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I am sure a lot of you will be sick and tired of hearing about the Rev-Up 4 DSI so rather than putting this in a thread and clogging your "View New Content" up I am putting in to a blog. Hope you enjoy anyways!
Preparation:
As usual i set aside some time for getting the bike ready. I took Friday off work to give the bike a good service and a proper cleaning. However things conspired against me a little and I started working on the bike at 6 in the evening. Yes I know I shouldn't have accepted the invite to go play golf but the weather was crackin' and it was my favourite course.
I eventually got started on the bike and first tackled the oil change. Now the bike doesn't really need an oil change because it is burning so much oil that it gets changed automatically every week but I wanted to get the new filter on. That all goes fine thanks to harry for lending the proper oil filter removal tool.

Given the time of the day and the complexity I decide that the best way to tackle the oil leaking from the rear suspension is simply to remove all evidence of the leak. Sorted! Funny thing is that the handling of the bike over the whole weekend was fantastic.

I then go a step too far and decide to tackle the brakes. The brakes are OK but I know if I give two quick pumps of the lever I get fantastic braking and decide to reverse bleed the brakes using my trusty cow insemination style syringe. This all works well and I have a great firm brake for the first time. I remember to syringe out the excess fluid before closing up the reservoir. All good. Time for a beer and then bed early as I know it is a long day tomorrow.

Departure:
Surprisingly both Karen and I have to pack our luggage in the morning. Karen is usually well packed so it was a bit of a surprise to find us ready to go around 9-ish. I load the bike up and we say our goodbyes to kids and grand-kids. Heading to Joe Duffys for registration I head down the back roads from Swords to Finglas. The bike starts slowing down, 60, 50 drop a gear, 40 oh oh something is definitely not right.

I think about pulling over. I touch the front brakes which had been great and the lever goes all the way in to the bars. No front brake at all!
Now some people would think that's it I ain't going but me I am thinking jaysus if we have to do an emergency stop with Karen on board and just use the back brake then it might be hard to stop. The thought that we weren't going to keep going never crossed my mind.
We keep going to JD's and when I arrive I immediately ask Aidan are any of the support crew lads still here. Neil is on-hand and by the time he comes over i already have the toolkit out and I proceed to bleed the brakes. They come back and I tighten everything up. I have a quick discussion with Neil over what may have happened. There is brake fluid everywhere. The front tyre is covered, the handguard is covered - it's everywhere. I am not sure what happened. I suspect that one of the pistons in the brake calibre was not working and the reverse bleed got it working, it then became stuck and boiled the brake fluid. Either way I am not deterred and Neil and I agree that WD40 and a hammer will sort it if it sticks again as a roadside quicky.

In the meantime we get checked in and Karen is delighted with the goody bags - loads of stuff to go through later. Almost everyone is gone at this stage except Ted and Frodi. Chopper from biker.ie is late (as usual) with his crew. Aidan tells me to head on and I can ring him from the next checkpoint to see how far behind Chopper and the crew are. They did tie one on the previous night and needed the recovery time

So we set off at a reasonably brisk pace and the funny thing is having checked the route for Aidan before the event it all seemed so familiar. I didn't need to refer to the route guide as the hours of studying Google street paid dividends.

Day 1:
Classic route to Athy through Prosperous and Monasterevin - great weather and the bike is handling well. Waited for a while and Choppers crew arrives looking a little worse for wear but in great form. Second section of the day is ahead and is just cracking. Twice I nearly take a left turn that looks like the road goes straight. At one stage there is a car ahead and I am about to gas it seeing the straight ahead and then the car disappears around the right hand bend. Woooo I drop into the corner, heavily counter steering and breathe a sigh of relief. I later hear that at least two of the dead ducks didnt make the turn LMAO.

When I arrive with Karen at the final checkpoint the first thing I am asked is "did ya make the bend". They weren't talking about the left exit but a really nasty surprise right exit left bend. So this time if you go straight you cut across the opposite side of the road. Again I am heavily throwing the bike into the corner. I cross the solid white momentarily and thank the Gods there was nothing coming the other way. Later on I have one more like that but this time it is much worse as I was overtaking a car at the time and had to viciously cut back in front of the car to stay on the right side of the road.

The only other part of the route that stands out is the R666 - worth looking up and marking down as a road never to go on. It has all the makings of a great road with brilliant twists but the road surface is atrocious. This is something we start to get use to as Cork county council seem to have blown their road fixing budget on foreign junkets as it ain't going into the roads.

At the end of the route we end up at the final checkpoint Kearys Motorrad. They have laid on a great spread of grub and I get to see the last 10 minutes or so of the Leinster game on the multiple wide screen TV's dotted around the showroom. Aidan has one last surprise in store for us. As the gardai lead us out under escort we head off for the hotel. I know which hotel but am a little confused about the route. It turns out we are going to take a ferry. That was some laugh having 150 plus bikes on a ferry. One of me mates Eugene has serious problems with overheating - more than a nod towards the Gardai for the slow escort. Everyone's bike was running hot at the slow pace.

