Tag Archives: Cornwall

What We Do For Love

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This blog is supposed to be about the my travels on my Harley Davidson motorcycles and to be honest, of late they haven’t featured very much.
Our move from one end of the UK to the other, Cornwall to Caithness has had a lot to do with that….not to mention that my beloved Softail, Harls, remained behind when we moved, waiting for me to collect her at a suitable date in the future.

Well that date has arrived!

I’m currently in Lancashire just over 300 miles from Cornwall and 450 still to go back to Caithness….and yes Harls is with me!

It’s Harls! Looking a bit road stained in the Lancashire rain.

We hit the road yesterday and wow, was it good to be sitting in her saddle again!
It had been a while since I last rode her, September last year to be honest, since then she has safely resided in my friend Peter’s workshop in Cornwall.
I’m pleased to say that after a thorough safety check, a wiff of air in the tyres and reconnecting the battery…she started first time, bursting back into life and happily burbling that familiar Harley “Potato, Potato” song from her exhaust.

I just fell in love with her all over again!

Yesterday we took a steady trundle up through the Welsh Marches to an ovenight stop in North Shropshire with two wonderful and special hosts, plus on the way meeting up with a very, very, special person who I hadn’t seen in years. That was quite some hug!!
It was quite an emotional day that left me feeling very happy and grateful for my many blessings.
Today we rode to Skipton, in the Yorkshire Dales, to drop in on to say hello and share a coffee with a mate. Tonight we are at the foot of Pendle Hill in Lancashire, made famous/infamous by the trial and execution of The Pendle Witches in 1612.

Yesterday and this morning we enjoyed glorious riding weather; this afternoon, not so great, with vicious winds and lashing rain. Let’s be honest, it was just the “Weather Clerk” checking out just how much I enjoy riding Harls…

How did it go?
Well, I will admit to being a bit “Ride Rusty” yesterday when we got going, not dangerously so, but I was having to think about what I was doing, but after a couple of hours I got into the groove and things became more instinctive and considerably more enjoyable.

It occurred to me that this is the first long distance ride that I have ever done in the UK and as such I really should embrace the same principle I apply to my long distance Continental trips.
In other words, as my late lamented mate Floyd used to say,
“To know a country, you must eat a country!”

Well OK Floyd; last night was Shropshire beef steak, beautifully cooked blue, just how I like it, accompanied by wonderful conversation and a toast to those we have lost

Tonight, it’s the local speciality of Pendle Pie a wonderfully calorie laden creation of beef in an ale gravy, topped with mash potatoes and cheese, served with seasonal vegetables. Accompanied with a pint, or two, of the local IPA.
“Only” 1055kcal, it’s how they keep the rain out in these parts!

It seems to be working!

Tomorrow we will get to Scotland, but with still a bunch of miles to follow on Saturday.
I could have had Harls shipped up, but I feel its only right to give her the dignity of arriving in her new home on her own two wheels.
I love that bike and for the people and things I love, I will do anything.

“Spread out the oil, the gasoline
I walk smooth, ride a mean, mean machine
Start it up”

Catch you soon,
Dookes

Moving Home – Dookes HQ Relocated – Here Comes The Solstice!

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I’ve been quiet for a long time, off air and our of contact!
Life has been hectic for the past few months as Mrs Dookes and I have been in the process of moving home.

In the usual Dookes way this hasn’t been a minor undertaking. In our world it always seems that if something is going to happen it’s going to be pretty major and totally worth doing! This also hasn’t been a simple matter of popping just a few miles down the road or into the next county; oh no, we have moved from one end of the United Kingdom to the other!

Previously we were in Cornwall, in the far South West. Now we are in Caithness, thats about as far to the North East as we can go without dropping into the sea! Not only have we travelled 750 miles North, we have also changed countries and are now in Scotland.

Additionally, we are very, very, happy with our decision!

It is beautiful here , the people are great and I am looking forward to blogging furiously about the place once I get out and explore more on two wheels, but for now I give you a couple of taster pictures

Not a bad view from the back door of Dookes H.Q.!

Thursday is the Winter Solstice and I’m very happy in a Druid-like way. I said before, it’s probably my favourite day of the year.

