Motorbike road trips,traditional pocket knives,history and culture.

Today was the last ride till I head out 200miles for the Plymouth to Santander ferry on Wednesday.

That gives me 2 days to clean and check my bike over,finnish packing and checking my numerous list.

So many lists I get myself very confused. 🤣


I met some interesting people today including a hardworking 80 year old Welsh farmer and a 82 year old antique shop owner whos wife will probably kill me.

He came out to look at my bike telling me he had sold his off a few years ago,I saw the glint in his eye though he clearly wanted to buy another.😅

It was just one of those days where people were chatty and happy.






































 
Cool idea for a thread.

Here is a link to a photo album that is hosted on my own , private, non commercial web site.

This album is of a trip from central Illinois to Portland Oregon, touring the Kershaw/Kai factory, then to Post Falls ID to the Buck factory.
My friends also did our planned tour of Leatherman while I got a new rear tire for my bike that morning.

Good times!
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Conniestone Cutlery and National Parks Tour 2012

5100 mile trip on three Kawasaki Concours, seeing Yellowstone and Glacier parts, along with the Kershaw, Leatherman and Buck manufacturing plants.
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An older couple who watched me remove my rear wheel in the hotel parking lot in Portland OR while one of my buddies looks on.

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The Kershaw factory.DSC_8429.jpeg

Buck factory...
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Lots of great vintage displays at Buck...
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We saw Glacier, Grand Teton and Yellowstone on this trip.
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I hope you have a fantastic trip John :) I have not been on the Plymouth-Santander ferry, I booked it some years ago, but then there was a mistake, and we couldn't get a cabin. We'd been on the Portsmouth-Bilbao ferry a couple of years before, and really enjoyed it. When we were boarding at Portsmouth, there was a delay of a couple of hours, as they needed to do something to the engine. A group of elderly cigarette smugglers got so drunk that one of them collapsed in the ferry terminal. A stewardess came over to one of the other old fellers, and asked him if the man was a friend of his. "I've never seen that man before in my life!" came the dramatic, and heavily slurred reply.
The stewardess exclaimed, "But you're on the same ticket!" 🤣 The boss, we dubbed Don Fag-end, was not amused by their behaviour, and the following day, at breakfast, we saw him, angrily giving his shame-faced crew a stern talking-to! 😁 It's at least 15 years ago, and to be honest, given their advanced years, you're unlikely to bump into them, still working the ferries ;)
 
Washed and brushed up ready for the mornings long 200 mile slog (well it is for me nowadays).

I will be going West to Plymouth Port very close to Union street in the town centre.

Oh I could tell you some storys about Union street.

Of 16 year old junior soldiers giving lip to the Navy shore patrol and bouncers the size of barns who could have snapped us with there fingers (in the mistaken believe they couldnt touch as "we is Army mate") wrong,very wrong. 😅

One of us even fell asleep after a few beers in front of the strippers in a dodgy club (yep that was me 🤣 ).


Well if you ever plan to motor west
Jack take my way, it's the highway that's the best
Get your kicks on the A303.

One place I am really looking forward to is a Paradore in Cazorla,its in the middle of nowhere at the end of a track I hope to spot some wildlife on my ride there.

























 
Johnnythefox said:
I then had a quick kip then a shower and headed of for a bike meet in East Hagbourne a pretty little vilage not to far away.

Lots of bikes but weather dull so not as many as last year.

I like the 15 when of my bike as its slim,light and easy to carry in my pocket.


Tea and a slice of cake for £2.50 on the Church stall that will do nicely (though I paid more as it was worth it). 😍

















































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After spending Rally Week in the Black Hills, including a couple of visits to Sturgis, I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to see an eclectic lineup of bikes like these. Even the few Harleys look pretty good in the right setting.
 
Henry Beige said:
After spending Rally Week in the Black Hills, including a couple of visits to Sturgis, I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to see an eclectic lineup of bikes like these. Even the few Harleys look pretty good in the right setting.
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Thanks,glad you like them.
I was admiring the Suzuki SP370 I had one of those when I was in Germany,not the best choice for the autobahns. 😂
 
Potes/Spain It was so cold up the mountain with the icy rain my face went numb and I lost the feeling in my thumbs and fingertips.
With the diabetes I only found my feet where wet/cold when I took of my boots.
Gloves (it was like putting on ice gauntlets) and boots soaked to the core.
I have not experienced the excruciating pain of the blood coming back into the fingers,since I was in the Army shooting in the prone position in a puddle with no gloves on.
My plan was to head south to avoid rain,you can’t control the weather so I am not complaining. 😁









































 
I hope your hands are OK John, and that you manage to find some warmer weather. Tool Man's missus has just returned from a holiday in Spain with her daughters, and as he was telling me, 'The rain in Spain falls mainly on Lorraine." 😉👍
 
Great pictures and notes.

Your ELR always makes me smile!
 
It’s cold and dank outside,those temperatures will be close to zero centigrade on the bike.

I am heading to Zamora where it looks a bit warmer.

All my clothes are still wet including my waterproofs.

I’ve got dry cotton socks (should have brought a wool pair) but my wet boots will soon change that. 😂

I always say ride a bike you will get cold and wet,should have kept my mouth shut. 😆



 
mqqn said:
Haha D Danke42

I am on my second pair of elk skin ropers from rider wearhouse, and it literally took years of riding to get all the dye out of them.
I paid many a person on my trips with purple-black hands.
Good memories.

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Those Aerostich elkskin ropers are pretty nice. I liked my tan ones so much I started buying elk skin instead of the deer skin gloves I usually bought. The ones I buy don’t have some of the features of Andy’s gloves, but they cost about half.
Sometimes I miss the little squeegee blade on the left index finger, but I did without it for years.
 
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