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My trip to the UK


Pedro

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19 minutes ago, XTreme said:

Me and Ally are really wound up about that now!

Never mind, the next day it was me, Sofia and Barbara and a plethora of men were very friendly. One very nice fellow even showed up and offered his helmet cleaner to share with all of us. He was both a nice man and could also do math :classic_laugh:

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So, to prevent it from sliding into a discussion about Brexit, I'll carry on with the report.

Woke up after a very nice nights sleep, and I'll tell you something really nice about the UK. The way houses are made, along with the way the towns and neighborhoods are spread about mean that you can really have a nice nights sleep in a very quiet location even if it's very close to a main road. It helps that traffic doesn't move too fast but it really is a contrast to what I am used to. And today I would realize something totally different between the landscape in England and all other places I was on before.

Barbara had a thing to do in town and while she was away I took her bike out, her trusty Triumph Street Triple, and got it ready to go. Also gave the bikes a wipe from all the rain, and we were on.

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Sofia was super enthusiastic about this day, she used to ride around here a lot when she got her previous Speed Triple, we headed to the Cat and Fiddle for a morning tea. First a pose:

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And then heartbreak. Turns out her much loved pub went bankrupt a few years ago and it's be resurrected as a distillery, they now serve their our Gin and Whiskey, not any kind of tea or coffee. It was a little weird to be told that they don't serve any hot beverages in a pub that's next to a road. The point of it eludes me, but then again it is not a pub anymore. I did have a cold sparkling water, and we were directed to the room where we could sit, told where we could and couldn't go, and asked to log in out license plates before sitting in order to use the parking lot. A little too weird.

Sofia was disappointed, but we moved on in high spirits:

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Then headed to Cromford, and shortly visited what might be the world's first factory and arguably the birthplace of the industrial revolution. An interesting place, a lot of the original place is gone, it was 7 stories tall, and changed the world if not only the region. We had a sandwich, instead of slaving away at a weaver.

 

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And on and on, through Bakewell Estate (I think), with a short stop to take a quaint picture

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And then I followed my nose and navigation through Hope Valley, where I ignored a closed road sign and much to the displeasure of a couple of Range Rover driving people came across a lovely spot, where I proceeded to have a few phone calls with people from Spain and Portugal. Somewhere we had another tea stop, and while chatting this dude that rocked up in a Super Duke came to gently offer his helmet cleaner and cloths. He was a class act and how you only have to gain from treating people well. Sofia was very happy to see some of "her" loved England reaching out to her.

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My joy, dealing with work, is transparent:

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and onto Macclesfield with another stop for looking at scenery

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And from here back to home is how I realized how much different England is to Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Germany, etc, I look at google maps in most of the places I have been to before and can pretty much guess what it is like before arriving, hence picking scenic paths between places. Here, I looked at the map and it all looked like an urban cluster of towns and villages, such a highly populated place would be ugly in Portugal, here you do get the people moving about but it feels like pretty countryside. It surprised me and is one of my favourite things in England. Granted I stayed out of big cities, but still it is something I appreciated. 

Back home we had a few very high quality cheeses that Barbara had bought for a party a few days later and were not eaten, we got to work and helped her a lot with that. Her hotpot complimented the day perfectly, and I was a happy dude after touring all over with two women following me.

I liked this too:

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The next day we would leave.

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Morning, and again I wake up well rested from a night spent in a silent home. I love silence during the night.

We pack and today there would be no scenic roads, after an emotional goodbye to Barbara, who is a class act and just lovely, we get on a the M6 and go to Hinckley to visit Triumph. It takes maybe 1,5 hours to get there and again I have a chance to see motorways. There is this thing you guys have which is a smart motorway, it puzzles me. I'm from a country where we have dum motorway with a safety area to stop if you break down, it makes no sense to me but then I see some of the sheer volume of cars trundling along and realize it's a real problem and someone must be trying to come up with imaginative solutions for it, I've never seen so many cars all going down the same road as on this day, 3 or 4 lanes all packed with vehicles doing more or less the same speed. You have to respect the way people do that in a very controlled non latin way, with way more respect for other road users that what I have at my home country.

We make it to Triumph.

