Right..... The weather forecast earlier this week said RAIN..... This morning it said OVERCAST....
So I wore my Twat Suit and made sure I had even my neck warmer on.
Before I left the cats got a good scare too.
I left at 09.00 as I was waiting for the M25 traffic to get less before hitting the road.
Loads of Filtering later, I left the M25 and ran down the M3 toward Winchester where at the 101 mile mark I pulled in at the Services to use the loo and grab a Costa Coffee...... then decided sod the coffee and kept going as the day was beautiful, nothing like the weather forecast.
I knew the way up to Southampton as it was the patch I worked the last year on contract.
So when I got to Winchester at the services, I started up the Satnav and loaded the address in Lymington and set off....
From the outset the bloody thing wanted to take me on a different route....
Now I know there are a few Lymington/Leamingtons but the address and postcode as well as county were all correctly entered.
When I got to Southampton I stopped and checked my iPhone maps and it said I was 19 miles from destination, yet the SatNav was still 122miles from destination..... so I switched it off and restarted and re-entered the address. this time it worked.
The service station I pulled over at was closed, so not even a person to check my directions with. Anyway, set off and made my way into the New Forest.
Camera mounted to my crash hat meant pics taken as I went along.
Loads of this ....
Along the way I got stopped at a railway level crossing and saw this pub along the way, very tempting it was.
I stopped outside Millards garage at 12.05 which showed just how well I had done in spite of the roads..... filtering has its value.
I was warmly invited in by a giant of a Scotsman, well he was 6foot plenty tall......
Coffee offered, and then the magic words came to life...... "Would you like a Bacon and Egg sandwich? "
Holy Crap !!
Of course I would .... to me it is still a special treat having a bacon sandwich to this day.
Millard got going.....
How good does that coffee look ??
By the time I had eaten this far I remembered that a photo of the feast would be in order.....
After lunch we went back to the garage where Millard sorted out a load of old kit he was going to throw out, and give me the set of indicators which were the main reason for my 140 mile ride there.....
A pair of saddle bags which will go on the South African trip next year as the GS has no panniers, and a second pair for Goose to take to Cape Town for his one XT550
Then some stunning old leathers and a HG riding jacket for Maverick to use when he rides trials.
All in all a load of kit that may have been destined for the tip, now redistributed and due to be cherished and used for another life time.
Just about to leave I forced Millard to pose up next to his 1100GS, a bike that has been about a bit with trips to Morocco etc....
The return trip was reasonably uneventful, but thoroughly enjoyable.
Except that I got caught at the level crossing again.
On the way I suddenly passed a group of horses in a field and turned around when it was safe to do so and rode about a mile back.
The group of four New Forest horses included a young one..... typically I did try to make friends with them, and while taking pics, the youngster came closer and eventually tried to eat my camera.....leading to this....
I had filled my bike up yesterday and on the way I was doing constant mental calculations to see where I could get to.
Usually I refill my tank at around 160 miles or 240 km.
Today I pushed the range as hard as I could and made it to Fleet services....200.4 miles from my last refill and showing a reserve of 19 miles.
The tank then took 20.4 litres. For the Non-UK readers.... note the cost of a 20 liter fill or cost per litre.
The last pic I stopped to take before taking on the rest of the M3 and M25 was of this drive thru Starbucks.... it used to be a shower block for truckers.
RIGHT, for those still awake....Here are the indicators.
Hand made on the lathe with his own fair hands for one of his Nortons in the style of Iron Man meets Ziggy Stardust meets Dan Dare over a cuppa SteamPunk
LOVELY RETRO LOOKING LED LIGHTS.
Thanks a Mil Millard, great to meet you and sample your cooking.
... Your routes are too motorway based...
