We’re getting ready for our Scottish tour and are looking over our bikes, Lazy Cat and Koneko. Having made the vow to learn to do more things on my own, I started off with changing the brake pads as prescribed by the garage in London. Having taken the pads, out I noticed that it wasn’t necessary to change them yet. My riding style is rather smooth and I don’t brake much so the pads are good for a bit longer – I wish I had checked first before ordering new pads but nevermind, now I have them for when I need them.
Checking the brakepads.
We then also checked the air pressure on both bikes. In Sweden, I noticed that Lazy Cat had low pressure in the rear, only 1.9 bar instead of 2.5 plus some extra for luggage, this was surprising. I don’t know how the pressure had dropped that much since the tyre was put on, but of course, I should have checked earlier. Now my new tyre is beginning to go square, which is upsetting. Now I checked it again and made a promise to monitor the tyres better in the future. An even larger surprise was that Christopher’s bike, Koneko, had high tyre pressure in the front tyre and very low in the rear. Quite puzzling but luckily we could sort it out easily using Christopher’s dad’s compressor.
New promise, check tyre pressure often
Another thing we sorted out was an old crack in Koneko’s mudguard which was glued but seemed a bit weak, so Christopher decided to fortify it. In addition, we also adjusted the clutch on Koneko and tightened the chain on Lazy Cat. Loosening the wheel nut proved to be difficult and it became a family project to get it loosened. The key that came with the bike was bent in the process. A long pipe was brought out to give enough levering power to finally loosen it and, with the help of my central stand substitute, I could then tighten the chain without problem.
Adjusting the clutch on Koneko
As an extra feature, Koneko is now provided with a power socket with the help of Christopher’s dad who is a wizard in electronics and electrics. Now we can hopefully charge all our devices better, bearing in mind that Christopher is bringing his big DSLR camera and I need my laptop for my online university course. We also have a power pack, which will make charging my phone in public places unnecessary and I know that many of my friends will appreciate this.
Lastly, I like to mention and give a special thanks to the guys on the Kawasaki Versys forum who have provided very useful information and, among other things, gave me the idea for the central stand substitute.
Travelling up to Sweden was lovely and I just took things as they came. Since I felt like it, I stayed one day longer in the south of eastern Germany, I had no ferry booking – I just bought a ticket before riding on to it. The price was just the same as if I would have booked early. Also, this ferry doesn’t require that one books a cabin, which saves me a lot of money since a cabin is really expensive for a solo traveller and I’m happy to sleep on the floor if it saves me money.
I just stopped to have some tea and nibbles from my top case and look who are coming to greet me!
Entering Sweden, the weather was at its best. I rode up to visit Carola, our national president for WIMA Sweden. She was offering breakfast and I had information to pass on from the Presidents’ meeting in Hungary. We had a long, leisurely breakfast that continued until lunchtime. Then I rode north to see friends in Jönköping. At this point, it was nice to park the bike andnot touch it for a few days. Onwards from there, I rode to Gothenburg, where I was to spend a couple of days riding the good old roads with friends. It was nice to do “social riding” and honestly I was more interested in the coffee and chat than in the riding itself. Sweden has such beautiful countryside and the summer cafés are absolute gems. We had homemade cake at Grovare Lamm och Handel, you have to know where to find these places and in Sweden these cafes make for riding destinations for motorbikers.
Having fika – the Swedish concept when you meet for coffee at Grovare Lamm och Handel. Strictly speaking we were not meeting here, Anne was leading the way since this area is her stomping ground. Photo Courtesy: ElaBe aware – there might be gravel. Photo Courtesy: Ela
The last leg, for this time, was up towards Karlstad and my home. The countryside where I come from is called Segerstad, which literally translates as “the town of victory”. When I arrive here on my bike it does truly feel like a victory, every time. Especially the last 5 years, when I have travelled either all the way from Spain, or like this year, from England via Wales and Hungary. Someone pointed out that it wasn’t the nearest way. Who wants to take the nearest way? Well, actually returning to England I do. A direct ferry would be brilliant.
Segerstad – I made it, what a Victory
Today, I’ve had a busy day, finding out information on the internet. I have tried to sort things out according to new possible plans and mainly I have found out how not the way I want things are going to happen. First of all, I have change a university course in Japanese to Spanish and investigated the time frame of the validity of my motorbike insurance abroad. Since I don’t know where I’m going to live during next year and it is likely to be too cold to return the bike to Sweden later on. Besides I need the wheels. I honestly can’t think of storing my bike away another winter. It is just too sad. As it stands, my insurance days abroad will run out in the end of February so I’ll need to have a solid plan by then. As for the Spanish course, I am now accepted but then the next problem needs to be solved – we’ll be in Scotland camping for the first bit of the course and the 4G net isn’t all that developed – will I be able to find good enough internet for the first couple of seminars?