Day 2:
I was knackered the previous day and didn't go mad in the bar. I knew we had a long day ahead of us. Aidan and Mick McCormick played a blinder as they had to come up with a complete re-write of the route as we found out that the Rally of the Lakes was going to the Beara peninsula for the first time. Just happens it was also the route we had planned for the day.

Anyway the first part of the route to Bantry is the same and I know it pretty well too. The great news for me but not for poor Karen is she was in a lot of pain from the cramped position all day the previous day and decides to give Day 2 a miss. Yippee I am going solo - something that would prove very fortunate later on. The day started off damp but as we progressed the weather dried up and more importantly so did the roads. I am out on my own and enjoying not having to worry about people behind me or chasing people in front. I cross over a bridge with a right handed the other side and suddenly Aidan is coming towards me with some other bikes. WTF, but as I round another bend there is Stuie Carrick climbing up a cliff to get shot of the lads coming round the bend. He signals me to turn back and do it again but I am in flying form and just want to keep going. I roll into Bantry and just a little surprised to discover that I am nearly the first there. The chckpoint is manned by our own Fabio and Gary. Gary and I both laugh when we realise we are mates on facebook. Jimmy Dunne, my old sargeant from the army is there with a mate and we have a grand auld chat. We are joined by Kaos and Matt and then the IBF core team with Animal, Frodi, Tiler, Playtime, Snooze and Oakers. The funny thing is that I was going to go with them from the hotel but as they were ready to go I noticed I needed oil. I ran back to the room to get oil after filling up I set off with the idea of catching up later. No wonder I didnt catch up with them - they had still left after me.

We all set off from Bantry and suddenly realise that the re-worked route was missing an essential element - which way to go at the first turn. Luckily someone knew and we spent 10 minutes struggling to get through the local fun run with 100's of people about. We head on the Glengarriff road and reach the right turn at Ballylickey with Kaos and Matt in the lead. I know this road and know there are parts that are just wonderful. I stay with Kaos and Matt for about 3 bends before their talent loses me. There is no one behind me and I press on as it is straight road nearly all the way. This is just fantastic. Long sections of road with very few road signs. It's great when you just have to read the road yourself to decide what the bend ahead is like rather than relying on the opinion of the local county engineer. I arrive at the final T junction and decide to wait for the others and 30 secs later get bored and press on. I arrive at the checkpoint and only have to wait a couple of mins before the others arrive. Everyone is in great form and we are all ready to get started on the next section after a brief chat.

The Moment
We set off and immediately I realise that we are going at a good pace, not too fast not too slow. I have a problem with wind noise and have to wear earplugs or else I get that bloody ringing in my ears for ages after a spin on the bike. One of my ear plugs is not sitting right and I pull over to fix it. So in the time that it takes to take the lid off fix the plug and put the lid the lads (and lassie) are well gone. I decide to chase and I am pushing it. I am really enjoying the road and putting into practice some advice Aidan had given me which is really paying off.

Right hander coming up, Doesn't look too bad, drop a gear and start into it.

Woah Woah Woah, sh1t sh1t sh1t surface is rough - I mean real rough and I am heading straight for Frodi's bike and possibly Frodi too who is sitting up on the verge after coming off the bike.

All that went through my head is "I am going to do a Yogi here and crash too". Luckily enough I keep control and stop well in time before hitting anything. I look at the corner and the road is seriously bad right on the perfect line. I hadn't mentioned this already but Frodi takes the perfect line every time. I know he has his thoughts on what happened but it wouldn't surprise me if he was literally shaken off the line by the bumps and ruts into the gravel.

I quickly get my bike in to the side of the road and see Andy (Tiler) with Frodi. Grand, I let Andy take care of that part but quickly realise they are both in serious danger as any traffic coming round the bend will not see them until the very last second. And there will be bikes pretty soon.

I move quickly back up the road in order to stop oncoming traffic. I see Martin (Playtime) coming up to me and I shout for him to take the other end of the bend and control traffic there. He quickly and smoothly turns the bike heads down the road. He pulls in to the verge and put his foot down to steady the bike and quickly and smoothly falls into the ditch with the bike nearly falling in on top of him. There was no ground where he chose to put his foot down. I don't know if it is shock but I double up laughing as I see Martin pulling himself out of the ditch. Someone comes up to me, might have been Wayne (animal) but not sure. I get him to take over so I can see how Dave is. He's ok but to my untrained eye I think he has some broken ribs. How do you feel? He answers "pain but not too bad unless I do this, then it really really hurts". We discuss going in the van or getting an ambulance. That was a mistake. Once we knew he was going to hospital we should have called the ambulance immediately. As it was it was a few minutes before we decide to call it anyway, Dave himself had the cop on to know he would be seen quicker if he arrives in a ambulance.

