A Tardis, K9, and some stickers.

21/11/12

There was more sorting out of our gear today. It's pretty boring really. Now we're trying to find an economical way of send our excess gear home. Most companies want to charge more than the stuff is worth to send it to Australia, but a lot of it consists of souvenirs or sentimental things, so we want to keep it. Oh well, you play, you pay.

Later in the day we spent a bit more time packing Paul's home office things and delivering them to the new warehouse. It's surprising how quickly you can fill a large warehouse with the contents of only two rooms. Maybe the dining room is really a Tardis?

I didn't see one of these in Paul's office / the dining room,

but it could still possibly be a TARDIS.

Did you know that TARDIS stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space? There you go. This blog is entertaining and educational at the same time.

22/11/12

Today I completed one of the most important tasks of the trip. I replaced the faded Australian flag stickers on the bike. You can laugh, but it's not just a matter of pride, it's a matter of safety. A lot of people think we are American when we speak to them. Once we explain we are actually from Australia they give us a much warmer reception. Sorry to my American friends, but it's nice to be known as an Aussie when you're travelling.

New Aussie flag stickers fitted.

Isn't it pretty?

Tomorrow we get to experience our Lemur Encounter at Paradise Zoo. I can see myself filling the role as King Julien XIII of Madagascar (ask your kids). I am soooooooooooo looking forward to this. I might try and catch a bit of video on the phone and upload it if the quality is half OK.

Hope it doesn't rain.

Europe is small on a map, until you start plotting routes.

20/11/12

I spent a lot of time on scouring Google maps, tourist web sites, government websites, and entering data into spreadsheets today. The rough plan so far (which is always subject to change) is to head to Holland then down through Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, to Morocco and this...

I'm not sure about the sand dunes two up on the fully loaded BMW, but we can do everything else.

After Morocco we'll head back up through Gibraltar, Spain, Andorra, France, Monaco, Italy, Greece, Turkey (visiting Gallipoli), and Bulgaria. That's just over 10,000 kilometres without any side trips. 

From there we'll zig-zag our way up through eastern Europe, including Ukraine again I hope, and then across the top through the Scandinavian countries. I'm hoping that by the time we get there it will have warmed up a bit. All up that's about 25,000 km. That's the loose idea at the moment anyway. We'll see how it goes.

As for Christmas, we have absolutely no idea where we'll be. It will be the first ever Christmas Suzanne or I have ever spent away from our families. I'm guessing the mobile and Skype will get a work out on Christmas day.

We struck a blow today and packed a heap of stuff that we no longer need and will freight home. We need to do a little shopping for some warm gear for Suzanne, and we need some shoes. Sneakers take up way too much room on the bike. When you're trying to fit two pair in a pannier, they are HUGE! And anyway, Suzanne lost her's on her Scottish adventure. Our friends Sam and Claire had some great Nike shoes that were ultra light, waterproof, and pack almost flat. Unfortunately they are a 2009 model and the colour choice appears to be limited to yellow or green, Urgh, and they are hard to find now.

Now the bike is ready, the load has been lightened, and we're nearly ready to roll down the road. I'm getting excited.

Admin and logistics time.

18/11//12

I had a very quiet day today and partly recovered from last night's party. Contrary to popular belief I went back to bed in the afternoon because I was cold, not because I was hungover. That is all.

Close up phone photo of Nick and I taken at about 5 am on the bus on the way home last night. (This morning) We think that's a bus ticket in my mouth, but don't really know.

19/11/12

Juliet, Suzanne, and I spent most of the day packing up Paul's home office to complete his move to the new unit. If you've ever worked from home you know how much stuff you accumulate. It's a big job to pack it up and move it all, especially while you are still operating a business at the same time.

With a bit of luck we will be able to have dinner in the dining room by the end of the week. Paul has been using the dining room as an office for ages so it's been a while since it's seen a dinner party. That's our goal for the week.

Tomorrow the serious preparation and planning for the next leg of the trip starts...I hope. 

