WHIRL2026 Day - 10

So, today was the last day of the tour. There were spots of rain as we prepared to leave, so I put my waterproofs on. They would be on most of the day. This was probably the sort of day I had been expecting, a mixture of sunshine and showers. 

The rain barely amounted to anything on our way to the first stop but the waterproofs also keep the wind out.

We arrived at our first stop, the Powerscourt Waterfall, which at 121 feet, is the highest in Ireland. It's a short walk from the car park to the waterfall through fertile woodland, covered in ferns. The waterfall itself was ok but I suspect it would be far more impressive later on in the year, when the flow would be a lot greater.

Powerscourt Waterfall

Having made our way back to the bikes, it started to rain and by far the hardest and most persistent rain we had seen in 10 days of touring. Still, it wouldn't be long before it had stopped and by the time we made our second stop at the Lough Tray viewing point, it was dry, if not exactly sunny.

Lough Tray

It was at this point that Grizzly announced that the Shadslow's fuel light had come on.

Now, as part of my tour planning, I build in fuel stops. This trip we found that we didn't need to fill up at the scheduled places, so for days we have been winging it. This is ok if there are loads of fuel stations around (Grizzly -"this is Ireland, petrol stations are everywhere") but they are in short supply when you are up in the mountains.  There was nothing showing on the next part of the route, so Grizzly searched the nearest fuel station. I misheard him and thought he said 5km. It was more like 25! and in the opposite direction to our next stop. There's a good reason why I go to the trouble of locating these fuel stations, even if it means filling up early. Lesson learned maybe?

Fuelled up we made our way back onto the road to our scheduled stop, though this was not without incident. At one point I was on the main road, just tipping into a left hand bend, when a black car came out of an adjoining road from the right. Luckily for both of us, nothing came of it, the car stopping, when it realised it wasn't on the main road and should have given way. Grizzly confirmed we were on the main road, so the car was at fault. It could have been a bad end to what has been a great tour.

The next stop was a the Glendalough Monastic Site. The site houses various buildings that would have comprised the monastery built in the 13th century, including a cathedral and a 100ft bell tower. Aside from these buildings, the site seems to have been used as a graveyard since the monastery's demise.

A slightly leaning bell tower

We had one more stop to make, the Tulach a'tSolais Monument, that commemorates the formation of the Irish republic in 1798, I think 🤔. 

Tulach a'tSolais Monument

The last stint was the run to our hotel, The Farmer's Kitchen, from where we had started the tour 10 days ago. The lady on the desk remembered us and was interested to know where we'd been.  We were early enough this time to get a meal in the restaurant, which was perfect for our end of tour dinner.

Tomorrow we shall be going our separate ways, me 10 miles or so to the ferry at Rosslare, Grizzly home to Portlaoise.

Tomorrow's post should be a bit shorter. Not much happens on a 4 hour ferry crossing!

Till then.

WHIRL2026 Day - 9

Back on the bikes today, we set off under cloudy skies and at about 15 degrees. Our first destination was the last point on the compass, Burr Point, acknowledged as the most easterly point in mainland Ireland. There's a steel circular structure with a large E in the middle to mark the spot. I've not seen anything the same at the other 3 points, though obviously, the southern point was inaccessible. Maybe for the other two I just didn't walk far enough?

There was a chap there who struck up a conversation when he noticed Grizzly's Route 66 badge on the bike. Somehow, I was the one who got enbroiled in the conversation, including where we had been and where he had been when delivering furniture! Grizzly just got on with taking photos whilst I was 'stuck'. Eventually I managed to bring the convo to a close. The Irish are very friendly but this was a little OTT.

E means the most Easterly Point

My photos taken, we set course for Portaferry, stopping just outside the ferry port to fuel up, before taking our place at the head of the queue. This was our third and final ferry and the cheapest of the three. We were making the short crossing across Strangford Lough.

First on, first off!

