32. Only Monday to get through

 A few problems first, the biggest being the 60 litre bag I ordered some weeks ago, it still hasn't turned up apparently DHL can't fin my house even though it's been here along with the road it sits on for 200 years??? The only alternative that I now have is to use my Givi 40 litre bag and hope I can stuff more gear into my panniers. My Shine Armor that I ordered has been help in customs for nearly a month now so I wont be able to give the bike a nice protective coat of ceramics to help against UK weather.

Just about all packed now, remembering of course that the top box and panniers are just about full. I have all my paperwork from passport to vaccine certificate sorted. I will fill the locator from in tomorrow evening. I still need to adjust the head lights on the bike as they are pointing too high still.

Hopefully doesn't look too over loaded for the trip. Tomorrow evening I have my PCR test after that I should be able to generate my QR code then its good to go time.

31, And so it continues

 After giving it some thought Lorni and I decided the ferry is the only safe way to get back to the UK, we couldn't wait to see if France comes off the PLUS list as Ferry places fill up quick, I book my crossing with Brittany Ferry's, Santander to Portsmouth and return with a cabin and................Oh my god! £750  I could take the wife on a 7 day Mediterranean cruise for less. Got you by the short and curlys. After about three weeks they announce that France is no longer on the Amber Plus list...grrrrrr.

That's the first tick on the list of things to do, Next is to book the hotels I need one night there and back to the ferry port and one night in Portsmouth on arrival and later on 4 nights in a hotel near Swindon as my ex wife has sort of gone off the rails a bit...I was going to stay at her place.....more expense now and of course a bigger food bill....I don't seem to be able to catch a break at the moment.

All accommodation now sorted including 4 days with my brother in Dorset. That's a few more things ticked off the rather long list. Next thing is the bike so I had her booked in at the local dealers for a full service all fluids and filters were changed plugs replaced and greased up and checked out on the diagnostic computer..everything fine so I picked her up same day...great service.

They even cleaned her for me, not that she was dirty as such just very dusty from standing in the garage for a month I ordered a 60 litre dry bag for the passenger seat and a quad lock for my phone which is now fitted along with a handlebar brake lever lock which I have sent to my sons house as everything coming form the UK now has import duty and VAT added to it.

Along with my new litlok the bike should about as secure as it is possible, next on my list is all the paperwork for proof of vaccinations and tests etc that will be sorted by the end of today ...fingers crossed!

30. Big trip planned....

It's been a while since I updated this blog we are now in the middle of summer the temperatures are up in the 30's and higher daily, not the most comfortable of weather to be in full riding gear. Over the last four months or so I have been lucky enough to go on ride out's on Wednesdays with a group of ex-pats who know the area very well and it's been a  pleasure to do this when the weather allows I have now managed nearly 6000kms so far including riding during some extreme restrictions due to this bloody covid bug.

Talking of the covid bug, last year I was supposed to  take a trip back to the UK to once again drive my race car but the restrictions stopped me doing this. This year  the restrictions were not so severe but I needed both my vaccine jabs to leave the Country so I once again missed the big meeting of the year Dragstalgia 10 but I could get over for the Hot Rod Drags in September, I began to make plans! I started to plan out my route to Calais I don't like motorways and try and avoid them if I can but definitely no toll roads. I was just into a couple of days planning when there was an announcement on the news stating that anyone travelling back to  the UK via France would have to self isolate for 10 days even if they were up to date with their vaccinations due to yet another variant "Beta" this time!! Well that changed things as there is no way I could afford 10 days in an isolation hotel price or time.

It looks now like I will have to look into booking one of the Spain to UK ferry.s this trip is now going to be far far more expensive than I budgeted for....needs must and all that.