It's a real problem here that there is always something to see or do. We've just been invited to go to a body painting get together in Wales this weekend. It sounds like a lot of fun, and a friend has just bought some property there so we can go and have a look, but every time we do this it's another week before we head off to Europe. There is just too much fun to be had in one lifetime.

Planning and partying...

17/11//12

Now that Suzanne is back, and the bike had been serviced and is all freshened up, it's time for us to make a move and continue our journey.

Nordkapp and the Northern Lights is very appealing, but I am a bit concerned about riding a bike up to the Arctic Circle in winter. It's just doesn't seem to be the brightest idea in the world to me. I'm handling the temperature OK and not even feeling the cold on the bike, but Suzanne is freezing when the temperature drops below ten degrees. On the other hand it's the best time of year to view the Northern Lights (or Aurora Borealis). So, north, or south? I think Morocco will win out. 

It was Nick's last day in the UK today and now he's finished his classes he could relax and unwind. So Jo, Nick, and I drove into London to hook up with Bibi and have a quiet drink. Suzanne was tired and decided to give it a miss. Our quiet drink managed to last fourteen hours and covered a house, two bus rides, a pub, a club, and a takeaway.

Fourteen hours of partying with these guys takes it's toll on an old bloke like me. I think part of the problem is I'm easily led. In Perth you can't buy a double spirits in a pub. The bar staff flatly refuse to sell you a double because it's against the law and the fines if they get caught are horrendous. In the UK, they encourage you.The bar staff always ask "Do you want a double? It's only another 1.25 pounds". I can't resist a bargain, so...I got a lot of bargains during the night.

The first pub we went to...

..and outside Dogstar at closing time, about 4.30 am.

Needless to say it got quiet messy. Well I did anyway. Apologies to all those that I offended and upset (I'm sure there are quite a few). Jo was driving, so she remained sober the whole night, while Nick and Bibi were well behaved and paced themselves  The four of us managed to get home and into bed at about 5.30am. Not a bad effort I thought.

My bike gets some TLC, and a bath.

16/11/12

You know how some days everything just feels good. I felt remarkably good when I got up this morning despite last night's late night. It was ten am by the time I rode out of the front yard toward London to drop my bike off for it's service. The ride into London was just brilliant. I was nice and warm, the bike was running beautifully in the balmy eight degree temperature, and there was fog everywhere. It just felt right.

Riding through London gives me a sore neck though. I'm looking left, right, and mainly up at all the amazing buildings and beautiful statues that are dotted throughout the city. It really is a stunning city to visit.

I dropped the bike off to be serviced and Park Lane BMW  offer a free taxi ride to the nearest tube station. 

My poor, lonely bike waiting for some attention.

When I got out of the cab I just wandered around the area near the station. Boy, are people crammed in here or what? 

There were about four of these here. 

I can't say it's somewhere I'd choose to live.

I found a great little play area for kids. It's a fenced off garden, complete with lots of trees, climbing equipment, and stuff kids love. I don't know who owns or runs it, but it's free to go in. It's a bloody great idea. 

I nearly didn't recognise my bike when I picked it up. The dirt from fourteen countries was gone and it was sparkling like a new one. It purred like a kitten on the way home through the London traffic. Even though I was stuck in Friday night peak hour, I had a great ride home. I'm really looking forward to rolling down the road again.

One thing that I still can't get my head around is how early it gets dark here. I was riding home just before five and it was as dark as midnight. I kept feeling like I was late. I guess it's something you get used to if you live here permanently.

I got home just as Nick's class finished so we all went and had a pub dinner with Nick and his students. After that we went back to Juliet and Paul's for a small social gathering. I decided I was going to beat midnight to bed for once and called it a day at about 11.30. In bed before twelve. Yahoo!

ADDITIONAL BLOG INSERT:
I've been asked to post a few photos from our little get together, so here they are:

 Heather introduced a new party game.

You have to see how many matches you can get up your nose, without using your hands!

Juliet appeared to be far to good at this game.

I think she may have played before.

The bike is now ready, although it will need a set of tyres very soon. I reckon I can get about another 1,000 miles out of them if I take it easy. We just need to load up and get going. The countdown clock is ticking.