10 minutes after setting sail, we were riding off the other end  and on our way to Inch Abbey. The abbey, or remains of, were once inhabited by cistercian monks. It was very quiet there today and must have been a tranquil place to live.

Inch Abbey

We had a short lunch break before our next  place of interest. I had another chap approach me, asking about the bike and saying how lucky we have been with the weather. Couldn't disagree. It's not that we haven't had rain, but it's been a light shower here and there, nothing sufficient to warrant stopping to get the waterproofs on. This convo was much shorter than the earlier one and more bike related. I'm not a great conversationalist but it'd be rude to ignore people and they all wish us a safe journey to signoff, so what's the harm in taking a few minutes to engage?

The next stop was a neolithic tomb, Ballykeel Dolmen, dolmens are also called portal tombs. The portal/door into the tomb would be formed by 3 upright stones, with a flat stone on top. On arrival, Tomtom said we had arrived but we couldn't see anything. Turning round we then saw the portal in a field. To get to it, I had to walk down the road a few metres and climb some stone steps, almost like a stile. Grizzly didn't seem interested and sat on his bike. As I was investigating, one of those short showers arrived. Luckily, I could shelter under the portal. A couple of minutes and it had passed.

Ballykeel Dolmen

From the Dolmen, we were on our way to our hotel, south of Dublin. The ride in the main was on a couple of  motorways which apart from a section around Dublin where traffic was tailed back, allowed us to make good time. We arrived at the hotel about 5:15pm, which gave us time to watch some of the Brazil v Japan game, before going for dinner. There's not much in the area, so we ate in the hotel bar. A chap had one of the specials, ribs, chicken wings, onion rings, salad and chips. It smelt great, so that's what I had. It was messy and took quite a long time to finish but it was very tasty and definitely the right choice.

Tomorrow, believe it or not, is my and Grizzly's last full day together. We have a few places on the itinerary to visit, after which we'll be back to where we started, in Wexford.

Day 10 beckons. Bye for now.

WHIRL2026 Day - 8

Not on the bike today. Today was sightseeing day in Belfast. 

We breakfasted as soon as we could, then made our way to Dunmurry station for the train into Belfast. It's 4 stops. From Belfast Grand Central Station, we walked the Belfast City Hall. In the grounds they have 2 memorials of interest to me, one to the Titanic dead and one for the Royal Irish Fusileers. Photos taken, we popped round the corner and got the G2 bus to the Titanic Quarter and the museum.

Belfast City Hall

I won''t say too much about the Titanic museum, as I don't want to spoil it for any potential future visitors, suffice to say it is very well laid out and takes you through some of Belfast's history before getting embroiled in the Titanic story itself, which all comes to life over four floors. We probably spent a good 90 minutes going round.

I had to, didn't I?

Outside, there is more to see, other ships, where the Titanic and Olympic were laid out and not forgetting the two massive Harland & Wolfe cranes, Samson and Goliath.

Samson or Goliath

Having done the Titanic thing, we took the bus back to city hall, where we took yet another bus a little way up the road. From here we started the mural part of our day, with a brief visit to the Belfast Cathedral thrown in.

Our ultimate goal was to walk the Falls Road and check out all the memorials and murals on show there. I'm not sure what was/had been going on but there was quite a police presence and I even saw two of the white armoured landrovers that the Ulster Constabulary use, that I've only ever seen on the TV before. By the time we'd walked almost the entire length of the Falls Road, it was around 4pm. We jumped on another bus (I should mention we had a travel pass) back to city hall again and then walked back to the station. We had about 50 minutes before the train was due to leave, so we had a toilet break followed by a beer in the Brewdog Bar. The train left dead on time at 5:35pm meaning we were back at the hotel by 6pm.

