Polaris wasn't available to book and it had closed down.   We gave the weekend trips another year but it wasn't the same and gradually the "tradition" was over.  We revived it some years later and began going for the day and joining the run to meet St Nick at the quay, where he came in by fishing boat along with his Piets. Eventually we started going for the ride and later to watch the ride out with St Nick.  It seemed it was getting smaller each year.  One year I went and couldn't find the meeting place and the city was devoid of the usua...

Finally, I have managed to get the gpx track that I recorded from the TomTom off the unit and onto the laptop so that I can open it n Tyre . Previously when "sharing" from the 410 it failed. Now, and just a coincidence, after an upgrade to the laptop software and downloading the US maps, it worked. I was surprised that the files was almost 5mb and once imported to Tyre showed over 30000 waypoints.  Luckily, the program manages to plot them by choosing one every 300 to 400! The picture shows the actual trip I did. Including going the wrong way and around a block near the Eloi crater as "we" failed to find the Eloi 2 crater a few yards from the first one!! I might try and use "record" again and see what happens.

Why is this in three parts?  Initially I started to create the posts on my phone using a blogging app. Luckily blogger accepts posts from email as well, although this time I haven't had to use it. The first part was started in Belgium and then the second added after I had returned, and this the final countdown. Today. The day after. From Palingbeek the plan was to visit the two mine craters at St Eloi. I had got the gate code from the tourist office whilst in search of the elusive Last Post Association pins. I almost missed it and there is little parking.  Rather than the big hole I expected, it is a garden between two houses. Whilst I was there an English couple came up and I shared the gate code with them. As I prepared to move to the next waypoint, I heard the sound of Harley's.  Anyone that has heard a hardly with a loud exhaust will know the sound. A group sped past.  Even though I was in bike gear, holding a bike helmet in my hand with ...

The ride to Palingbeek was fairly short and when I arrived the car park was pretty full. At the entrance is a café and the CWXRM* have an information point and a statue. A robot? From here it us about 150 yards to the decision point. Left to the Bluff and the two water filled mine craters and then to the viewpoint overlooking the Egg. Or right at the info point to the sculpture and then the egg. I went right. The sculpture. Gradually the egg will be filled with the dog tags of the 600000 dead. And then to the main egg. The first glimpse of it over the hedge. And then all of it. Fantastic. The return is via the Bluff. Along the way are "speakers". When entered it triggers the sound system. Poems from the war poets. Sadly none in English. Once back at the bike I attempted to cut a couple of the waypoints off the route. But I was defeated. So off to St Eloi. * Coming World Remember Me posted from Bloggeroid

I was up bright and early. Or rather early. My shoulder was feeling fine and the best it has been for a week or so. Unfortunately Eurotunnel weren't as bright. On checking in I was informed that the 0850 was "retimed" to 0858. At 0922 we pulled out of Folkestone for the 35 minute crossing to France. Pepé had required the dbPower unit boost to start first thing and again once we were given the go ahead to board the train. Playing catch up I was last on. Thankfully at the French end although prepared, seat off etc, Pepé started okay. From there tbe ride was uneventful along the A16 to the A25. I know that many riders poo-poo using motorways but if you want to get somewhere using the newly reduced limit N roads then you need days rather than hours. Arriving at the old Franco-Belgian border I stopped to take a pic for the 50/50 Challenge. The old border and customs buildings are slowly rotting away. Testament to Shengen? From here I followed TomTom inst...

Another update. As the route would take me through Ieper/Ypres/Wipers anyway I will stop in the Grote Markt for a short time and visit the Tourist Office and also I might have time to get across the the British Legion shop across the road.  Always a sucker for a new pin badge! I don't want this to become a whistle-stop tour but I need the gate code from the Tourist Office to get into the St Eloi Crater park.  Although if it is anything  like Bayernwald,  when I got there someone had left the gate unlocked and slightly ajar so the code wasn't needed. If time starts to get away with me after Palingbeek I can always cut one or some of the stops out of the route.   When I used to plan these trips for the Kent Centre SOC and then the Meldrews I think I used to build in too many places to stop and then had to remove some on the hoof as it were.Probably better than too few and having to pad the trips out!! My p...

Once I had booked the Shuttle and gave myself plenty of time to get there and back I then started work on a bit of research of where to go. As long as there aren't too many delays getting across then I expect to arrive in the Ypres area about 1200 to 1230. Lunch. Might see if the chip shop in Vlamertinge is open. Being Belgian there will be a large selection of meaty products that can be deep fried... Sounds like a diet buster. If you have ever had fresh chips (frites/fries) in Belgium you will know how they are simply marvellous. From there. To Palingbeek. Then I have added the two mine craters at St Eloi then down to the Pool of Peace,  and finally the Island of Ireland Peace Park near Messines. That should bring me to time to head back. More to follow. St Eloi Crater -   http://www.toerisme-ieper.be/en/page/334-349-364/minecrater-saint-eloi.html Pool of Peace -  https://www.flandersfields.be/en/do/pool-peace Island of Ireland Pe...

Currently the UK is in the grip of a cold spell.  Winds from the north-west are coming from the pole and bringing icy conditions to the south of England and snow and ice to the more northerly climes. So. The decision whether to go to Belgium will be taken later in the week.  The newspapers are scaremongering about "arctic conditions" being with us for weeks rather than the usual days.   One of the geographical benefits of where we are off the coast of mainland Europe means that we benefit from the jet stream and that generally brings warmer air up from the equator that means we get less snow but we get more rain than the Europeans.  Unfortunately it looks as though we are going to be north of the jet stream this week and in the cold air. It was very cold on Friday when I went on the Ride for Kelly and on Saturday we (Neill, my brother and me)  went to the football (soccer y'all) at Gillingham and even with four layers of clothing, glove...

It's a bit early to be booking bike trips into December. But seeing a special offer where the return fare to France for bike and rider was only £22.50 ($28.50 or so) for what amounts to two 90 minute (not luxurious though) cruises is the cheapest I have seen it for many a good year.  Book now!! Thank you P&O. As every other year since we stopped going for the weekend, the plan will be to go over early but not too early. Fill the tank with slightly cheaper EU benzine and go to Ostend. Check out the chocolate shops and have lunch. See St Nick. Then ride home after a good day in Europe. I'll probably put it on the Meldrews' Facebook page  at some stage in case there are any takers for the trip.  I have been Johnny No-Mates a few times and the last time it was just me and Cal. Still a while to go before December 2nd. Paul Devall shared an album with you from the Flickr app! Take a look: https://flic.kr/s/aHskn4opxt

Friday . I like to prepare for a trip and usually lay my riding gear out the day before to look for any defects. So this was a job for Friday. We were both home as the night before we had been to see Deep Purple at the O2 in London, getting home in the wee small hours. Claire then had provided the extra hands it takes to adjust the Skidmarx windscreen. Loosening off most of the fittings needs a pair of hands to hold it in the right place, and another to tighten the bolts and Allen bolts. In fact I did the holding as the new position meant my hands were too big to get into place to tighten up the lower mounting points. Once completed,  I was almost ready for the run to Belgium the next day. Saturday . I had everything laid out for a 7.30am start but as usual I had forgotten some things. The alarm went and Reggie was up wanting to go out. After a night on the bed he needs his "garden break" before his breakfast. I double checked the...