We call the support van and Jay is closest. He is about 10 klicks away.

We settle into a controlled situation and the scene is safe and Dave seems to be OK. Bikes arrive and more bikes and then team 2 stroke with Rickshaw aka Jim Leonard the legendary road racing paramedic. He quickly takes control of caring for Dave.

The rest is just routine. The only thing that I worried about was as we departed the scene after the ambulance had gone and there was moment where we were a little exposed as we pulled out on the bend but the Garda car was blocking half the road and should keep traffic slow.

A little word about one person who stood out from everyone else. That was the fcuking muppet in the go faster fiesta who raced through the whole accident scene as if he was in a rally. Hopefully there is a wall waiting for you somewhere ya tosser.

The IBF team on the scene made our way to Dunmanway where the rest of Team IBF were waiting. Jimmy and his mate are still there too. We decide to call it a day and head for the hotel after a coffee in the service station.

When we get back myself and Tiler head for the hospital to check out the story. 48 hours later we leave with Frodi in hand. Alright I know it wasn't 48 hours - it just felt like it. I think we were there less than 2 hours. The Doc in the hospital was a good guy with a good sense of humour. "I have bad news Dave - we are not going to let you stay here - you have to go".

I heard later that we did such a good job of keeping the scene safe that we didn't let one of the bikes stops to give assistance. Maybe we should have as the rider in question is a trauma surgeon

Later as we sit down for dinner it is great to see Frodi sitting with the rest of the crew. it could have been so much worse. Hopefully the bike can be fixed because I know how much Dave loves that bike.

Sunday Night:
There are plenty of people who can post up about what went on that night but it is enough to say that there was plenty of high jinx indeed. I did my usual and took to bed relatively early. Must be me age - old fartitis setting in.


Day 3
We get packed and I decide to take all our luggage - so the bike is fully loaded. Top box, two panniers and a full tank bag. I top up the oil and get under way. Except we aren't riding the route, Karen and I are manning the 2nd checkpoint in Bagenalstown. We head up the motorway in rain. There is nothing more miserable than riding motorways except riding motorways in the bloody rain.

But it could be worse. Dayglo is manning the first checkpoint and he rang Aidan at 9:30 to ask how many had left because he was at the checkpoint at 8:30. Aidan tells him - none. First crew to leave only went at 9:30 quickly followed by team 2 stroke.
Meanwhile Karen and I leave the motorway around Urlingford and head for Kilkenny. What a cracking road and what the hell is that bright thing in the sky - OMG the sun is coming out. By the time we reach Bagstown the sun is well and truly out and it is turning into a cracking day. We take our time getting settled into the checkpoint and I am wondering how long before someone arrives when Team IBF pull in.
Poor Frodi is not with them as his bike is in the back of a van on the way to Dublin. But the rest of the crew are there and hang around a bit.
We arrived at the checkpoint around 12 and it was 15:30 before the last riders arrived - team 2 stroke who were second to leave the hotel. God love 'em they were struggling and needed to move as fast as they could in order to make it to Dublin for the final parade. They weren't going to make it and worse still Rickshaws bike blew up just a couple of miles from home.

The parade itself was an adventure in itself for the marshalls and I dont think poor Karen realised I was going to be marshalling. It is surprisingly easy to wheelie a bike when you have two packed panniers, topbox and pillion on board.

I always have my breathe taken away by the sight of a 100 plus bikes travelling in convoy but it is really special when it is the M50 at a decent pace.

We all made it home - some bikes didn't. Sorry lads. A fantastic weekend with a truly great bunch of people made all the better by the fact that Frodi had no broken bones and no serious injuries.

A very special thanks has to go to Aidan Lynam (Magnets) very few people know the full extent of the amount of work you put into the organisation of the event but I for one say a huge thank you for organising possibly the best on-road biking event in Ireland.

Next year will be my fifth and I can't wait.

Bike Make : Honda
Bike Model : CB1
Year : 1991
Guide Price : €1,000,000
Mileage : 41,000
Colour : Green
Extras : Specialised Choke Cable
Overall Bike Condition : Excellent
Tyre/Chain/Sprocket Condition : Rusty
Service History/Receipts/Recent Service work : I put some oil in it.
Non Restricted/Shop Restricted/Factory Restricted : Oh definitely not restricted
Bike Location : My Gaff
Irish/English Registered : Irish
Any Other Relevant Info :Yeah - It ain't for sale



So hear is the story. Times are hard, as they are for almost everyone, so I really need to raise some cash. Bottom-line I decided to sell the CB1.
Due to the state of the tyres I hadn't used it in nearly 2 months. Tyres are so old they are just useless in the wet. Having made the decision to sell I went out to give it a once over. I stick the keys in and unbelievably she turns over...............strongly. Now I know she wont start because the improvised choke cable had snapped and she never starts from cold without the choke and let's face it with current conditions it is very very cold.