Not on the Falls Road

The hotel restaurant was rammed again and I was told there was no room at the inn, so we decided to go back to Millies. To our surprise they were doing a sunday menu, giving a choice of 1,2 or 3 courses. We chose 2, main and pudding. I had a turkey dinner and sticky toffee pudding. With that and 2 pints of Carlsberg I'm stuffed.

We're back on the road tomorrow, initially heading east, to the most easterly point, then south, ending the day in the Dublin suburbs.

Till tomorrow.

WHIRL2026 Day - 7

The day started quite overcast and with a few spots of rain on the breeze. Grizzly put his waterproof trousers on. As we only had a 20 minute ride to our first stop, I took the risk. It paid off. It was an acceptable 18 degrees and the sky looked fairly bright.

The first stop was at the Doagh Famine Village. It's a collection of old buildings, with thatched roofs, that were inhabited until as recently as the mid 80s. It tells the story of Irish life from the Great Famine through to the present day, using restored homes and exhibits that bring each era to life. The entry fee gets you a free coffee and cake, plus there are guided tours. Our guide Paddy actually lived in one of the cottages up until 1984, when the building was condemned by the council and families forced to move to more modern council accommodation. It's an interesting place but I'd wished there was more from the guide about the famine and those times, rather than having to read about it ourselves. Still, we spent about 2 hours there.

Doagh Famine Village

Next up, Malin Head, the third point of the compass visited, the most northerly point this time. At the top of the steep hill to the point, there are a number of buildings, a tower that was used in times gone by for telecommunications and a number of WWII lookout posts. What I was particularly interested in though, was the white stone markings on the ground, reading 80 EIRE. There are a number of these dotted around the coastline and theyw ere put in place to warn pilots that they were flying over the Republic of Ireland, which was a neutral country during WWII. 

You arte now flying over Eire

With a few snaps taken, we set of towards Lough Foyle and our ferry across to Northern Ireland. Still the weather was holding, though at the ferry port, it was quite windy. This would be reflected on the crossing, where on a couple of occassions water sprayed over the front. As it was a tad choppy, we sat on the bikes, just to be sure they didn't topple over. It's about a 20 minute crossing and seems a bit pricey at €12 per bike/rider.

Lough Foyle Ferry

On the NI side the weather perked up and the temperature climbed to 24 degrees. We made our way across country to the Antrim coast road, which we have done before but is such a delight to ride. Leaving the coast road we made our way towards Belfast, skirting around the city itself to Dunmurry and our home for the next 2 nights. As we pulled into the hotel car park it was full of cars. It turned out there was a wedding reception being held here but luckily there was one space and we dived in it. I don't think there was any other spaces free. 

We seem to have drawn the booking.com  room this time, with the wing our room is in accessed through the restaurant and the room itself at the end of the corridor with the window within 2 feet of a fence!

We decided to eat out and went to a place 100m away called Millies, where I had breaded chicken escalope smothered in parmesan cheese with  garlic skin on potatoes. Beer choice was limited, so we both had a couple of pints of Carlsberg.

Back in the room I am watching England v Panama, well, I have one eye on it whilst I type this, and have very loud music coming through the door. Not sure how close we are to the dance floor but can't be far.

Tomorrow is sightseeing day. We have tickets to the Titanic Museum and have a train to catch at 09:04, which will be a squeeze, as brekkie doesn't start till 08:00. Luckily though the station is only 6 minutes walk away. There's a full day planned, which I'll share tomorrow.

Bye for now.

WHIRL2026 Day - 6

Last night the menacing looking clouds I spoke of brought thunder, lightning and heavy rain. It was spitting this morning and with the 'promise' of more heavy rain, waterproof trousers went on, with easy access to my jacket in the topbox. It wasn't too cold about 16 degrees and despite a small shower, it pretty much stayed dry for the first half  of the day.

First stop, Largy Viewpoint, navigated to without sound. Tomtom had lost contact with my helmet, so I had visuals only. Largy was a nice vista, of which there have been plenty but not what I had been expecting before this trip.