Your chance to tell us where to go.

13/11/12

Suzanne's team didn't show up last night, they got caught up in traffic and continued straight to their next destination near London. It was probably still the traffic jam I was in yesterday morning.

The most exciting things I did today after updating the blog were taking Tina for a walk to the shop, and cleaning our helmet visors. I have some you beaut, speciality cleaner from the Isle of Man. It's supposed to stop fogging inside, and bead water off the visor on the outside. If anyone can make something that will do that, it would have to be a Manx-man wouldn't it. I'll let you know how it goes. Other than that it was pretty quiet.

Damn you Internet, computer, spare time, and Malbec (only one bottle). In the words of Baldric "I have a cunning plan". Lets make the next leg of our trip really interesting. How about you guys tell us where we go. It has to be accessible from Europe and not cost a bloody fortune. How about you send in your suggestions either here or on Facebook? Maybe we'll go the the destination that gets the most votes. (Subject to ratification by you know who). So far the leaders are North Cape, I'm really keen, but I think it might be a "little cold" this time of year, and Las Vegas with Emma in a hot tub. That is also very appealing, especially the Emma in a hot tub part, but very expensive. Post your suggestions now either here in the comments, or on our Facebook pages. This could be fun.

I did have a laugh today. I'd mentioned Sam and Clare who are starting their two year moto adventure next month in a previous blog post. I've also mentioned that I like to be early at airports and have plenty of time. Well, Sam and Claire were ready to fly to Austria to pick up their brand new KTM 690s. They got to the airport, early. In fact a whole day early. I hope this isn't an indication of their organisational skills or they're heading for trouble.

The Wolfe team have nearly finished the whirlwind UK tour They are taking a day off tomorrow and visiting Stonehenge. I truly hope they don't try and paint the stones. Then they'll be back here in the evening. Suzanne, Jo, and Nick, added to our crew. I can see it's going to be messy.

Secret Squirrel released.

14/11//12

OK, I can finally reveal all about the Secret Squirrel project.

Paul operates his business  Facade Body Art from home.

http://facadebodyart.co.uk/cubecart/

Paul distributes glitter tattoo and body art supplies and has recently taken on the distribution of Cameleon body paint. As you probably know houses in the UK aren't all that big, and operating a warehouse out of one is an exercise in balance and organisation. Paul has been doing well but with the growth in business since he took in Cameleon he is just running out of room, fast.

So, he has signed up a lease on a warehouse just down the road. When we were at the UK Body Painting Convention Paul and Juliet kindly offered for us to stay with them for a few nights. When we heard Paul was moving into a warehouse I thought that's great, I can be of some use for a couple of days helping Paul move.

I didn't know that Paul was moving into a bare warehouse. It's now four weeks later and we're nearly finished. We built, (and I mean constructed internal walls) a classroom for body painting lessons, an office, a kitchen, painted the lot, and transferred a hell of a lot of equipment and even more stock into the warehouse. All while the business was still operating. The furniture moving day with Mike was like an episode of The Three Stooges. I think we did a pretty good damn job even if I say so myself. Although I will add that as a carpenter, I make a good motorcyclist.

The shell of the classroom.

Nick Wolfe's class will be the first official class held here on Friday. 

The cladding goes up.

Late night dinner in the warehouse.

Paul and Simon work, while Juliet "supervises".

It's a big move for Paul and Juliet. Good luck guys, I hope your business keeps going from strength to strength.

15/11/12

What did I do today? - Not much, just a bit of finishing of painting in Paul's unit and Mike came over and hung some doors.

At around 8pm the Wolfe Pack arrived. The peace and quiet was shattered as Jo, Suzanne, and Nick came through the door. We demolished a very tasty spaghetti bolognese and then played Juliet's favourite game, Name In A Hat until, you guessed it, 2am.

Tomorrow Nick will hold his last class for this tour and I need to ride into London to get the bike serviced. It's a bit overdue so I hope they don't yell at me too loudly. Hopefully I'll meet Louis and have a coffee with him. Let's hope the traffic is a little better than my ride to the airport earlier in the week.