Out with the tools and off comes the tank and air box so I can get at the choke lever on the engine. I attach a length of wire and put everything back in place.
Turn the key and she turns over but no firing. Stop, turn again and she fires up.

Now at this point in time I am filled with an overwhelming emotion. Damn it I can't sell her. I am in love, I would sooner sell an organ. Not a major one mind, maybe my liver, sure that is on it's last legs anyways.

Actually I would be mad to sell it. I won it in a raffle (cheers Ogimos) I got new levers for nothing out of the bargain bin in Hein Gericke. The chain and sprockets are in great nick. I rebuilt the forks and the seals are holding well. She is an absolute hoot to ride.

So now I am in a real quandary not only am I not selling her but I need a set of tyres and maybe a proper choke cable. And some paint!

Oh and money for a track day because I really want to take her around Mondello



Source: Not For Sale - Cb1

The following is a response to a thread on Fianna Fail - see the bottom for the original source.
@Deco - Brehon was successful in it's time for two reasons, everyone knew it and everyone respected. So I am not saying it wouldn't work, I am just not sure you could get everyone to respect.
Why would a drug dealer respect Brehon law over any other law.
As for the video of the guy who got out of his contract, fair play to him. For me I signed a contract, an agreement in full knowledge of the commitment I was making. I am not going to whinge and cry about it and say I was fooled and then use some form of subterfuge to get out of it.

As for stating that Ireland is a company, so what. I live in the society I live in and it doesn't matter what instruments are used to control and rule that society as long as it is by agreement with the the majority of the people. We have a democracy here and I subscribe to that democracy. We have elections and anyone can stand for that election.

Now to everyone there have been some really good posts and some have been real revelations. Particularly Iggy and Whose Law, both in the past have shown that they would like us to think that they don't care about anything and feck everyone else. But their posts show they actually do care about stuff.

Iggys first post probably articulated it best in terms of what we all feel. We want someone to pay. Bertie in particular comes to mind but let's not forget Fingleton or Drumm. So we are agreed on these things.

@Andy, re-reading my posts i can see where there would be ambiguity in what I said so I will clarify.

I am not a man of violence but I do understand the nature of it. I want no part of it and never will. In saying I would love to see the feckers in Fianna Fail shot it is more an expression of frustration and in line with Iggys post demanding some form of retribution. What I would really like is there to be a law that states you cannot get away with corruption. Most people will not realise that until recently political corruption was not even a crime.

So moving on in the interest of developing more thoughts on what we do,

I am truly dead set against a protest that could potentially degenerate into violence. the thought that some poor sod's car gets burnt out and he/she has to claim off their insurance and only get half the value of the car back is just not fair and I am interested in fair.

We do need laws. There is no escaping that. And notwithstanding the fact that our system seems to fail us continuously I don't see a creditable alternative. I am all for reform and perfectly willing to look into Brehon law as well as the legislature of other cultures to identify what would be best for a modern society.

I totally agree with Andy on working within the system, so what is needed is a new mantra, a new rallying call that people would see and understand but would have no hidden agenda's.

I would suggest that our society needs to look long and hard at how we execute our responsibilities to each other. Most people would be shocked to discover that we have one of the lowest tax regimes in Europe. As a result we have some of the worst public services. You get what you pay for.

I think we need to promote socialist ideals but also keep the one essential element of capitalism, and that is that if you work harder than others you can reap the benefit.

So here are a few thoughts.
Basic wage. Everyone who has earned the right is guaranteed a basic income. And the earning of that right is to dissuade some people just turning up at our airports and saying "show me the money". How you earn that right will be some form of community service. I would envisage a strong public service ethos and everyone must give two years of their life to public service having left full time education. This could take many forms Army, hospital porter, road sweeper etc. But complete the service "satisfactorily" and you are then entitled to the basic income.
Also you cannot vote until you have completed the service.

If you are successful in life and earn thats ok you just pay the same tax that everyone pays on any earnings over your basic income entitlement and this is fixed no matter how much you earn.

Next everyone is entitled to draw from our shared resources to a set amount. e.g. public transport, water, waste collection electricity.
For things like electricity we are allowed a certain amount "free" go above that and you have to pay. So if you want to decorate your house with mad lights at Christmas thats ok but you have to pay a little more than those of us who dont. You can get your wheelie bin emptied every week but if you want your old double bed taken away then you need to pay a little more.
So it is a all about everyone having a fair share and if you want more then you need to pay for it.

Things that are mandatory need to be provided by the state. Tax and insurance on vehicles for example should go on petrol. So the more you use the roads the more you pay. BTW it would be third party insurance only. If you want fully comp then go to an insurance company yourself. Some countries actually use this model already. It ensures everyone on the road has 3rd party insurance.

