Aug 17 2016

Note to self – a temporary fix may be just that, temporary

We’re on the road again, as the song in my head goes. That was on the 16th August. Streak and Storm are purring beautifully as we head to the Poole ferry with Anthony’s brother-in-law John leading the way on his bike. Our first stop tonight is the Mont-Saint-Michel, a short 150km ride after a 3 hour ferry ride from Poole to Cherbourg. The scenery is gorgeous, we’re enjoying our leisurely ride through the small villages, past old stone houses. I suddenly realise it is my first time riding in France since my old moped days when I was a teenager and I am so excited. The roads are remarkably clear for mid August in France – the height of the tourist season. It seems we have picked our timing perfectly.

75km south of Cherbourg, I feel something is not quite right. My front brake is suddenly sluggish, I notice my tank has drops of oil which I immediately know this means something has happened to my brake fluid container, then the front brake is totally useless. I can pull the lever all the way, to no effect. We pull over and find out my front brake container is empty. The temporary fix I had built by an amazing mechanic in Chiang Mai, Thailand (after I smashed it after crashing into a wall in India) basically disintegrated. The beautiful fibreglass mold had done a fantastic job for 12 months, but brake fluid is corrosive and it eventually ate through the fibreglass. That is when I made a note to myself: a temporary fix may be just that, temporary. A good lesson for the future…

Thank goodness for the back brake but going through endless roundabouts in small towns and villages is proving to be tricky. We limp along, Anthony behind me protecting my back and with our flashers on, until I give up outside Bréhal as I spot a Peugeot repair place just off yet another roundabout and ask for directions to the nearest motorcycle store – I see they have a tow truck so, if need be, I am sure we can get Streak to the right place. We are in luck – there is a motorcycle store just 8kms away I am told, just 3 or 4 roundabouts away. Easy. No problem getting there in my situation they say. But I am not comfortable and decide to take Anthony’s bike while he waits for my return. Thank goodness I didn’t go on Streak: I get totally and utterly lost and end up in the tiny twisty streets of Granville teeming with tourists walking all over the place. It feels nightmarish, especially as I realise I didn’t make a note of where I left Anthony. It turns out I took the wrong exit at the first round about – I was not meant to follow the signs to Granville even though I was heading to Granville…. I eventually find the store, buy some brake fluid, ask for directions back to where I think I left Anthony and finally get back 1.5 hours later!! Lucky Anthony is not a worrier.

Anthony remembers what we did to refill my brake fluid container back in India, making sure to bleed the brake properly. We overfill the container, expecting continued seepage through the base and slowly make our way to the Mont St Michel, with our flashers going on the faster stretches of road to warn upcoming drivers behind us. I get splashes of oil all over the tank, my trousers and even helmet visor as it seeps out but on arrival at our hotel , we see I didn’t loose too much. We should be able to make Nantes tomorrow no problem. I call BMW Boxer-Passion in Nantes that evening to warn them of our arrival.

It has been a long day – 14 hours since we got up and Anthony started to cough badly today. He is stuffed and his ankle hurts. But he knows how much I had been looking forward to seeing the Mont St Michel again so he soldiers on so that we can have a quick visit of this fantastic Unesco site which I last saw when I was very little.

We made it to the Mont-Saint-Michel!

The Mont-Saint-Michel at dusk

The medieval streets within the Mont-Saint-Michel

We set off the next morning for BMW Boxer-Passion in Nantes where Philippe, said he admired what we did to keep going while in SE Asia, but also gave me a telling off!! Unfortunately, and even to the surprise of the guys at BMW Boxer-Passion, we cannot just buy the container, but have to get the entire front brake system (as we had found out previously) – and yes, that means big €€€ and a week’s delay to get the part in. But they did try and see if they could find one from a broken bike they could give us. Very very helpful – thank you BMW Boxer-Passion Nantes for trying. And yes, I will remember in future that any temporary fix may need fixing ‘properly’. The angels are still on our side 🙂

– Anne

Aug 7 2016

Reunited with ‘Streak’ and ‘Storm’

Today we are reunited with ‘Streak’ & ‘Storm’. It has been 10 months since we drove away leaving two dirty motorcycles for cleaning and storage. As we travel through the rain to the storage facility I have both excitement and nervousness, what will we feel when we see the motorbikes, will we want to ride? what will it feel like? will we cope? All emotions we expected but they are now real.

We enter the storage facility and pass a couple of motorbikes that Anne notices look like ours, they are ours!! We did not recognise them after all this time! Our panniers and clothing are stored separately and as I unload the shelves I am struck by the worn nature of the clothing and panniers and think of all the memories that have been woven into them. I have new Klim Latitude trousers which look so new compared with my similarly coloured Klim Badlands jacket.

Taking Streak and Storm for their 1st ride in 10 months!

