geoffjames.blogspot.com
Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist: January 2013
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist. Friday, 18 January 2013. Sometimes, the tough days are the best! You may not believe it, but I've been crapping myself about today! Just before Christmas, I was due to sit my Institute of Advanced Motorcyclists Observer (Mentor/Instructor) test and managed to stuff up my back at home 2 days beforehand. Chief Examiner Philip rang up a few days ago to re-schedule and today was the day! Philip McDaid, Chief Examiner and a very relieved pupil! Less than 2 hours after ge...
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist: June 2015
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist. Friday, 26 June 2015. Winter maintenance and other ramblings. Perhaps just a smidgeon of exaggeration! Setting off early, there was a decent frost on the ground as I headed south, then west. Several layers of Icebreaker merino under my Gore-Tex but the 2 hour trip and absence of a screen and heated grips on the Street Triple still made for chilly riding and a leaky nose (ewwww.). New front and rear sprockets and a Tsubaki Alpha X-ring chain. Nitron custom rear shock.
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist: ScooterBob in NZ - the Coromandel Peninsula
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist. Saturday, 21 March 2015. ScooterBob in NZ - the Coromandel Peninsula. Bob Leong - moto blogger extraordinaire. Firstly, a bit of background. A good friend of Bob's, David Masse; came up with a fitting tribute to Bob's life and dreams by sending a model wooden Vespa scooter (christened ScooterBob) which Bob had once owned, on a journey of its own. You can read David's excellent account of how the idea came to fuition here: ScooterBob. Sunset over the Hauraki Gulf.
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist: November 2012
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist. Monday, 12 November 2012. Fun on land and in the air! Well, the last few days have been pretty hard to top in terms of enjoyment, especially with NZ having emerged from a wet Winter into a warm Spring. It started last Wednesday with a ride to Auckland to continue the IAM Observer (advanced instructor) training under the eagle eye of the Chief Examiner, Philip McDaid along with another Observer trainee, John. I have to mention my personal highlight of the day! Howeve...
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist: ScooterBob goes train-spotting!!
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist. Monday, 23 March 2015. Following the last post about ScooterBob's history, his arrival in Coromandel and meeting our close friends, it was time for SB to go exploring. Before our friends Peter and Jane Miller returned to the UK, we wanted to show them a local attraction, Driving Creek Railway. Of course, it would be rude not to invite cherished guest SB along too. ScooterBob arriving at Driving Creek Railway. Do we drive on the left or right? A reminder to us all.
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist: April 2013
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist. Thursday, 25 April 2013. Not dead, just busy :-). A few weeks ago, I was surprised and rather touched to get an email from fellow moto-blogger Jules. Asking if I was ok as I hadn't posted for a while. Since then, there have been 3 similar emails so thought I'd better set the record straight! Still loving life though. Oh and they're also good for disguising Old Farts behaving badly! Look at that young idiot overtaking all those cars, Ethel"). The previous iridium vis...
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist: June 2013
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist. Saturday, 1 June 2013. IAM - not just for the seriously fast bikes. The Institute of Advanced Motorists in NZ coaches both riders and drivers employing the criteria broadly used for UK police training. In other words, a truly measurable, advanced standard. Many people think that that they have to own big capacity, fast bikes to benefit from joining IAM but t'aint so! Piaggio MP3 and BMW1200GS. Fellow blogger Roger's beautiful (pretty? Andy's brutal new K1300 R.
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist: July 2013
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist. Tuesday, 16 July 2013. A slight case of nervousness! Not wanting Rogey to have a complete monopoly of carbon fibre farkles for his K1200S (see HERE). It was time to modestly splash out on something potentially useful. Modern sport bike front guards are minimalist to say the least. Without a radiator guard, the radiator is constantly peppered with stones of various size. A guard was an early prudent purchase, so ok there. Anyway, perusing eBay revealed a chap in the ...
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist: February 2013
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist. Saturday, 23 February 2013. Two Tour Tassie, final part. SWANSEA TO PORT ARTHUR, HOBART AND HOME. Interesting patterns at low tide on Port Arthur road. Many of the penal colony buildings, albeit in poor condition, still exist. On the day we were there in bright sunshine and well-tended grounds, it was hard to picture what a terrible and harsh place it must have been when in use in the 1800's. View of the penitentiary and other buildings. Massive underground wall of ...
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist: August 2013
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Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist. Thursday, 8 August 2013. Badass biking in the Cook Islands! Jennie and I haven't been to Rarotonga in the tropical Cook Island group for 6 years but it's a nice warm destination for a short break, the people are lovely and the food is great. Flying time from Auckland is under 4 hours. In fact, a great place to celebrate our 41st wedding anniversary and escape from reality! NASA SOFIA Airborne observatory (big door in front of the fin). Happy (very) hour cocktails.