In our Northern Hemisphere it is the shortest day, when the Sun barely shows itself above the horizon and then for the briefest possible time! Here in Caithness the daylight hours are particularly short. Sunrise on the Solstice will be at 09:02 and Sunset is at 15:20.

Caithness Sunrises are very special!

I have said previously how the relevance of this turning point has become stronger for me as I have grown older; I understand the ancient people who venerated the turning seasons and the Celestial Calendar, I celebrate their wisdom and align myself to their beliefs.

It appears that since the dawn of time our forbears have found reason to celebrate a festival of light in the depths of the darkest day of the year. So why not have a party to celebrate the ending of one celestial year and the beginning of a new one?

Sounds good to me, but then I am a Welsh Wizard/Dewin Cymreig!

Stennes Sones Orkney

Have a great Solstice everyone.
Catch you soon,
Dookes

“Now is the Solstice of the year.
Winter is the glad song that you hear.”

Adding Some Omphf!

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Well, I’ve had been dithering about it for some time and then I have finally bit the bullet and trundled Hettie into Plymouth Harley Davidson for that Stage Two Tuning I wrote about a couple of months back.

Hettie

In essence it’s a fairly simple job; just dismantle half the engine, throw away a few bits, add in some new ones, bolt it all back together and ride off with a smile on your face…!

If only it were that simple!

The whole job takes a skilled Harley Technician about five hours to install the new high-lift cam, pushrods and remap the ECU, it wasn’t something that I fancied doing myself. Whilst we were at it though I also arranged for a new high capacity oil pump to be fitted, you can’t have too much lubrication if there is more horse power involved.

I am grateful to Damien at Plymouth Harley Davidson for doing the work and also taking some photos for me as a record.

First of all the fuel tank had to come off. Then the air cleaner and timing cover are removed.
You can see the end of the oil pump with its drive chain at the bottom of this picture.

The drive is dismantled.

Once the oil pump is out of the way, the old camshaft is removed and replaced with the new sexy one. Unfortunately Damien didn’t take any pics of that stage, but this is what it looks like.

After that, the new oil pump goes in…I don’t know why its orange as you cant see it once everything goes back together!

Then once it’s back together, no one would ever know the difference…

Until you open the throttle…
Then it’s 0 to ‘Maximum Smiles per Hour’ in just a few seconds!

Oh and she sounds just great too!

Catch you soon,
Dookes

That Hurt!

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Hello blogonaughts!

Back in April, I posted about fitting the new “Daymaker” LED headlamp to Harls and I also reported a minor injury to my right shoulder….
Well here we are four months later and I can now update that “minor” injury report to something altogether more tedious! Since the initial incident my shoulder and right arm has basically just got a whole lot worse, despite Sports Therapists, Physiotherapy and Doctors attention! You don’t all need to know my medical history, but I did smash up that shoulder about thirty years ago and a degree of my latest issues turned out to be related to that, joy! Anyway, yesterday saw Dookes in hospital for a reasonably simple procedure to, hopefully, rectify the problem and get life back to normal. I certainly had the best night’s sleep last night that i have enjoyed for months!

Today I feel like I have been kicked by a mule! The stabbing, sickening pain is however gone and i’m thankful for that; now all I have to do is get on with my recovery exercises and behave myself for a couple of weeks….Dookes is bouncing back!

Now, with all this shoulder and medical stuff going on, not to mention, grinding ,wearing, pain, I’ve needed something to raise the old Dookes spirits and what could be better than ordering some motorcycle parts…!

Not shiny farkles this time though, ooo no, Dookes is talking “performance parts.”
I’ve decided to fit a Stage Two tuning kit to Hettie, my FLHC Heritage Classic.

Hettie

Whats a Stage Two tune?

Simply put, Harley’s Stage Two kit contains a performance camshaft and adjustable pushrods.

These parts are intended to increase the duration of the valve opening and lift in the valve train. In other words, the new cam pushes the valves open further and keeps them open longer, which allows more fuel and air into the cylinders and equally clears the exhaust out more efficiently. Theres also a small tweek needed to the ECU mapping too.

I’ve chosen a kit which will increase engine torque and enhance performance in the low and mid-RPM range by up to 15%. This should translate into a crisp throttle response and faster acceleration at lower speeds, which comes in handy to pass slower vehicles without shifting down.

