Didn't go. The heart attack on Easter Saturday put paid to that. I provided as much information as I could and the rest of the party went anyway and had a good day.
A tale of up-cocks and the need to buy a map. What could possibly go wrong? No satnav and no paper map? Nothing of course. Once I was on the A26, cruise set to 110kph, plain sailing. Junction 6 for Béthune is soon passed. I had expected 6.1 to be close by. It isn't. Doubt sets in. Next is the A21 signed to Lens and Douai (pron doo-eye) and yes a D road as well. Souchez is on the right of the A26. So track right on a new road. No signs of life, no signage... Not good. Arrive Barlin. New supermarket. No maps. Ask idiot-villageur for directions. Follow them and find myself in Mont St Eloi where the abbey was shelled and the structure remains. A sort of bombed shell. No access though. Not today anyway. Head off towards Arras expecting to see a signpost. None. Enter Arras and buy a map at Auchun. It seems that at Mont St Eloi I was about 4 miles away as I stood in the sun. By now the hour ...
I currently use an Oxford magnetic tank bag. It's a small enough for those days when you just need somewhere for your spare specs and wallet but it also expands. But it is the magnets that are my concern. No matter how much you wipe the base of the bag, the magnets will start to scratch the paint. So before the Spain trip last summer, I started to look at the Givi tank-lock system. In the end I shelved that as I had only recently bought the new top box and and inner bag! So with Spring approaching (sometime any way!) I decided to have another look. Prices don't seem to have changed much, and when Googling, the overseas shops seem to have prices about 20% cheaper than here. With postage taken into account they are still cheaper. So, I ordered the Givi 3D604 bag from Motocard . Delivery takes about a week and that's okay as I don't intend to use it for a while.
Today. It was going to be sunny. It was going to be warm. It's England. So I made sure I had leather jeans on and the heavier jacket. There was no sun, but it was warm. Comfortable ride up to London. Curiously home to work and back isn't as far as it used to be. Either the tectonic plate has moved and Hythe is nearer London, or the odometer is different compared with the GS. The Emirates Stadium is about half a mile from where I work. I had a ride round the bike parking spaces around the stadium and they were all full so I ended up parking in a school up the road. It costs a fiver but at least the staff are on hand to keep an eye on the bikes and cars parked there. In future I might as well park at work and walk up! I might even be able to get in the building and change out of bike gear for the game. The ride up. I gave myself plenty of time for a 1.30pm kick-off, leaving home at 10.45 and having a genteel cruise control run up. The cruise set at a healthy ...
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