Merry Christmas

 A merry Christmas to all our readers, its that time of year again, too much food and drink but hopefully meeting up with families. I hope Santa is good to you all and your stockings are filled with bike parts.

It hasn't been a good year  weather wise but we look forward to actually having a Summer in 2025 in Scotland. I think most of us motorcyclists would rather have a year of good weather and safe miles to look forward to instead of presents but that isn't an option on the list unfortunately so be happy with what Christmas day brings and as always keep on keeping on.

Some Norton Pics to keep you going

A Brace of Commandos at Queensferry

A brace of Rondellis

Fiona's Yellow peril

My JPN at the IOM

MVD at Brasov Castle Transylvania Romania

Returning from a party in Summer

December racing in

 What is there to talk about rather than the weather at this time of year? the good news is the Winter Equinox is Saturday the 21st of December which means it will soon be summer. Always glad to get that over with, we have already booked a ferry for next June and we have a plan to go up to the Arctic circle and then some of the former Soviet states just to have a look and see what they are like. Neither of us has been to Poland either so hopefully we will see parts of it as well. Of course this all depends on various people stopping blowing each other up and hopefully not starting fights with everybody else.

The Guzzi refresh has been slowed down whilst I wait for parts to get powder coated and so just like former work times everything goes into slow mode at this time of year.

We managed to get out on the GS650's on Sunday and had intended going over Glenquaich but the wind was very strong so we chickened out and went to our layby above Aberfeldy instead, a chance to look at nature and enjoy a flask of Tea. A short (60 miles) run but at this time of year it's enough to recharge the mental batteries. 

I managed to avoid weather talk and politics, must be getting better.

   

Some sunshine

Bikes looking clean (It was an optical illusion)

Big hill

An artistic black and white shot

A Little respite

 Last week was cold, certainly no surprise considering it's Winter in Scotland but the weekend warmed up nicely, Saturday was an "overtime " day, a bit of work in the garage and a visit from my brother John. Sunday was warm enough so we dragged out the 650 BMW's and managed a run towards Tummebridge, passing the "Queens view" on the way, we stopped for 5 minutes to take photos. The car park is owned by the local council (I assume) and they maintain it but it got me thinking who did they buy it from? With whose money? and worse who owns the land around there? How did they get the land? Did they steal it? were they gifted it for taking part in a battle? or by sacrificing "their men", ultimately I suppose all land has been stolen and over the years people managed to lay "Claim" to it by using lawyers who are in my opinion as trustworthy as a snake. This isn't going anywhere but it makes you think, it certainly gave me something to ponder.

The biggest question that prayed on my mind is how can the council who are funded by the local taxpayer charge me to park my bike on a bit of ground that ultimately I helped pay for and maintain, so I didn't pay on this occasion, what a rebel.

We stopped at a non paying layby before Aberfeldy that has nice views and yet another where we have our Norton meeting sometimes to take more views and to enjoy the rain because every time we stopped it rained but what a braw day, quiet roads and excellent scenery and the bike rolled over 54,000 miles just before we got home.

A day of quiet contemplation whilst riding the bike and I felt relaxed and mentally in tune with the Earth after it, try it, its excellent 

The Guzzi Spada is taking shape, not sure which shape but some kind of shape, I suppose a Guzzi shape, I have entered the putting things back on stage, very slowly at this point whilst I wait for things to come back from the powder coaters and clean various parts to make sure it is going together nicely, pictures soon hopefully 

Keep on keeping on 

The Queens view (Wonder if Queen Victoria paid to park her horse and carriage?)

Tea stop

A thing

Bonnie views

At the Norton car park

It was dreich at this point and there were no hills to be seen

Another "Storm" but back on the bike

 It has been very cold the last couple of weeks, to be expected I suppose but in recent years November has been OK, so I take it global warming has had a year off?  I noticed there was a piss up somewhere in Azerbaijan the last couple of weeks where all the elected arseholes and even worse a bunch of hangers on decided to give even more of our money away to tackle what? Nature? Good luck with that one, the taxes go up, less jobs will be available and still every chancer from all over the world wants to come here, not to work but to claim benefits and free medical care and meanwhile our own pensioners lose their heating allowance and a sizeable chunk of their savings through Inheritance tax thanks to our currents bunch of chancers in charge 

Oh dear, another rant, apologies but on a positive note despite heavy snow on Saturday most of it disappeared on Sunday and we got out for some sanity motorcycling! Motorcycles should be paid for by the national health thanks to their ability to lift the spirits (Maybe not old bikes as they lift spirits and then plunge you into depression when they break down) We stopped in Crieff at a cafe we thought might have replaced Tullybannocher as a regular meeting place but in my opinion too busy and we would wear out our welcome quickly.