Largy Viewpoint Panorama

Our next stop, 10 miles along the coast, at Bunglass Point, was the Sliabh Liag Viewing Platform. On arrival a guy stopped us and told us we could ride to the end of the road, for €5 each or park in the car park there for €10 each. That may have included a minibus up the remaining 1.7km, I'm not sure but the maths were obvious to us, we rode on €10 poorer but so gratefiul we weren't walking the incredibly steep road to the platform area. 

It was very windy at the top and quite cold, so I put on my waterproof jacket. It was the right call, as it started to rain soon after. From the viewing platform, there was a spectacular view of huge craggy cliffs, which I'm presuming are Sliabh Liag. This was the coastline I'd expected the whole west coast to look like from day 2 onwards.

Sliabh Liag, rugged and windy

Leaving Sliabh Liag we were in rain for quite some time. Not the forecast thunderstorms but gently persistent for a while. It had stopped by the time we made our next stop at the Bridge of Tears. Stuck out in the middle of mountain peat bog land, the bridge is famous as the place people preparing to embark on a trip to the US would say goodbye to their relatives. I have no idea where they would be heading though.

Bridge of Tears

Just 7 miles up the road was a bit of a folly, Sword in the Stone. As the name suggests, it is a large rock, sitting in a small peat bog pond, with a sword sticking out of the top! Unusual to say the least. 

Sword in the Stone

Talking of peat, there were quite a few places where peat had been cut out and piled up. Some seemed to have been stuck in white plastic bags, some just open to the air.

Having taken our photos, we had a 40 mile trip to the hotel. There's not much in the area, so we made sure to book a table in the restaurant, as soon as we checked in. Just as well we did, because it did get pretty busy.

This is our last night in Ireland, for now anyway, as the next two will be in Northern Ireland, in Dunmurry, just outside Belfast. Back to the land of proper money and miles. Weather doesn't look promising for tomorrow. Sunday is sightseeing day, so we have our fingers crossed it stays dry then.

That's all for now.

WHIRL2026 Day - 5

Day 5 started not as expected but overcast, though still about 18 degrees. That would change as the day wore on, quite significantly.

The day was more a riding day, with only 3 stops. The first of those was to a particular house, somewhat in the middle of nowhere, a famous house, for those fans of the 90's sitcom Father Ted. The parochial house featured prominently in the series not least in the opening credits. It's a private property, so it was just a case of pulling up at the end of the drive and taking some photos. Catherine will be pleased. She was a big Ted fan before I even knew her.

Father Ted's Parochial House

Moving on, we were on the road for a good few hours, most of the time following the Wild Atlantic Way, which I have realised runs all the way up the west coast. It's Ireland's version of Scotland's North Coast 500 and well worth a ride/drive and is very well signposted. Some of the scenery is just superb and there's plenty to do along the way.

On our way to the next stops, what had been a nice 23 degree ride, in an instant, became a 30 degree ride. It was incredible, a 7 degree increase, instantly, as if someone had flicked a switch. It would remaion that way all the way to the hotel. We've encountered heat like this many times before, what I can't recall though, is ever having come across the tar melting on the roads, to the degree we experienced today. At one junction, it was impossible to put a foot down, with leaving a print in the surface and getting tar on our boots.

Our penultimate stop was at a viewpoint for Castle Classiebawn, once home of Lord Louis Mountbatten. I hadn't imagined it would be a big attraction but there were loads of cars and even a coach that we followed in.

Castle Classiebawn

Snaps taken and it was off to the next stop, just a few hundred metres down the road. This is called the Shadow V Memorial and is a memorial to those killed on the boat Shadow V, including the afrementioned Lord, when it was blown up by the IRA. There;s not a lot to it, a small plaque and cross. Nice that someone thought there should be one.

