Well, chalk off the first full day of this trip, we are rolling!
I’m pleased to report that the weather was largely kind to Harley and I, after a really dodgy looking start. Roscoff to Rennes was mixed, a bit damp now and then, but OK. I opted to take the Autoroute towards Nantes, by Bain de Bretagne we needed fuel and food and also that’s when it decided to rain like a firehose; for thirty minutes whilst I had lunch.
I turned to cut cross country via Chateaubriant, cos I’d never been there and that was a good enough reason. It’s an interesting place, a bit rundown but has a great Chateau, fascinating old Post Office and really cool Glass Theatre, et voila pictures:

The Chateau.

Post Office, which is undergoing renovation and will be a tourist info office when finished.

Theatre.

From Chateaubriant we followed the D163 to Cande, where I had to grab a pic of this old windmill.

My mate Alan thinks that wind turbines should be disguised to look like old windmills, was this what you had in mind Al?

We continued to Bauge where I had a special job to do; more details in another post. After that we headed south and picked up the Loire which we followed and eventually crossed near Bourgueil. The river is more swollen than I have ever seen at this time of year. Grabbed a quick pic to show you!

The sun really came out a couple of times, this is Mouliherne.

Very quincentennial eh?

Total miles today: 344.
You up for some more tomorrow and get on the tail of Bond and Goldfinger?

I got an open road and a restless soul.

Dookes

Good morning everyone. Well the trans-Manche crossing was nice and smooth, the sea is very calm with hardly any swell or waves, so had a good, if short nights sleep.

Thirty minutes out of Roscoff now. Weather is almost exactly the same as in Plymouth, grey, dull and wet. Ho hum, gonna be a grim start to the day on the road.

Catch you all later.

I hear that highway a callin’ .

Dookes

Sorry about the uninspired title of this report, but it sort of sums it up; I’m on board MV Pont Aven, the ferry to France and hopefully adventure!

Regular blog followers will know that I really like this ship, even if tonight it’s almost overrun with French school children.

The ride to Plymouth was, predictably, wet; with the added joy of three miles…yes three bladdy miles of spilt diesel oil on the already slippery road! Was there any signs to warn of it, no of course not, this is the UK! When I got into my cabin I found that my leathers stink of diesel oil as well! I’m not happy….!
Well actually I am, cos Harley and I have got going and as I write this the ship’s engines are revving and it looks like we are about to sail, so enough of the moaning Dookes and let’s get sorted for dinner!
I don’t think you need a picture of a grey sky and even more dreary sea, so how about this beauty that I caught the other week at the Royal Cornwall Show?

She’s a Foster Showmans locomotive called “The Leader”, nice eh?

Catch ya tomorrow, all down the line.
Dookes

Well, here we are at the start of another adventure and guess what? It’s raining! Actually not really rain, nor really mist; round these parts they call it ‘mizzle’. What it means is that you get a double helping, first you get soaked, then you get to feel really miserable…..especially if you then have to get on a motorbike and ride to the port to catch a ferry! My fault though, I washed Harley yesterday.

This is what it looks like from the window of Dookes H.Q., excuse the quality but you will get the idea….

So am I feeling excited, well no. Actually I hate this time just before setting out. Harley is all ready and packed, everything has been checked, double checked and checked again. I just need to get changed into my riding gear and go, but not yet… Once the engine is running and I shut down the visor on my helmet, pull in the clutch and then let it out in first gear I’ll be OK, in my own space in the zone and OK; but now, I’m crawling up the wall.
I know that I have a wandering gene, that pulls me out onto the road and as the song says, “looking for adventure and whatever comes my way,” but it’s also a wrench just to get started sometimes and leave behind that that I hold most dear…but if I don’t go and chill, I can be a real life pain in the ass.
So it’s better to ride, let off steam, explore and hopefully come back better than when I left, if you get my drift….

V power, you know it makes sense; catch you all later!

Dookes

This morning, getting ready for the Goldfinger mission I popped into Plymouth Harley Davidson, on two wheels of course, for some service bits. When I came out I found this lovely old BSA single cylinder job parked outside.

It looks very like one that my old Dad used to own, long before i came on the scene! It’s maybe a C10 or C11, but I’m not an expert on old BSA bikes, so if anyone knows better/exactly I’d love to know, cos I couldn’t find the owner to ask.

