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Good afternoon everyone, It's coming close too 1 year since my dad passed, time has flown by very quickly. I thought it'd be good to quickly reply to some questions i've gotten either through here or on FB / Whatsapp. 1) The funeral was small, it was only myself and Ali in the end, due to Spain typically having a funeral with-in 2 days of the passing it was all done very quick and suddenly. 2) I got to see Pete in hospital the day before he passed, he seemed to be recovering well, so it was indeed a shock that he passed the following morning as i was arriving to visit him again. 3) I've taken over his business and also the forum for the time being, so things will still continue to be online for the foreseeable future. 4) Ali is doing as well as could be expected, she's still living in Spain but it's going alright. 5) I'm not planning any public service or remberance for Pete this coming year, there's still a lot on-going, but i appreciate all the love / support from everyone. Please do continue to take care of the forum and yourselves, i do come to check-in on things from time to time. Best regards, Scott - Petes youngest Son (Living in The Netherlands)

Just got notified yesterday that I'm gonna be a Great Grandparent this coming October... here's my oldest Grandson's 1st view of his future riding partner...that he already has a bike in the waiting for the little guy...

We were sleeping near Albufeira, which is the most benidorm style place in Portugal, all sorts of Thai massage parlors, Curry restaurants, Irish pubs advertising premier league matches on the TV, all day long full English and "big boy full English breakfast", the pits! Gammons (Pete mode: on!) were dragging their knuckles crossing the street, etc I took Sofia around these roads, not really motorcycling greatness, but still interesting to see if you're from Portugal and don´t know this region. Albufeira, viewed from a not very flattering viewing point : Stopped by Alfufeira's Marina, and was surprised to see all the new houses, all these with bright colors were built after the last time I was here, back then (almost 20 years ago) it was just a proper Marina with almost nothing built near it. Now it's ugly as hell: Sofia was pillion on the GS today, not too keen on riding the Speed Triple on boring slow streets and almost urban style traffic. Another small beach, Olhos de Água: And another, access to these beaches is very crowded in the summer, can't park anywhere and it's an absolute chore to get here, unless you really are sleeping within walking distance or have a motorcycle: To end her exposure to the most british oriented part of Portuguese tourism, we ended the morning with a spot of lunch in Vilamoura's Marina. I enjoy a walk around a proper marina, although I do prefer a smaller one with a diverse more authentic sailboats from all around the world, the marina in Vilamoura is where I remember my parents sometimes bringing me and my brother for a walk after dinner when holidaying in the cheaper places around, we'd come here to posh things up Now it is less fancy and most of the shops and establishments have lost some class, but it's still a nice place to visit in the off season. The sun made an appearance so all was instantly looking better too. Getting in the spirit of it, we had lunch in Pizza Hut: After a little shopping for Sofia's birthday present, we carried on heading to a supermarket in search of supplies for the next few days, and in the spirit of the area I took her to Food & Co, which is a British enclave sort of supermarket . Everything inside is from the UK, all the staff is primarily an English speaker, and the groceries and food is completely not what you find in a Portuguese shop. The prices are adequately increased too, to make up for feeling at home while living away. We ended up buying almost nothing there, and moved on, back at home and had a quiet dinner by ourselves. Next morning, breakfast was had enjoying the great weather we were now having, still too cold to go in the swimming pool but it was very nice outside for the time of year. The morning was dispatched with no hurries, proper lazy style living. It was a saturday so I had no calls or work, and eventually we made it to Faro to meet a friend for a snack and talk, about 45 minutes away. Both him and Sofia are members of the Triumph Owners Club in Portugal so there was lots of talking about Triumphs and meetings and stuff. I used to spend a lot of time in the beach in Faro, and love coming here. It was an uneventful day, nice to just relax and sit down talking. Next day we went and met another friend of Sofia's, she lives in a very posh area near Faro, Vale do Lobo. Vale do Lobo is mostly villas with manicured gardens and quiet streets, it's more or less detached from reality and a retreat for people with money, property values there are quite expensive but end up being closed and empty for most of the year. We had a little snack with a view to the ocean, and Sofia and Sharon were very happy to spend time with each other. The next day, we set of to Tavira region, East of Faro, hoped on the motorway to get there in time for a late morning espresso, but first stopping in Santa Luzia. We stopped by a 2000 year old olive tree, it's quite impressive to think the same tree was alive though the Romans and Arabs. The weather was amazing. A brief stop by the sea, and someone went to some efforts for a BOTM attempt: Stop in Santa Luzia for a coffee and a little walk by the sea and to enjoy the great sunshine, even though it wasn't that warm. After a light snack in Cabanas de Tavira, we headed back home. Returning home was done the long way around via one of the nicest roads in Portugal. We crossed paths a herd of new Transalps and NC750, both groups coming the other way in quite tight formation. They were clearly journalists, and indeed I now heard they are launching these two new bikes here, if you check MCN or similar channels on YouTube you'll surely see these bikes being ridden there. The Algarve is being discovered by the motorcycling industry as having nice roads and nice weather most of the time. I will keep an eye out to see if we appear on any of these videos We stopped briefly, to enjoy the view from top of the hills. We stopped by the supermarket to buy some fish, and made it back home during an amazing sunset. Just in time for a shower and for our friend João to arrive with some nice wine in time for dinner.

