Due to an administrative oversight, both bikes were registered in Anthony’s name, which could invalidate Anne’s motorbike insurance if not rectified. I sent the change details off to Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) on the 14th of April, express and registered post. They are not even in the system after two weeks and the changes can take four to six weeks! This may affect our departure date as we need copies of the document for both visas and the Carnet. Turns out that the Post Office lost the registered letter and it never reached DVLA! A reminder to us that we need to check each step and not assume plus we need to be flexible in our planning as this sort of thing will occur again.
Recovery day
Happy with the decision not to try to ride day two of the off-road course. While we miss out on more expert tuition we will be in one piece for the trip. (One injury was later confirmed by doctor as rib muscle injury.) Note to self: do the course earlier!!
BMW Offroad Course Level 1
BMW Offroad Course Level 1 today. We decided that lack of off-road skills could be reduced by taking this course. We travelled to South Wales to the BMW Offroad School run by Simon Pavey and his team. I approach this with, I think, a calm attitude and was asked by someone if I was apprehensive and truthfully could reply ‘No’. Anne on the other hand admitted she was somewhat apprehensive. We chose to ride the BMW 650 singles as they were closest to our bikes. We met up with a group of 34 course mates and after meeting the team of instructors, rode the bikes to the training ground. Was funny to ride a bike with no mirrors, which we both kept looking for. On the training ground, we were split into groups and taken through the basics of slow riding. It quickly turned out that I found myself struggling, slow riding has not been my forte and now, standing on the pegs, removed my normal ‘both feet on the ground to turn’ option. Despite the helpful hints, tips and time that the instructors spent with me, I managed on a number of occasions to end up on the ground. Good thing I purchased the knee pads yesterday, should have added hip pads! While this may sound like a tale of woe, I know I learnt so much in that day that will help on the trip. I do now have more confidence than before on varied and uneven surfaces. It was interesting that when we left the training area, we sat down again while riding on the main road, which seemed strange after riding standing up during the training the first time that day.
My various falls left me the next day deciding that with only five weeks to go before our scheduled departure date for the trip, I would not undertake the second day, with the likely falls again. (Anthony could barely walk that next morning!)
Ran into someone on the course who I had not seen in 20 years. Its a small world…
– Anthony
Anthony’s new helmet
Ordered my new Shoei Neotec helmet – same as Anne’s. Did not realise that some dealers offer to replace the inner padding free of charge if you are between sizes as I am. That is worth checking out if you are getting a new helmet. Also purchased knee pads for the up coming off road riding course.
– Anthony
Visa applications
We have started to complete the application for Visas. There seems to be a inordinate amount of information requested, which in relation to the trip seems excessive, such as every country visited in the last 10 years. They say only the year of visit is required, but the online form asks for date and month. Why so much information wanted on education, old jobs and other seemingly trivial data for just a tourist visa. In the days of easy global travel, it would likely to act as a deterrent to those who may wish to visit a country without a packaged tour to allow some flexibility in their travel plans. Still, we are gathering the information requested for submissions in early May so be warned and check the requirements carefully.
2slowspeeds 