It should also sound really cool too!

I can’t wait for it to be fitted in a couple of weeks by my friends at Plymouth Harley Davidson. By then I should be fit enough to ride again too!

Catch you soon,

Dookes

Gremlins!!

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I first published this post way back in 2015!

Following a comment this week from my blogging friend Michael Graeme, I thought that I would revisit and update it, as things in the Gremiln world have moved on a bit since 2015!

Don’t forget to visit Michael’s site, https://michaelgraeme.wordpress.com/ he writes some lovely tales that are well worth following!

Now with Gremlins I’m not referring the  fictional characters in the Hollywood films of the same name. These little fellows are real and play havoc with all kinds of electrical and mechanical equipment.

It is believed that these little creatures first came to notice during the First World War between 1914 and 1918. Perhaps the activities of the war released them from an underground lair? Certainly they were documented by the Royal Air Force in the 1920’s, when the Gremlin delectation for mischief with aeroplanes and engines was further recorded.

During World War II aircrew of the RAF blamed Gremlins for inexplicable occurrences during their flights and missions. Members of the United States Army Air Force also began to experience the exasperating effects of these Imp like little devils. There was even a view that Gremlins had enemy sympathies, but investigations subsequently revealed that enemy aircraft had similar and equally inexplicable mechanical problems; they were just as prevalent in the Luftwaffe and Imperial Japanese Airforce!

It appeared that Gremlins were equal opportunity beings that took no side in the battle; rather they acted in self-interest wreaking their mischief on whoever came into their range.

Since the end of the Second World War the opportunity for Gremlin mischief has literally exploded. The world is now a much more mechanical and electrical place, giving even the most inept trainee Gremlin the chance to practice their dark skills. Since the demise of powerful piston engine aircraft, there is however, one machine that Gremlins love above all others. . . Motorcycles!

Gremlins are now known to be evil road spirits. They jump onto passing motorcycles because they love to ride, feel the wind in their ears and the vibrations of the engine, they are often the cause of many problems endured by bikers. There is however, hope. Many years ago an old biker discovered that Gremlins hate the sound of a small ringing bell. There are many versions of the story of how this happened, but it appears that the evil road spirits can’t bear the ringing and that they get trapped in the hollow body of the bell. Then their hypersensitive hearing and the constant ringing in a confined space drives them insane and they lose their grip and eventually fall off.

Over time it has become apparent that these bells have even more power if they have been received as a gift; sure they work fine if you buy one yourself, but for maximum protection you really need to receive one from a friend or loved one as a gift. That way the magic is doubled, because out there somewhere, you have a friend looking out for you.

So next time you walk past a motorcycle, take a look and see if you can spot a small bell, either on the handlebars or maybe on the swing arm. Whenever you see a biker with a bell you will know that they have been blessed with the most important thing in life, love and friendship. The spirit of camaraderie and brotherhood between bikers is what the ride bell encompasses.

P1030523

So you can imagine I was pretty happy when Mrs Dookes presented me with this little beauty to hang on Hettie.

P1030524

…..and then another one for Harls!

As you can see, I took the picture of Hettie’s bell when it was new and before I fixed it to her.
Harls bell shows it has done quite a few miles!

A word of caution though…if you steal a bell from a biker, you steal all the gremlins and the evil that comes with them. So don’t do it, the consequences could be dire!

“You got me ringing hells bells.”

Catch you soon.

Dookes

Black Magic or Witchcraft?

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I received a message the other day.
“Hey Dookes, how come you haven’t been out riding the mountain passes for a while…?”

Good question, yes, it has been a while since I’ve been on a decent road trip and this is the time of year that I normally would be away. Though to be fair, locally its not a bad place to ride.

As to why:
Well, first off was the small matter of the Covid Pandemic. Now whatever you think about the whole situation surrounding that, there is no doubt that it certainly caused no end of difficulties with travel. In my case there was also the more than slight inconvenience of catching the virus long before vaccines and effective treatment; fun it was not! Then for most of last year I was tied up on a building project here at Dookes H.Q.. Anyone who has had building work done will know just how much time that absorbs.

