Back from Australia

And back to our preparations. But having just driven a hire car over 1500 miles in Australia, it is beginning to dawn on me how far the Nordkapp trip is going to be. It's not long now and getting quite excited but apprehensive too. Whilst in Australia, I drove the Great Alpine Road from the south coast to Wadonga. It is a sensational road passing the highest point at a ski resort on Mount Hotham. In a hotel lobby, I picked up a brochure promoting various routes through the mountains for motorcyclists. It is an excellent mini guide for touring and even gave a few safety tips as well as listing good cafes and biker-friendly places to stay. Included in the guide was a detour route off the main highway for riders travelling from Sydney to Philip Island ( the famous Australian racing circuit). Stunning roads in a real biker-friendly country. Might have to go back there some day!

The Challenges of Blogging and other news

I am writing this in Bangkok on route to Australia for business. To access my blog, I have to log on and give a password etc etc. Rather challengingly, the instructions are all in Thai. Anyway, I guessed and made it into my blog so here I am. Bangkok is not providing me with any climate training for the Arctic - its 36 degrees here today. I think I will go and sit near the air conditioning vent - that might help.

By the way, after our chilly adventure on the last bank holiday, Tim has indeed bought a new jacket. Panniers arrived for our bikes from a German manufacturer and the guys at MKS set about fitting them. Seems that parts are missing so being air-freighted in. Glad we didn't leave that to the last minute. The lesson is - plan and act early as enough things to deal with will go wrong later anyway....ha ha ha

Arctic Training in May....in Yorkshire

Don't you just love bank holiday weather?! We thought we'd have a nice ride out on bank holiday Monday but instead found ourselves having a training exercise for our trip. We set off on a chilly morning expecting it to get better during the day. But we ended up crossing the North York Moors in an icy hail storm with the temperature plummeting to just 3 degrees. Fortunately, as the weather is often unpredictable (particularly on bank holidays), we were in waterproofs and not leathers so it turned out that we in fact tested the gear we might be wearing to the Nordkapp. I think Tim might be treating himself to a new jacket!

On the same day, about 100 miles south of the Nordkapp, it was snowing! Oh dear! Perhaps we should be going to Africa.

Champagne & Flowers

Champagne and Flowers

I booked the ferry crossing this week from Rotterdam to Hull with P&O ferries. The online system couldn’t cope with two passengers and two motorcycles so I had to actually speak to someone. That someone turned out to be a very nice lady who quickly established that we were two guys on a bike trip. She realised too that we probably needed twin beds in our cabin and I was happy to confirm that was correct. We discussed meals and rooms with or without windows, check in times and all the other details of the reservation. Finally, she said “Ok, I know you and Tim will be good friends especially after two weeks of rooming together on your bike trip but would I be right in assuming that you do not wish champagne and flowers to be left in the cabin?”

You don’t get that type of insightful service when you buy online!

Tax free donations

Dear friends

Following the media interest, I have had some questions regarding the charity giving link. As very much an amateur blogger, I can't seem to enter a working link into the text of blog entries but you can find the link to the left of each blog page under "MY LINKS": donate to our supported charity. That link works!!

If you donate via that route, the charity can claim back the tax you have paid (you are donating out of your taxable income) which means of course we can raise more money for the charity courtesy of the Chancellor! This is for UK tax payers only but all others can use still the same link.

Many thanks for your generous support.

Ian

Media coverage

The story has been published in the Hull Daily Mail and you can read the news at:

http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/news/Adventure-lives-s-good-cause/article-2058826-detail/article.html

Dove House Hospice

Now we all know that Tim and I are going to really enjoy this trip no matter what happens. It could be freezing that far north; the weather might be bad; we might breakdown or get punctures; we may get lost. For certain, we will be shattered most of the time! But we will enjoy it whatever.

But it would be really good if we could help others and somehow mix pleasure with fund raising so here goes:

http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/ride-to-the-nordkapp

Please donate via this web address or call in at MilesKing Sport on Witham in Hull. A link to charity giving page is also on the bottom left corner of the webpage. Alternatively, see the page on this blog relating to Dove House Hospice for more details on how to donate.

Thanks very much.

Ian and Tim