As planned a trip out on the old mountain bike this morning, covered about 35klms which isn’t a massive distance but about 80% of it was on dirt or gravel tracks and it takes its toll on my old bones! Set off about 0830 and the weather was ideal as it was cool(ish) and hazy but by the time I’d got home it was 34.5 Celsius in the shade……quite enough thankyou. Found an old railway station that sits on the Linea Verde close to me, falling apart, covered in graffiti and a bit spooky to be honest……..Pete would’ve loved it. Took a couple of photos for the old twat in case he drops in here to keep an eye on the place! Standing at the station and thinking about Pete made me feel a bit sad actually but then I thought he’d probably call me a cockney wanker and it made me grin. Stopped at the pub before heading home…….because I could.

Look at his droopy chops, fucking saliva everywhere I bet. The poor dog must have been embarrassed to be seen with him.

Over the past month, Special Services investigators, with assistance from the Canadian Police Technological Crimes Unit, examined graphic images and videos extracted from cellular devices seized during a previous drug-related investigation. The material depicted various sexual acts involving a Moose, investigations have lead to this artists sketch to help identification of the suspect.

Well the deed is done I’m a married man ..

I saw a few of Fred's girlfriends, it is lambing season to if Fred had been here he would have gone full nonce. I then headed to Talla Reservoir, as usual the scenery was okay. Going off the side of the road would give you a bad day here. I eventually rejoined the main road and headed back to Edinburgh.

I also wanna build a tiny cabin or two for visiting bike riders. Plenty of room behind the garages for them and I've always wanted to build one. Something like these:

