A scoot to the south (of Ireland)

simondippenhall

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This is a mini ride report so I thought I would tuck it away here, for the scooter-minded, and not expose it to the full light of the GSer ride reports. I am sure a Mod will correct me if I have erred...

The scooter in question is my Suzuki Burgman 400, bought a couple of months ago from the fine Lloyd B of this parish.
 

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I will fill in a little background to my trip.

My mother, now in her 90th year, has been badly affected by the pandemic and as a result has been taken in and cared for by my sister....and needed a bit of respite. This would be provided by my caring for her once I had gone through the required quarantine period (5 days plus a clear Covid test at that point).

So why the scooter?

Last December I ruptured my Achilles’ tendon and for several months was confined to a cast or a protective boot. So couldn’t use any foot controls....but a scooter would be ideal.

And where else to look but the hallowed pages of UKGSer For Sale ?

I knew I needed to equip it for touring:
 

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The Burgervan came with a very loud horn, a fitted Zumo 660 and was immaculate having done only 2960 miles. (It’s now over 4,000).

Scouring the For Sale columns I found a Tucano scooter apron...the best £45 I ever spent.
Then Tim Cullis provided some bargain Tucano mitts and Drumacoon Lad a lovely as new wind deflector and elsewhere on these pages I found an as new Givi top box and a pocket to fit under the windshield, which I modified with a little credit card holder pocket.

So suddenly the bike is all set to travel
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I packed my bag in preparation, and was amazed how easily the Burgervan fitted it under the seat (along with my supportive hiking boots)
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I also prepared some straps from an old bicycle inner tube, to secure my walking poles to the side of the bike
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The top box at 46 litres meant I had over 80 litres of storage, excluding the two glove boxes. (One of these glove boxes housed a power source which I used for my Gerbing heated jacket thermostat, and was very glad of it, being a real softy).

Room for my spare leg in the top box as well as my Lidl First Aid kit, and hi viz jacket.

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and of course the compulsory sandwiches for the trip:
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I had been getting concerned about weather conditions for the trip, both from the forecast and the sight of the house opposite
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Plus I had been incapacitated for some months and had much less strength than usual, especially in my much reduced right leg.

So a trip I had done in the past without blinking, on my RT, provoked much more concern to me now as a neophyte scooter rider
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I had to be at Fishguard by 12ish to catch the ferry and didn’t want to start the trip by sliding on my arse on black ice down my country lane . I also didn’t know how long my arse would support in the scooter saddle.

So for once I decided to be sensible, and looked at breaking the trip down into two parts
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To my surprise I found accommodation readily available in S Wales, and suddenly was facing a 2.5 hour ride to Port Talbot area followed by a leisurely bimble in the morning to Fishguard. Once I had decided and booked that I felt way more .


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So I left home at 3 pm in warm sunshine, bike fully fuelled and with (I estimated) about a 140-150 mile range which would get me to my destination.

Ready for the off:
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High technology consumption and range calculations by the trip planner
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Walking poles strapped...securely, I hoped
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The ride went very smoothly and I was amazed how easily the scoot would cruise at 65...the tall screen, added wind deflector, heated grips etc all did a great job to keep me comfortable in doing 140 miles non stop.

My destined overnight stop was a lot more careworn than the Booking.com pictures promised
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The (virtual, by mobile phone) receptionist suggested Porthcawl was worth a visit if I hadn’t been. So away I went...
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Decided to have a socially distant supper from my provisions cupboard (aka top box). A proper balanced GSer collation of a pork pie and a Double Decker, with my trusty ‘around Africa’ vacuum mug full of coffee to wash it down.

The views at sunset were stunning
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I was glad I had not booked here
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When I reluctantly pulled myself away from the shimmering seaside and returned to my abode, I was at least afforded a great security view of my scooter from my room
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and a wondrous sunset
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I'm hooked. Love hearing about border crossings!

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For those who like ‘trip paperwork‘ like Jim, I set off armed with a fresh and clear Covid PCR test result (cost me £80!), a condition for entry in Rep. of Ireland. I also printed a ‘reason for travel’ registration document from a UK government site, explaining why I was travelling, although my research suggested this doesn’t apply to travel within the Common Travel Area (UK and Ireland ). But better safe than sorry!


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Come on. . . . . . pictures of Ireland are more important in this thread:aidan

Hiya Luke. I felt it would be unfair to tempt people with pictures of our beautiful island when they are not yet free to travel there, (other than in limited circumstances like mine). But I will see if I can dig some out...

Anyhow, the next morning I managed to get served a proper breakfast (after a bit of going and froing)

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Looking at the temperature gauge, I was glad I was starting the day from here rather than frosty Hampshire:
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The little I managed to capture of Port Talbot as I rode through it to rejoin the M4, having a leisurely ride as I had 3-4 hours to do 100 miles - bliss!
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Arrived in good time at Fishguard, so decided to explore the town (didn’t take too long)
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There was a boat coming in, so that was one uncertainty resolved, so decided to enjoy the beach whilst waiting
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At check in there were a handful of cars. My Covid test results were checked - chatted with the guy there who said they had surprisingly little problem with people having wrong or out of date test results.

Soon it was time to board....as usual, bikes (or rather, bike -yet again I was the only bike on board) on first - proposer order, as we would say.
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I had splashed out £25 on a cabin as I wanted to keep to myself (ie from the 20 or 25 other passengers ) and fancied a kip.
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As has been my experience a few times when there are not many passengers, the boat left 5 or 10 minutes early.


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Did I say the boat was empty?IMG_0365.jpg

Arriving at Rosslare, I was first off and the Garda asked me for my identity documents, my Covid test result and my confirmation that I had filed a Covid locator form online (indicating where I would be in quarantine). As an Irish citizen I was not quizzed on why I was travelling, but I had brought geriatrician reports and other health related documents for my mother to substantiate that my trip was legitimate.

And after a rapid blat on the N25, M9 and N10 I arrived safely at my sister’s house, where the trusty Burgervan was parked up for the duration ...aided by my nephew who put it on the centre stand, something I can no longer do
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I am greeted by the dog who clearly has not read up on the 2 metre rule
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And at Luke Scott’s request a few photies of the Emerald Isle.

View from the sisters kitchen:


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Arboreal beauty down a local boreen
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After 5 days I got a Covid PCR test and was free to get out (but only inter county as per regs)....so a sunny day picnic at Kells mill with the family
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And some simple nosh which always tastes better in the fresh air
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