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We had nothing booked, but Sofia talked to the very friendly girl at the cafe and got us in for one, happy days. You´re not allowed to take pictures inside the factory, I did take one before the guy told us that but I felt guilty about it so won't post it :classic_laugh:

The tour went on for a couple of hours, and was interesting, the enthusiasm the man had for the place was cool to see. During said tour Sofia learned that her bike was built / assembled here and not Thailand, this made her smile from ear to ear but there are no pictures because it was inside the factory.

After said tour, we had a pretty crappy sandwich for lunch, and a walk around the small museum they have there. A few very cool bikes, but one particular one really left me star struck.

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How pretty is this?

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Me, star struck:

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I would have preferred if it was uncleaned and still with grass and mud all over it, but it's still pretty cool!

 

From Hinckley we would get on the motorway again and head over to West London near Woking. We would there meet up with Simon and Carol, some more of Sofia's dear friends, and stay with them and they son for another couple of days. I have nothing like this in my Morocco trips, showing up to people's homes and be given a bed is nice.

Before leaving, someone had to strike a pose:

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Hi @Pedro.........the place where you stopped was was on the Chatsworth Estate, the village on the left of the photo is Edensor village........it was not originally in that location....the Duke had the old village demolished......as he could see the old village from Chatsworth House......it spoilt his view. 😂

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2 minutes ago, Clive said:

Hi @Pedro.........the place where you stopped was was on the Chatsworth Estate, the village on the left of the photo is Edensor village........it was not originally in that location....the Duke had the old village demolished......as he could see the old village from Chatsworth House......it spoilt his view. 😂

You're right, Chatsworth. It's really a pretty area all over that region. Peasants always ruining things!

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8 minutes ago, Pedro said:

You're right, Chatsworth. It's really a pretty area all over that region. Peasants always ruining things!

Fun Fact.........John F Kennedys sister is buried in Edensor cemetery...

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39 minutes ago, Pedro said:

Morning, and again I wake up well rested from a night spent in a silent home. I love silence during the night.

We pack and today there would be no scenic roads, after an emotional goodbye to Barbara, who is a class act and just lovely, we get on a the M6 and go to Hinckley to visit Triumph. It takes maybe 1,5 hours to get there and again I have a chance to see motorways. There is this thing you guys have which is a smart motorway, it puzzles me. I'm from a country where we have dum motorway with a safety area to stop if you break down, it makes no sense to me but then I see some of the sheer volume of cars trundling along and realize it's a real problem and someone must be trying to come up with imaginative solutions for it, I've never seen so many cars all going down the same road as on this day, 3 or 4 lanes all packed with vehicles doing more or less the same speed. You have to respect the way people do that in a very controlled non latin way, with way more respect for other road users that what I have at my home country.

We make it to Triumph.

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We had nothing booked, but Sofia talked to the very friendly girl at the cafe and got us in for one, happy days. You´re not allowed to take pictures inside the factory, I did take one before the guy told us that but I felt guilty about it so won't post it :classic_laugh:

The tour went on for a couple of hours, and was interesting, the enthusiasm the man had for the place was cool to see. During said tour Sofia learned that her bike was built / assembled here and not Thailand, this made her smile from ear to ear but there are no pictures because it was inside the factory.

After said tour, we had a pretty crappy sandwich for lunch, and a walk around the small museum they have there. A few very cool bikes, but one particular one really left me star struck.

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How pretty is this?

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Me, star struck:

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I would have preferred if it was uncleaned and still with grass and mud all over it, but it's still pretty cool!

 

From Hinckley we would get on the motorway again and head over to West London near Woking. We would there meet up with Simon and Carol, some more of Sofia's dear friends, and stay with them and they son for another couple of days. I have nothing like this in my Morocco trips, showing up to people's homes and be given a bed is nice.

Before leaving, someone had to strike a pose:

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Looks great there. But no pics is a bit OTT though!

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Your use of your second language is brilliant, assuming English is your second language. 
Real glad you found some good in my home land, not that you got that close to Norfolk. But if you do get over this way let me offer a little hospitality as we do have a spare room and some slightly quieter roads, at times.
Looking forward to the rest.:dancebanana:

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1 minute ago, Catteeclan said:

Your use of your second language is brilliant, assuming English is your second language. 
Real glad you found some good in my home land, not that you got that close to Norfolk. But you do get over this way let me offer a little hospitality as we do have a spare room and some slightly quieter roads, at times.
Looking forward to the rest.:dancebanana:

And no motorways to navigate. 😁

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12 minutes ago, XTreme said:

Looks great there. But no pics is a bit OTT though!