Now on the current financial crisis here is my thought. If a bank fails everyone who has deposits loses them. But by the same right everyone that owes the bank money is off the hook. So how will this work? Simple the bank wont fail. Why? Because the bank owes money to other banks. If they want to get their money back then they will have to support the bank they lent money to. (BTW this is actually what is happening with the Germans pushing us to take a bail-out but that's another story).

Everyone is entitled to somewhere to live. But if you rely on the state to provide it you will have to meet them halfway. You cannot turn down a house that is offered end of! None of this crap about I don't like that area.
Everyone is entitled to proper childcare. We need this society to work and produce and therefore we need people out working. Child care is a great barrier for people getting out to work.

Education, again a right and university places are available to everyone. In France I believe that anyone can apply for and attend any course. This leads to classes in first year being crowded with people sitting on stairs and hanging out of the rafters. But here is the catch! Fail an exam and you are out.
A great system and one that could work. So no more pishing 4 years away partying! You are there to get educated and prepared to join society in a way that contributes to the greater good.
If you want to be a doctor you can but you better be able to do the job.

I also agree with Andy about returning power to local authorities. When we look at American politics we tend to look only at the presidential election system which seems to be based on the who gets the most air time on TV. But they have very good local politics. For instance the local sheriff or even the person in charge of collecting the garbage has to stand for election. Brilliant idea.

But for national elections I agree with the list system. A party enters the contest with a list of candidates. if they get 40% of the vote they get get 40% of their list into government. Why is this good?
We currently have people representing us because they managed to get a swimming pool built in the local area not because of what they did for the Country. The list system means national issues become the sole responsibility of the national parliament.
And while I understand that some people respect the independent candidates I don't. "I want a hospital built in Rivervalley in Swords just for the people of Rivervalley or else I am bringing the government down". Yeah right on yer bike mate!

Health. The current concept of dual public/private can work but with some changes. No cross over. No double jobbing. No shared resources.
You need an MRI and your private clinic doesn't have one then get in the queue with the rest of us.

You want to work in the private sector. Grand, on yer bike! But you will not be getting any public work while you work in the private sector.

Someone wants to build a private hospital - grand - go for it. But buy your own bloody land and equipment.

I would scrap the army and have a two tier police force. Local and national. The Police force would take on all tasks taken on by the Army in terms of its function as an aid to the civil power!. This includes things like building up sandbag dams in the event of flooding or fighting forest fires.

So that's my manifesto.

Source: Fianna Fail

This is just a test. But play the vid if you want, it's a golden oldie!

I was just sitting out in the back garden, I have agreed with the missus to stop smoking in the house. But anyways I was out there and I could hear in the distance somebody giving in guns in a car somewhere. I remember when I use to do that. In fact now and again I will still do it but only in a fit of madness.

I know cars far better than bikes. In fact I can almost tell you exactly how many PSI the tyres are are off in a car from hitting a few corners. For instance I know that the Daewoo Lanos I currently own is down about 4 psi in the nearside front tyre because I could feel it as I pushed it hard through a roundabout yesterday. So trust me I know cars. I should do after 14 crashes.

Bikes are different. And BMW's with telelever are even worse. I never know how the bike is doing. I push and push but I am more likely to run out of skill before the bike tells me anything.

Until now.

Why? because I have a proper bike. Not that the beemer isn't a proper bike it is and it is wonderful for it but the 400cc CB1 with the piece of ribbon for a choke, no fork oil in the forks and no power below 10k revs is a proper bike.

I always remember Sucati talking about getting her arse slapped by the bike when pushing it hard and hitting a severe bump. Well folks I got my arse slapped today. I was thrown into the air and it took a second before I realised I wasn't getting thrown off the bike. I mean my arse was, like, about 3 feet out of the saddle.

But here is the beauty, the CB1 is so light it takes feck all effort to ride it. Well when I say feck all I mean that any numpty could ride it at 60mph down any road and not have to hit the brakes..........ever!

Push it more than that and suddenly there are messages coming from everywhere. Like what?
Well first thing I learnt today was I am braking way too early into corners. Obviously a hangover from the last couple of crashes. Leaving it a bit later I realised I was braking for corners before I knew what type of bend I was dealing with! So why leave it later now. Easy! You really dont have to lean the CB1 much to get round even the tightest of bends. Inspires confidence. So I am starting to really enjoy the road again.

Next the front brake is muck so you get to the point where you dont want to be relying on it. I think the pads got some oil on them and I will change them soon but in the meantime I need to plan any braking. And it cuts out that comfort braking nonsense that can become habit forming. Comfort braking is great for people who have responsive brakes. I don't!

Aside: I stuck me leg out to show some crap on the road to Boo Boo who was behind me. My foot hit the ground. Note to self the CB1 is not very tall!

Another important thing today was I was talking to SPV1 who seemed just a tad uncomfortable on the narrow, unfamiliar twisties. I took the lead on a section and the difference it makes to your own lines is incredible. You may pay 80% attention to your lines when on your own or following someone else but when you know somebody is behind you and following your lines you start to give it 100%.

