That’s a real shame… I’ve had many good biking weekends there over the years, in fact going in a couple of weeks! It’ll be sad to see it go.

I’m a recent (old) biker and passed the day after my 52nd!

no previous riding experience. CBT was ok, struggled with some of the manoeuvres specifically the figure of eight. Did 4 days of training to prep for Mod 1 & 2. This involved riding a 700cc Yamaha which was a shock!

Mod 1 ok, needed to do my emergency brake twice, but squeaked through.
mod 2 again ok, stalled leaving the test centre, forgot to turn off indicators as I was still thinking about the stalling, but passed with 5 minors.
bought 675 street triple 5 days later and have bloody loved it!! Why didn’t I do this earlier?

Daft Punk for me please.

Blimey this is all hard work isn’t it!

today I’ve started the process of getting a care assessment started but could take “weeks” for someone to come round!

we have decided on respite care for 28 days, which is the maximum amount of time my mum can be away from her alms house before it gets removed. Hopefully this will give her time to get her strength and confidence back to continue living independently. But today she was not in a great place!

i could write for ages about the challenges and the worries it brings, but if you know: you know!!

Thanks all for your thought provoking responses.

This conversation with my mum has started after she’s had a number of falls recently as her leg has steadily become weaker through various complications of trapped nerves and remedies that unfortunately didn’t work to resolve.
She is now apprehensive about any real mobility, even with a zimmer frame, and so wants to be somewhere where there’ll be someone around if needs be.

As the point has been made a few times: stay in the house as long possible (she lives in an Alms house), and certainly agree that care home is not cheap, I think the first step is to arrange a Care Assessment from the local council. This will, I hope, provide some direction rather than a knee jerk reaction which is what it feels like at the moment.

for reference she lives in Suffolk in a small village (with a care home in which she visits a friend regularly) where she has been part of the community for decades… unfortunately I live in West Sussex.

I was walking in Wales, talking puddings with my wife and son, when it hit me that the name Banoffee Pie, merges banana and toffee: the main ingredients of a Banoffee pie!!!

Mine went up 100% in February turns out it was quite competitive! Direct line wouldn’t even quote.
Again no change in my circumstances!

Hello All,

Its been a busy couple of days, but thanks for all the advice much appreciated.

@sharkattack – Good suggestion, I have a large Tesco near by so can use that for my manoeuvres, emergency stops etc.

It must be rather sobering to have those near misses and wonder if it’s actually worth. Fortunately its been positive so far but I do know that it’ll change in an instant. And related to @fastHaggis point, I go mid evening/early morning and the traffic is very light.

@worldclassaccident – deal but it will need a deep clean and be prepared to replace all the bearings

@glennquagmire – yes it does have ABS and to pre-empt your next question I should find out what happens when they’re are activated! deep breath.

Now lets see if I can add an image:

my new baby!

This is me having ridden 150 to pick up the bike from a friend (less than a week after my test!) from Taunton and the last third started raining, progressively getting worse as i neared home! I was still smiling, scary but good!

I don’t know if the image or the tags directed at the individuals works…

Oh, and some photos of the 675 are mandatory.

you’re assuming I know how to add an image…!

Thanks Watty, the book is bought and now looking at novice track days!

Currently sitting in the sun at a “biker” cafe, but the reality is setting in: at some point I need to leave. Where I’m either going to drop the bike, stall, wobble out of the space, crash into Basher Biily’s bike, put my gloves on before the helmet etc etc. wish me luck!

Thanks for your thoughts, and the detailed response Mboy! Advanced training was certainly on my list and appreciate the recommendation with IAM.
I do need to get out, and also practice manoeuvres in an empty Tesco car park…

looking forward to early ride tomorrow!

thanks.
interesting thoughts on alcohol. She doesn’t drink much, maybe a bottle of wine a week.
she also gets the speech issues and is sometimes sick, so you never know what you’re going to get!

Exercise, she’s found the running seemed to trigger them, as did yoga, and outdoor circuits, basically anything! This is something she’s really gutted about as she enjoyed running especially!

we’ve not found a consistent trigger! But she does have an underlining neurological condition which doesn’t help.