They paint tanks by hand and have a guy doing the lines on the paintwork by hand. Also there are 100 year old lathes that are still used to make prototypes of some engine parts. The tricky measuring machines were in climate control environment as well as the R&D, locked way to protect secrets. I did find it amusing, but was a cool place to visit anyway.

 

9 minutes ago, Catteeclan said:

Your use of your second language is brilliant, assuming English is your second language. 
Real glad you found some good in my home land, not that you got that close to Norfolk. But if you do get over this way let me offer a little hospitality as we do have a spare room and some slightly quieter roads, at times.
Looking forward to the rest.:dancebanana:

Thanks, for the compliment and the hospitality offer!

 

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28 minutes ago, Pedro said:

They paint tanks by hand and have a guy doing the lines on the paintwork by hand. Also there are 100 year old lathes that are still used to make prototypes of some engine parts. The tricky measuring machines were in climate control environment as well as the R&D, locked way to protect secrets. I did find it amusing, but was a cool place to visit anyway.

 

Thanks, for the compliment and the hospitality offer!

 

He wants to bum you.

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3 hours ago, Pedro said:

Something is wrong with a male motorcyclist who isn’t nice to a woman motorcyclist travelling. We did have more good than bad, though. 

Problem is Pedro you were in Yorkshire a beautiful place but it has to be to make up for the horrible twats that live there met a few and had the same experience LOL 

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13 minutes ago, Sir Fallsalot said:

Problem is Pedro you were in Yorkshire a beautiful place but it has to be to make up for the horrible twats that live there meet a few and had the same experience LOL 

Sadly I have met a couple of them when I was in York a few years ago.    Met some real diamond people also.    

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12 minutes ago, Sir Fallsalot said:

Problem is Pedro you were in Yorkshire a beautiful place but it has to be to make up for the horrible twats that live there meet a few and had the same experience LOL 

Why do they feel the need to tell you "I'm a straight talking Yorkshireman".

Yet when they get a straight response they can't fucking handle it.

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1 hour ago, Catteeclan said:

Real glad you found some good in my home land

The only thing good in England that I've ever found is the sign that says you're fucking leaving it.

Could never get to that sign quick enough!

reaction meme smiling GIF by EnBW

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When I said in the previous post that staying in people's homes doesn't happen in my Morocco trips, that wasn't really fair to Morocco. Indeed they are a most hospitable people, it doesn't happen to me a lot maybe because I'm not a sociable person, all of these people are people Sofia got to meet through motorcycling when she lived in the UK. One after the other they all connect and are still friends after all these years. To have that with people that you've met because you dropped a wallet and they came after you to return it, or such coincidences is both a testament to the quality of these people and Sofia as well.

Anyway, being a celebrity, I was quickly made to feel at home too :classic_laugh:

Simon and Carol, and little Aubrey, were legends, we got to their place, had a shower, and were quickly out for a proper Indian. I don't know what the dishes were or their names, but a couple were ultra tasty, something with what looked like spinach pesto was my favourite, and I pooped green for two days. :classic_laugh:

The first morning there we went to visit @Sofia's old flat in Sunningdale from many moons ago. It's a lovely neighborhood that I know she misses a lot along with the life she had at the time, it was a little teary eyed moment. I gave her some space as she was on the phone with an old friend who lives next door but wasn't in country. ("In country" sounds like he's in the SAS, he was just on holidays).

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Then, we made our way via small pretty streets to Windsor's farm shop, where they sell groceries, of which some are grown within the property, others are grown in Chile, Spain, Holand, etc, the butcher part of it looked really good like most butchers do in England. Every cut of meat neatly organized and proficiently displaced, if you go to a butcher in Portugal you better know what you want or else you're screwed. 

Next to that shop there's a café, which is were we went to meet the legend that is Pat Creagh. Pat is an Irishman who teaches motorcycling stuff, and somehow got to be a good friend of Sofia's back in the day, he has very good jacket taste and we hit it off instantly, I call this picture the binary code. 

