tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48322062874171169762024-02-19T06:45:05.602+00:00Outsider - AdventureI have a terrible memory so I'll attempt to capture memory-joggers of my mini adventures here; touring on and off the Tarmac on a big adventure bike and maybe even the occasional hike. I'll comment on specific gear/kit experiences that may be useful to others too.
Just trying to enjoy the great outdoors with limited resources.Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-75743056289829106402020-01-19T21:41:00.000+00:002020-01-23T08:05:12.983+00:00Not the kind of adventure anyone wants
My last proper ride out, a local-ish green-lane, before the dreaded "EWS!"
Just before Christmas I was riding when the engine died with EWS! showing on the Kombi, leaving me stranded at the roadside. It had shown a few times previously at key-on but cleared upon retrying, however, starting the bike to head home had taken several attempts. Once recovered to home my GS-911 reported the Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-63985262093320021102019-06-19T20:29:00.000+01:002019-06-19T20:29:00.336+01:00Neglect
I have neglected to keep this blog updated for many different reasons that I won't bore you with. Suffice to say; this needs to change. It's been nearly two years since my last post and I still haven't posted anything on the Scottish NC500 trips. Yes trips, plural; I have been back a second time.
The main reason for this blog's existence was to provide a memory-jogger for my ageing grey Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-90521157238641705992017-06-24T23:00:00.000+01:002017-07-10T10:52:12.666+01:00 A day in the lanes with ATR
My recent renewed interest in off-roading had me thinking I should do some local dirt again to brush-up on my skills as I hadn't done much for quite a few years. Through the magic of Facebook I was invited to join the ATR guys and gals again as it just so happened that they had a camp and trail weekend coming up. Good timing and great opportunity!
I planned to head to the campsite Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-34396893235633442772017-06-19T19:19:00.000+01:002020-01-21T20:18:07.399+00:00Garmin Zumo 590LM battery fix
A "permanent" fix for an always flat, won't charge Zumo battery
I've been meaning to post this for a while and have been reminded/prompted by several related threads over on ZumoForums.
April 2018 UPDATE: the original ZumoUser forum suddenly closed it's doors and all data seems lost (lucky I posted here, eh?). It's replacement can be found at www.zumouserforums.co.uk.
Credit to Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com98tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-71472290939702470632017-06-09T17:45:00.000+01:002020-01-21T11:01:16.790+00:00Big bike off road?
Things change
I've been having somewhat of a renewed interest in off-road recently and during a weekend in Wales I discovered the GSA is probably a lot more capable than I am.
Going the wrong way (up) a one-way track, apparently. Dropped it turning around.
Didn't break the half-dozen eggs that where in the left pannier either.
It was a steep rocky climb, tough on a big bike but I reallyOutsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-52954451671791430892016-09-30T18:07:00.000+01:002017-06-19T19:22:31.194+01:00Scotland: North Coast 500I've somehow forgotten to post about the NC500. I will have to correct that!
Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-3238355545165329882015-09-25T13:13:00.001+01:002020-01-21T11:03:33.205+00:00Trangia 27-8UL/HA
My Chinese multi-fuel stove failed on the first night of a recent trip. The fuel bottle leaked when starting to pressurise, something I'd seen before and it seemed to be just a sticky o-ring. I'd diddled with it three times and got covered in petrol each time I tried it again. I was done with it.
I had already been re-evaluating what I need from a stove considering what I tend to cook. My Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-23212361605831849292015-09-16T22:23:00.000+01:002020-01-21T11:15:53.648+00:00Wales again, by motorcycle
Just me and GB, spending four days riding in Wales.
The plan
No real plan. We had some GPS routes of some interesting roads we wanted to do, but that was it. No campsites booked either, not even looked at any.
Gear loading
A new set up for me, the possibility of off-roading meant I wanted to leave the topbox behind. Just two panniers and a small pack strapped to the rack.
Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-13069313945574856922015-09-16T20:41:00.000+01:002020-01-21T11:21:11.658+00:00Pannier plate & tool tubeNeed extra storage
I know the BMW R1200 GS Adventure can carry a fair amount of crap but sometimes when "travelling light" I could do with some extra storage; mainly for tools and bits I want with me no matter what luggage I choose to leave behind. A mini compressor, Stop & Go puncture kit and a few very basic tools live under the seat but I need space for the more comprehensive kit Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-91715708900435423292015-08-22T19:21:00.000+01:002017-06-19T15:53:06.471+01:00Snowdon with familyFailed again!
The Watkin Path again and it was already raining as we pulled into the car park. We thought we'd give it a go as we were "reasonably" well prepared.
The climb started wet but we we're all enjoying the scenery. The waterfalls are amazing. It was hot so we weren't sealed up inside our waterproofs as we should've been. We didn't notice how wet we'd become until we took a break Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-67785083967408801992015-07-23T09:16:00.000+01:002015-09-22T09:20:27.029+01:00No HISS for me :-(I had to contact Simon and bail on HISS. Didn't have enough holiday from work left or spondulies in the bank to do it on top of a family break we'd planned. Not fair on family if I buggered off for a week while they did nothing.Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-15575217152104795472015-04-18T10:33:00.000+01:002015-04-29T10:42:00.524+01:00ButterfliesAfter my Snowdon fail Ruth suggested we do it as a family (Snowdon at least), the kids weren't too happy with the suggestion. I'm unsure if/how I can do any of the Peaks by bike this year now because scheduling may make it difficult.