My home town Karlstad – on my way home from the garage I did some sightseeing.The woman who stands as a statue is “the Sun” of Karlstad, a waitress at a cafe who had a very sunny temprament. Therefore the sun is the logo of the town but unfortunately it doesn’t mean that the weather is always sunny
Well, to be able to get to Scotland I must first get from Sweden to the British Isles. So, I have tried to book myself and my bike on a freight ferry for a swift return but without success. Therefore, I will, again, have to make the rather epic journey down to Hook of Holland. It seems like the best option is a ferry from Gothenburg to Fredrikshavn and then onwards, 1000k ride to the next ferry. It will take me a few days longer and cost me a lot more. I hope to be able to meet up with some friends along the way to make the trip more exciting.
Lately, I have been meditating on the idea of changing my bike for a lighter one, perhaps smaller, since we are increasingly riding small mountain roads and the Versys is rather heavy and the weight distribution isn’t brilliant. However, it is amazing when it comes to carrying large amounts of luggage and super comfy to ride far, albeit not fast due to the vibrations. Maybe I should make up my mind and decide to keep it – and then order that aftermarket central stand I so dearly want.
The chain and the suspension – how it works according to Kjell. If only I had a central stand I would be much more able to look after my chain, or so I believe. Courtesy: Ela
Well, regarding the bike I have more urgent matters. Getting an appointment at the garage here in town proved difficult. I had expected this, that was why I wanted to get the clutch cable sorted in Hungary and had the service booked in England before leaving. The local Kawasaki mechanic is on vacation and the others don’t want to touch my bike since they are busy with their brands. The bits have been ordered but there is no guarantee that there will be time to do the work when the mechanic comes back. I might have to pack them in my panniers. Knowing this doesn’t encourage me to spend dear money on ferry tickets either. Really, I should learn how to do stuff myself. Therefore, I spent some time googling for basic mechanic workshops and this resulted in a booking for Christopher and myself at the Oval Motorcycle Centre in London at the end of November. I’m cross with myself for not finding this course while based in London. To make the journey worthwhile, we are combining it with the play No Man’s Land with Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart – this will be like seeing Magneto and Charles Xavier or Gandalf and Captain Picard together, or both. I’m going to be emotional. In fact, I am, just thinking about it.
Yesterday was an amazing day. I had been upset with the GPS, which kept suggesting big roads and even highways despite using the “avoid highways” setting. Therefore, I took control and aimed for Trier and the Mosel valley. I’ve been there many times in the early years of my motorbike travelling but never in such perfect weather. I was thinking that things really could not get better when I saw a sign for Polo to the left and Louis to the right. Lucky coincidence again, my two favourite shops in Germany. I always try to pass at least one of them to see if there is something I need – most of my gear is actually bought in Germany. For this trip I had tried to find the addresses for Louis shops in particular, since I wanted to exchange my boots that have been leaking since I got them. Unfortunately, their website wasn’t working so I couldn’t obtain the addresses and their customer service said that I couldn’t exchange the boots, only send them in to them – they would then send them to the manufacturer for analysis and repair. Since they are my only boots, that couldn’t happen unless I bought a new pair.
Riding along Mosel again
So, I started shopping. In Polo, I found a first aid kit and new rain trousers. Onwards to Louis, I provided myself with free coffee and started trying on boots, unfortunately I made a mess and spilled the coffee all over the floor and a bit in my helmet but no one was angry and everyone was very nice and helpful. I explained that I needed to buy a new pair of boots so I could send the old ones in since they were leaking. No problem, they could help with that. Now, I don’t know if it was something that got lost in translation but they did an exchange for my old boots against my new boots and even refunded the excess cost for which I could buy luggage straps. And yes, would I like some coffee while they sorted out the payment.
Now I would like to mention that I am an extremely honest person, but I believe that I had the right to get new boots since the old one had been malfunctioning from the start. Also, I would like to mention, as an example of my honesty, that when the Ducati garage in Spain forgot to charge me for a tyre that they changed together with the service I went back and notified them and paid the 150 euros they forgot to charge. With the boots sorted I rode Mosel feeling incredibly lucky. I even decided to celebrate with a proper meal, the first after two days with raw food and beans. I had a yummy scrummy falafel in bread and a beer (alkoholfrei of course) and then I rode on. At this point I analysed my new boots, how they felt, stiff for sure, a bit tight and did they let the vibrations through more than the old ones? I am super sensitive for vibrations after some nerve damage a few years ago and I feel everything with my feet. Maybe the new boots were punishing me and my luck was running out– now, of course, I had to remind myself that I don’t believe in bad omens.