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The Irish and the Portuguese have a lot in common as a people and particularly the northern Portuguese have a similarly colorful language to the Irish. We became friends since our sense of humor is similar, plus we both enjoy giving Sofia a hard time for motorcycling things. I think we were meant to go out on the bikes to go somewhere, but it started to properly rain so we went inside and had lots of coffee, along with a bacon bap for lunch. I can see the merits of bacon baps and coffee now, it's very wrong but feels right. It was a good day so far, nice time was had and he's a cool dude.

On our way back, after all the heavy rain the streets were a little slippery for the Speed Triple's now bald sport Pirellis. Pirelli is a brand of tires, Sofia likes them because they're Italian... :classic_rolleyes:

Stopped by Windsor, the man wasn't home:

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That afternoon was ended with some wine back home, and then going out along with Carol and Simon and Aubrey to meet up with Nick and Less for dinner in a Chinese place they like to go to. I had a lot of beer that night, a good time was had, I could also get used to be driven to and from restaurants. As always, I was charming and everyone loved me.

We got home, and stayed up late chatting on the sofa. The thing these people have with having a group of proper friends who share this one thing in common is pretty nice.

We went to bed during a thunder storm on the 17th, I didn't feel like sleeping so ended up trying to take pictures of lighting:

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Monday and we woke up a little late I think, or woke up early but only got out of the house late, something like that. First order of business was heading over to Triumph West London, Sofia was looking forward to visiting the former Jack Lilley dealership where she bought her previous bikes, including this one. There the Speed Triple would have an oil and filter change, a new chain, and a much needed set of new tires, Michelin this time to me make it more rain and Portugal friendly, still sport tires though as one can only compromise on style so far. I looked around and found a Denali horn on display, just what the the Triumph needed to warn me against being on the wrong side of the road!

They were missing matching tires for the front or rear as we hadn't warned them in advance, so the bike was to stay in until the next day, no worries. I had a sit on a few Triumphs:

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I quite like the Rocket on paper, but it's huge in real life. The Speedmaster felt nice and comfy, it's a classy looking thing too. The Bonneville was something I never even considered owning but does feel like a nice bike. We arranged a test ride on both a T120 Bonnie and a 900 too, Sofia was keep on trying something maybe more nimble than the Speed Triple at very low speeds. I can see how she missed dealing with people in this dealership though, the guys at the Triumph places in Portugal are mostly sexist twats, with a hint or two of incompetence thrown in. She went and talked to the mechanic handling her bike like a long lost friend, and the fact he remembers her is why she missed this place.

Off on the Triumphs, the 900 felt like sitting on a toilet after getting off of my tall GS.

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After a few miles we stopped to change bikes by the riverside:

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I have to say the T120 is a sweet bike, I didn't ride it on proper roads and at speed but it's got an ultra smooth engine, slick gear change (anything is after a GS), nice and torquey, nice and smooth over bumps, the brakes are pretty shit though. I liked it, felt like one could just through a bag on it and ride to wherever, good bike! I did find the front odd on roundabouts, but with an 18 inch wheel and weird suspension it was bound to.

From there, we both got on the GS and went over to visit Brooklands, I was curious to see a life sized banking. Brooklands is mainly run by enthusiasts, they've got volunteers (mainly older dudes) eager to share stuff with you, really nice place.

 

I love me an old Bugatti racer, very few things cooler:

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Senna's car with Senna's steering wheel might be cooler, though. I have to admit that touching that steering wheel felt special, I did it under supervision and encouraged to do so though, not disrespectfully.

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You see these cars sitting there all clean and shiny and quiet, and then read what they used to do and it brings you a sense of respect, they're beasts not delicate museum pieces:

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Like I said:

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The downpipes, @XTreme:

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It's hard to imagine the racing that happened here by looking at it. I wonder why they have fences.

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We did have a look at airplanes, they're not really my thing but everything was done in a very respectful way towards veterans and the war effort.

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British adventurers at their best, taking this around the world:

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Brookland is worth a visit, you can easily spend a few hours there, very cool place. Better plan on staying a few hours to make it worth the entry price, too.

