Tango

You could lodge an appeal, Bob?

We went on a Land Rover tour that day and it was the only grey day of our 2 week holiday, but it kinda added to the mood of the place and it meant that it wasn't too hot for the tour.

I did some work one time in Portugal for a service agent in Lisbon, but there was an air traffic controller strike on the weekend that I was due to fly home, so the agent asked where I wanted to stay over the weekend. I had a holiday in Cascais many years before, so I asked to be booked in an hotel there for the weekend. On the Sunday the engineer that I'd been working with came over and took me to the castle at Sintra to look around. I really enjoyed it. Funnily, it was that engineer that got me hooked on olives! He took me to the airport on the Monday and presented me with a carrier bag full of jars of olives. I didn't like olives (or so I thought), but I couldn't refuse such a generous gift from this nice man, so I brought them home. When I got home I showed them to my then wife and she said "I didn't think you liked olives?" "I don't ". But I opened a jar and tried one..........I now eat olives regularly and love them!

Nice shot. Is the castle at Cinta anywhere near you, @Pedro?

There's a Honda DN01 for sale not far from us. 2009 with 17K on it. The guy wants €5500 for it.

Good tip.

Does it come with the change of identity and false passport, or is that extra?

Do you find that because you sit on a scooter rather than in it, you feel a bit like you're balanced on top of it?

It could be a draw!

Unfortunately I think that this is a big factor too.

Truth be told, I still really enjoy getting out on the bike. A short run to the next town to have a coffee or a round trip down to the sea and loop back, it's all good.

I'm like Pete, I tend to get out on the bike and back before it gets too hot. It does mess about with the tyre pressures though!

That's fair enough, Clive. I know a few people that have called it a day. My only "problem" is that we've only got the one car, which my missus uses for work, so the bike is my independence. I don't think the current situation is insurmountable, but I'm really just trying to get my head around what's changed.

I think that there's definitely an element of this, Pete. I've become aware of when I stop now I have both feet down and stop on the front brake, which, due to the soft springing on the forks, causes the front to dive and upsets the balance. I don't know why I'm doing this, but maybe it's a balance thing as you suggest.

Yes, it's generally accepted that the suspension is a compromise between the on-road and off-road pretensions of the bike. But it seems that most people accept that compromise and leave the bike stock. I guess that maybe I need to look at a more road oriented bike, as I don't see me spending too much time off- road and if I did want to do more of that then maybe look at a small trail bike for those occasions. Thanks for your input, Bob.

I don't think so, Pete. I wear reading glasses, but the last time I had my eyes checked, which is just over a year ago, my distance vision was 20:20. Interesting to hear your story though, as sometimes there can be a factor that we completely overlook.

Or maybe I just need to get a few more Km under my belt on it? It's very different to my last bike, that I owned for 7 years.

Portuguese coast just north of Cape St Vincent.

I've been riding bikes for about 46 years and, in the earlier days, it was my only transport year round, but just recently I've lost some of my confidence on the bike. I'm aware that my riding is not as smooth as it used to be and that in turn makes me feel less at ease on the bike. So I'm trying to figure out what's changed? Due to the pandemic and the move out here I had the best part of 2 years with very little riding, so, am I just rusty and the more I ride the better it'll get? Maybe it's the bike? I find the suspension much too soft for me. It dives like crazy whilst braking and wallows and wobbles on any undulations in the road. It also tramlines like crazy too, which I guess is due to the tyres. I can still get the bike over near to the edge of the tyres, but don't make progress like I used to. Maybe it's just an age thing? I'm a lot more cautious than I used to be. Has anyone else felt that the lack of getting out on the bike due to the restrictions had a negative effect on their confidence on the bike? Or maybe a bike that just doesn't inspire confidence? Your thought and comments would be appreciated.

Svolvaer, Northern Norway

Thermal baths in Budapest.

Prague several years ago, just leading up to Christmas.

Thanks. It was a really murky day with a light fog that didn't clear. This was taken probably 2-3pm. It was taken on my Galaxy S8 and I reduced the resolution to give it a bit of a grainy appearance.

Taken during a walk between Christmas and New year along the river we used to live near.