Net result you go down this boreen of a road. You know the kind, one step away from having grass growing down the middle. Anyway you realise that you hitting speed on this road but it is smooth. No bend seems too tight and the bike seems glued to the road. You exaggerate your lines a bit to emphasis to the rider behind what they should be doing.
You cross over to the wrong side of the road to take a leftie and see a car doing some serious speed coming almost straight for you. But because you took the wide line you see it in plenty of time and almost casually push on the left handlebar to get some nice counter steering going and are well set up well before the car shoots by you!

So next point of engagement is you are on roads with Shinwhacker in front of you, somewhere in Cavan. Now Dick is no expert but is coming along nicely as a pilot. The problem is he is on an 1100cc Blackbird and you are on a 400cc. Whats the difference? Well when he dials down the throttle his engine braking nearly makes the bike stop in front of you. Engine braking on the CB1 - near non-existant. This isn't because the engine is fubar it is a characteristic of in-line fours. I found it similar on the FJR. You needed to drop about 3 gears before you noticed any engine braking. So I end up nearly rear ending Dick a few times. Time to wind it back down. My Arse! There is no way I am winding back, this is just too much fun.

After getting lost a bit with 3 others we get back on track and are on the road to Kingscourt to hook up with the main group. We are on the right route and the lads can't get lost. So I dial in a few revs and open it up. Quickly I lose the lads except hidden in this group is another Jimbob. Whats so special about Jimbob? Every ride-out I ever led with Jimbob on it had one distinctive characteristic. Jimbob was never more than 5 feet from my back wheel.

So who is this pretender to the throne. The one and only Zanussi! Colin, nice one Bro! He reckoned I couldn't see anything in my mirrors (he's almost right) so no harm sticking tight. Unfortunately I caught a glimpse at one point but there was no shaking him.

Another aside: If in Kingscourt stop into Thereses Kitchen, the apple tart is really good.

We head off from Kingscourt towards Ardee. Nice road and no nasty surprises. Well recommended for future runs.

After Ardee we are on familiar ground. The road from Ardee to Slane is one of the fastest A roads in Ireland with long sweeping bends where you can see for miles. I am chasing Cafe Racer on his GS. The fecker, I am catching him on the bends and in traffic but once we get a straight he knows I am after him and opens it up. For the first time today I redline the bike. But I can't get past him.

We reach Slane and share a moment! We both know it was special. It was just really good craic!

But I pay a price. I am on the way home and have to really gun it to get past a car that doesn't want to be passed.
I get past and enter a series of twistes at a good pace only to feel the familiar cough! I am out of juice. Going through twisties with a car up your arse and fiddling with a bloody tap to get the bike on to reserve was fun. Actually I mean that. It was fun! I find reserve and the juice kicks in.

There is a section of road known as the race track, but I think some refer to it as the test track. Either way rumour has it that it is now heavily policed. I am on reserve, I am on the race track and I can't help myself I redline it the whole length of the road. The bike doesn't miss a beat. In fact it feels fantastic. Heres that series of twisties at the end, I better.....................................keep it pinned!!!

Oh yeah!

I make it to the petrol station and throw a tenner into it. I head on home and the 4 roundabouts in Swords are never attacked the way they are today. In my mind any way! I blitzed the feckers!

I am truly grateful that Ogimos decided to have a raffle. I am more grateful that his neighbour and ex-student decided to donate a 1991 CB1 as a prize. I am truly, truly grateful I won it.


So what did you do today! I went out on my bike!

I met some real good friends. And some people I hardly know who will be really good friends! It's inevitable!


What will my next bike be. It was always going to be a 1200GS. Now I just don't know.



Maybe a Ducati Monster!

Sucati......................................stop smirking down the back!

For the last few weeks I was having some negative thoughts about biking. First the M50 has changed dramatically and the net result is that when you take into account getting into the gear and getting out again, it is actually quicker in a cage!
Coupled with the fact that it aint as much fun unless you are pushing it. I really use to enjoy filtering down lines of traffic and that hardly ever happens now!

At the same time the last two SMBR's that I have been on have been with Aussie and Derek the Loon (and Vadar for one of them) and those two boys are quick. It never bothered me before but it is now. I dont like been left behind. Now thats a funny feeling to have because it never bothered me before. I still enjoyed the spins but felt a little inadequate.

So the net result of these two thing is I have felt a little negative about the bike. I put up a status on Facebook saying I am seriously considering changing but zOU made the comment "Why? It's a very good bike". And he is right it is but I was lacking something.

Now a few of you may remember that I won the CB1 in Ogimos' raffle back in November or so. It came at a great time as I was really down at the time and it gave me a great boost. But it wasn't running when I got it and I parked it up on the basis that I would get to it when the weather improved.

