Well that was odd. I got my new Blackberry on Thursday, logged on here to let you all know the joyous news, and although I was able to start a new post, I couldn't write anything in it. Hmmm.
Anyway, loving the BB and getting used to all the 'apps' and so on, got some lovely snowy pics for you too. Let's be having YOUR snowy pics perlease!
Saturday, 27 November 2010
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Hobart Day Tomorrow.
Here be the Hobart I mentioned....
...with Shorty on board at the first Scottish Vintage Training Day last May. Why have I waited until it's snowing to go and collect it? Don't ask.
UPDATE, or should I say, DOWNdate. Johny, owner of the Hobart, has reported about 4" of snow over in his neck of the woods out west, so we've agreed to postpone Hobart Day. I hope this isn't going to be like Groundhog day....
...with Shorty on board at the first Scottish Vintage Training Day last May. Why have I waited until it's snowing to go and collect it? Don't ask.UPDATE, or should I say, DOWNdate. Johny, owner of the Hobart, has reported about 4" of snow over in his neck of the woods out west, so we've agreed to postpone Hobart Day. I hope this isn't going to be like Groundhog day....
Sunday, 21 November 2010
Christmas at Cubbie Towers!
Well it's like Christmas has come early to Cubbie Towers. Over the last few weeks goodies have been arriving though the post, left, right and centre. First was a little package all the way from Shetland, containing some clutch plates and shiny rocker box covers from the depths of Joe's shed. I was supposed to bring them back with me after the Shetland show, but I seem to recall, I was in a bit of a hurry to catch the ferry and didn't have time to pop in and collect them. I can use the clutch plates for the Terrier project, one day....before June 2011, hopefully. Thanks Joe.
Low mileage Cubbie, one careful owner...tee hee...
One looks like it's from Bob's local bike shop, Licks Cycles http://www.lickscycles.com/ where you can purchase all you'll ever need to customise your Tiger Cub, or Hhhhhhharley ... I probably shouldn't look any more actually 'cos I'm beginning to wonder if I can get Hammerite (other brands are available. Are they? Don't know, just thought I should say that in case anyone thinks I'm promoting one particular brand above all others) in sparkly pink. The second T is to commemorate the Fall Run from last year - there's a video on YooToob from this years run in aid of Shriners Children's Hospital - go have a lookie - www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7Yxy1_8NkQ. Thanks for the T's Bob, will have to clean some grime of Cubbie and make room for the stickers!
Errr, vroomm?
Before you say anything, I would just like to point out I am sporting my winter layers in this photo. And I'd better also point out that Mrs BC took the pics of GBC doing the trials demo. So there.
Next to arrive was a parcel from Wales. It was Cubbie's speedo, being returned under separate cover. It had been declared....er....defunct...caput....bust....or something, but the good news was that Mr Pres's team of scouts had tracked down an identical replacement.
Low mileage Cubbie, one careful owner...tee hee...And the third arrival, a couple of additions to my wardrobe, from a new blogger and Fleecebooker, Bob, from Massachusetts, I think...and no, I ain't modelling them for you.
One looks like it's from Bob's local bike shop, Licks Cycles http://www.lickscycles.com/ where you can purchase all you'll ever need to customise your Tiger Cub, or Hhhhhhharley ... I probably shouldn't look any more actually 'cos I'm beginning to wonder if I can get Hammerite (other brands are available. Are they? Don't know, just thought I should say that in case anyone thinks I'm promoting one particular brand above all others) in sparkly pink. The second T is to commemorate the Fall Run from last year - there's a video on YooToob from this years run in aid of Shriners Children's Hospital - go have a lookie - www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7Yxy1_8NkQ. Thanks for the T's Bob, will have to clean some grime of Cubbie and make room for the stickers!Moving on to today, this wasn't a delivery, more of a collection. I went shopping on behalf of Robin of Wales and picked up a couple of bikes for him. Wait til you see these little gems. I'm temped to keep one, do you reckon he would mind?
Errr, vroomm?
Before you say anything, I would just like to point out I am sporting my winter layers in this photo. And I'd better also point out that Mrs BC took the pics of GBC doing the trials demo. So there.
Friday, 19 November 2010
Blackberry....apple....grape....?
Just doing a little research here....do any of you have a Blackberry or perhaps an iPhone? If so, what do you think about them, do you use many of the apps on them, what's the best or worst thing about them?
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Smokey Child's trip across the water.
Hi GBC, it just occurred to me that I did a short article for SCCMC on a previous visit to USA (Report 1), this might be of some use to you. On my latest visit, (Report 2) I managed to talk to a few of the local Brooklyn bikers to get their views on what it is like running a motorcycle in such a huge and busy built up area.