Shadow V Memorial

Another minute's ride and we were at the hotel, parking up across the road. Our room was a corner room, not only offering us a view of the bikes but also of the harbour and beach beyond. After freshening up, we took a walk along the seafront, ntoing that there were some menacing looking clouds gathering. Later on, those would bring thunder, lightning and heavy rain.

Not a bad view, eh?

Oh, nearly forgot, today was Grizzly's 74th birthday. I'd given him a card in the morning and happened to mention to the receptionist. When we went to the restaurant for dinner the waitresses wished him happy birthday, not before having asked which one of us was 74! Bloody cheek!

Continuing north tomorrow, we'll complete our last full day, of this stint, in Ireland. Check in then.

 

WHIRL2026 - Day 4

Another warm day beckoned with a reasonably full itinerary ahead. 

First stop was in a place called Killorglin, to see King Puck. King Puck is a goat. There's a statue alongside the river and yes, the goat has a crown on it's head. Not sure exactly when this became a thing but they have a yearly festival, where a live goat is chosen to be king for a day.

King Puck

Moving on, we were heading towards Dunmore Head, Ireland's most westerly point. On the way we made a stop at a small monument for German submarine U35. In 1940, at great risk to themselves, U35 rescued greek sailors from a sinking ship and brought them near to shore at Ceann Tra and someone thought it worthy of commemoration.

U35 Memorial

We continued along the coast road to Dunmore Head, including traversing a cobbled ford on a hairpin bend. The water wasn't deep or fast flowing but still one had to be careful. I just went for it, Grizzly took the more cautious approach. We'd have to do it in reverse later.

Dunnet Head is a a large and very high  rock. Grizzly took one look and I was climbing on my own. At the top there's a concrete WWII lookout post, otherwise nothing but a view. Inside the post taking shelter from the rain that had just started, were two sheep, so no shelter for me!

No room here mate!

By the time I got back down the rain had pretty much stopped. it was only a few spots. The next planned stop was at the Foynes Seaplane Museum but looking at the time, I realised we would arrive just 15 minutes before it closed, so we decided to head straight for the hotel in Ennis.

Our route took us across the River Shannon estuary by ferry, the first of three ferries on this tour. The crossing took about 20 minutes and within 30 more, we were at the hotel. Dinner was had a few minutes around the corner.

Ginny's a FFT (frequent ferry traveller)

Tomorrow we continue north, ending the day at Mullaghmore. Weather forecast, hot and sunny again.

Till then.

WHIRL2026 Day - 3

Morning Gloria! That's not a typo, our host was called Gloria. A nice lady, very friendly and helpful but not great when it comes to making scrambled egg. We both had it for brekkie and it was well overcooked. You can't exactly tell someone whose home you are sharing that though. Everything fine?, Yes!

On the road, we headed south, to Mizen Head, the most southerly point in Ireland. Mizerable Head more like, as apart from not being open when we arrived, they wanted €7.50 to get down the headland. I got as close as I could but we were blowed if we were going to pay that. Grizzly said that had changed since he was last there, when you could just walk right down. That aside, the scenery around the area is fantastic with a beautiful sandy bay just up the road.

From Mizen, we retraced our tracks, heading north. For most of the day we'd be riding the Wild Atlantic Way, which later on seems to merge with the Ring of Kerry. 

Next stop, after a fuel stop was at the Kilmichael Ambush Monument, commemorating an ambush of the British Army by the IRA in 1920. The leader of the group, Tom Barry, had once served in the British Army but joined the IRA after being demobbed.

Kilmichael Ambush Monument

Moving on, we made a stop for lunch, then one at Torc Waterfall, which stands at 66m tall. It's not up to Norwegian falls standards but worth the 250m walk. Grizzly didn't fancy the walk up to it, so I went solo.

Torc Waterfall

Our next couple of stops were at viewpoints, one called Ladies Point, we know not why and then one at Com an Chiste Ring of Kerry Lookout. Both giving superb views of the west coast scenery. With the sun shining brightly, this part of the country is really beautiful. Maybe the seagull crapping on me was lucky! Whislt stopped we treated ourselves to a large 99 cornet. Mmm!

