The Shed reborn... and some miles added

I hope you, loyal blog reader, have seen the videos on this site of “the shed” being fired up for the first time and its first round the block run, Well it was a bit longer than round the block but I had picked the worst 15 minuets of what was a really a “not bad” sort of day. I think the bike went OK but I was concentrating more on keeping me and the bike upright in very very gusty conditions. It rained and then got cold. Never mind I thought I have heated grips, so on there went. Now heated grips are designed to have a set of nice thick leather gloves between your hands and the glowing red embers of each bar end (I went without gloves). So I was freezing and the grips got hotter and hotter till I could not hold onto them any more. So I admitted defeat and went home completely wet though cold (except for my hands) and I had learnt nothing about the bike.

Anyway this weekend was different. I went to work on the bike on Friday (140 miles round trip) and everything thing went very well. Then on the Saturday and Sunday it was to Preston and back (We live near Southampton), two up and a fair amount in the panniers. Again all went without any fuss. So we have clocked up nearly 700 miles this weekend with nothing to major to report.

Some minor problems tick over needs to be increased, some intercom issues and the new seat is still not comfy for me although Sandra loves it….. So I guess it stays

The weekend gave us a great opportunity to pop-in and see a bunch of our family and friends just to say “hi”.

Mind you I have noticed fuel economy is now down a bit. “the Shed” now kitted out with big spotlights and two aircraft hangers thinly disguised as panniers on each side, has the aerodynamic properties of the Tate Modern and this is reflected in the MPG figures. Saying that the big tank helps but I will have to ride a little better than I did this weekend to make the target of 300 miles to a tank of fuel.

Being back on a bike again was fantastic, I had forgotten just how good it all was. Sandra being the perfect pillion makes life easy. We had not been on a road bike for nearly six months (time spent getting the shed ready and messing around on dirt bikes) but we both got into the swing of things soon enough.

I do have to slow down a bit, this was a busy weekend and I found myself getting to the usual 80-90 MPH on motorways (sorry officer) just because I can. There should be absolutely no need to hurry on the trip and something I really need to work hard on. I want to be able to enjoy the surroundings take things in, something I am not very good at here in the UK, old habits dying hard.

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The countdown is well and truly on (see the fancy countdown clock on our home page) and there are not many free weekends to get “stuff” done. Having now been on the bike for some distance I am now chomping at the bit to just get going.

Its going to be very odd saying goodbye to “the man” who I have worked for all my life, don’t get me wrong working for “the man” has brought its rewards, but we have to fend for ourselves until we reach our goal or the money runs out.

It’s even going to be odder and much much harder saying goodbye to family and friends for a while. I know Sandra and I feel this is the hardest part of it all. To help we are having a bit of a leaving do before making our way to the airport and then off. Hopefully the bike would have been delivered to Vancouver via airfreight some two or three days before.

So our time now is spent wishing we had more time to get more stuff done and at the same time, wanting to just start our adventure on the next week end. Psychotic, or what?

On other matters, E bay has been good to us as we start the great "sell off" of all our possessions to help fund the trip, mainly used bike gear and the like. Next is selling the cars and our beloved Aprilia Falco. This is another toughie, having done most of our travelling on this bike we are somewhat attached to it, This bike is fast -really fast, has time warping acceleration, its agile and handles beautifully, all the things the shed isn’t or doesn’t, However you cant do a trans continental trip on the Aprilia, its just not built for it. So if you know someone who wants a well loved 04 Aprilia Falco please let us know, however all enquires must come with a 30 page CV and references so we know its going to a good home.