So that leads us to this year….and just as i was starting to consider slipping off for a quick blast around the mountains, I injured my right shoulder. Bummer. The good news is that some days I’m ok to ride about 50-60 miles, the bad is that other days I’m fit for not much at all and today is one of those!! Fortunately I have an appointment with a Consultant who specialises in shoulders and I am hopeful to get the thing on the road to recovery very soon.

We have been been experiencing lovely sunny riding weather for the last month or so, which has enabled me to get out on my two lovely Harleys when the mood and shoulder permitted. I have also really been falling in love with my Heritage Classic “Hettie” until a couple of weeks ago, that is.

Now “Hettie” is typical of many modern motorcycles and other vehicles; full of electronic wizardry that is supposed to aid the rider and deliver maximum efficiency…and all of it beyond my comprehension or ability to put right if it goes wrong! I’m just a simple mechanical engineer!

One of the little gizmos that “Hettie” has is keyless ignition, using a magic fob that unlocks the motorcycle when in close proximity to it. There is no button to press, the machine just senses the fob, disables the immobiliser and allows me to start the engine…in theory.
I wanted to go for a short ride one evening a few weeks ago, but when I climbed on board the display simply told me “No Fob”. Except I was holding it in my hand!
No panic, I popped back inside Dookes H.Q. and brought out my other fob, to which the bike started with no problem.
Next day I decided to investigate and yes one fob would definitely not work; so I changed the fob battery. It still wouldn’t work.
Time to check the user manual. Nothing useful there.
Check on line user forums. Nothing useful there either.

Ring the local Harley Dealership. “Bring her in”.

Monday last week I rolled into Plymouth Harley Davidson and handed over the two fobs and “Hettie”.

Twenty minutes later technician Damien appeared and questioned just exactly what I had experienced as he could not find a fault with either the bike or the fobs! I used to hate that in my railway days, NFF, “No Fault Found”!!! We discussed the issue and he went back to the workshop to try again.

After another 30 minutes “Hettie” and Damien appeared at the front of the Dealership and he confirmed again that he couldn’t get the bike to reveal any fault, but he had, as a precaution, reset the system and reprogrammed the fobs for me.

I concluded that it was Black Magic and that Damien had weaved some kind of Witchcraft to banish the Demons!

I went to pay and was pleasantly surprised when Dealership Principal Chris told me that there was no charge and in addition they had carried out a “health check” on “Hettie” which she had passed with flying colours!
Now that’s what I call good customer service!

Time to ride home…

“Call me the breeze, I keep blowin” down the road”

Catch you soon

Dookes

With many thanks to Plymouth Harley Davidson.

Portents of Summer, Hospitals and New Crash Helmets

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I’ve said it before, this whole “getting older” thing is a vibe that i’d rather not have…though given the reality of what the alternative is, I’ll settle for my discontented lot!

Just to ram things home on the ageing theme, this past week has seen me deliver one mate to hospital for corrective neck surgery and sit talking with two others who have both just returned from hospital having received a cancer diagnosis. On the plus side, my doctor called me in for a general checkover and a host of routine tests that I am pleased to report saw Dookes given a pretty good bill of health; I am grateful.

Whilst riding this wave of positivity and also enjoying some very nice weather which brought on the blossom on in our garden, I took the opportunity to pop out and ride a few miles on both of my lovely Harleys.

There was also the added bonus of wearing my heated jacket, which eased my injured shoulder considerably, double win then!

Being out on two wheels is always a great mental tonic for me, it resets everything, puts things into perspective and because you have to totally concentrate on the job in hand, everyday troubles are washed away, even if for just a short time.

Around Dookes H.Q. in North Cornwall we are blessed with a delightful selection of great roads to enjoy and just at the moment there are few holiday visitors about, so progress is easy and very enjoyable. A trip North up the Atlantic Highway to Westward Ho! on Hettie was delightful. I had coffee near the beach at Northam Burrows, as the surf breakers rolled in under azure skies.

Another day saw Harls and I heading across Bodmin Moor, no pics this time, just all-out riding pleasure.

Both rides saw me wearing my new crash helmet. For those of you who have never wore a motorcycle crash helmet, let me explain that breaking in a new helmet is never the greatest thing. Yes it may be your size, yes it may be exactly the same model as your old helmet, which fits like a lovely comfy glove, but it will take some time to bed into your head shape…or is that that your head takes some time to bed into the new helmet?!?!?

