For solo touring, I clip the plastic emergency key for the keyless system in the knee armour pocket. My rationale is that my jacket with main fob might get nicked but I'd need to get very lucky for someone to have the opportunity to run off with my trousers.
Touring tips
- Thread starter Mark H
- Start date
Just caught up with this thread and this has to be the pinnacle, might as well stop it there. Reminds me a little of losing my mobile phone in my hotel room in Tallinn though.
You say that, but I have been on tour with someone who managed to:
A. Leave ALL his clothes in his room in Germany; something we only discovered when we were near enough in Italy.
B. On the same tour, manage to ‘lose’ his ‘Best pants’.
Mind you he was, I think, 12. The same lad is now well over six foot and playing second row for Colchester RFC.
Happy days.
I was actually wondering yesterday where do I put my spare key when I go travelling later this year.....and like a message from God.
it's fine with the little plastic emergency key and a single Givi pannier key but take care with bigger keys, making sure the key cannot get behind the knee pad...
cut from a post in the accommodation section
oh, and as for hotel availability, there seems to be a number of things seemingly affecting availability:
1. places are busy for the Easter & May holidays this year, and prices have gone up especially for breakfast add-ons in France.
2. Some hotels seem to be limiting availability on the big booking sites, presumably due to the rising fees. I have been using Google maps to check availability which often has a price from the hotel's own website or preferred booking agent but nothing from the usual suspects (who seem to be owned by one of two companies, Expedia or Booking).
3. free cancellation very close to the travel date seems to be disappearing which affects group bookings as you do not have the flexibility to cancel a room if someone can't travel.
4. many more places are asking for prepayment, sometimes at the time of booking or a few days before arrival, maybe once the cancellation period has ended. In the past I have booked multiple rooms on my account but for future trips, I might need to ask others to book themselves and take responsibility for cost to change dates etc.
In the current economic climate, this is all very understandable as hotels in the past have been encouraged by the booking sites to take a lot of risk with no advance payment and free cancellation terms.
As ever, if you want to stay in a particular hotel or location, you might need to go old school and contact the hotel. Most will respond to an email and a translation service makes this easy.
oh, and as for hotel availability, there seems to be a number of things seemingly affecting availability:
1. places are busy for the Easter & May holidays this year, and prices have gone up especially for breakfast add-ons in France.
2. Some hotels seem to be limiting availability on the big booking sites, presumably due to the rising fees. I have been using Google maps to check availability which often has a price from the hotel's own website or preferred booking agent but nothing from the usual suspects (who seem to be owned by one of two companies, Expedia or Booking).
3. free cancellation very close to the travel date seems to be disappearing which affects group bookings as you do not have the flexibility to cancel a room if someone can't travel.
4. many more places are asking for prepayment, sometimes at the time of booking or a few days before arrival, maybe once the cancellation period has ended. In the past I have booked multiple rooms on my account but for future trips, I might need to ask others to book themselves and take responsibility for cost to change dates etc.
In the current economic climate, this is all very understandable as hotels in the past have been encouraged by the booking sites to take a lot of risk with no advance payment and free cancellation terms.
As ever, if you want to stay in a particular hotel or location, you might need to go old school and contact the hotel. Most will respond to an email and a translation service makes this easy.
Hide spare keys inside the rear light taped behind the bulb unit.
just be careful with the spare "keyless" transponder as it might sit close enough to the receiver to activate the ignition button...
Keyless. I'm the prehistoric man
You must have had a bike you could start with a screwdriver at some point over your years of bike ownership?
Did this luckily it was in the UK but still pissed me off.
I finished work one Friday and a friend called, said he was staying in a static caravan on the east coast at a place called Blue Dolphin.
said it sleeps 8 and there is 2 of them, suggested i go and stay over having a few beers.
So i checked on google... ah Filey i know that, and set off
When i got there i parked under the "Blue Dolphin" sign and announced my arrival... come and get me.
he couldn't find me, even said i wasn't where i said?????
Turns out there is another bloody Blue Dolphin campsite at Mablethorpe over 100 miles away!!!!
it was turned 11pm when i arrived, i was pissed off and they was both pissed.... awesome!
wont fall for that trick again!!!
I heard of a foreign waggon drive who turned up at Gibraltar Point instead of Gibraltar.
I am aware of at least one person who arrived in Barnsley, a small village near Cirencester, rather than the big place in Yorkshire.
I am also aware of a contributor to this thread and his monotreme companion discovering there are multiple Hooks in Holland.
I am also aware of a contributor to this thread and his monotreme companion discovering there are multiple Hooks in Holland.
I was station duty officer at Welwyn Garden City, Herts one night when a truck driver came in looking for directions to a firm in Welling....Kent....
this is a good one.
jackwinwill
Registered user
Aimed at our older forumites with heavy bikes, plan to arrive at destinations like ferry ports low on fuel, ... pushing a packed heavy bike around on greasy ferry decks is harder with a full tank, usually easy to find fuel around the destination port
Leave Helmet and jacket on bike on ferry, it won't go anywhere, for peace of mind I run the bikes lock chain though it
Have a pre packed bag somewhere accessible on bike to take up to your cabin on overnight crossings just a lightweight trousers, personal care ect minimal stuff
Pack light, If i saw an empty space in my pannies I used to find something to put in it, going to Spain for a fortnight this weekend so packing now, just 4 tops 6 pants 2 pair socks, a fleece some washing liquid for a few washes, a amazon travel clothes line, usual meds and personal care stuff, footwear
Avoid Jeans, too heavy
Have mainstream Credit Card for Tolls and Fuel (I have a Lloyds mastercard) as reported elsewhere the pre loaded cards seem to be experiencing fraud and not easy to get your money back
Sort out your Travel insurance and recovery insurance
Have you got stuff to fix a puncture on side of road and inflate tyre?
Take a paper map
Don't forget continental mains plug adapter
Thank you so much for sharing this info which I think is also really helpful for me as a newbie. i am travelling for san diego tomorrow, it is my first travel i hope i will enjoy with myself thanks for you tips...
On my 1200 GS / 1250 GSA I gaffer taped the spare key to the front suspension wishbone. The keys were still there when I sold the bikes. Assuming the bikes haven’t been scrapped since, the keys might well still be there.
It maybe wise to check your insurance regarding leaving keys on bikes. I know my motorhome insurance has exclusion clause if the vehicle is taken with the spare keys due to it overriding the immobiliser.
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