15. A little work

So got soaked the weekend before last and again this weekend as I took the bike to Santa Pod to watch some more racing. Luckily the weather improved dramatically later on Saturday and so the bike and I dried out eventually, It was dark by the time I left to go home and this is when I found out that maybe the headlight beam on Doris need adjusting, even more so since I put the high power Osram H4 bulb in her, I had cars moving over to get out of the way of the beam and one guy who got out of his car at a set of traffic lights to vent a little at me till I got off the bike where he suddenly remembered he was late for some reason or other and shot off.

So a few jobs to do on the bike.number one find out how to adjust the headlamp...I'm still working on that one.

Second job fit the new wing mirrors, the right hand mirror vibrates like hell and no matter what I did it wouldn't stop and if I rode over 75 mph the mirror folded in so I ordered a pair of new ones.....which work perfectly.

An oil and filter change followed shortly after and then I fitted a fly lead for my optimate trickle charger, so much easier to do that than take the bike apart to get at the battery all the time. 

Next job was to fit the risers, I found some that not only lifted the bars but also set them back a bit now I will admit that these were very expensive but I thought they would help with my posture on the bike, very good quality and id't take long to fit at all and I didn't have to muck around lengthening cables and stuff.

OK so now we are getting somewhere, I still need anew rear tyre as the old one is nearly square, I read on the forums that the tyre to get is a Michelin Road Pilot but! the price for that tyre has gone up and up so I bit the bull it and bought one anyway, and at the same time got the guys to check out my front pads, they are like new I was told,hmm I must have another problem with the front brakes then.

I might still have to fit adjustable foot pegs and maybe get a new seat made, slightly taller with a comfort pad put in. but that's for another day I have to admit that Doris is looking rather fit at the moment.

Tonight's job was to fit a new throttle cable to Harriet the Harley, this may seem like a simple job but is has turned out to be a pig, the first cable was the wrong one so I had to order a new one at least this time its the right one, I still have to sort out the over flow fuel pipe and but she runs again after taking ages to adjust both cables up properly. tomorrow will see this job finished then I will be back to two bikes again.

So with a bit of luck I will be spending the weekend doing nothing other than cleaning and polishing oh deep joy I can now see the attraction of a rat bike....!!

14. It's not going to rain is it?

So home for a few days and I get a call from my brother,"are you coming to the Hot Rod Drags at the weekend?" dam I've still not recovered from the trip back from Valencia yet, for those that don't know Drag racing is my other passion in life, I wasn't too sure, then on Friday I checked the weather not just the BBC but the Met Office and three other apps I have on my phone and everyone of them said a bit overcast but dry, I phoned Dave back and he had done the same thing so I said OK I'll see you there in the morning. Now also bear in mind I had spent hours cleaning Doris after my epic trip so he was really clean and shiny, so up early in the morning around 5 am and check the weather again...all OK a quick text to Dave and I got myself ready.

Shakespeare County raceway is about 140 miles from my home and is near to Stratford Upon Avon I left around 7 am about an hour and half later I was riding up the M40 where I hit a light rain shower..hmmm now that wasn't forecast and as I got nearer to my destination I noticed very dark clouds it looked ominous. I paid my entrance fee and found Dave and parked up next to the Stones racing team, friends of ours and wet stuff continued to drop from above. not huge amounts just light shower after light shower.,anyway racing got underway eventually and Dave and I sat on the banking and watched..however the dark clouds remained, threatening dangerous looking.

I really can't believe that only a week ago I was looking at a completely different picture  in a place where they are now praying for rain as they have had a surprisingly long dry spell. I think I know which scenario I prefer

Big sigh... I know where I would rather be at the moment! anyway we watched some racing had a walk around the pits and it was good to catch up with some of our fellow racers as our race car is still in bits, but I kept one eye on the clouds and no matter how I looked at it I knew I was going to get wet!

The inevitable happened and at the end of racing for that day the heavens opened and it poured down, I was lucky in that I did pack my waterproofs and they were in the top box, I don't think I have ever worn my Harley Davidson one piece waterproofs before but bloody hell they work well when I got home in the dark in the pouring rain I was dry as a bone, not one amp spot and I had ridden through some really bad weather.

The downside of course is that the bike after spending hours cleaning it a couple of days before is now absolutely filthy again in fact even dirtier than the last time.