The new Schuberth C4 Pro.

Either way, it always seems to take ages for a new helmet to go from stiff and a tad uncomfortable to fitting in a way that you don’t realise you are wearing it any more; so shorter rides are a great way to go. I’ve ridden in Schuberth helmets for many years now and I am very happy with them, no connection other than as a satisfied customer.

Pausing to grab some fuel on my way home on Harls my eye was caught by a flash of dark blue in the sky and my heart was fully lifted…the first Swallow of summer skimmed past me on silent soaring wings!

A Swallow, Hirundo rustica. Photo, Ian F.

Aristotle wrote, in the First Book of Ethics, so very long ago, “One Swallow makes no summer.”
Well, yes, but it sure is a portent that Summer isn’t so very far away and I really needed that bit of symbolism!

“I need a shot of salvation baby, once in a while.”

Catch you soon,
Dookes

Farkles and Sparkles: Comfort and Safety

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Earlier this year I went through a slightly worrying phase: I began to question whether I should keep both of my Harley Davidson motorcycles…after all, I can only ride one at a time!

This disturbing musing then threw up another dilemma. If I was to say goodbye to one of my bikes, which one should go?

“Sensible Head” says keep the newest, Heritage Classic Hettie: she has much lower mileage, is more powerful, has modern suspension, better luggage and is generally a bit more comfortable.

“Romantic Head” says keep Centenary Softail Harls; been places, done things and got great memories of the many, many, many miles we have rolled together.

I was still pondering my self imposed conundrum when I visited the local Dealership for Hettie’s service a few weeks back. It was whilst i was waiting that I wandered around the showroom and saw the price of bikes for sale. Not just brand new bikes, but also the price of pre-owned bikes.

I wasn’t just surprised…I was totally dumbstruck by how much Harley Davidson motorcycles were selling for. A new version of Hettie for example would set me back a cool £24,500! (Thats 24,500 UK Pounds) Add into that mix the various tweeks and additions that I’ve done to her and an extra £3000 could easily disappear too…!!! A massive £27,500 in total!!!!

Time for a serious and sensible chat with the Dealer Principle about bike values. Even dear old Harls, who now is, a bit like me, viewed as a “Classic” is now appreciating in value!

Do I need to sell either bike? – No.
Do I want to sell either bike? – No.

What the hell have I been thinking about???

So I did what any sensible Harley rider should do and ordered a set of heated grips and a new LED “Daymaker” headlamp for Harls! The grips for a bit of added comfort and the nice bright headlamp for a bit of added safety.

The Dealership fitted the grips a week or so back, as previously reported, I got around to fitting the headlamp yesterday.

All was good until, after a nice test ride, I decided to give the headlamp mounting bolt an extra bit of torque and the distinctly heard something tear in my right shoulder! I dropped the wrench like I had been hit by an electric cattle prod and am now sitting writing this with my arm in a sling and stoked up on pain-killers and anti-inflammatories!!!

Oh the joys of getting older!!!

Catch you soon,
Dookes

Back In The Dealership

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I have a problem, it’s pretty persistent and can flare up without warning…

It frequently happens when i walk into a Harley Davidson Dealership and usually involves parting with substantial sums of cash!

A week ago I was sitting here in Plymouth Harley Davidson, waiting for Hettie’s service to be completed thinking how nice it was riding in with her heated grips keeping my hands warm…and the thought occurred to me, “Why haven’t I ever had heated grips fitted to Harls?”

Good question Dookes…and to be honest, it has never really occurred to me in the past to fit them!

Well, that didn’t seem like a very good excuse not to have them…so i ordered a set and here I am waiting for them to be fitted! Call it my 20th Anniversary present to her!

One of the old grips, I’ve been to a lot of places holding onto those!

It’s just a shame that it’s such a crap day, weather-wise, to ride a motorcycle!
There’s reasonably heavy, no, read monsoon, rain, gusty winds, lots of spray and the roads are a slippery as hell!…Welcome to Cornwall and Devon in March!!

I’m valiantly trying, successfully so far, not to spend any more money. I am though looking forward to enjoying the new heated grips on the way home! Not that I froze on the way here, i have my heated under-jacket and gloves with me, I’ll just be a little bit more comfortable…

Nice new shiny heated grips!

