Wrinklies Wround the World 2006-2007

Colin has completed the service on the bike which was a major one. Gaskets, plugs , oil change, brackets and brake pads. The parts cost 151 GBP.
Then we took the bike to the BMW dealer for the day and they replaced the oil seal on the Drive shaft & needle roller bearings on the drive pinion. This cost 145GBP. They let us have a brand new ST 1200 for the day- and that proved to be very fast- could loose your licence very easily, if you were'nt careful! It also made you realise how comfortable the GS is- we are spoilt with our air cushions !

Before leaving Oz we managed a trip to Byron Bay to try to see the whales Drove through Brisbane and on to the Pacific Highway.Sadly the trip in the Zodiac had to be cancelled due to inclement weather !___ would you believe that in Australia__ trust us!
We went up to Hastings Point and to the lighthouse which is the most Easterly point in Oz. The wind was so strong that it blew Colin,s helmet out from behind the windscreen. We did manage to see whales in the distance and were close enough to watch the dolphins playing and rolling in the surf.

We arrived in Lisbon on the 24 July_ not too tired as we had had a break for the weekend. Colin had booked the hotel over the net and managed to get one of a chain that was Muslim and therefore "dry" of alchohol. Thought we had left that behind ! However there were many bars on the corner of the street.

The Customs agent phoned us late on 25th and said that the bike had arrived on Mon 24th but he had forgotten to update the tracking system on the net. We had checked and thought it had not arrived.

Went through the Tarn Gorge in France on 2/ 8/ 06 with tunnels of rock over the road to Vallance. The heighest point here was 1,00 metres. This is wonderful biking country and it is nice to see more bikes on the road and they acknowledge you as you pass. We have only seen one other family from England since we started on this leg -- i think we will forget how to communicate with other people soon !

25 degrees and petrol 1GBP but you really need to fill up when you can.

We left Baju, Hungary on 12 /8 /06 having enjoyed the swimming pool facilities at the hotel and meals, including drinks for 13 GBP.

IT cafes charge by the minute but the total for one hour is 83 pence .

We left Dinant, Belgium om 28 August, having had a few days rest and sightseeing.

It was around here that we had a long nail in the back tyre and were lucky to find a BMW dealer open on a Saturday afternoon with the workshop also open. Nail was removed and the puncture vulcanised for £29. We were very aware that we had no ultraseal in this tyre as we were unable to locate same in Oz when the tyre was changed last.

Hi there folks. Wrinklies are off again on their travels again ,after the jaunt to Australia and back to UK last year on our 1150 GS.

Colin did a full service on return with no major faults found.

It took us a little while to settle to the hum- drum of life at home -- and even longer to get into the art of polite conversation again !

Now off on a much shorter trip for about 6 weeks. Route planned is : France, Spain, North and south Morocco and return a variation of the way out - probably via Alsace and Lorraine.

We left UK on Monday 30 April via Condor ferries who were the one company that we found would give reductions for Senior Citizens ! They were good and secured bike for us.From Weymouth to St Malo and stopped quickly at Guernsey and Jersey.Arrrived 6pm to promptly get lost trying to find the hotel- road closed and diversions in place !

Total miles to Gib was 1675. .

Anyway the trip from Ronda was great: through the mountains with towns and villages dotted on the side of the mountains and all the houses painted in white.

The first view of Gib was fantastic. A sheer rock face and a huge chunk of rock! The other side is full of trees.Just cannot believe that we are here in 8 days of easy travelling.Temperature is 30 degrees. We expected the traffic in La Linea de la Conception to be heavy but that was totally wrong. It was very quiet. Not as bad as a local town in UK.

A busy road in France at noon!

Forts at La Rochelle.

Pyrenees in cloud !

Spanish cafe on side of road.

Tatuine

Just to make sure you stop at police checks!

Unexpected lakes in the Atlas

Herman in his garden

10 May and we had an easy entry to Morocco after the ferry ride which was half an hour and cost 59 GBP.Through the formalities in about an hour with some help from 2 guys who expected a tip and got one!The customs guys picked up that we had been to Iran and Pakistan and called Colin over to quiz him about it.The entry for the locals was very different and they were being taken apart at the seams!

Sun 13 and we were off to Marakesh after having had our boots cleaned for 50p,through the Atlas mountains and what a spectacular ride on deserted roads with tiny villages.They say that traversing the Atlas is one of the motor cycle 'musts ' and we tend to agree with that!
Again we were offered kif and there are pottery places every where trying to sell their wares or crystals of bright red or green. A lorry had lost 2 wheels off the axle near to the top- just avoided going over the edge !

High Atlas Pass

High Atlas Pass

Sahara storm

The Stoney desert

What no beer?

last Chance saloon!

So here we are in Gibralter for 5 days trying to get this elusive tyre.We were there from Sun 20 to Fri 25 May.On Thursday the guy eventually told told us that he was unable to get it from Spain!

From Lemoge it was a leisurely ride to St malo where we got the return ticket to Poole even cheaper than UK prices. First call was , of course , to see Doug ( our son) .
Riding in France and Spain is so easy - very little traffic and the worst thing is trying to find an IT cafe ! All the hotels (and alot of the cafes)- are geared up for wireless- so, if you have a laptop, you are laughing.
I still find that some of the IT cafes will not accept the camera- and that is a pain! or it's me being dense.