So yesterday I started the big clean again! and while I was at it I thought I had best connect the wires up for the  12v axillary power outlet so I took the saddle off the grab rails and the side panel then I looked at the mileage and thought well I have done over 2900 miles since I bought her so if I am stripping her down to clean I may as well take off the lower fairings and give the engine a clean up as well and change the oil and filter, I need to locate some front pads and a rear tyre as well.

And that was as far as I got before Lorni called me in for dinner so today's task is locate filter and oil first and then I  can get her back together again then locate rear tyre and front pads and buy some risers for the bars......it never ends!

13. End of the adventure

After 2600 miles in total since I got the bike how do I feel about it and the trip? well I have joined a couple of forums for XJ900 Diversions and it would seem that owners never get rid of them even when they are rusty rat looking and obviously never been looked after properly they keep them, this has always amazed me till now that is. These bikes have a very unique character I can't put my finger on it but from the moment you first sit on them the XJ900 becomes part of you it fits like a comfortable pair of gloves you immediately feel at home.

The air cooled in line 4 cylinder engine isn't the most refined engine ever built but! you just know it's not going to let you down..ever! they are bomb proof, The same goes for the drive shaft system it's simple and yes it does whine a bit but it will never let you down. It's not the fastest bike in the world but it was never designed to be so, it's not the best handling machine in the world but then it's not an out and out sports bike and you have to remember it was designed in the late 70's and manufactured in the 80's and 90's, by today's standards it isn't refined it doesn't have cruise control, riding modes ABS, linked brakes or even fly by wire but then I think that's part of the bikes appeal, it's simple no-nonsense and  you can work on it and fix it yourself, it is extremely reliable and will eat miles as I can testify. Owner actually fall in love with their bikes.

Doris carried me and a lot of luggage 2200 miles without complaining once, being over 6 foot tall and not a lightweight I would love to fit some handle bar risers and adjustable foot-pegs and sort out the front brake it wouldn't cost much and then I would have the bike just how I wanted..if I keep her that is and there is a good chance I will have to let her go. not that I want to I just wont have a choice in the matter.

How about Gandia then? well what can I say great people wonderful location and not too many Brits to spoil the atmosphere of the place.

Would I feel happy and comfortable living there? definitely the place has a lovely warm welcoming atmosphere the climate is...well great the neighbours are all friendly and helpful and yes I know I have to get to grips with the language but now I have been there myself on my own I have a real desire to learn and whatever happens over the next few months I must keep that going.

So yesterday I cleaned the bike up, polished her up a bit, yes I do like to keep my bikes looking as good as possible I fitted the tank cover which turned up while I was away and while the tank was loose I also fitted another 12v auxiliary power supply which I will hook up to the battery soon.

OK so that s the end of that particular adventure now it's time to start planning the next one will I ever be too old for this biking lark, I bloody well hope not!!

12. Day 11 & 12 of trip

Saturday 9th September & Sunday 10th September

Woke up real early to the sound of my alarm 4:45 am it's still dark outside and then reality hits home with a thump, I have to leave this morning, this thought makes me feel sad  but I have missed my wife terribly, and my dog Harry so time to make a move, first things first a cup of tea and toast, then check around that I haven't left or forgotten anything that I need to take back with me. Then a slow walk to the garage and get the bike out and lock the garage up near silently for the last time this trip, and ride the bike up to outside the house where I load the luggage pack on and attach the tank bag. So that's the packing finished. Then a last walk to the bins to get rid of the last of the rubbish and anything that was in the fridge. Then a run round the house turn the water off shut and lock all doors and shutters and windows put the keys back where either Lorni or myself can find them lock the front door up and put front door key in tank bag, Place bottles of water in front of front door to keep cats away.