Catch you soon,

Dookes

Winter Solstice Greetings

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Hello dear readers, yes I know “Where have you been Dookes?”

Life is busy, hectic, interesting and really quite good….I’m not complaining at all!
I am struggling though, to find time to do any writing, let alone keep this blog updated. So please forgive me.

Today is the Winter Solstice and as a result I’m very happy in a Druid-like way. Lacking time to get very creative and write a new post I’m going to break one of my own rules and rework something that I wrote previously, but hey it’s my blog and my rules!!!

Have a great Solstice everyone.

“Now is the Solstice of the year.
Winter is the glad song that you hear.”

It doesn’t take much to make me happy, which might seem a bit strange for a chap who owns two big Harley Davidson motorbikes, but it’s true. Today, for example, is one of those things that no-one can own, hold, buy or claim; take note Mr Musk! It’s the Winter Solstice and I’m a very happy Dookes as a result!

It’s probably fair to say that this has become my favourite day of the whole year!

In our Northern Hemisphere it is the shortest day, when the Sun barely shows itself above the horizon and then for the briefest possible time! Sunset today is just before 16:00hrs!

Stennes Stones Orkney

The Solstice marks the turn of the seasons when the days begin to grow longer and the warmth of Summer begins its long return journey.

It’s also the real beginning of Winter.

I written before how the relevance of this turning point has become stronger for me as I have grown older; I understand the ancient people who venerated the turning seasons and the Celestial Calendar, I celebrate their wisdom and align myself to their beliefs.

It appears that since the dawn of time our forbears have found reason to celebrate a festival of light in the depths of the darkest day of the year. So why not have a party to celebrate the ending of one celestial year and the beginning of a new one?

Sounds good to me, but then I am a Welsh Wizard/Dewin Cymreig!

Let’s not forget that many other cultures and religions around the world also celebrate festivals at this time of the year and have the rebirth of light firmly as their focus.

Dunnet Head

The Christian Church has celebrated the birthday of Jesus Christ, Christmas, on December 25th since the 4th Century when Pope Julius I chose the date in an effort to replace the Roman Feast of Saturnalia. People have compared the rebirth of the sun to the birth of the son of God.

It’s also interesting to reflect that the origins of many “traditional” Western Christmas decorations such as the Yule Log, Tree and Wreath can trace back to pre-Christian times.

Familiar decorations of green, red and white cast back to the Wiccan traditions and the Druids. The old Pagan Mid-Winter Festival of Yule also included feasting and gift giving, doesn’t it all sound very familiar?!?!

When I was younger we always did the usual Christmas decoration stuff, including a highly non-authentic artificial tree! My late father did little to dress the tree, but had his own take on the whole decoration thing that he insisted on doing himself; every year he would garland the house with boughs of green holly and evergreen, it was only then that I truly used to feel that things were being done properly. I suspect that my Celtic blood has a lot to do with this and I still carry on that tradition today in Dookes H.Q.. I adore the house smelling of pine and other evergreens! Yesterday, on the eve of the Solstice I was out in the glorious Cornish countryside gathering the greenery to decorate our home. It’s done now and I feel very happy and at ease with it.

Many Pagan religions had a tradition where it was customary to place holly leaves and branches in and around dwellings during winter. It was believed that the good spirits who inhabited forests could come into their homes and use the holly as shelter against the cold; whilst at the same time malevolent forces and spells would be repelled.

Mrs Dookes also enters into the spirit of the season with her splendid handmade evergreen wreaths. This reflects another pagan tradition, the wreath’s circle has no beginning or end and the evergreen represents life in the depths of winter. The circle of life.

Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, The Solstice, Dongzhi, Yalda, Saturnalia, Malkh, any other festival that I may have missed, or just looking forward to having a restful holiday, have a truly wonderful time and maybe spare a thought, or penny, for those less fortunate.

Thanks for joining me this year, we haven’t ridden much, but i have a feeling that 2023 is going to be some ride and i look forward to sharing that with you all!
I hope you will saddle up with me for more adventure and opinion than this year!

“Praise be to the distant sister sun,
joyful as the silver planets run.
Ring out, ring solstice bells.”

Catch you soon.

Dookes

With grateful thanks to Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull for sharing the Solstice over many decades!