Next morning we were both on the GS as the Triumph was at the dealership waiting for the missing tire. We went to see MotoLegends, it was an expensive visit as Sofia ended up being encouraged (by me) to replace her helmet with a new one, taking advantage of their fitment thing when they replace inner pads for different thicknesses makes a difference for someone that is between sizes. This is the face of being happy to be in England.

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A brief visit to a very smart vet who makes dog legs out of digital printing, and we continued on back to collect the Speed Triple, stopping for breakfast at a cool looking pub / restaurant.

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With the Speed Triple wearing new shoes, we came back home to find Carol starting to prepare a middle eastern feast. The smell of spices and freshly chopped coriander sent me up for a quick shower in a hurry, to come back and open a bottle of red wine, sit back and enjoy the smells of good cooking and the talking to friends. A really great evening was had.

On the following morning, we would be riding on.

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50 minutes ago, Sir Fallsalot said:

Problem is Pedro you were in Yorkshire a beautiful place but it has to be to make up for the horrible twats that live there meet a few and had the same experience LOL 

35 minutes ago, Saul said:

Sadly I have met a couple of them when I was in York a few years ago.    Met some real diamond people also.    

I have met a one dude from Yorkshire previous to this trip, met him several times in Germany, and he's a very nice man. For some reason I expected people from up there to feel friendlier than the south, but that was not the case.

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17 minutes ago, Pedro said:

When I said in the previous post that staying in people's homes doesn't happen in my Morocco trips, that wasn't really fair to Morocco. Indeed they are a most hospitable people, it doesn't happen to me a lot maybe because I'm not a sociable person, all of these people are people Sofia got to meet through motorcycling when she lived in the UK. One after the other they all connect and are still friends after all these years. To have that with people that you've met because you dropped a wallet and they came after you to return it, or such coincidences is both a testament to the quality of these people and Sofia as well.

Anyway, being a celebrity, I was quickly made to feel at home too :classic_laugh:

Simon and Carol, and little Aubrey, were legends, we got to their place, had a shower, and were quickly out for a proper Indian. I don't know what the dishes were or their names, but a couple were ultra tasty, something with what looked like spinach pesto was my favourite, and I pooped green for two days. :classic_laugh:

The first morning there we went to visit @Sofia's old flat in Sunningdale from many moons ago. It's a lovely neighborhood that I know she misses a lot along with the life she had at the time, it was a little teary eyed moment. I gave her some space as she was on the phone with an old friend who lives next door but wasn't in country. ("In country" sounds like he's in the SAS, he was just on holidays).

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Then, we made our way via small pretty streets to Windsor's farm shop, where they sell groceries, of which some are grown within the property, others are grown in Chile, Spain, Holand, etc, the butcher part of it looked really good like most butchers do in England. Every cut of meat neatly organized and proficiently displaced, if you go to a butcher in Portugal you better know what you want or else you're screwed. 

Next to that shop there's a café, which is were we went to meet the legend that is Pat Creagh. Pat is an Irishman who teaches motorcycling stuff, and somehow got to be a good friend of Sofia's back in the day, he has very good jacket taste and we hit it off instantly, I call this picture the binary code. 

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The Irish and the Portuguese have a lot in common as a people and particularly the northern Portuguese have a similarly colorful language to the Irish. We became friends since our sense of humor is similar, plus we both enjoy giving Sofia a hard time for motorcycling things. I think we were meant to go out on the bikes to go somewhere, but it started to properly rain so we went inside and had lots of coffee, along with a bacon bap for lunch. I can see the merits of bacon baps and coffee now, it's very wrong but feels right. It was a good day so far, nice time was had and he's a cool dude.

On our way back, after all the heavy rain the streets were a little slippery for the Speed Triple's now bald sport Pirellis. Pirelli is a brand of tires, Sofia likes them because they're Italian... :classic_rolleyes:

Stopped by Windsor, the man wasn't home:

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That afternoon was ended with some wine back home, and then going out along with Carol and Simon and Aubrey to meet up with Nick and Less for dinner in a Chinese place they like to go to. I had a lot of beer that night, a good time was had, I could also get used to be driven to and from restaurants. As always, I was charming and everyone loved me.

We got home, and stayed up late chatting on the sofa. The thing these people have with having a group of proper friends who share this one thing in common is pretty nice.