The upshot is we were talking and both agreed on a personal level  that a layby meeting is better, take your own tea and sandwiches and just enjoy nature outside, like the old Drum up spots I used to attend years ago. So maybe 2025 will be a "Back to the future " year ? Soon it will be the winter equinox and Spring will be just around the corner, guaranteed or your money back so let's look forward to a great summer and let's not worry about the winter, be happy and Illegitimi non carborundum , (Look it up).

In other news the Guzzi Spada is still in the tearing down process and hopefully I'll get parts to the powder coater this week, while that's happening I will spend time trying to clean 35 years of muck of whats left.....

Dodgy in parts

But still great to get out 

A little bit of sunshine

 Ok then, a positive post, a week past Fiona and I managed to get away for a couple of days up to Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, we stayed in a "Shepherds" Hut, actually very loosely based on a hut and one which most shepherds would have been envious off.  We decided to take the car as the weather was not clear on its direction but as soon as passed Glenshee we were wishing we were on the bikes, the Sun shone until we passed Glenshee on the way home, damn, mind you if we had taken the bikes no doubt it would have been wet. We did get the bikes out at the weekend, just long enough to get them covered in muck!

That's us half way through November and I hope we will get more changes to enjoy motorcycling this side of Christmas. To keep me amused I have started work on the Guzzi I bought 2 1/2 years ago, the fairing is off and I'm giving it a service and oil change to see IF it runs and then decide what to do with it, progress will be posted on the blog and maybe Youtube.

 I keep asking myself what was I thinking off when I bought it, this was just a week after I bought my Velocette  and 2 days before I suffered a Stroke, so my excuse is I must have had brain damage before I embarked on this spending spree. Luckily I have recovered quite well because I dread to think how bad I could have ended up, maybe so bad I could have ended up a Politician!

Keep on keeping on people, one life , don't waste it

Oh and Fiona is now a photographer as well, the good Photos are hers , mines are the useless ones........

Idiot on a bridge

Nice scenery

Braemar

A Sheep (More to follow)

Burning Heather

Idiot as always

Artistic stones and trees

Self portrait

Quiet and peaceful

Path

Sunset

Mair sunset (I like this one)

Single sheep

Two Sheep

Coo's

Rising moon

Outside fire, braw

Misty but braw

Quiet roads

Muckart Cafe, recommended!

Sma Glen

Different view

Looks better with the fairing on, Honest

November and a different bike

 So that's it, November before we got even a week of good days in 2024, the weather has been as depressing as the news this year, but enough negativity, I prepared the 650 BMW's as always for the Winter. Now it may seem a bit unfair on them, the have taken us all over Europe including the Ukraine (before the madness stated) they took us from Argentina to Alaska through South America, Central America and over countless states in the USA and all they get is more poor treatment by using them as a winter bike. The only respite they got was preparing them for a trip from East to West around the world before Covid (Allegedly) and the various Governments got into a power trip and stopped us going anywhere and now of course the Russia / Ukraine thing has made it slightly difficult to do our originally planned trip so Winter bikes is what they are for now.

I managed to get the R100 out for a hurl last week which was good and then a very nice day out on Sunday on the 650's including over Glenquaich , Kenmore and Killin and back to Perth , stopping for a cuppa and sandwich in the layby between Comrie and Crieff (Maybe a spot for Winter meeting if anyone is up for it?) We were impressed by the number of bikes out making the most of the roads before they become too bad, almost as busy as Summer.

Despite the bad news everywhere motorcycling helps you concentrate on whats important in life, having fun and living the dream, it works, try it!!!

R100 Posing

One of my favourite views

These sheep were following each other in single file, funny to watch

Bikes at rest

And Fiona at rest

Tattiehowkers Norton meeting

 Almost the end of October and it feels like a long winter already, a fair turnout for our last official Norton meeting of the year this time back in the layby because our choices of cafe's are becoming more limited. After tomorrows Budget there will be even fewer I think as the Labour Government as well as stealing the sugar out of pensioners tea are putting the minimum wage up by 3 times the rate of inflation and increasing employers National insurance., who can afford to pay the extra? the only places left open will be the very expensive places which we can't afford so the normal plebs suffer whist the politicians get richer, oh and Petrol is going up as well, thank you all for voting for our Socialist masters.
The good news is we can still enjoy ourselves which we might as well because when we die the state will steal all our money anyway so get out there, ride old oily and smelly motorbikes, and enjoy it.

Pictures tell a story better than I can (Well at least pictures don't rant)

Bikes ready for the off, unfortunately Fi took hers back home and rode up on the back of mine

John Hymans Commando

MVD

Davids Ducati

Peters Morini

And Alans Winter bike

The shortlist for our Santa competition

Hector appeared quite cold on his Fastback

Drinking tea by the roadside, Bill and John discussing nonsense

Lesley on her Triumph

And Alan explaining how to trim facial hair to the ladies

Bill telling my brother that he has dandruff