We are dressed as we were for 14 months and set out in light rain to get a Ministry of Transport (MOT) roadworthiness test, required annually as ‘Streak’ & ‘Storm’ are now over three years old. I had to look up the definition of ‘MOT’ as the Ministry of Transport disappeared many decades ago, but the name lives on.

We fire up the engines and cautiously head down the lane to the main road. Water drips down off the trees splashing on the windscreen, we are riding again. Confidence grows and as we ride through the New Forest, we hardly notice the rain as the smiles grow on our faces, it’s good to be back in the saddle.

Our first ride, across the New Forest, is grey and wet but it feels good

Yes, as you can see from the photo, it was a wet dreary day, again, but it felt great!!! Most importantly, Anthony’s ankle held up. Changing gears was painful as expected but what we hadn’t thought of was the difficulty of pushing off the side stand – that was tricky and painful. But manageable, we can work around that. That will not stop us from doing our next bike trip, through France and Spain in under 2 weeks’ time. The bikes passed their MOT, we have new wet weather pants and we can’t wait to get back on the road again soon.

– Anne & Anthony

Aug 4 2016

Family, Friends and Fairy Floss

We have been in Europe nearly a month already! Our timing was chosen specifically to join our nephew Matthew in celebrating a very important event in his life: his ordination into Dominican priesthood. A major milestone for him, a great occasion for family to get together and a proud moment for his parents and grandparents.

Matthew's ordination into Dominican priesthood - Blackfriars, Oxford, UK

Matthew’s ordination into Doninican priesthood – Blackfriars, Oxford, UK

For the past 4 weeks, we have been criss-crossing the UK to visit family. Our second important family event took place in London: it was very special to be able to watch Anthony’s niece Fenella perform in her end of year dance show. And a very proud moment for her mum, Anthony’s sister Tansy. Sadly, no photos were allowed, but we did all get in between the afternoon and evening shows for celebratory refreshments and dinner. The last big event is this Saturday, our nephew Sebastian’s christening, which Father Matthew will be officiating.

We have seen my mum, attended one of her amazing 2 hour guided tours of Canterbury cathedral which she gave to a group of French students, played many games of scrabble, seen my dad and niece Marion for the ordination, seen my sister Diane and most of her family, celebrated my niece Camilla’s birthday, enjoyed an impromptu home concert, seen Anthony’s sister Tansy and family in Dorset, visited cousins Celia and Richard in Scotland where we did a spot of sightseeing in Kirckubright and single malt tasting and also visited my nephew Timothy and Bex and their 2 gorgeous boys. We also spent 5 days zooming from Amsterdam to Antwerp to visit Anthony’s cousin Lesley and family. So great to catch up with family who have also been faithful followers of our blog. Wherever we have been, we have been totally spoilt and fed so many amazing meals. It is time we get back on the road and work all those treats off!!!…

Lots of family visits in England, Scotland and Belgium

In between the family visits, sightseeing and lovely walks, we also managed to catch up with our old friend Eugene – it was on the 14th July, the day Marianne, France’s symbol for Liberté, Égalité et Fraternité, cried for France and the whole world following the attrocities in Nice. We visited Antwerp on Belgium’s national day – a little unnerving after Nice but we were not going to be deterred. We also caught up with close friends Pat and Andy from Brisbane who happened to be staying 5 miles from a motorcycle shop we had planned to go to.

Time for some sightseeing with friends and family

After Belgium, we nipped down to Lille, in northern France to go down memory lane and revisit old haunts. This is where I went to uni and Anthony used to come over every three weeks to see his French girlfriend back in 1977! Time does play tricks on the mind. Sometimes it feels like no time has passed between visits to family/friends or places and it oddly seems normal to be where you are and other times, you know a place should be familiar but you cannot remember until suddenly, out of nowhere, a glimpse of clarity followed by exhilaration. I loved seeing where I used to live – there was one door bell for all the student rooms back then. As I was in room 5, my visitors used to have to ring the doorbell 5 times – you had to start counting as soon as the door bell rang to find out if it was for you or not. I was glad I wasn’t in room 8!! I loved the modern Lille cathedral with it’s wall of Portugese mable. Thanks to our friends Jan and Ineke for telling us about Roubaix and especially the renovated art deco swimming pool – stunning!! On the way back to Amsterdam where we had hoped to catch up with other friends, we made the most of the time to see the Cuyperspassage at Amsterdam Central station with 80,000 blue Delft tiles.

Revisiting old haunts

We have been lucky with the weather – we are after all in the UK so have to talk about the weather! It started absolutely freezing, was mostly grey, often wet, we didn’t get to see any of the Peak District on our way to Scotland but we did see this year’s British summer and it was amazing.