We went to bed during a thunder storm on the 17th, I didn't feel like sleeping so ended up trying to take pictures of lighting:

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Monday and we woke up a little late I think, or woke up early but only got out of the house late, something like that. First order of business was heading over to Triumph West London, Sofia was looking forward to visiting the former Jack Lilley dealership where she bought her previous bikes, including this one. There the Speed Triple would have an oil and filter change, a new chain, and a much needed set of new tires, Michelin this time to me make it more rain and Portugal friendly, still sport tires though as one can only compromise on style so far. I looked around and found a Denali horn on display, just what the the Triumph needed to warn me against being on the wrong side of the road!

They were missing matching tires for the front or rear as we hadn't warned them in advance, so the bike was to stay in until the next day, no worries. I had a sit on a few Triumphs:

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I quite like the Rocket on paper, but it's huge in real life. The Speedmaster felt nice and comfy, it's a classy looking thing too. The Bonneville was something I never even considered owning but does feel like a nice bike. We arranged a test ride on both a T120 Bonnie and a 900 too, Sofia was keep on trying something maybe more nimble than the Speed Triple at very low speeds. I can see how she missed dealing with people in this dealership though, the guys at the Triumph places in Portugal are mostly sexist twats, with a hint or two of incompetence thrown in. She went and talked to the mechanic handling her bike like a long lost friend, and the fact he remembers her is why she missed this place.

Off on the Triumphs, the 900 felt like sitting on a toilet after getting off of my tall GS.

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After a few miles we stopped to change bikes by the riverside:

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I have to say the T120 is a sweet bike, I didn't ride it on proper roads and at speed but it's got an ultra smooth engine, slick gear change (anything is after a GS), nice and torquey, nice and smooth over bumps, the brakes are pretty shit though. I liked it, felt like one could just through a bag on it and ride to wherever, good bike! I did find the front odd on roundabouts, but with an 18 inch wheel and weird suspension it was bound to.

From there, we both got on the GS and went over to visit Brooklands, I was curious to see a life sized banking. Brooklands is mainly run by enthusiasts, they've got volunteers (mainly older dudes) eager to share stuff with you, really nice place.

 

I love me an old Bugatti racer, very few things cooler:

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Senna's car with Senna's steering wheel might be cooler, though. I have to admit that touching that steering wheel felt special, I did it under supervision and encouraged to do so though, not disrespectfully.

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You see these cars sitting there all clean and shiny and quiet, and then read what they used to do and it brings you a sense of respect, they're beasts not delicate museum pieces:

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Like I said:

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The downpipes, @XTreme:

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It's hard to imagine the racing that happened here by looking at it. I wonder why they have fences.

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We did have a look at airplanes, they're not really my thing but everything was done in a very respectful way towards veterans and the war effort.

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British adventurers at their best, taking this around the world:

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Brookland is worth a visit, you can easily spend a few hours there, very cool place. Better plan on staying a few hours to make it worth the entry price, too.

Next morning we were both on the GS as the Triumph was at the dealership waiting for the missing tire. We went to see MotoLegends, it was an expensive visit as Sofia ended up being encouraged (by me) to replace her helmet with a new one, taking advantage of their fitment thing when they replace inner pads for different thicknesses makes a difference for someone that is between sizes. This is the face of being happy to be in England.

IMG_2704.thumb.jpeg.ebc54bed2ba398eae46fddcb7d07e20c.jpeg

 

A brief visit to a very smart vet who makes dog legs out of digital printing, and we continued on back to collect the Speed Triple, stopping for breakfast at a cool looking pub / restaurant.

IMG_2705.thumb.jpeg.9fe7e39f101fce47a0bcfe42d6d03b8c.jpeg

 

With the Speed Triple wearing new shoes, we came back home to find Carol starting to prepare a middle eastern feast. The smell of spices and freshly chopped coriander sent me up for a quick shower in a hurry, to come back and open a bottle of red wine, sit back and enjoy the smells of good cooking and the talking to friends. A really great evening was had.

On the following morning, we would be riding on.

Brooklands? You really visited some legendary places Pedro!

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Absolutely fantastic photos @Pedro and It's great to hear your observations about our country(s)  👍  It looks like you fitted quite a lot in and saw a lot of the good stuff, although I can assure you there is much more to see (Swansea excepted of course :classic_unsure:)

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