Ginny at Com an Chiste Ring of Kerry Lookout

From the last stop it was a short ride to our B&B, though our route had us going to a different B&B, one I had booked then rejected. Luckily I knew where the correct one was. It's very nice and just a 10 minute walk from the town centre of Waterville, which interestingly has a statue of Charlie Chaplin. Grizzly says he used to live here. That's 2 in our collection of CC statue pictures, as we have one from Lake Geneva too.

Dinner, chowder for both of us, was taken in a bar named after a famous local gaelic football player, Tom O'Dyer. There's even a statue of him on the seafront.

Tomorrow we'll finish the Ring of Kerry and continue moving north. The weather promises to be warm and sunny again.

WHIRL2026 Day - 2

Day 2 started with a full Irish breakfast, what else?  The perfect start to the day you might think, though my electric toothbrush decided today was the day to give up the ghost!

Full Irish, Mmmm!

We hit the road just after 8:30. It was overcast but not cold. We had a few stops on the itinerary today, starting with Dungarvan Castle. A lady was just opening up as we got there so as well as photos outside, we got a couple inside too. Next up was supposed to be Yougal lighthouse. It's a private house, so not one you can visit. As it turned out, it was covered in scaffolding, so no photos there.

Dungarvan Castle

Our next stop was in Cork City, where we visited the Elizabeth Fort, named after Elizabeth I, followed by the English Market, an old market building but with plenty of modern artisanal stalls. We decided to have lunch there, picking gourmet sausages, basically a posh hotdog. Was very nice though, even if we had to walk outside and around the corner to find somewhere to sit and eat them.

Moving on from Cork, we stopped to photo the Chetwynd RailwayViaduct, now disused. I should mention that by this point the cloud had broken up and the temperature was rising rapidly. I was beginning to regret putting my thicker base layer on today.

From the viaduct it was a straight ride to our digs, interupted by a stop to take on some water. The final stint found us taking a typically small country road. When a road has grass growing up the middle, you know it's going to be interesting. It was ok though. We only came across one tractor! I chuckled to myself thinking that Grizzly has ridden thousands of miles across the country but I bet anything he'd never been down this road before!

Our digs are situated alongside what I suppose constitutes the Atlantic Ocean, though there's a few miles of this inlet before the open ocean. It's quite idyllic. Unfortuntaely though, it's a mile or so outside the town, so we had to walk into the town/village for our dinner. It was quite entertaining listening to the locals across the bar from each other putting the world to rights.

Not bad for an overnight stop, eh?

Tomorrow, we'll be doing the most southerly point of Ireland, then heading north to get on the Ring of Kerry.

Till tomorrow then.

WHIRL2026 Day - 1

Left my auntie's place about 9:45. It's been good to catch up with the news. 

Tomtom said 1h50 to get to my first stop, for fuel and a meal deal at Morrisons. There's no way I'm paying (being ripped off) to eat on the ferry! Fuel, 4p more than Mansfield but still cheaper than home.

It was just a couple of minutes from the supermarket to the port. Check-in was quick and painless. The pain, metaphorically speaking, came as I rode down the boarding lane, when I was dive bombed by a seagull. 💩

I was directed to the upper deck, which was interesting riding up a little curved ramp but it was ok. I think I was the only bike on there. Certainly, I didn't see any others. I was shown where to park and left to tie Ginny down. Cool bag in hand I made my way upstairs and found myself a seat.

The trip across, though very boring was very smooth. Note to self, take headphones up with you, so at least you can listen to some music.