Got the electronic Bat Signal to meet with the Distinguished Senior Gentleman of Fowey (Combined age 250) for a ride out Down West at 10:30 am. Given that I had just finished a night shift I figured why not? Didn’t want to miss out, youm a long time dead. We headed out through St Austell down the A390 to Truro. Then down to Falmouth and along the South Coast to Helston, Marazion, Long Rock and Penzance. Bleddy stunning weather but chilly. Not that it bothered me behind the CBF’s touring screen. Told the others I was actually a bit stuffy and two warm behind the screen, which they were delighted to hear in their cool looking but cold leathers . Just before we got to St Just we stopped at Boscawen Ur Stone Circle for a bit of Paganism but collectively decided it was to fucking cold to dance around the stones naked. Also with our years of experience we all pissed with the constant wind rather than against it, luckily just after we saw a hunt. Again after some discussion we decided not to lick the stones, every though one was solid quartz, as they were probably contaminated with Pagan DNA. We headed on down past Lands End airport to St Just in Penwith for a pasty dinner, met the local village idiot who wanted to sell us a Big Issue. I said ok only to hear he didn’t have any. . Fucking numpty shuffled off after that, don’t think he had a scenario worked out for that turn of events. Resident Idiot, parents were obviously two closely related With a healthy dose of heartburn we then St Just left for Godrevy onto St Ives, Hayle, the Towans finally stopping at Pentreath for a posh coffee. During which we discussed how many vertically challenged gentleman we saw riding Wank Panzers today. The Gamma ripped nicely up Pentreath hill with the Greeeves bogging behind in a plume of blue smoke. We were also a little derisory about a chap on his 24 plate Harley who went past with AC/DC blasting out of his radio for everyone’s enjoyment. Coffee and second piss done we headed home via the quick route back up the A30. Well I say quick we did have to ancient rattle machines with us who riders openly admit the vision blurs over 70 mph. Of course none of that non sense on the CBF. Left the A30 at Innis Downs then Lanivet, Lanhydrock, Fowey Cross and home in time for the rugby. Which I managed to sleep through. Good day and 130 miles with laughs, coffee and heartburn. Hoping for a summer of this

Well, 2025 hasn’t started particularly well. Having been over to the UK to visit my dad in hospital just before Xmas my cousin went to see him about four weeks ago and alerted me to his deterioration. Having seen a couple of photos it was obvious he was much worse than before Xmas, although the hospital kept telling me he was doing okay and was being considered for discharge! Went over to see him and it was quite obvious he was fading away and sadly he wasn’t communicating so all I could do was talk to him. He was transferred to a hospice last Wednesday but I had to fly back to Spain on Thursday morning so I said my goodbyes beforehand. My cousin went to see him on Friday lunchtime for a couple of hours and at 2.30pm UK time he passed away peacefully. He had just turned 88 years old so it’s fair to say he had a good innings but it doesn’t really make it any easier just yet. So, that’s that then; both parents gone, no siblings and no offspring of my own. When you consider how much useful and active time you may have left it makes you want to seize every opportunity, take every chance, be less risk adverse and just not worry about the small shite that seems to permeate our everyday lives. So, today instead of pondering about cremations, wakes and all of the fucking admin that needs to be done I’m out on my bike, enjoying the sun and the empty roads. …………….I just hope to God he doesn’t bump into the ginger Welsh twat

Cold morning, but only blue skies and the rains had all moved North, we headed South towards the Algarve hills, happy times! There, in the distance, it's the ocean sparking behind the hills. These are very nice motorcycling roads and usually deserted By the afternoon, we made it to Portimão, met up with our friends, looked around the pits and saw some people riding around. Scott Redding's training bike, pretty cool! He was obviously very fast, but the event was being used by a couple more racers for training, so the fastest guys in the faster group were really fast! Cool van We made it to our hotel, which had a nice view with the track in the distance: Someone had a blue cocktail, and spirits were high. Next day, and it was Sofia's birthday. We left the bikes in the garage, the plan was to walk to the track and hang out with Niel and Anne a little, walk around and then have dinner somewhere. Breakfast with the track in the distance, I like that! The dip at the end of the straight must be intense on a fast bike: There's a crest as you exit the last corner into the straight, faster bikes would float their front wheels for quite a distance after that: By mid afternoon it started to look like rain so most people cut their track time short. It was a three day event and nobody seemed like they wanted to ruin a nice experience by riding in the damp, it started to drizzle a little after that. I had a buzz around the pits in the Suzuki, it's incredible how easy and docile it is if you don´t poke many of the 200 horses. By the time we made it to the hotel the rain had officially arrived. We had a friendly van driver give us a lift to dinner, and much fun was had. The food was great and wine flowed merrily. It was a great evening filled with laughs and tales of motorcycling and life. In the morning the rain was all rained, we packed and left to visit Sagres before going to our home for a few days. Overlooking the beach and my favourite lighthouse in the distance, from the tip of Sagres: Stopped in Lagos for a bite to eat but got lost inside the old town. So parked the bikes and went on foot to find a snack. Just so you don´t think it's all scenic locations : Exiting Lagos we stopped for a while for some calls. After getting home I went to a local supermarket to fetch groceries for dinner, GS went into shopping trolley mode with the luggage stretched wider. Next few days, Algarve.