That evening I found a campsite by Mosel and life felt perfect. However, it was mighty difficult to tighten the chain, the tension was uneven and when I thought that I had got it right and screwed back the bolt, it caused the chain to go super tight. After a lot of work, I thought I had managed and went for shower and beer enjoying my book until the sun set.
Tent is up and laundry is done, it is time for ein Bitburger – bitte ein bit! 🙂
This morning started of wonderfully with coffee in the sun and some twisty roads through the mountains. My left foot, which is my most sensitive one was really suffering from the vibrations. I had to hang it off the bike regularly to not go numb. When I started to think back on when it last was this bad (usually this is not happening in speeds lower than 90k/h) I got a flash back to the Grand Tour when my Ducati had a chain catastrophe and my leg got totally numb from the vibrations. Well, I had to stop hand check the chain. Despite having tightened it just the night before it was slack… and tight, and slack again… One spot was so slack that I thought the chain could jump off. It was not like this yesterday. I unloaded the luggage and tried to get it sorted but it was impossible. I was pretty much pulling my hair out when a man on a scooter showed up. After concluding that we couldn’t sort it out he decided to guide me 3 kilometres to a good garage he knew.
The chain could not be salvaged and to make a long story short I have now a new chain on the bike and the new sprockets in my pannier. Amazingly enough, they went off to collect a kit for me but had only time to replace the chain since they were very busy. I am forever grateful that they spent a couple of hours helping me on a Friday afternoon. I’ll try and ride carefully to Hungary and hopefully I can replace the sprockets there.
Now this all sound easy peasy in retrospect but it was a very stressful day for me. With everything that has happened lately (ie. Brexit) and the uncertainty in life that is the effect of it (about Christopher losing his status as a European Union citizen and what that will lead to for us) I really needed a peaceful holiday. I was barely coping with the GPS messing about and finding places to charge my phone, let alone major breakdowns.
In the end all was good. I went for a run, then a beer and salad. Now I can wait to get into my sleeping bag. I’m glad I didn’t know this when I sipped my morning coffee looking out over Mosel. I hope tomorrow is less eventful and more full of countryside roads than anything else.
At this point, when writing the above, I was just going to collect my phone which was left to charge in the women’s changing room. However, someone had taken it away to keep it safe in the restaurant – which was closed until next evening. Again, long story short – I had a very long morning drinking coffee with a Romanian seasonal worker while the right people were located and things got sorted out. He even gave me his old sat nav. This would simplify my continued travels, at least while I stayed in the four countries covered in the maps.
Proud to pose between these beautiful boys, only slightly frightened.
Delayed again I continued and had a very good ride. In the evening I struggled to find a campsite and ended up being invited to camp with a canine agility club. Amazing, friendly people who invited me for dinner and beer and I even got to pose with their dogs. It was great to spend this time with them and get a glimpse of their hobby. Happy, I continued – little did I know what this day would present.
Along the Danube in Austria
Using the GPS I rode on beautiful roads through Bavaria and into Austria following the Danube and the Romantische strasse and I had a fabulous day until I entered Hungary. First thing I saw was the police gathering evidence after a traffic accident. Later the sun set and it got dark. There were lots of insects out and about and I collected a fair bit of them, on the bike and myself. I had to stop frequently to wipe the visor, quite unpleasant. Then my phone died, in Hungary I had to use my phone as a GPS since the GPS gifted to me by the Romanian guy didn’t have a map of Hungary. So when my phone/GPS died I was in trouble. I had to get myself a map, which I did, and try and read it in the dark. Under these circumstances I decided that the easiest way to get to Eszergom was from the Slovakian side. If I would have known that the road was narrow, without road markings or light I probably would have thought differently. I rode for 50 kilometres in darkness, being cold but too afraid of the dark to stop and put more layers on, feeling stressed about being alone and of being followed… In general I was just trying not to panic and I was extremely tired after over 12 hours riding. When I finally reach the bridge to Esztergom it was closed because of a bomb threat. The only other way was to go back where I came from. No way! In Swedish we have a saying, that one needs to break down to go on. This was such a moment, I sat down and had a little cry, then I pulled myself together and considered my options. Having done so, I realised that the best alternative, considering how tired I was, simply was to sit down, eat some sweets and wait for the bridge to open. At least I was safe, after all there were lots of police, and while I was waiting the phone slowly charged up to 2%, (which is the limit when I can send text messages) and I could report that I was safe. After a shade over an hour, the bridge was open and I could continue. My friends were waiting for me and after an evening snack I rolled out my sleeping mat in the back of their van. Zooink! What a ride – I’m in no hurry to do that again.
Upon arrival I was given Bumm chocolate since I had a bum journey
