Been a bit busy recently so haven't managed out on the bike much, although I did manage a quick run down to Moffat in the Scottish Borders to meet up with some friends who were holding a rally there.
Met up with some folk I hadn’t seen in a while and caught up with what had happened to them over the last two years or so.
As I wasn’t staying I headed home again just as it was turning dark.It had been a pleasant enough ride down, but turned cold as the sun sank. Glad to get home and warm.
Pretty typical day. It started with one of the other lads being pulled and fined by the police for displaying a ridiculously small illegal numberplate. About 20 minutes in someone fell off and had to be recovered home in ignominy. And, although the day started bright and sunny, tempting me into wearing my new denim jeans with armour inserts, it slowly became overcast and eventually it started to rain. Lucky I had waterproofs then. Unfortunately, they were in the panniers on the Triumph sitting dry in my shed and I got soaked on the ride home.
One thing I did note. I felt quite vulnerable only wearing jeans while on the motorway. Armour aside, I think I’ll keep them for short local rides and keep wearing leathers for anything further afield.
We dropped in on Darren the proprietor of the East Neuk Salt Company to say hi and help publicise his small business which sees the production of the first commercial salt in Fife for two and a half centuries. Please feel free to take a look.
We ended up at Anstruther Harbour but, as the rain was just starting, rather than stay and maybe get something to eat, I decided not to hang around and instead headed the bike for home.
A longish day spent riding the coastal route at a leisurely pace, only spoilt a little on the way home because of the rain. Hoping to get a lot more riding done this year.
Went to fill the big Aprilia this morning. Got a bit of a shock when I looked at how much it was going to cost me.
I know fuel has gone up recently, but it wasn’t even empty, I’d stuck 5 litres in from a can when the warning light had come on the other day. The joys of having a 25 litre tank, I suppose.
I remember the first time I managed to get over ten pounds of fuel in the bike. I was my BMW R100RS and had limped into a petrol station outside Aberdeen on fumes sometime in the early 90s.
On going inside to pay, the assistant assumed that she’d got the wrong pump, as bikes didn’t usually take that much fuel.
Further to my earlier post, the new battery for the big Aprilia arrived yesterday, a sealed one from the Motobatt range offering increased output to aid starting. I have used these in the past on other bikes and have never encountered any problems with them.
Replacing the old battery should be a ten-minute job but, as is the way of things, took significantly longer, due to the narrowness of the area in which you have to work and all the other cables and wires which get in the way.
Eventually it was done. Seat back on and a quick run through of the dashboard settings, the clock and the trip meter(s), and making sure that all of the various electrical add-ons worked etc.
Although it says that it comes changed and ready to go, I stuck it on the charger overnight to be on the safe side.
This morning after sorting out the necessary insurance I set off to see about putting it through a MOT (annual inspection).
Half an hour later it had passed, with one advisory – the numberplate bulb had blown and needed replaced. The bloke at the testing station trusted me to go away and sort this myself, which is more accommodating than some of the folk I’ve had dealings with over the years.
I now actually have two roadworthy bikes for the first time in who knows how many years.
Now all I need to do is sort out some place(s) to go on them.
Staying with the military theme, on the way home I came across this stone marker with the Royal Air Force (RAF) logo and motto on it on the approach to a nearby village.
It celebrates the former military airfield which used to be located nearby.
For details click the LINK
Maybe because of the coastal defences that I mention in an earlier post, war was on my mind.
Which might explain why I felt inclined to stop off at a small, neat cemetery on a back road near Dirleton in East Lothian that I don’t remember seeing before.
The sign outside read “Commonwealth War Graves Commission”.
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| Photo: Commonwealth War Graves Commission |
Inside, amongst the normal mix of headstones of local people you’ll find a neat row of 23 headstones for servicemen from the British Commonwealth who died during WWII and are buried far from home.
Each is marked with the arm of service of the deceased, their name and some relevant details. Unsurprisingly most were navy and air force personnel, as we are on the coast here and there were wartime Royal Air Force (RAF) airfields nearby.
They were all so young, they range from 19 to 26 years old, an age at which I was finishing University and trying to work out what to do with my life. These lads never got that chance.
For more information on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission click the LINK