Docking seemed to take ages and it was gone 5pm before I was off the ship. The route out of Dublin wasn't exactly traffic free either, so I was later than anticipated getting to the rendezvous point with Grizzly. When I got there though there was no sign. Checking whatsapp, he said to meet at Junction 20. He'd missed the rendezvous point. His bloody country and he overshoots by 11 junctions! 😄

The road to the hotel was very boring but also very smooth and in the sunshine this country looks as nice as anywhere we've been in Europe. We arrived too late to have dinner at the hotel, so took a walk down the road to Mcds, the only other eatery for miles. After 'dinner' we popped into the hotel bar for the first beers of the tour.

Tomorrow we are traversing the bottom of the country, east to west, where we'll finish up in a little shoreline B&B. Weather looks like it will play ball, so should be a pleasant day.

That's it, Day 1 completed.

WHIRL2026 Day - 0

Day 0, the first day of this tour, named thus, because it doesn't include Grizzly at this point. He joins the party tomorrow. Today took me up into Lincolnshire, then across to just south of Manchester and my overnight stay.

I left home at 9:45, a bit earlier than I'd planned and by 12:35 I was at my first stop, just outside Newark. It's called On Freedom's Wings and is a full-sized steel replica of a Lancaster Bomber commemorating Bomber Command's efforts and losses, during WWII.

On Freedom's Wings

 At the moment it is only open to the public on the occasional Sunday,  so I had to make do with this view, from what they are calling, the viewing area,  which is a dusty layby several hundred metres away. 

Lunch followed the stop, the first McDs of the trip, unlikely to be the last, and then came my fuel stop at Morrisons in Mansfield. To my surprise, unleaded was just £146.9, 6p cheaper than back home.

The ride had been fairly uneventful, a smidgen of rain on the way up but it wouldn't be long before I took a wrong turn. Not Tomtom's fault, I misheard the instruction and took the A617, instead of the A619 whilst negotiating Chesterfield. No big deal, it only cost me a few minutes. 

My overnight stop is with my auntie, my mum's sister. It's my first visit since before covid, the first since she lost her husband. The house has a double garage, so Ginny is safely tucked up for the night.

Tomorrow I'm aiming to leave about 10am and will be aiming for Holyhead, where hopefully my Irish ferry will await.

Till tomorrow. 

 I start here, following on from the last post in my Totally Excellent Adventures blog, where I had still to sort Ginny's insurance out. The renewal wasn't too bad, with it only being about £15 more than last year but still I like to shop around. As it turned out, nothing giving the same cover came in near the renewal. But that wasn't the end of my search. I did a totally new quote with my existing company. You probably know where this is going, yes, it was a bit cheaper than the renewal, so having already turned off the dreaded auto renewal, I took out a new cheaper policy and will also get some cash back, as I used Topcashback to get the quote. I particularly like the company I'm with, because they include full european RAC breakdown cover, which given most of Ginny's miles have been abroad, is a big plus.

Weather allowing, I've put a few miles on Ginny and she has now covered over 45,000. Anticipating I'll be clocking up around 2,300 by the time I get back from Ireland, I have already booked Ginny in for her 48,000 mile service. I expect she'll need some new tyres by then too, so I'll get them done before I head off to the British MotoGP in August.

A couple of weeks ago I took myself off to Motolegends in Guildford and came away with a new summer jacket. The one I have been using over the past 8 years, was what I bought with the whip money I got when I left work, so it was time to change. I also got some new summer waterproof gloves. The old ones have seen better days and if I'm totally honest, have never been very comfortable. These new ones might get a good workout, given where I'm heading next Saturday. I'll be happy to see them stay in the topbox though.   

Focusing on the trip, I have downloaded all my routes to Tomtom (Grizzly has his Garmon versions too) and I'm busy going through my packing list and getting everything together. It's a shorter tour than the usual euro tours, so I shouldn't need to pack quite as much. I think there's always a tendency to fill the available space though. We shall see.

Not much else to say, Ginny will need a couple of things doing this week to fully prep her for the trip but otherwise it'll just be a case of getting packed up, togged up and hitting the road (not literally, obvs).

Bye for now.