Looks like the app is still working and you can navigate to your orders through that, as I’ve had to do the same thing!

I was never a big spender at CRC, but they were always my go to place to buy stuff throughout my biking life, and never had an issue with them. So I do feel for the people there and how this affects them.

while there’s not much I can do about it, I did send them a thank you message and wished them all the best for the future, through their contacts page. I hope it made someone smile…

Not a takeaway dinosaur rib?

Took me a moment!

Street food Spring roll. Night market in Luang Prabang, Laos, with my 2.5 year old son.

for me, slightly off the beaten track:

Jardin des Curiosites – Very nice small park with big views across the city

The Adobe of Chaos – A artists house that is an art installation in itself, within a residential area. Really interesting!!

Beautiful city though, personally I really like the Confluence for the interesting architecture!!

I also have a smart dishwasher, the novelty of changing the interior light colour wore off quite quickly!

erm – that’s about it. Oh other than resetting the time when we have a power cut…

I also got a rather nice seamaster!

Rolls Royce shares…

Thanks Neil. Tz-Uk seems unlikely in the short term, having just seen the conditions…!

Appreciate the reassurance of the age of the watch.

Anyone know trusted dealers in the south east?

Evening all,

Thanks to this thread, unbeknown to me, it seems that I have Omega Seamaster 2254 shaped hole that needs filling!

Not having ever bought a 2nd hand watch, I’m not quite sure how to go about getting one and what I should be asking…

For example
What years was the watch made?
Can I check the serial number myself?
Should I be concerned about the service history
Is getting a 15 year watch an issue?
What else should I be asking/thinking about and any recommendations for a reputable seller.

Thanks for your help…

Thanks for the advice! Filter is clear…

Good tip about the scale, I’ll borrow a multimeter to double check the state of it also.

Cheers

I use 1Password. Small annual fee, been very happy with it so far.

Easy to create logins on the fly and generate password to suit whatever the site criteria.

Ok, thanks ART.

Just want to confirm something, does the voucher have the passengers name on it?

In my case the tickets for my son and his friend. I’d like to use the voucher for me and Wilma…

My vote is the spacers order also.
I had something similar and eventually realised that the cassette has 3 different thickness of spacers. Once resolved, no more indexing issue.

If you’re near Horsham, I’ve got a VCDS reader…

duncancallum

Going back in September with ride Slovenia

How did you get on? We’re thinking of going with them next year…

Drac – Use to live his travel programmes but have some errrr very happy memories from his shows on foreign TV.

Fond memories indeed.

After plying DrP with booze and while he was describing his 12th bike, I grabbed the wheels and ran.

Thanks chap. Really appreciated.

Never did find out who handed the wheels in in the first place…

Couple of things
I’m really enjoying the stories and relived!
I feel like my life is complete, I have started a thread that has gone onto 2 pages!
DrP – Thanks and message sent.

Thanks all, there are some reassuring stories here 😉

DrP – I’m in Horsham so not a million miles away. Could that work? Very kind of you to volunteer. I was going to pick them up Wednesday other wise.

Cheers

Blimey. That’s impressive!

I’ve got b8 S4 avant, that has a pulley and remap. Up there with the rs4 and get a rather frugal 24mpg.

Always wanted an rs4 though, love the look with those arches…

Hey Mintyjim,

How did you get on? did you take the plunge?

Gutted. Just seen this. Like many on here not met him, but found him inspirational. Always jumped on his posts and updates and thought about him when there were gaps.

I hope that his family can take small comfort from the knowledge that he meant so much to so many people. People he had not met but still affected.

Thoughts are with you.

I see this as an opportunity and get a second hand high spec Audi S4 Avant…

Hey bullheart, like many people here I’ve followed your progress and am in awe with how you’ve dealt with the trials and tribulations you’ve been through.

Use the the strength of your family to stay strong.

All the best chap.

Out walking with my two boys.
Naps in the lounge with the family noise around me.

The realization that interns are closer to your sons age than your own.
From the perspective of a woman, they are not being ‘eyed up’ but being letched at!

As with every one else, thinking of you and your family.

To a little lad, who won’t be forgoten.