Well a few weeks ago I tried to start it and had no luck. I checked all the usual stuff and stripped it down as far as possible to investigate everything but couldn't see anything amiss. EXCEPT the choke cable was seized. Well with a lot of messing around I managed to break the choke lever. I put it all together again and parked it up for another day.

Well another day has arrived and I got stuck in. I stripped it down and realised I was not going to be able to fix the choke lever but I did manage to tie some ribbon around it and ran it out to the side of the engine where I could grab it.

I also had to strip down the charger I have as that wasn't working but after fiddling with that for a few minutes I managed to get it working. So I put the battery in the CB1 on charge and patiently waited about 30 seconds before trying to fire it up. Funny thing is it started first time. As soon as I touched the throttle it died but it had started.

I let it charge for a good long time, about 5 minutes , and tried again!!

It fired! It stayed running! I turned the throttle , the engine wound up.

I returned the throttle to stop and it kept ticking over!

As I was in shorts and t-shirt I ran inside and threw on some bike gear and ran out to get a spin on her before she died. I was going down the drive when I realised I hadn't tried the brakes. They operated as they should. Which means I pull the lever and the lever pushed a rod that forced brake fluid down a line which in turn pushed the pistons in the caliber against the brake pads which in turn pressed up against the disc thereby creating friction!!

Just not enough to stop the bike!

Ah well, it has been lying up for nearly two years and the brakes haven't been used. I press on and liberally apply the brakes at every opportunity. They gradually improve.

I tear down to the four roundabouts that run parrallel to Swords Main street. Through the roundabouts with ease! Except she feels very unsure of her footing. OK tyres are old and may have gone off from sitting up so long! I come back up the roundabouts and I get a spark of inspiration, "maybe the pressures are off".

Into the Texaco near Airside and check the pressures. Not sure what the pressure should be but sure as hell it ain't 12 in the front and 14 in the rear. Woo Hoo back to the roundabouts! What a difference.

But thats not the best part. It's the noise from the exhaust. It is the sweetest sound I ever heard. It just sounds fabulous!

I take it up to the M50 and attack the new on-ramp from the M1 onto the M50. Again Woo Hoo! Brilliant.

I then get a bit of open road and open her up. Ok is that speedo in miles or kilometers. Nah it has to be kilometers otherwise this is mental and it is only a 400cc. 160 klicks and still some left. Not bad for a 19 year bike that has been off the road for two years.

Mmmmh thinks! Off the road two years? Should I have checked a few more things before jumping on to the poor wee thing? Like oil levels! Water! Chain! Glances down at rusty chain spinning around.

OK time to get back to the gaff and check a few things before I blow the fecking thing up completely.

One thing to note, everything works, everything sounds fine and even the brakes have improved dramatically since that first application.

This is a class bike and bloody great fun. Absolute no brainer which bike is going on the SMBR in the morning!!!

Picture it, it is a warm day, no not a warm day. it is a hot day. A very hot day. The tarmac is sticky. The tyres on your bike are sticky.
You know that if you go for a blast the tyres will need to be replaced by the end of it!

You go anyway!

You head out to Athboy and start down the N51 towards Delvin. The first big right hander with the stone wall in front of you nearly catches you out. Instead you push hard on the right grip and use the joys of counter steering to take this one faster better than ever before!

You are in the zone. You are catching the lines perfectly sweeping from turn to turn and for once it is effortless. No heavy braking, no wide lines! There was a bike behind you catching up and then braking heavy into the turns. The rider gives up and throttles off. They don't know the secret. The US Army Rangers have a combat mantra "Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast". Everything you have learnt in biking tells you that this mantra is perfect for biking. No heavy braking, no hard throttles, keep it smooth. Smooth is FAST!!

You throttle on, evenly and assured. Having passed through Delvin and continued down the most beautiful road in Ireland, the N52, you know that a petrol station is coming up on the right. You dont slow but you prepared to brake in case a poor auld 'un pulls out without seeing you. Anticipation is everything. There they are! Pulling across without a care in the world. You call out the escape route to yourself. Small amount of brake, let them get across a bit more and there it is! That little bit of anticipated space to their right. You swerve first to the right around the car and then swiftly to the left. Just like the S's on the international circuit at Mondello, except in reverse!
You give a wave at the car to let them know that despite the fact that they just got the fright of their life, you on the other hand are completely unfazed! Of course if something had been coming the other way the escape route may have been through the forecourt of the petrol station

You continue on! You hit the big wide section where they have destroyed the road by removing every twist and turn. You open it up, there is nothing on the road and you can see a clear mile ahead. You are in top gear, hitting the rev limiter, but you keep it pinned. You sweep over to the centre of the road because there is a minor junction on the left and you know the locals don't stop when come on to the main road.

And then we are back, the wide section gives way to the narrow twists and turns. You are mildly distracted by the view over the small stone wall on the right. You can see major road works. They are going to destroy this section of road too! It almost hurts to look at it. Makes you feel like

And then you pass the little shop on the left and you know it is nearly over. You hit the last wide section just before Mullingar and pull up briefly before turning and heading back. There was a sign for ice cream outside the shop.