Helmet on and start bike up and with a very heavy heart I left! it was around 6 am. I had estimated about 12 to 14 hours to get back to the Hotel in Libourne in France it was still very dark, I set the sat nav to the route for that day and away I went first back to Valencia where once again the sat nav took me through the middle of the city but it was a Saturday and very early so not much traffic thank God I swept past all the wonderfully weird looking buildings that Valencia is famous for I can't wait till I get back and I can go and have a proper look. Out the other side of Valencia and now the boring bit miles and miles of motorway, hours of it back past Zaragoza and heading out to Huesca I stopped for fuel and a drink at service station between the two, the problem with travelling on your own is that there is no-one to keep an eye on  your stuff or bike while you are in a shop or paying for fuel, when I came out after paying for the fuel a Spanish chap explained to me that he saw someone trying to take my tank bag from my bike, I quickly checked everything seemed OK, which was a relief as I had money my passport, camera bike docs in the tank bag and life would have been very difficult if that lot vanished, it was only after I got home and cleaned the bike up that I found the damage caused by whoever it was that tried to prise the bag away, my tank bag is not a magnetic one it fits on a bayonet type fitting attached to the fuel filler ring anyway  a couple of bolts had been pulled out and the sealing ring round the fuel filler has been snapped.

Better that than them getting away with the bag I suppose, the weather for the trip was not very good heavy rain was forecast and I have to admit that it was getting colder and colder the higher up the mountains I went.

Unlike the trip down a week ago when it was scorching hot. Up in the Pyrenees even though the weather wasn't that good there were thousands and thousands of bike on the roads I had no idea why as there weren't that many on the way down, then right on the top of the Pyrenees in a  huge par park that I would assume is usually full of potential skiers was huge marquee and other tents and a sign proclaiming a BMW Motorad Rally, well that explained it then. I made it back to the hotel without any problems but this time for some reason the sat nav missed out the forest section of the trip, not that I'm complaining as it got me to the hotel a little sooner than I expected around 18:30.

This time I had bought some food with me, after unpacking the bike and having a shower and wee doze I made my way to the bar, they may not serve food but the bar was open I had two very large and it turns out very expensive lagers while chatting to an elderly German man who spoke very good English,,and French and Spanish too, he like most of Europe could not understand what the hell the UK was doing coming out of Europe just as Europe is about to hit an economical growth spurt and go through a period of financial stability. Oh well that's England for you!

After another good nights sleep I got up had a shower and went for another huge breakfast then get packed up, I didn't leave straight away as my ferry did't leave till midnight and it was only an 8 hour trip so I left it till nearly 11 am before I set off and once again I was out in the French countryside even though it was drizzly the views were amazing it didn't take long till I was on a main road heading back to the port, the rest of the journey was uneventful I got to Dieppe around 20:30 had to wait in a queue for an hour in the rain before the gates were opened up and then after passport checks another hour in the ran before I was boarded, 

I was the only bike on the return trip and the crossing was not the smoothest I had ever been on in fact it was very rough, I got some sleep but not a lot, then it was time to get back on the bike and head for home in the rain, I got back around 6:30 am and that folks was the end of this adventure.

11. Day 6 of trip.

Friday 8th September

I simply can not believe that this is my last full day here in sunny Spain the time has just zipped past, well my last day here for a while anyway. Today is set to be another scorcher with temperatures ready to hit the mid 30's again. I have to pack all my gear up later this afternoon and then load it all back on the bike, I am going to lighten the load a bit by leaving some of my stuff in the house, some tee shirts shorts etc. as I know I wont be needing as according to my wife and the weather reports I will be travelling back to Autumn. I will also have to shut the water down and seal the house up again till our next visit or hopefully our move to Spain. Which I hope is sooner rather than later.

I must remember to buy something to eat as well as I am using the same hotel on the way back as I did on the way down, yea the one that doesn't serve  food on a weekend. I am still having trouble getting my head round that! So I started packing up some bits and pieces I loaded the top box on the bike I can't believe how much I could get in that small space.....

Thankfully I never did need that fuel I was carrying, got close once but it stayed in the top box. While packing I found some money that I had before the trip started..just in case of course so I may go out tonight and buy myself another meal before my return home, next problem is I will be leaving early ish in the morning and I don't want to wake the neighbours up but! the garage door is proving to be a bit of a shit it takes forever and a lot of kicking and pushing and grunting and swearing to get it shut and locked properly and therefore very noisy, so I spent a couple of hours taking the mechanism apart and resetting it..bingo it worked. it now shuts easily and locks without a fight. time for a spot of lunch.

So back on the bike and over to the beach again, after locking the bike up I wandered over to my favourite watering hole where I had a couple of drinks and a small pizza, I then wandered down to the sea front and once again just sat by the seas looking out at the beach and the water and watching the world go by so peaceful.