I’m going to show her now, except to wake up with a horses head in your bed

Some pictures in daylight and from a non-phone camera.

Had to go and get a replacement headlight bulb this morning for the Yamaha so turned up at an official Yamaha dealership, all swanky marketing stuff and a full range of new bikes. I thought to myself “I’m going to pay for all this bling”……….. but no, I spoke to the salesman in my bestest Spanish, he checked to see if they had any in stock and gave me one………for free! I thought he was joking at first but it seems he was happy that I’d made an effort to speak Spanish rather than just shout in English Happy days.

All four of them.

I set off in the dark and came home in the dark . Inbetween it was feckin cold and slippery as an eel on the trails but it was bl**dy great

Just to piss him off, since he never wanted to be MOTY, I'll nominate @XTreme Well, tough shit, Pete! You're nominated now. Nomination is not for passing away, it's for truly getting a kick out of providing a space for people to get together, he took great joy and pride in it.

@boboneleg... he comes across as a cunt all the time

So proud of her, She is a right little madam.

Shadows been out for her maiden voyage since the RTA. Bikes all good but she did comment that the foot controls felt different but understood when I told it was because her foot pegs were no longer bent . Still I am happy she is back out there with her confidence intact. Loves her new HJC LID Back out where it belongs

Rode home today, from my parent's place near Porto to Ribatejo. This was around 2,5 hours on the motorway, and then maybe an hour on country roads and over hills, with a stop on my favourite cafe for lunch on top of Serra de Montejunto and just half an hour away from home. I was a little too optimistic watching the rain radar, by this point I thought I was just escaping the rain clouds, light was just ahead. Turns out I was wrong, and went through a few showers. A few harder ones, but all of them short so didn't get too wet. I didn't feel like stopping so stayed with jeans the whole time, it was manageable as it wasn't cold. Stopped by a cool old school looking house to check some stuff on my email while talking to a client: Up in the Serra, it was quite wet from the very low clouds. The sun was trying hard to break through, but couldn't. After avoiding some lost city folks who were scared of the fog and stopped a grey electric SUV with no warning lights in the middle of the road to check their phones, I managed to get to my lunch location. It was very moody out there today. Ate inside, their heat lamps felt very good after the motorway. Just a nice value simple burger, nothing fancy. Almost home, local farm's horses were munching on the winter wild growth. Uneventful ride, felt nice to be back on my bike.

Bruised both shins it did bloody hurt and in work last week i twatted the left shin on the vans tow bar right on the bruise and later on the large stainless steel instrument i was carrying swung down and twatted the other shin, six30 is right i'm like a frank Spencer reincarnated

Had a mooch about Looe today, nice little town lots of narrow streets to explore . A bit windy but dry hoping for the same tomorrow but without the wind

New day, heading to Portugal. We left Potes while it was still a little cold, but sunny enough. Stopped for breakfast and parked next to a very odd looking Land Rover. After a brief stop at a lookout, which was mostly taken over by me having a few work calls and emails, we pointed the bikes towards Portugal. Hopped on a very boring motorway for a little bit, then some main roads, and we made it to the border quite early. We were to spend the night very close to the border, sleep in one of my favourite places and have dinner at my favourite Trasmontano restaurant. I had called and asked for my favourite rice to go along with the usual grilled beef. In the meantime, we made time by showing Barbara a little bit around the area. We got ourselves installed, and walked up to have dinner at an appropriate time. I loved it, didn't disappoint. We made it back to the hotel under an amazing sky, at around 22:30 the full moon lit the clouds from behind, and it looked even better in real life. The reason we stayed here was partly because it wasn't too far away from the Picos da Europa, but also because Northern Portugal was plagued with a natural disaster in the form of forest fires. The air was very smokey, the country was in panic, and we wanted to see if that got a little bit resolved before venturing farther on. That was left for tomorrow.

