Nice but very cold

 Saturday and we got a message from David T asking if we were going out on the bikes, we were so we decided to meet at St Fillans at the shop / Cafe as our favourite haunt at Cultybraggan was closed for a couple of weeks holiday. we set off and at St Fillans the cafe / shop was closed, Scotland at its best. David appeared and we set of up Loch only to find everything seems to be closed. A short chat and I grabbed the Norton Club Calendars which was the main reason for our meeting. For some reason despite the sunshine I couldn't get warmed up so after a quick chat we went our respective ways, luckily the Cafe in Comrie was open so I got warmed up a bit before heading home. The bikes were filthy so we weren't done yet, problem with salt on the roads is you spent as much time cleaning the bikes as you do riding them, life as a motorcyclist isn't easy, it looks great in the movies, never ending quiet roads and marvelous sunsets but the reality is different, it can be hard going , especially in Winter but having said that we have a cunning plan to quote baldrick, all will be revealed soon and it involves sunshine and different cultures and escaping the constant bad news which is all we seem to get just now. Keep tuned to see the plan evolving, tell your pals and keep checking in for the All roads lead to the Moon part 2 tour...keep on keeping on

Loch Earn

Fi happy with the T3

David on his Triumph

And getting the bitter cold coming off the Loch

Some sanity and some insanity

 I woke up this morning which was good because it meant I was still alive which is a bonus, the alternative is not waking up which would have been a bit of a bummer, in other good news the rain had stopped which made me want to get out on the bike. I actually woke up quite tired, don't know why but a quick walk to the local shop woke me up and definitely made me want to get out on the bike.

I dragged the R100 out to enjoy a few miles on the airhead and warmed it up, got all my gear on ( a right pain at this time of year) said Au revoir to the overworked Fiona and headed towards the Sma Glen, as I turned off towards Glenalmond I was surprised and a tad angry that it has been festooned with signs saying its now a 40 MPH walking and cycling route, multiple new signs (adding roadside danger to any unfortunate crasher on this route) So the cyclists and walkers are alright but feck the motorists who are being gradually run down (metaphorically) to the gutter. The council have obviously got enough money to  implement these schemes ( under who's say so?) but not enough money to repair the roads, fix potholes or tidy verges.

What a shower of cretins, time for a serious revolution to take back control from these chinless and brainless wonders.

On a positive note what a great day to be alive, even managed to avoid getting wet almost but largely impossible because the roads are flooded because the Cooncil can put up signs but not clear the drains, don't tell them or they will spend money on putting up signs to say possible flooding ahead!

Soon be time to escape for a while so keep on keeping on.

Ragin, but braw view

Back to 60 MPH

Sma Glen at its best, quiet and no stupid signs

Wade Bridge, marvellous

sun and clouds

Riders eye view

This had subsided a bit from the outward journey

They should add Not Motorcycle friendly to the bottom

Some computer issues and counting down

So my main computer is b7ggered thanks to the robbing barstewards that are Microsoft. Long story but the last part of the scandi trip will be delayed for a while.

On the positive side we are getting ready for our next big adventure, escaping the miserable weather and the miserable news of the UK for a while. We has a wee run to Cultybraggen at the weekend to catch up with some friends and say au revoir for a while

. All will be revealed soon meanwhile keep on keeping on. 

A braw weekend

 Fiona manged to take some time off at the end of the week which was excellent and we were blessed with great motorcycling weather. Thursday and Friday out on the V85's for possibly the last time this year (I started getting them ready for next years adventures today. Monday)

Norton meeting on Sunday at Comrie at the cafe at Cultybraggan (well worth a visit)

Great company and good crack, some impressive miles to get to the meeting as well, just proves the Norton is a very usable motorcycle. This weeks moan and there always seems to be a moan, the amount of people using their phones when driving is incredible, I'm assuming the polis are blind these days, its scary enough out there without having to deal with drivers not paying any attention while texting and talking on their phone, mind you the police seem to be busy arresting and harassing people for daring to use their ability to talk freely about the state of the country so I can understand why they wouldn't bother with people driving blind!!

