January 2017

January and a start of a brand new year - Kiera sent me the picture below

I don't need to add anything to that do I?

So we decided to book a 2 week holiday to Fiscardo in Greece and what a magical place it turned out to be! More of that later..........

Back to reality and a bit of DIY

Which led to Dry January going right out of the window after day 8!

For the rest of January I suffered from an intermittent electrical fault, which still plagues me every now and again, either that or it's a different fault - who knows?. But what a nest of vipers! Starts off one colour, goes through a connector block and emerges another colour! 

No wonder it led me to this!

Then this!

Finally in January we found a farm butcher that not only cut the largest Pork Chops ever, but they came complete with kidneys! Wonderful!

Of course washed down with a few of these!

So not a great deal of travelling, but plenty of things planned out for the rest of the year.

The journey continues.................

December 2016

The month of December started with beautiful sunshine, and a trip out on the Ural along the Coast.

Luckily I live on the coast, it takes less than 10 minutes to get to the sea and equally a similar amount of time to get deep into the New Forest.

I really do have the best of both worlds!

Today as the sun was shining it was the coast. Keyhaven was the place.

Looking out towards the Isle of Wight.

When I was working on the buses, early morning starts was normal for me, always a struggle as I need my sleep, but it did come with it's advantages.

Parked up in a car park at the top of Milford On Sea - looking East and over towards the Isle of Wight.

It's the colours of the sky that gets me - simply beautiful.

An old friend of mine gave me some old photographs of when I was just a lad - As you can see camping has always been in my life!

I'm the one on the far left sat down

Bottom right hand corner

Also in December a few of these were consumed.

And then a few more!

And then before you knew it - Christmas!

On Boxing day we decided to take the Ural out for a spin as it was a lovely but cold day.

Quick stop at Tesco, so we could cook off the back of the Ural out in the forest.

However, we spotted a Turkey going at a stupid price so we decided to buy it!

And then take it for a ride out to the forest!

Starting to cook, but cannot remember what!

Once home a few beers

The a few more!

The a couple of cocktails

Then hit the Gin! Lymington Gin to be precise! A mighty fine Gin as well.

I'm really not sure how the Turkey ended up going from this 

To this! It was all a bit blurry!

 At least Turkey got a final ride around the New Forest!

And that as they say was that, another year done and dusted and what it year it had been!

Roll on 2017!

The journey continues................

Catch Up! Month By Month!

It would appear that I have been a tad busy and have neglected this blog of mine, so I will endeavour to put things right by updating and bringing you up to speed with all the adventures I have been on since I last put up a post!

Needless to say there has been plenty going on, so I will update things on a monthly basis.

You will probably see that there is a theme to my life, basically it consists of beer, food, more food, spending time with Kiera and riding a motorbike and a good bit of traveling!

So here we go, following on from my last post - which was me having my bike decorated for Christmas and proving everyone wrong that I am not a total Bah-Humbug!

The journey continues...........

Honda Varadero 2001 - 12 Months MOT - For Sale!!

My Honda Varadero is I'm afraid up for sale! £2500 ono

She has been sitting in the garage since I bought the Ural, so the sensible thing is to sell her on to some one who will appreciate her!

So below is the transcript from ebay and from gumtree where she will be listed later today.

By all means please feel free to contact me directly at joolsmauro@gmail.com if you are interested! Pictures right at the very end!

It's time to say goodbye to my trusty Honda Varadero, had some great trips on her and has been ultra reliable since I sorted her out.

I bought her and quickly found she was tall, so I had a lowering kit put on, which dropped her down a little. I'm 5ft 8in if you are shorter than that, this is not the bike for you.

She is a big bike and with short legs stopping on a sloping camber can cause you problems. I still have the standard links if you wish to convert back to original spec but Ill be honest unless your 6ft 6in plus I would not bother. I'm still on tip toes with her lowered!

Gear changes are smooth and the engine purrs like a Honda engine should do.

When I first got her I had a new rear Hagon shocker fitted which improved the ride considerably, it is fully adjustable and I have it on it's softest setting to try and get her just a bit lower.

I also had a new fuel pump fitted as the old one played up, since it's been fitted I have had no further issues.

Brakes have been overhauled both front and rear and new pads fitted.