Report 1
Just returned from hols in USA mostly in New York but trippies up to Michigan and Connecticut. Staying with my son in the Williamsburg Brooklyn area, which is of a largely Hispanic population, and is 4 storeys up on the corner of a built-up busy urban crossroads where it can get rather noisy. There are police sirens, fire-engines, ambulances, refrigerated lorries, mixer trucks, ice-cream vendors, reversing bleepers, car alarms, house alarms, shop alarms, taxi horns, drunks, singers, would be-singers, people who do not knock at doors but shout loudly in Spanish to see if anyone is in. There are even loud Scottish people on holiday shouting at loud Puerto Ricans to be quiet. There is also music from various sources, TV's, radio's, vans, taxis and cars fitted with the loudest sub-woofers this side of Cape Canaveral. I could swear the building shook when some of them went past. But do you know what, they were all relatively quiet compared to (I did not think the day would come when I would ever hear myself saying this) compared to passing or pausing motorcycles. Yes b. Harley Davidson's with slash or no pipes, Ducatis with race cans and Kawasaki's with no cans winding up the revs dropping the clutch and melting the rubber. Interesting for the first few goes but at midnight or 2 in the morning it can become a little wearing.
USA riders do not seem particularly safety conscious, either for themselves or for anyone else judging by some of the manoeuvres which I witnessed. Most popular riding kit seems to be t-shirt, shorts, trainers, no gloves and sometimes a lid. I did however see one guy riding down 5th Av. on a BMW with a Labrador on the front in the riding position holding on to the handlebars. It was wearing sunglasses and a helmet. I am still not sure who was in control. Brings a new meaning to "handles like a dog". There was some bike high-spots to the visit however. When visiting the Sloane museum in Flint they had a special bike exhibition which included a reasonable selection of old Britware. Also at the Henry Ford Museum in Greenfield Village Dearborn there was a good selection of all kinds of machinery from Harleys and Indians of course to Hendersons, Excelsiors, Whizzers and everything else in between. I was also slightly taken aback when visiting Keihl's Pharmacy in New York on the corner of 13th and 3rd Av. Keihl's is a kind of olde-time up-market, very expensive purveyor of beauty aids and applications, owned by Aaron Morse who has a huge collection of American motorcycles. I visited this establishment with my wife. (No I did not buy anything before anyone asks.) Inside I was surprised to see a good selection of oldish and newish American bikes including an ex Steve McQueen 1934 Indian "suicide shift" as they describe it. This shop was definitely not at all like Boots or Superdrug. Did not manage any biking on hols. but if it is OK to mention "car" in this publication I did have my first ever shottie of a Buick Reatta sports car, also a Porsche 911 RS America. I do believe I could get to like them. Still love BSAs though.
Motogrill workshop proprietor
Yummy!
Keihls
Connecticut bike blessing
Hmmm, bikes not welcome?
Report 2
Like here although I don't like doing it, it is possible to categorize the different types of motorcyclists by what they ride. Harleys in particular seem to be pretty much a race unto themselves. One striking difference between here and the UK is that there is quite a lot of old Brit-iron running about and in day-to-day use, particularly late model Meriden Triumphs.
Hinckley Triumphs also appear to be very popular particularly the Bonneville models, there also appears to be a good spread of everything Japanese, German and Italian. One major difference compared to the UK is that I do believe that the almost total lack of silencing on a lot of bikes wouldn't escape the attention of our local constabulary, but when you see some of the crazy traffic and crazy drivers it is one way of alerting them to the (vulnerable) motorcyclists presence. But by and large everything is pretty much the same as in the UK in relation to types apart from I didn't observe many lightweights except Vespa scooters which seem to be gaining popularity, particularly in the Manhattan area. One guy I spoke to said that lightweights aren't too popular because of their perceived vulnerability in heavy traffic. As far as the classic scene goes there is a huge mixture of everything. I was lucky enough to be given a tour round a couple of bike garages and was pretty amazed at the variety of machinery within. One of the main problems about living with a motorcycle in such a huge built up area with mostly flatted houses is that their simply isn't many places to store a bike. One of the solutions is to rent a space in an outdoor off-street car-lot with all the attendant storage hazards that it can bring.
Smith & Butlers Boutique
Parking lot...
A New Jersey workshop
And A New Jersey frame builder
Report 1
Just returned from hols in USA mostly in New York but trippies up to Michigan and Connecticut. Staying with my son in the Williamsburg Brooklyn area, which is of a largely Hispanic population, and is 4 storeys up on the corner of a built-up busy urban crossroads where it can get rather noisy. There are police sirens, fire-engines, ambulances, refrigerated lorries, mixer trucks, ice-cream vendors, reversing bleepers, car alarms, house alarms, shop alarms, taxi horns, drunks, singers, would be-singers, people who do not knock at doors but shout loudly in Spanish to see if anyone is in. There are even loud Scottish people on holiday shouting at loud Puerto Ricans to be quiet. There is also music from various sources, TV's, radio's, vans, taxis and cars fitted with the loudest sub-woofers this side of Cape Canaveral. I could swear the building shook when some of them went past. But do you know what, they were all relatively quiet compared to (I did not think the day would come when I would ever hear myself saying this) compared to passing or pausing motorcycles. Yes b. Harley Davidson's with slash or no pipes, Ducatis with race cans and Kawasaki's with no cans winding up the revs dropping the clutch and melting the rubber. Interesting for the first few goes but at midnight or 2 in the morning it can become a little wearing.