Time wasted enjoying yourself is not wasted time.

Dookes

OK, as regular blog followers will know, for various reasons I have had to swap this year’s ride schedule around a bit, but the urge to get out there is as strong as ever, so where?

Well, the last big one was ‘The Italian Job’, so lets keep on with a movie theme, but go back another five years to 1964 and what a year that was; it saw …

James Bond: “Auric Goldfinger? Sounds like a French nail varnish.”

Being a member of a HoG Chapter is more than just motorbikes, it’s about meeting like minded people and making new friends, then sharing great times together. Today was one of those special times, the wedding of two of our Plymouth Chapter members and well, we couldn’t just let them quietly sneak off and do the deed without a Harley Davidson escort, could we?  So an escort it was, with over two dozen roaring V twins cruising through the sunny streets of Bodmin led by the groom, Chris, on a mission to meet his bride…..

…and what are lovely couple they are! Mission accomplished!

Good luck and best wishes to you both, from everyone in the Chapter and the world of Harley Davidson.

Thank you for letting us share your day with you.

Dookes

Wow, what a great last 10 days that Harley and I have just had!

Thursday; I gave Harley a little blast out of about 80 miles as I had a meeting to go to. Mostly lovely weather, but did get the tail end of a shower later in the afternoon.

Friday; with some other Plymouth Chapter members met up with a group from our twin Chapter in Brittany, who arrived in Plymouth on the ferry at six thirty am. In total ten bikes enjoyed a nice ride around East Cornwall; taking in breakfast at Windy Ridge, coffee in Looe and lunch in Mevagissey…. then torrential rain in Bodmin!! All led by Road Captain Denzil.Saturday; off to Exmoor with 3 cylinder Greg. Wonderful weather throughout, lunch in Ilfracombe.

We followed part of the old Lynton and Barnstaple Railway through stunning scenery; this is a much lamented narrow gauge line that closed in 1934. Efforts are being made to reopen the railway, at least in part and look very good; locomotive “Lyd” at Woody Bay station.  In the evening I popped down to Redruth to nephew Daryl’s leaving party, he has a new job in Newbury; good luck Dizz. A 310 miles day!

Today Saturday 25th; Dealership birthday event in Plymouth, live band, dynamometer on site and the sun is shining! Harley with Bodmin Chris’s Deuce, sorry about the pink plastic thing in the shot as well!

Coming soon; watch out for news of the next big trip!

Shadows on the road behind; shadows on the road ahead.

Dookes

I’ve just got a new toy to play with, check this out…It’s a mini HD video camera, that’s a 50 pence coin next to it. Just the thing for recording adventures on the road, once it’s clamped to the handlebars of Harley, the camera not the coin! So watch out for video links in future posts. Neat eh?

We’re gonna open up the throttle, yeah, all down the line.

Dookes

Well, what a super holiday weekend that was…at least here in the South West corner of the UK! The sun actually shone almost all the way through.

It was an important weekend for Harley Davidson too, with the launch of the new Softail Breakout. I was lucky to be invited to the VIP evening at the Plymouth Dealership last Thursday to get an early view of the new model; even better, the sun was shining so I went on two wheels…well it was only polite!

The new Breakout is a clever re-work of the tried and trusted Softail frame, which gives a superb ride with classic hard-tail custom look. I know ‘cos my Harley is a Softail!

The Breakout, which Harley are marketing as a “Performance Cruiser” has been styled with a nod towards street drag bikes. It certainly is eye-catching, but I’m not sure that I would want to ride far with the standard handlebars. Mind you, the alloy wheels are sooo sexy!  

The standard model is fitted with the 103 Inch engine, that’s 1690cc in Euros and would set you back about 16 grand, but if you really want to spoil yourself go for the CVO option…110inch engine, 1802cc, tuned up as much as you want and yours for a cool £21.5K!  But you can’t have one, cos they only made 19 and all are sold!!!  Oh yes, my mate Kev has bought one…honest! This one in lace red, with a distressed leather seat and full Sreamin’ Eagle tuning.

Lace Red? Look closely at this pic, it’s like the lace is trapped within the paint layers…anyone lost their knickers? I love it!

The silver lines are, I believe, stirling silver leaf …lovely, totally OTT; but lovely nonetheless!

Mind you, I lived through and loved Glam Rock!  Each to their own…

Metal Guru, is it you?

Dookes