Had two good bits of news this week.
Firstly, when I returned the BMW R1200GS to Ocean BMW Motorrad ( http://www.oceanbmwbikes.co.uk/ ) they waived the usual £15 + vat daily hire charge for a loan bike. I had ridden home on the bike on Tuesday afternoon and managed to get the bike filthy on Devon's mud covered roads. On Wednesday afternoon the salesman from Ocean phoned me and told me they needed the bike back for a customer to test ride it on Thursday morning. I decided to give the bike a good clean before returning it to them. The weather forecast was for sub-zero temperatures on Thursday morning so I decided to wimp out and return in on my bike trailer with a heavy duty bike cover over it to prevent it getting dirty again. I had to get up early and leave home at 7.00 am after spending time scrapping the ice off my car. Definitely the right decision to take the car and trailer. Bill at Ocean seemed genuinely surprised that I had taken the trouble to thoroughly clean their loan bike and that I had even returned it with more petrol in than when it left. I always believe in treating anyone else's vehicle as if it was my own.
Through my email, I received the latest newsletter from Touratech which featured an excellent article mentioning our Calum's Road trip. See: http://beta.maileasy.se/page.taf?versionid=61832
Next pleasant surprise was opening the mail to find a package of freebies from Touratech comprising of various stickers and a sew on patch.
Big thank you to both companies for their support. Our policy with the Calum's Road trip is that if we receive any discounts or free goods and services, we will donate a similar amount to the charity. Accordingly, I have therefore just made two donations of £20 each to cover the benefit received from these two companies.
Donations are shown at http://www.justgiving.com/sidhorman
Saturday 19 December 2009
Tuesday 15 December 2009
December 15th
More preparations for the bike today. The ABS warning light had been flashing for so long that I had grown used to it but it was time to get the problem resolved. The bike was booked into Ocean BMW Motorrad in Plymouth for 11.00 am this morning. Another opportunity to test my heated clothing on the cold hour-long ride south. The roads were very wet, dirty and slippery so by the time I arrived at Ocean it looked as if I had ridden over Dartmoor to get there. The bike dealership had changed a bit since I last visited and it was noticeably quieter than previously. They soon had my filthy bike in their nice clean workshop and began to diagnose the problem with the anti-lock braking system. Unfortunately it was not a simple reset and instead I would have to leave the bike with them for a new sensor to be fitted. They provided me with a new "59" plated R1200GS to return home on which was surprisingly pleasant to ride. The newer machine is lighter, more powerful and has sharper brakes than my older model 1100. Bill, the After Sales Manager advised me to return the bike with the same amount of fuel in and noted that it had approximately one third of a tank left. After riding around 15 miles, the fuel light lit up and flashed dire warnings that I must refuel within the next 40 miles. I was surprised when I stop in Okehampton and it only took 15 litres of normal unleaded to fill it to the brim. By comparison, my 1100 is fitted with the large capacity Touratech fuel tank that holds an enormous 41 litres and offers over 400 miles range.
Just past Okehampton, I called on my very good friend Proff who is a great fan of all things two wheeled BMW provided it was made before the early 1980s. I tried to fool him that I had bought the new 1200 but he was only concerned for a few seconds before quickly realising it was only a loan bike.
By the time I got the new 1200 back in my workshop, it looked as filthy as my 1100 had been. Not long after I arrived home, Bill phoned to tell me that they had managed to complete all the work on my bike and it was 100% fixed and ready for collection.
Thats another box ticked on my "to do" list and one less thing to worry about.
Just past Okehampton, I called on my very good friend Proff who is a great fan of all things two wheeled BMW provided it was made before the early 1980s. I tried to fool him that I had bought the new 1200 but he was only concerned for a few seconds before quickly realising it was only a loan bike.
By the time I got the new 1200 back in my workshop, it looked as filthy as my 1100 had been. Not long after I arrived home, Bill phoned to tell me that they had managed to complete all the work on my bike and it was 100% fixed and ready for collection.
Thats another box ticked on my "to do" list and one less thing to worry about.
Monday 14 December 2009
Monday 14th December
Preparations are continuing with only 21 days to go until we leave.
First task this morning was phoning Counter Terrorism Department at Foreign Office to discuss the email I received on Friday. For those that don't know, the Foreign Office have advised that people should not travel to certain parts of Mauritania. Three Spanish aid workers were recently kidnapped on the main road through the country and Al Queda have claimed resonsibility. We have spent over one year planning this trip but we need to carefully consider all our options. There are 12 riders taking part in this event and we have been in constant contact today to keep each other up to date.
We still intend to set off from Calum's Road in Scotland on Friday 8th January 2010 and then head south towards Calum's Road in The Gambia. At this stage, we don't know if we will be able to progress further than Morocco and Western Sahara but we will try our best.
With just three weeks to go, most things are in place. I decided to give my bike a good run today despite it being very cold and wet. I have invested in heated clothing so today was an excellent chance to put it to the test. Northern Scotland in early January is sure to test its heating abilities. It was wonderful and worked superbly keeping me warm and dry all day.
I also called into my local branch of Barclays Bank to collect two boxes of the free pens they give out to customers. The children in Africa always ask for pens so these are an easy gift to take as they are small and light and therefore easy to carry on a motorcycle. They will be given out to the local school in The Gambia. Barclays Bank have very generously agreed to match my fundraising on a £ for £ basis so for every £1 donated a whole £2 goes to the charity. Please see my link to donate:
http://www.justgiving.com/sidhorman
Last minute additions to my tool kit included tubes of liquid metal and instant gasket. The Africans have a wonderful attitude to repairing things instead of simply replacing with new parts so we need to be prepared for all eventualities.
First task this morning was phoning Counter Terrorism Department at Foreign Office to discuss the email I received on Friday. For those that don't know, the Foreign Office have advised that people should not travel to certain parts of Mauritania. Three Spanish aid workers were recently kidnapped on the main road through the country and Al Queda have claimed resonsibility. We have spent over one year planning this trip but we need to carefully consider all our options. There are 12 riders taking part in this event and we have been in constant contact today to keep each other up to date.
We still intend to set off from Calum's Road in Scotland on Friday 8th January 2010 and then head south towards Calum's Road in The Gambia. At this stage, we don't know if we will be able to progress further than Morocco and Western Sahara but we will try our best.
With just three weeks to go, most things are in place. I decided to give my bike a good run today despite it being very cold and wet. I have invested in heated clothing so today was an excellent chance to put it to the test. Northern Scotland in early January is sure to test its heating abilities. It was wonderful and worked superbly keeping me warm and dry all day.
I also called into my local branch of Barclays Bank to collect two boxes of the free pens they give out to customers. The children in Africa always ask for pens so these are an easy gift to take as they are small and light and therefore easy to carry on a motorcycle. They will be given out to the local school in The Gambia. Barclays Bank have very generously agreed to match my fundraising on a £ for £ basis so for every £1 donated a whole £2 goes to the charity. Please see my link to donate:
http://www.justgiving.com/sidhorman
Last minute additions to my tool kit included tubes of liquid metal and instant gasket. The Africans have a wonderful attitude to repairing things instead of simply replacing with new parts so we need to be prepared for all eventualities.
Friday 4 December 2009
First post
I'm making a blog to record my trip to Africa in January/February 2010.:)
Should be picture here of me on a previous trip to Africa on the motorbike.
I'm at the Col du Tichka mountain pass in Morocco. This was taken in January 2006 when we followed the Dakar Rally. I travelled with my then 14 year old son Martin as pillion on my BMW R1100GS.
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