I had fitted a 12v power supply which takes a traditional 12v plug and a USB plug for charging all those bits of kit you need when travelling.

Also wired in is Oxford wrap around grip warmers. These are brilliant and on full blast actually dry out wet gloves! The wiring is in place, the wrap arounds I've removed for the summer and take seconds to put on.

A new battery was fitted along with a new rectifier just to make sure that all things were covered.

Also included in the sale are brand new throttle cables (they come in 2 parts) and a new clutch cable. Always good to have spares when travelling.

A new rear tyre was put on less than 1000 miles ago.

Two ignition keys and the V5 is in my name.

I've just put her through her MOT and she has just one advisory. The headstock bearings have a very slight notch so at some point this will need looking at. Not a big or expensive job at all.

Now take a close look at the pictures, the crash bars are scratched where I have unfortunately dropped her, each time I have been stationary but it's surprising the amount of scratching that can occur!

Also the faring has been stitched as shown in the photograph. This was as a result of being stationary and putting my foot down to find no road, so over we went and well the pictures speak for themselves.

She is a big heavy bike, not for the faint hearted. But if you want a big adventure style bike that will get you through Europe in the blink of an eye this is the bike for you.

The seat is like an arm chair and I found it to be comfortable even after 10 plus hours in the saddle!

A rear Givi luggage rack is fitted to take Givi clip on panniers.

She will do approx 180 miles to the tank before the light comes on, I've never gone past this point so not sure how accurate the light is.

There is also a Scotoiler fitted with a reservoir behind the rear number plate, it works when it wants to! 

I must admit to loving this bike, if I had room I would keep her, the power for such a big bike is amazing.

However, I own a couple of other bikes and have my eye on a custom bobber so something has to go. Lucky for you it's the Varadero.

She is worth every penny so please no stupid offers, this is an honest bike. I could of painted over the scratches but preferred to leave them as it is so you can see her at her worst.

If you need a commuter or touring bike this one can eat the miles and get you there in comfort.

Usual stuff now, cash in my hand and she is yours and you get to ride her, no cash no ride - it really is that simple. The price you pay me is the price you agree to here. I've been honest about the bike so no haggling once your here.

I hope you treat her well!

Cossack Beard Oil - All Systems Go!

Well, just thought I would bring you up to date with what is going on!

Things have been a little quiet on the travel side, mainly due to having no time.

And at the moment the Ural is off the road with an electrical problem, which is most frustrating to say the least!

I had a go at fixing it myself, but gave up in the end, the task was bigger than my capability!

However, some exciting news regarding my beard oil.

As you may be aware by looking at some of my pictures I sport a rather bushy beard. To keep it up together requires some maintenance in the use of beard oils. These tend to be rather expensive, so around a year ago I started to make my own.

This planted a seed into my head about how I could make money from selling them, so I set about creating a product and a unique angle to be able to break into the market.

So I have made up a fictional character called Uri Brezhnev, who is the mastermind behind it.

Below is a description of Uri and how it all came about. Please take a quick look at my new website, the link can be found below.

Cossack Beard Oil

What’s It All About?

My name is Major (Retd) Uri Brezhnev - ex KGB. On finding out that my cover was blown, I found myself having to lay low for several decades waiting for the dust to settle.

I lived in the Far East of my country, where I felt safe, trapping fur and living off the land.

Recently I felt it was safe enough to venture out into the world once more, but now I must do so as a normal citizen.

Well, as normal as I can be!

On being discharged from the KGB with a new identity but not losing any of my old skills of mixing chemicals to sufficient poisonous strengths to kill a Black Bear with the tip of my umbrella, I decided to put these same skills to good use for once and invented my range of “Cossack Beard Oils”

I emigrated to Great Britain and now reside in the New Forest on the South Coast where I can often be seen riding round on my trusty Soviet Stead a Ural motorcycle and sidecar.

My range of Cossack Beard Oils are a reminder of the Motherland, where my beard first took shape.

Whilst some men like my dear old friend Vladimir went on to build a legacy, through fate, I decided to grow mine.

Beard Oils Available:

Freshly Dug Grave

Hazelnut and Jojoba oils blended with subtle tones of White Musk, Carrot, Juniper and Sandalwood giving an earthy smell of a freshly dug grave. A smell to die for!