The Mrs. & I will be fine tuning the ergo's on her trike today....& then possibly a Ride on this optimum-weather day. Then prepping for our 2-night camping trip beginning on Monday....Destination here:

Sounds like she got a taste of what it's like to be a REAL biker....a bit of a reality check if you will. A cold backside is just the tip of the iceberg... Oh the fun to be had riding in the elements though....

No sooner had Shadow and I got back from Davidstow last night then I got a message from my mate to say a few of the Fowey lot were going up to Damerells. So off we went again but on the Hornet this time. We met at 4Turnings garage at 6pm where my mate Andy turned up on his new bike, a 2015 Triumph 900 Thruxton. Very nice indeed. Also Gary on his 1973 Bonniville and Martin on his V85TT. We rode over to Bodmin then up the A30 to Indian Queen’s, stuck at 70 as Gary can’t see over that speed due to the vibes. Place was packed when we got there, 100+ bikes I would guess Nice survivor GS1000E I like this Oil Head RT, Very nice Victory, I think they generally look way cooler than Polaris’s Indian replacements. Still have an itch for a Blackbird After Damerells Andy suggested that there was a bike meet a couple of miles down the road to a Cider Farm. So off we went only to crash a private party and were asked to leave. Walk of shame.

Bike all cleaned and trigged up ready for her birthday tomorrow.

It's here , I drove it to work today ...............

That isn't your bike! Try that another time and you're banned from submitting pictures for three months!

Didn't sleep more than one hour last night, was tired and sleepy but went to bed and just had to wait the night to pass. This was hard, but meant that it was easy to get out of bed at 6AM, a little past 6:30 and I was getting on the motorway. Sun rise, it looked like a lovely day but it wasn't to be. A couple of hours after leaving the house, and I'm stopping for breakfast already in Spain. @Earache, your petrol station shops could learn a thing or two from spanish Repsols, generaly you have fresh half decent baguettes and full legs of proper smoked ham My breakfast, by now I was a little surprised it wasn't getting any warmer outside. To warm up a little, a little butter on the hot toast, some fresh orange juice, and an espresso. Theoreticaly, this bike shouldn't be a lot different than mine cruising on motorways, but it is. Mine has the touratech suspension that is always a little too firm for comfort, a short screen, and rough tires. This one, on new 100% road tires, rubber footpegs, stock electronic suspension with soft springs, and a proper screen, rides like a pillow and I listen to music in my helmet at 70% the usual volume. The result is that distance passes by a lot smoother, I WILL look into one of these stock GS screens for mine too, smaller than the massive Adventure screen but they work nicely. The seat is shorter than mine too, maybe that also helps to lower me into the bubble a little more. What this bike seems to do a lot more is use fuel. It does have a substantially smaller tank but felt like I spent all day putting fuel into it. I think it uses more, and I do need a 30 liter tank, this is not funny. Does anyone know if the 1250 uses more fuel than the 1200 just cruising down a motorway? Coming the other way, all bikers were wearing rain suits, I put mine on too to shelter for the cold winds that now were starting to get really strong, and in anticipation of the rain in the distance. I have three days to get to Milan, including today. This is plenty of time, I gave up on doing the Via del Sale because of the weather, I don't fancy going off-road on a rental bike on gay tires after heavy rains. Also, I played with the idea of going all the way to Germany, spending one day stopped on the Nurburgring, and then the 800km to Milan on friday. There's less chance of rain in Germany than in southern France, which sounds ridiculous, but it'll rain there as well and I would like one nice lap of the track with no rain, plus that would be adding some distance to the bike and testing the rental company's goodwill. Gave up on all of that and headed to Pamplona. Got there to find perfectly dry weather, so stopped on a park bench to take all the plastic stuff off and figure out what to do. Pamplona is a very civilized city, huge areas of motorcycle only parking: I gave my friend from Pamplona a surprise call, but turns out he was away. All hotels were either too expensive or full, or in areas where I'm not leaving a bike outside. I found a little place in the hills, one hour away, deep in the Basque hills and got going, but not before fueling up again. The rain did return, and I stopped, once again, to put my rain jacket on. Got to my destination for the night at almost 19:00. Perfect timing to have a nice shower and a walk around town before dinner, it has been a long day. Being lower, with a very much improved gearbox and clutch, this feels like a toy to ride around town compared to my bike. It has less braap thought, it's very smooth but seems like it's half asleep if you blip the throttle. Having said that, it is faster at speed, but not in such a way that makes it a reason for changing. What I don't like about it is all the electronic shit, the screen and you having to navigate menus to see things. I'm always checking my pocket for the keyless key, because it's not where it should be ... I'm staying in a very charming old country house in a very quaint village, so went for a walk: A spot for playing "pelota vasca", but probably "pelota mano" which makes me wince just to contemplate. Look it up if you don't know what it is. I was going to eat beef for dinner, but not after watching a veal scratch her face against a concrete pole: The inside of the place I'm staying almost makes me want proper winter weather, maybe not really though Eating codfish cooked in what must be a very Basque way, with peppers and tomato, the fried egg adds a lot to it. Frankly, I'm not going to miss it. Some cold basque cider to wash it down, and that's the day done. I'm being confident, my rain pants and overboots are inside the pannier that is on the bike, I'm trusting. Let's see how tomorrow goes.