As we’ve gone from place to place, we pick our route based on either new places we want to see or good hotel deals. And so we ended up going through Sheffield and Blackpool. Both places have seen better days but they also each have their story and therefore are interesting. I remember the coach trips I used to make with my grandparents when I was little – I have happy memories of fun, treats, unusual Blackpool rock (teeth breaking sugar stick), delicious bright pink fairy floss, loud game arcades, carousel rides. Fifty years on, I could decide whether Blackpool is sad and tacky or nostalgic. I chose the latter. Which reminded us of a question we were asked recently: how much had we sugar coated our blog of our recent round the world trip as we hadn’t described any bad experiences. We described our feelings of what we experienced, good, bad, tough, frustrating but nothing bad happened to us. But of course, what we have recounted is our perception of what we experienced – our attitude to life automatically ‘taints’ or reflects our perceptions. Going back to Blackpool, I enjoyed the memories, watched young families building their own, decided to leave the old faded pink fairy floss but couldn’t resist this magnificent carousel – I had a full ride all to myself and enjoyed every second.

Ahh, childhood memories – loving this stunning carousel in Blackpool

Blackpool pier

Enjoying Celia and Richard’s backyard view and great company near Dumfries, Scotland

What about Streak and Storm?!?! You’ll have to wait a day or two for this update…

– Anne

Jul 17 2016

Crop factors and aerial photography

Our RTW trip in 2014/15 saw us use a GoPro 3+ for video and a Panasonic Lumix FT5 for still photographs. As we purchased these in early 2014 and used them extensively for 14 months, I thought we should at least look at what is available should we wish to upgrade ahead of the African leg of our journey. This was partially because Anne has said she will refuse to get out of the 4WD to compensate for the poor telephoto function on her still camera while photographing wildlife. In addition, our friend Kristjan has been posting excellent aerial video taken with his DJI Phantom 4 which made us, well me really, envious of the opportunities this form of photography allows.

So where to start and hence the odd title. The last time I purchased a camera, it took something called ‘film’ which seems to have disappeared. Our first visit to the camera shop has me bombarded with a kaleidoscope of unfamiliar terms, ‘DSLR’, ‘Bridge Cameras’, ‘4K recording’, ‘Crop factors dependant on CMOS size’. All beyond my simple understanding. Luckily the internet is full of useful reviews and I think on the camera front, we have narrowed it down to two ‘Bridge Cameras’ should we decide an additional camera is required.

Panasonic Lumix FZ330 or FZ330 25-600mm

Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 25-400mm

This type of camera has many of the benefits of a ‘DSLR’ without the interchangeable lenses, but do have a smaller CMOS sensor. They do have good zoom capabilities which will allow Anne to stay inside the vehicle as she photographs the African wildlife.

The arial photography is more problematic. Drones have changed dramatically over the last few years with improved functionality, recording quality and increasing flight times. I last used a drone in December 2012, then they came with two pilots and two paramedics.

Slightly dented bike and rider about to be transported for repair.

Ok Ok I did have amnesia and was airlifted to Newcastle (NSW) Hospital, so maybe it was not a drone after all. I am digressing and while the DJI Phantom 4 seems to be the drone of choice producing stupendous results, it comes at a price! So what to do, luckily our visit to the UK has coincided with the 2016 Farnborough Airshow. The perfect place to seek out an appropriate drone for our next trip’s needs. Early options seen seemed to have a little more functionality than we are seeking, 16 hour loiter time, detailed photo coverage from 13,000 meters (40,000 feet), infra red for poor visibility days and air to ground missiles to clear obstacles on the road ahead. Apart from the price! 11 meter wingspan may pose a problem, especially when mounted on the top box on the motorcycle. Could our loyal followers crowd-fund one for us? The British army has a number in boxes unused, probably just waiting for a good cash offer. This would allow our adventures to be followed in real time, filling in the gap between blog posts for those on the ever lengthening couch.

Thales Watchkeeper WK450 for those hard to reach photographic places

Amnesia or delusion kicking in again. So inside one of the many Trade Halls at the Farnborough Airshow to look for something a little smaller. The universities are producing a plethora of small prototype drones, so many choices, it would be hard to pick one but they did not seem keen on us having a long term field test.

Under development, so many designs

Oh well, maybe I am overcomplicating this selection process, the DJI Phantom 4 seems to be the drone of choice, maybe we should just follow those knowledgeable people and if we are to buy a drone, this should be it. How do you find one product that does it all, seems like an impossible task, until, around the corner, there it is! Not only the answer to our drone dilemma, but I can continue to use the helmet mounted GoPro as before, problem solved by ‘The Hoverbike’!!