Black Sea

Hazelnut and Jojoba oils blended with subtle tones of White Musk, Sandalwood and Sea Spray, reminding me of those carefree days by the Black Sea waiting for my next assignment.

Citrus Mask

Hazelnut and Jojoba oils blended with subtle tones of White Musk, Rosewood with a hint of Cut Grass giving a zesty citrus smell, ideal to mask the smell of death. Ideal in my old profession.

For further information please take a look at our website at www.cossackbeardoil.com

Contact Uri on 07480 211001 or email uri@cossackbeardoil.com

I hope that all is well for you all and that 2017 will be full of travel and adventure!

Christmas Is Coming - Bah Humbug!

I have to say that Christmas is probably my least favourite time of year!

It's not that I'm a total Bah Humbug, but there are a number of reasons why I feel this way.

Firstly I'm not religious in any way shape or form, personally I think they (Religion) are very much the fault of why we as a society are the way we are today - No one can dispute that as a society we are all pretty much messed up!

The true meaning of Christmas has been totally lost, all wrapped up (excuse the pun) in a splurge of commercialism that almost makes me physically sick!

This time of year, people spend too much money, that they don't necessarily have, on people who they don't necessarily like, on items the recipient either doesn't want or dislikes!

It's all a bit of a recipe for disaster!

Anyway, why wait till Christmas? I am of the opinion that if you want something now, then I will buy it now, (as long as I can afford it).

Christmas seems to start mid October, this year I saw a pub in August advertising it's Christmas menu! Bloody ridiculous!

In general I find that people on the run up to Christmas are short tempered, stressed out completely because that can't find the right scarf for Uncle Bill. The fact that Uncle Bill has 10 scarfs all ready, has nothing to do with it. He is in a nursing home, rarely goes out and to be honest would rather like a set of bibs as his dentures don't fit that good anymore and he tends to dribble his tea!

Christmas cards! Another great waste of time, money and natural resources! Yes it's nice to hear from Aunty Beryl, but you only saw her last Thursday and she wished you Happy Christmas then! The fact that another couple of hundred hectares of forest have been destroyed to make the amount of cards we send each year is immaterial!

Just to redress the balance a bit as it sounds that I am a real Grinch over Christmas I got my step daughter to decorate my Ural - I would like to think when people see me now at least they may stop, smile, point and say - look at that fat bloke on the motorbike!

If I can make just one person smile a day as a result of looking daft, then I feel I have done my bit to lighten the mood.

The journey continues..........

1st December Ride Out On The Ural

With a day off today and with the prospect of having to paint the bathroom ceiling later on what was needed was an hour on the Ural!

I had to go into Lymington on an errand, so decided to take the scenic route along the coast.

We really are blessed with some amazing scenery in this part of the world.

However, it did not take long before someone decided to pull out of a junction right in front of me. I narrowly missed him, but had to hit the brakes pretty hard to avoid a collision.

I reckon that if I was on two wheels instead of three I may well of been off at that point as the roads were still slippery from the heavy frost we had over night.

Leaving New Milton and heading for Milford and some fine views across the Solent towards the Isle of Wight I could see up ahead a couple walking on the pavement and they had a dog with them.

As I was about to pass them the dog decided to take a leap at me, the owner not being in control of his dog by having it on a long lead could do nothing to stop it.

I swerved and thought I was going over but managed to hang on, I also thought I had hit the dog as I heard a knock as I passed. I immediately pulled over, I was shaking like a leaf.

I switched the engine off and looked back to see that the dog appeared to be fine, the woman came running up to me and asked if I was ok, where I pointed out to her in no uncertain terms that they could of killed me!

She did apologise, but the bloke who had been holding the dog and who's fault it was said nothing, so I'm afraid I ripped into the pair of them for being so irresponsible.

I rode off and had to pull over in the next car park where I sat for a few minutes gathering my thoughts, it shook me up.

Into Lymington, jobs done, (unsuccessfully) then decided to head home via Keyhaven.

The sun was shining brightly but the air temperature was only just above zero.

The tide was just on it's way in and was about to creep over the road, another hour and the road would be impassable.

Home, where the painting started, but at least I had a blast out on the Ural.

The journey continues........