I arrived in this area a few days back with some trepidation and a little fear as I don't speak the language this was enforced when I discovered the ex pat pub was no longer there but! now I have warmed to the place it feels a little bit more like home and OK I'm going to say it I like the place and the people. I am going to miss it and I really can't wait to come back. I have also noticed that Spain is definitely an equal opportunity employer it would seem a lot of the street workers and even construction workers  are  females in fact far more of them employed than you would find in the UK.

Of course after all this hard work of watching I was now thirsty again so back to my favourite watering hole for another cold beer.

I then spent another hour just walking about long the sea front looking at all the restaurants and bars and just listening to people and I suppose putting off the inevitable, going back to the house for the last time. I found myslef looking in a McDonald's window and thought, why not so I had a  Grande McExtreme meal, never heard of it over here but it was OK and solved the problem a finding a table in a restaurant for one!

I stayed over at the beach till nearly 20:00 far later than I had planned for but then I didn't really want to leave but! I looked at the clock on the side of the chemists wall and thought to myself that I still had a fair bit to sort out and pack so best I get back. I rode back a fair bit slower than usual. I put the bike away in the garage walked back to the house only to be confronted by my neighbours who plied me with cava, they knew I was leaving in the morning they asked me about my wife, children etc and what I was doing with the house they were surprised to find out that we intend to move there permanently, thanks to my next door neighbour who turned up and speaks a little English..phewww! They told me to try and learn some Spanish before I come back...which I will of course and they looked forward to seeing me and Lorni soon...wonderful people. So last bit of packing done time for some sleep although I have a feeling I will find it a wee bit difficult to get off tonight.

Packing just about done only thing left it to get it all on the bike in the morning.

10. Day 5 of trip.

Thursday 7th September

Up at 7 am and its hot already going to be a scorcher today, I had a cup of tea and a slice of toast I then received a weather alert informing that there will be patchy rain today, bearing in mind yesterdays forecast I don't know if this information is worth taking any notice of or not. I will investigate further later on. First things first thought time to get washed and dressed and then take a trip to the bins to get of the rubbish...this is turning out to be a daily event. Then a trip down to the local supermarket for some more water and anything I can find for breakfast.

Shopping put away then down to the garage where I want to put some tape on my headlight I had been flashed a couple of times so I guess I need to alter me beam somehow to get it lower, boy it was getting hot how hot? well take a look at my cap.

I threw some water over my face to cool down a bit then decided to go to the beach and to hell with the weather forecast but! here I have a problem it is too hot to walk around in jeans but I don't  really want to ride the bike in shorts and sandals....even though the locals do, I had a solution I would put my jeans on over my shorts wear a pair of light shoes and then put my sandals in the top box and when I get to the beach car park I can simply remove my jeans and change footwear.....simples!

So I got to the beach quickly got changed and went for a walk down the sea front and then along the sea wall, now what I didn't realise was that this sea wall went for bloody miles and I have an app on my phone to prove it.

I sat down by the sea for a little while just people watching and listening I din't hear an English voice all day this is truly a Spanish resort and one that they want to keep secret, no lager louts no hen  or bachelor parties or any of the other rubbish that seems to go along with the Brits wherever they go. I then decided it was time for some refreshment so off to a bar for a drinkee or two.

Suitably refreshed I went for another wander around, I can't get over how gorgeous this place is blue skies sun shining amazing beach and marina no wonder it is so popular with the Spanish.

Day turned into evening and by 20:00 I was getting hungry so I found a restaurant and ordered myself my first meal out, I was very pleased with myself and though I had done rather well until the waiter came back to my table and swapped the Spanish menu I had for an English one..oh well...feeling deflated. I had a glass of beer and a coffee with my Caesar salad and again just watched the world go by, it was dark by now and heading towards 22:30 so I walked slowly back to my bike via the marina, the place looked even better in the dark.

There was  a small fair in the beach car park

When I got back home one the neighbours stopped me before I put the bike away, now this got interesting as she didn't speak any English and I don't speak any Spanish but with some pointing and noise making I understood what the bottles of water on my doorstep were for, they were there to stop the stray cats peeing up my door, there I learned something that day..time for bed.

9. Day 4 of trip

Wednesday 6th September

Woke up to another gorgeous sunny day here in Spain I sorted out a few things in the morning and then took the rubbish down to the bins then went for a longer walk round the village and the adjoining Village of Ador which runs into Palma in fact you would be hard pressed to know where one starts and one finishes. Now just before I set off I was rather startled by a loud announcement something similar to what you would expect in a train station complete with Bing Bong to start with, on closer inspection I noticed a large speaker on the wall next to the last house in our little road I couldn't believe it a village tannoy system.....