He is probably still trying to negotiate the first corner on the stelvio pass …. Bikes been up and down off the floor more times than @Marcel le Moose Fondler pants at one of his hillbilly bike meets

I don't think I have mentioned it but it is Fowey Regatta Week at the moment. Tis sort of a big deal for us Yokels. Anyway spent my day across the water in Polruan yesterday with some life long friends. Good day if a little pissed and sung out by the end of it.

Maintenance on the Beta tonight. new pads front and rear and a new Michelin Enduro medium tyre on the rear, re-lubed the front mousse and that's not the kind of moose lubing Marcel does

Pit stop

The wife is at Bloodstock left yesterday back on Monday. the boy is working a festival so away for another two weeks and the daughter is at her boyfriends so i have the weekend to myself, there's so much i can do i don't know where to start which means i'll probably end up wanking all weekend

no not in the clanger mate, just moved back down south. and i dont have my number anymore

still cant believe hes gone, not a day goes by that i havent thought about him and this place.

Another trip over to to Davidstow this morning. Forecast was okish but by the time we had been there for 20 minutes the rain started. Forgot to take any water proofs so we got wet. Shadow ploughed on but after 40 minutes she had had enough. Rode up to me stop and said ; ”‘I’m out, all the water is running off the tank back onto my Fanny, my Fanny is wet and cold and I can’t take anymore.” Now this practically floored me and I genuinely nearly pissed myself laughing, much to her disgust . I did suggest her saying her crutch was wet next time, but I’m not sure she got it. I rode home chuckling all the way. I was laughing and told her mother what she said. Shadow didn’t like that either.

That bike is never going to look any good no matter how many variations they create, put that engine in a proper trail bike you twats

On the way back home I passed through Sherston where they used to make knicker elastic The countryside here is now a mix of greens , yellows and browns. Most of the corn had now been cut.............

Drove to Baker City last night to enjoy a meal w/ my brother who is temporarily stationed there by the Forest Circus for fire duty. I was doing the math in my head on the way there....it's been @ least 7-8 yrs. since I've seen him face to face. Now I'm kinda forming a plan to go visit him down in Waco, TX....maybe sometime next year.

i have one

Just done a few laps round brands … last one on the back wheel .. videoed it but lost the sd card