Keep on Keeping on

Fiona in full flight

And again

Braw scenery and weather

Stunning

Loch Tay

Bill, Hector and Davids steeds

Peters bike

And Ians 961, we started as apprentices together, he's obviously done better than me 

MVD, Fiona riding pillion for the day

Short distance award winners, Alan and Ian, possibly a mile from their respective houses

I like the tank

Nonsense being talked

And again

We got a fly by from a biplane!

Part 3 of the Scandi trip

Enjoy, comment, like , whatever

Three out, one in

 We decided Fiona's YZF750R wasn't being used much and it seemed a shame to let it degrade just sitting so we moved it on along with our two Trials bikes which were the same, just sitting there doing nothing. Of course we had already bought a replacement bike to replace the Yamaha, another Guzzi T3, as always it happened quickly and they don't come up that regularly so I kinda jumped into it. A show queen it is not and I have been working on it since trying to get it to my standards, the good news it runs sweet as a nut.

I'm not going mad, just a bit of a tidy up and keep the Patina, which means I cant be arsed spending a fortune on shiny bits. The good news is Fiona loves it so It will be used which is what its all about .

Its third run on Sunday showed its coming along, a wee oil leak to sort out and apart from that it will do for now. Now the Nortons need a run soon so they don't get too Huffy!

Keep on keeping on.

Fiona's first ride on the T3

And the second the test of Glenquaich

One of my favourite photo stops

My bike ( glad I can still say that, I was worried it would be claimed)

Mrs R enjoying the Guzzi

Loch Tay for a brew up, busy but I managed to get a photo without the punters

Farming yesteryear and a bit of a rant

 We ended up at farming yesteryear at Scone Palace, not in the Palace obviously but in the grounds, a nostalgic weekend of a few thousand people living and recreating the past. I wondered why we all try to live in the past, what is it that makes us hang onto days gone by. For myself I think that I haven't actually moved into the future which may sound strange for someone who has worked in an industry at the forefront of technology for most of my life. By that I mean although I've kept up with technology all of my working life with regard to telecoms and computing I haven't wanted to keep up with the latest tech with regards to Vehicles, in fact I like to think of the good old days when we used to take off after work on Friday and pitch a tent in a fields with other motorcyclists and drink copious amounts of beer, sleeping soundly until the next morning to start again and then on Sunday ride home feeling hungover but happy and invariably poorer.

The good old days when you could get 5 pints for a pound, a fish supper didn't require a mortgage and a hotel for under £20 a night. The good old days when insurance was cheap and you could afford to buy a house and cyclists were just people too poor to afford a motorbike rather than the entitled arseholes they have become. 

The reality is though most of us have never been better off, most of us have realised 12 pints isn't good for your body or your mind. I think society in the UK has moved on in the over 200 years since the industrial revolution and wages have moved upwards which is why everybody from Africa wants to come here and why as an island we are sinking due to the massive increase in population. Politicians have always been arseholes, most of them on the take or with a sordid background in their cupboard. We forget though and think about yesteryear as a happy place where everything was nice and happy and affordable which was not the case.

So I am a realist, modern cars and bikes are in the main more reliable, in reality everything is cheaper than it ever was (apart from housing) Politicians are still thieving conniving scumbags but when I ride an old bike, go to an old bike meeting or even farming yesteryear I wallow in the nostalgia and only think about the good old days, like taking some magic potion, I'm 17 again and look at life through rose tinted classes, whats not to like!

Enjoy the photos and keep on keeping on!

Grahams nice transcon (That we went to Italy to get spares for!)

Roddy's Foden

Roddy looking pleased

A bit damp on the Sunday

My first car!

Some effort went into this

Old cars in front of the big hoose

Plenty tractors

Steve's A10

Dougie broke out the scooter

The Wormit lads showed up!