USA riders do not seem particularly safety conscious, either for themselves or for anyone else judging by some of the manoeuvres which I witnessed. Most popular riding kit seems to be t-shirt, shorts, trainers, no gloves and sometimes a lid. I did however see one guy riding down 5th Av. on a BMW with a Labrador on the front in the riding position holding on to the handlebars. It was wearing sunglasses and a helmet. I am still not sure who was in control. Brings a new meaning to "handles like a dog". There was some bike high-spots to the visit however. When visiting the Sloane museum in Flint they had a special bike exhibition which included a reasonable selection of old Britware. Also at the Henry Ford Museum in Greenfield Village Dearborn there was a good selection of all kinds of machinery from Harleys and Indians of course to Hendersons, Excelsiors, Whizzers and everything else in between. I was also slightly taken aback when visiting Keihl's Pharmacy in New York on the corner of 13th and 3rd Av. Keihl's is a kind of olde-time up-market, very expensive purveyor of beauty aids and applications, owned by Aaron Morse who has a huge collection of American motorcycles. I visited this establishment with my wife. (No I did not buy anything before anyone asks.) Inside I was surprised to see a good selection of oldish and newish American bikes including an ex Steve McQueen 1934 Indian "suicide shift" as they describe it. This shop was definitely not at all like Boots or Superdrug. Did not manage any biking on hols. but if it is OK to mention "car" in this publication I did have my first ever shottie of a Buick Reatta sports car, also a Porsche 911 RS America. I do believe I could get to like them. Still love BSAs though.
Motogrill workshop proprietor
Yummy!
Keihls
Connecticut bike blessing
Hmmm, bikes not welcome?
Report 2
Like here although I don't like doing it, it is possible to categorize the different types of motorcyclists by what they ride. Harleys in particular seem to be pretty much a race unto themselves. One striking difference between here and the UK is that there is quite a lot of old Brit-iron running about and in day-to-day use, particularly late model Meriden Triumphs.
Hinckley Triumphs also appear to be very popular particularly the Bonneville models, there also appears to be a good spread of everything Japanese, German and Italian. One major difference compared to the UK is that I do believe that the almost total lack of silencing on a lot of bikes wouldn't escape the attention of our local constabulary, but when you see some of the crazy traffic and crazy drivers it is one way of alerting them to the (vulnerable) motorcyclists presence. But by and large everything is pretty much the same as in the UK in relation to types apart from I didn't observe many lightweights except Vespa scooters which seem to be gaining popularity, particularly in the Manhattan area. One guy I spoke to said that lightweights aren't too popular because of their perceived vulnerability in heavy traffic. As far as the classic scene goes there is a huge mixture of everything. I was lucky enough to be given a tour round a couple of bike garages and was pretty amazed at the variety of machinery within. One of the main problems about living with a motorcycle in such a huge built up area with mostly flatted houses is that their simply isn't many places to store a bike. One of the solutions is to rent a space in an outdoor off-street car-lot with all the attendant storage hazards that it can bring.
The other solution is to rent a space in one of the growing number of bike stores cum workshops. These take different formats but several of them in the Williamsburg area have bike shops, do it yourself workshops and in-house mechanics. Rates for repairs vary but they seem to average round about the 80-90 dollars per hour mark. Just total up some of the times you spend on your own repairs and potential costs could become quite frightening. Conclusion – apart from the low cost of fuel in USA we are doing pretty well in Scotland and the UK compared to motorcycling life in the Big Apple.
Williamsburg workshop
Smith & Butlers Boutique
Parking lot...
A New Jersey workshop
And A New Jersey frame builder
BIG THANKS SMOKEY for the words and photos. Don't be shy guys and girls, write something about bikes or bike trips, take a few photos and send 'em in...go on...you know you want to...!
Cracking day.
BRRRRRRRRRR it's minus 1 degree out there. Musta been chilly last night. Got a right old tale from Smokey Child coming up later today. Make time to pop back and have a read....
Thursday, 11 November 2010
11/11/2010
My grandad was an anti aircraft gunner in WWII. I should add that he was lucky enough to survive and lived to a right old age - it is probably him I have to thank for my interest in all things crafty / DIY / mechanical / making, breaking and mending!
Got the following email and piccy in from blog regular, Stuart.....
Got the following email and piccy in from blog regular, Stuart.....
Hello GBC,
Thought you might like this picture of a Royal Enfield Paratrooper's bike, all crated up and ready to go. I saw it at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambridgeshire earlier this year. Recent comments on the blog regarding our brave boys and girls both past and present brought it to mind.
Thought you might like this picture of a Royal Enfield Paratrooper's bike, all crated up and ready to go. I saw it at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambridgeshire earlier this year. Recent comments on the blog regarding our brave boys and girls both past and present brought it to mind.
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