My future motorcycle/drone from Malloy Aeronautics

This prototype ‘Hoverbike’ developed by Malloy Aeronautics http://www.hoverbike.com will carry up to 110kg, has been hover tested with a rider, not me sadly, and development is ongoing. Our next motorcycle has been identified, no more BMW GS for us, we just need a little more development, a reasonable list price and we will be putting down a deposit for two.

– Anthony

Jul 8 2016

We have lift off!

The 2slowspeeds are off again! Our departure day, set for 6th July, chosen to get us to an important family event on the 10th July in the UK, was never going to be easy for me – Anne speaking here. Are you excited, we kept being asked? Departure days are never exciting for me as I do not enjoy air travel – I am a nervous wreck. Crazy I know but there are some irrational fears one can not always tame…. I did see a hypnotherapist about 20 years ago when I was told go to Singapore for work. I had 2 sessions and off I went – it was a breeze. Brilliant, I am cured! Fantastic. Many business flights later then a holiday with Anthony and we are in Durban, taxiing away from our gate when the plane comes to a sudden stop. Out of my window, I see an engineer arriving with a short step ladder. He has a screw driver in his hand. He climbs up, lifts an engine access flap in the engine ‘tweak’ ‘tweak’, climbs down and the captain announces we are good to go. Brilliant, we are stuffed. None of the visualisation exercises worked. But of course, we took off and landed safely, like we have many times since. Luckily my desire to see family and friends and discover new places is stronger than my fear, so here I am talking to you as the plane takes us to Hong Kong for the first leg of our journey to the UK, listening to Neil Young’s Harvest album. Nostalgia…

Today is a particularly emotional day, the day my dear brother did the toughest thing anyone can and ended his life 17 years ago. You never ‘get over’ the pain of losing a loved one but you learn to live with it… He is no doubt one of our many guardian angels busily looking over us on our recent round the world trip. Merci Al1!

This morning was a mad dash as we closed our home for 5 months – so many things to switch off. We remembered to remove all batteries this time – we think! After a wonderful send off dinner last night with a couple of friends, other friends took us to the airport this morning – lovely.

Our check-in experience, a comedy of errors, was hilarious if I wasn’t such a nervous flyer, wondering whether these were signs not to fly!! First, she couldn’t find Anthony’s booking – his frequent flyer number wasn’t in the booking even though we used his frequent flyer points to book our flights, then she could only find the flight to Hong Kong, not the one to London, then she asked if we had ever travelled on our passports as she didn’t have any details on us. It took us 30′ to sort all this out!

The lumps in the sky have smoothed out now, only 90′ to go before we get to Hong Kong. Ok, now I am starting to get excited :-).

First step off the plane in Hong Kong, the air gap between the hermetically stale airplane air and the freezing air-conditioned gangway to the terminal greets us with a beautiful whiff of sticky hot air – for that split second, we are unmistakably in South East Asia. It is 7pm and 30 degrees centigrade. Coming from our Queensland winter, where temperatures this past week plummeted to below 20 during the day, it feels wonderful.

We decided to stop over in Hong Kong for the night – the trip from Australia to Europe is so long and tiring to do in one hit and we hadn’t visited this place for many years. We are not big city type of people but what an amazing, awe inspiring place this is. From the number of new bridges, new fly overs, new road link to Macau under construction, the largest container port we’ve ever seen, the number of container ships coming and going, concentrated residential high-rises. This place is alive!!! It is moving. Moving out to sea literally as part of a massive new Pearl River Delta project https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_River_Delta . The waterfront building we watched fireworks from on 30 June 1997, the day of the hand-over of Hong Kong to the Chinese, was now 2 blocks back from the water thanks to land ‘reclamation’. On the ground, in the streets, Hong Kong Central seemed unchanged despite the impressive new shiny buildings. It doesn’t seem to have lost its identity, it is not all new shiny things for the sake of new. The old Chinese shop fronts signs, the skinny rickety double decker trams with no windows, the ‘lumpy’ pavements, the food halls, hidden away from view at the top of a long set of stairs, the old English double decker buses, the smells, the narrow, twisty roads. What incredible vision and spacial awareness to have designed and built the network of roads and ramps in the centre of old Hong Kong island with so little space and such steep terrain. It would be fun to ride the motorbikes there, with no fixed destination – because it would similarly be hell to try and get somewhere without ending up taking numerous wrong turns as there is no room for stopping there. Life is on the move.

Great buzz and smells and delicious food in Hong Kong

Hong Kong from Victoria Peak

Peak Tower, Hong Kong

We have lift off!

Bye bye Hong Kong

We didn’t spend long in Kong Kong, but we enjoyed the juxtaposition of old and new, not forsaking the old for new when the old still does the job. Unfortunately we didn’t spend long enough to find out how things had changed for the people of HK post hand-over in 1997. That would be interesting…

This day, the 6th of July, was a day full of emotions and senses. Europe here we come!

– Anne

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