Apparently this is a good thing as it announces the times of the swimming pool opening and information about the local market etc. It actually reminded me a bit of "The Prisoner" TV series in 60's.

Anyway I then went for a wander round the two villages I found the two churches that I could hear every day, the bells that is of course.

They seem very big on the colour yellow for their churches I found the same colour used an many of them I wonder if there is any significance in this or maybe they church just had a lake of yellow paint to get rid of! by now the temperature had really shot up and it was getting just a little bit uncomfortable so I made my way back along the main road and popped into out little local supermarket for some drinks and water and very friendly they were too in there lovely people. When I got home I made myself something to eat it was then that I realised that the coleslaw I thought I had bought was in fact crab salad ewww I can't stand most sea food. Oh well I wont buy that again LOL

I then went up onto my roof to take a couple of photo's as we are lucky in that you can actually see the sea from there, I know its a bit of a stretch but a sea view means everything to me even if it does mean having to get on the roof.

I don't want much from  life just a sea view a glass of wine some sunny weather and good company I'm so easily pleased. But while I was up on the roof I did notice that there seemed to be some angry looking clouds up on the mountain.

Back downstairs in the living room out came the phone and I checked the local weather forecast for the evening and it said storm with thunder and lightening so I thought I would stay put for a while which was a mistake as I dozed off and woke up again around 21:30 the weather forecast remained the same so decided a couple of glasses of wine then a cup of tea and then bed I had walked miles that day after all. There never was any storm or rain for that matter!!!!!!!!!!!

8. Day 3 of trip

Tuesday 5th September

I woke up feeling a lot better then I did the night before I went to get myslef cleaned up and found that there was no water and no electricity I found the problem with he electric the main trip was off and it took lots of phone calls to Lorni to finally understand that she had turned all the water off when she left in February so eventually I had water again, although I couldn't get enough pressure for a decent shower, Lorni told me it was working fine when she was there..oh well another problem to sort out when we eventually move over.

Today is also my Brother Dave's birthday I did remember to send a card before I left but I phoned him anyway, next job was to open the windows and shutters to let some air into the place as it had been shut up for 6 months and was smelling a bit musty. I opened the leter box it was jam packed with letters all in Spanish so I will have to take them home for Lorni to read later I also notice a lot of cat shit on my doorstep which I cleaned off and two bottles of water on the front doorstep as well..hmm strange!!!

After sweeping up the whole downstairs I decided to go for a walk round the village, I might have made it sound that sweeping up was a big deal but remember the heat it is now in the 30's and because of recent wet weather the humidity was around 70%, so any effort at all was dam hard work.

As you can see it is a rather quiet village in the mornings, and I love the fact that the houses are all painted different colours

The one place I was looking for was the "Pub" The White Swan, it is run by Brits and has a decent ex pat clientel so even though I don't speak the language I wont be on my own as I can always nip to the pub for a drink or even breakfast and dinner and have a chat. But! disaster I couldn't find it and for a very good reason..it's not there anymore! when I say not there it is but not the White Swan anymore and not run by Brits.

As you can  see it is now called the Pirate bar (Pirata) and is run by locals and to be honest looks run down and in my few days there I only saw a few people ever use the place, shame really, Now this poses a big problem for me as now have no-one to talk to hmm and probably wont have till I leave...in February when Lorni was over she had a great time in the pub oh well. So next thing was to get on my bike and ride over to Gandia I found somewhere to park and went for a wander and then had a sit down and drink in a local bar and watched the world go by for a little while, by early evening I knew I had to find a shop and buy some essentials so off I went on the bike to the large supermarket in Gandia where I bought some milk, bread, bacon, mustard, cheese and of course water and some soft drinks etc

Then it was time to get back on the bike and go home I emptied the shopping put the bike away and set to work in the kitchen, kettle on grill on bacon in grill butter the bread two slices of cheese and some mustard......perfect. After finishing dinner I opened one the bottles of red wine that Lorni had left there from February poured myself a glass or two and went and sat outside on my doorstep and listened to the sounds of my soon to be home village. At around midnight I called it a night and went to bed.