I received an email from Simon Rice (aka SpanishBiker) wanting to confirm for HISS. Ruth thinks I should do HISS and do 3 Peaks another time or by car maybe. I'm Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-3514097503997215982015-03-29T22:28:00.000+01:002017-06-19T15:53:06.456+01:00Snowdon - Fail!
Morning
It's been raining all night and the wind kept waking me up. I thought the tent might break at one point. I stuck my head out and tried to capture the blowing rain. Didn't quite catch it.
I was hoping it would be gone by morning.
It's really not pleasant out there!
The already sodden ground was now a series of puddles. My tent was surrounded by them and I Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-48527592007853912542015-03-28T21:57:00.000+00:002015-04-02T10:47:34.132+01:00Ride to Snowdon
I've arrived at camp! I'm sitting in my tent at Llyn Gwynant campsite making notes because I won't remember it all. There's absolutely no mobile coverage here. I'm in a valley on the south side on Snowdon surrounded by signal blocking hills. So much for posting from the field.
The ground is so soft that the bike's sidestand still sank in even with the large foot pad. Site warden said Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-23199242583801458532015-03-27T07:26:00.000+00:002015-03-27T08:20:19.367+00:00No pressureSatNav installation completed last night, then route tweaking. I was trying to bring it down from 11hrs by using more motorway and main trunk roads, didn't quite manage it.
I'm finding I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself; lots to do in little time. Not what I wanted. I wanted a more relaxed trip.
Last few bits to pack tonight, mostly my walking gear (in a dry bag on the rack), Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-43277998293451804202015-03-26T13:12:00.000+00:002017-06-14T15:38:37.934+01:00Adventure 2-for-1I've been playing with the Zumo 590 for a fair few hours now but I've still not ridden with it. I'm getting to grips with Garmin's Basecamp to the point that I've tweaked the planned route to change directions in a few places and take me down some trails.
Two things are making me nervous; trusting the weekend to a SatNav that is unproven (to me) but more than that is the concern of tackling the Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-42170683177532714622015-03-23T18:44:00.001+00:002017-06-19T16:04:11.776+01:00Sat Nav updateWell, I didn't expect that! I had an email from customer service; they've got new stock in ahead of schedule and are delivering tomorrow! It gives me time to get it installed and to RTFM before the trip.Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-33562239887354294072015-03-22T12:15:00.001+00:002015-04-02T10:36:27.187+01:003 Peaks - Nav
Navigation
With two weeks to go until the first trip I decided to purchase the sat nav that I'd had my eyes on for a while. Up until now I'd only been using the Tom Tom app on my phone which is really good for A-to-B (and via a maximum of 5 way-points), but it had begun to feel a little limiting. You can't follow predetermined routes and it doesn't handle multi-day trips.
A friend had always Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-82052700587048155572015-03-15T01:37:00.000+00:002020-01-19T21:11:31.027+00:00Gear
Travelling by motorcycle can mean carrying a lot of stuff, often more than necessary, so I'm trying to fine-tune my gear to reduce it while at the back of my mind planning for a bike trip into the interior of Iceland.
I've already downsized that enormous 100mm self-inflating mattress for a Multimat Superlite Air, so that bulk that I took to Austria has gone. The Superlite is working Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-29285343607475220142015-02-21T18:34:00.000+00:002015-03-21T19:54:17.523+00:003 Peaks - Plan
Plan
Late last year (2014) I decided I wanted to do the 3 Peaks. I wanted to pack my bike, ride to each peak, camp nearby and climb to the summit the following day. So, in January I made loose plans to do each in a separate long weekend with Snowdon at the end of March, Scarfell Pike in June and Ben Nevis in August. I wanted to spread them out to use less holiday from work (saving some for Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-10019576097855486382013-05-12T16:05:00.000+01:002015-03-20T21:36:55.989+00:00Two go mad in Austria
I decided to copy my original post from ATR, to here, as a record for myself as much as anything else. I hope to record any future "adventures" too. I have some plans...
Ok, I'm not a particularly wordy person, but GB and I spent a BLOODY AWESOME week in Austria! I will attempt to convey a sense of the week to you.
I pretty much left the route planning to GB and his all-singing, Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832206287417116976.post-39360847561190192032013-05-11T18:17:00.001+01:002017-06-21T15:16:57.201+01:00So what's the point of this?
Where I'm coming from
I spent a lot of time as a kid outside, exploring the neighbourhood, building dens and climbing trees. That's what we did.
I can clearly remember my first pen-knife that my parents bought me (quite something given my awful memory) and still have the Swiss Champ I bought with my 16th birthday money. I've always had a quiet interest in the outdoors.
Mountain biking was Outsiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15593699076770287001noreply@blogger.com0