He shoots , he scores.....

Well today I took one big step towards my goal of getting my bike back by passing my first test. The test took a total of 8 hours with half of it being on the road, connected by radio mike, with the tutor. The first half was on a disused airfield and involved an array of tests including emergency stops, slow controlled turns and an assault course. The on-road was mind numbing as it was so hot and I was fully kitted up. I was quite dizzy and vague by the time I got home! The good news is that Tree and I went out today and bought my new bike. Tammy is now sold and goes to her new home later on today.

Tree is adamant that I will not miss Tammy but I think I will always have a soft spot for scootering about.

Then again, I have just fired up the Yammy and already become seduced by the sound of the V-twin rumbling like gentle thunder!

Beltane Blessings!!

And so the sap rises. The Crone turns to stone and the maiden is reborn. Fire cleanses and warms the soil to be fertile and ready for the sowing of seed.

Tree and I took time to Spring clean throughout and set our goals for the coming Summer. Sadly, ill health and pouring rain meant we were unable to do the Tiddesley Wood Spring Open Day this year but I more than made up for it by selling all of the old junk, we had sorted out, on Ebay. I am well on target with the bike fund and went as far as booking my test the other day. It is amazing what people will buy. I even sold a book for double what I paid for it!! We now have an almost empty shed again as most of the stock has been sold as well. It is good to tie up all the loose ends and look ahead to new horizons.

So get planting those seeds, light a fire and make plans.

Get your motor running..........

A few good bits to report.

Firstly, Tree is back to swimming again and has been doing 75 lengths each morning (about 0.75 mile). I had to take out her stitches in the end, as they just would not dissolve and were pulling, and this has spurred her on a bit.

Secondly, I realised that I had most of my blogs in draft format and had forgotten to publish them...Doh!

Thirdly, I'm on the road. Thursday saw the delivery of my new Tamoretti scooter (Scoot). Steve, the dealer, drove up from London on a special journey to drop it off. Well done mate. The only drawback is that I have found out that Jamie Oliver rides one (can't be helped I suppose) and I will also not be able to go more than 20 miles an hour until I have run it in. Only 285 miles to go! Oh well.

I'm on the road again (well soonish).

My old bike


My new bike (in my dreams at the mo)

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Now that things are a bit calmer here, I have decided to dedicate some time to finishing a few projects I have put on the back burner over the years. One of them is to work towards getting my old bike back. Not literally my old bike, as it was a beautiful custom one off and I cried when they took it away (in pieces I might add), but the modern equivalent. The nearest to the Yamaha 750 SE special nowadays would be a dragstar. However I would rather have the larger 1100 but with a few modifications like on my old bike. For starters I would have it dropped with an extension to the front forks, easy rider stylee!! Anyway, I first need to get a licence and do it all legal this time so the first step will be to get on two wheels again. To do this I am going to buy a scooter and move upwards, at a rate of knots, to the superbike level. I have found a nice little scoot with sit up and beg bars and, trust me, there aren't many about like that. I also want a bike on the heavier side. This means you don't have that annoying weight to centre of gravity difference throwing you about on the road. The only problem is that there is only one person who sells them over here in the UK and they are brought in by order if you want a particular set up.Parts are easy to get though so there is a silver lining I guess. I just need to flick a coin over which colour I want and go for it. White, Green, White, Green .......... Oh it looks like it's gonna be white with black and chrome trim. Keep you posted!
P.S Someone mentioned about a mid-life crisis when buying a custom bike when you are over 40. I agree, but that is for saddo's who buy Harleys and can't ride properly. In my case, I was riding my SE special back in 1980 when most people hadn't even seen a custom bike outside of a show. Now it seems everyone has a Harley so I will be getting a big barge pole and steering clear of that crowd. Besides, I did my hedonistic bit back in the good old, breaking my leg twice, elbow once, hand three times, days. Sod speed, I want comfort now!!!