So you are sitting there licking the ice cream taking in life and all that it offers and wonder what you did to deserve this!

And then you remember! You EARNED it!

You cleared the snow off your bike and nursed it to start in the depths of winter. You nervously rode it through sleet and snow to get to work. Travelling on a road that even though you know it cannot think, cannot love or cannot hate, it was clearly out to kill you. Your visor fogged up, you cracked it open a bit and your eyes watered. It was dark, and no amount of wiping cleared the outside of the visor.
You were riding blind. using the lights of the cars around you to gauge your distance.
Not good. Not fun. Not in the least bit enjoyable. But you were on your bike and that alone made you feel good. Made you feel isolated from the rigours of life, the rat race and poor people enclosed in their bubbles of metal and plastic under the illusion that they were safe. They are about as safe as an antelope on the African plains being stalked by a big cat!

You, on the other hand, are not safe! The difference is you know it and act accordingly! On your way home in similar conditions you pull up at the traffic lights. A Garda on a Traffic Corps bike pulls up on the inside. He gives a nod. A knowing nod that conveys respect for a fellow biker. You nod back smiling and as the lights turn to green and you face down a dual carriageway that looks dry and safe. You let the Garda take the lead as you both open it up wide! You throttle off when you hit a speed that goes beyond the fellowship. if you continue to follow him you are truly taking the piss . You know that you have done enough. For a brief moment you were brothers.

And then you are back outside the shop on the N52. Licking your ice cream and thinking that it is cold. Cold! Ha ha ha some cold can be good and this is good. It is all the better, all the tastier because truly you have earned it!

Right i was out on my bike and I was approaching a set of traffic lights. I looked at the ground ahead and it looked very slippery. So I said to myself no front brake, and lots of back. I came to a stop in the middle of the junction with a merc about 3 inches from me. I was shaking and really rattled.

I got going again still feeling out of sorts, so much so that I missed the turn and ended up going the wrong way! I spot a side road that I can turn into to make a u-turn. Turns out it is more like a canal path and the ground is a bit rough but I spot a dis-used service station ahead on my right. it looks like it has been converted into some kind of carpet sales place and there is a large barn type structure with what looks like long planks running up to the top level with carpets running down it. Somehow I get totally target fixated and while making my turn end up half way up the planks. Now at this point I am totally flummoxed and end up nearly falling off but manage to catch the bike and safely roll back down the planks! I make my way back to the canal path only to find a group of 4 bikers sitting shooting the breeze. I sit down with them for a chat but Kaos tells me to move because there is a hot chick that he wants to sit in the place I have chosen to sit.

Fair enough says I but when I go to move I find my way is blocked by Mr T, aka B.A. Baracus from the A team. But it isn't Mr T, it's bleedin' Rosco
So at this point I know things are strange and come to the full realisation that I am in fact dreaming. I immediately wake up. Interesting that you always wake up just when it is getting interesting.

My first thought was Fcuk me I must miss the bike if I am bleedin dreamin' about it! But it wasn't just the bike, it also had Kaos and Rosco! And the group just shootin' the breeze. So maybe I am missing the bike but also the craic that was and is the SMBR's.

And this leads on to other thoughts. I met this big gawd awful ugly Australian bloke on an SMBR earlier this year and immediately liked him. Unfortunately we only got out on a few really good runs together before my circumstances changed and I was no longer able to get out on the runs. Well almost immediately it starts. I keep getting phones calls and text messages, "some muuppet crashed and ruined my SMBR", "Get a job ya waster, I want ya back on SMBR's".

This was followed up with conversations about what I could do in terms of jobs. In the meantime I had started driving the Taxi. So next thing I know I have lots of taxi jobs being pushed my way. I estimate that over the last 4 months I have taken in over 1k in fares from either Aussie directly or people visiting Dublin from partner companies that Aussie deals with. Early in this relationship he took the opportunity to bring me into Dell to have coffee while I waited on more customers Aussie had sent my way!

it isn't just a coffee, Aussie uses the opportunity to introduce me to as many people who matter out there as possible. One of whom takes a copy of my CV and puts it around the organisation in an attempt to match me up with a position. A few weeks later the same Dell person needs a position filled and I am called for interview! In turns into a long process with one 10 minute presentation turning into a lengthy 2 and a half hour workshop.

Final interview was today and I already have been told the job is mine. So I will be starting a Field Product Marketing Manager with Dell early next week.

So whats the plan. First, get the fcuking bike insured. Second start planning some ride-outs.
Third arrange drinks with the big lad to get him drunk!!!

Fourth, keep to fore in my mind that friends are important. I mean really important. A recent study showed that people live longer when they have a good group of friends around them!

I feel very lucky to have such friends. People who have made a difference in my life from this forum over the last few months include
Aussie (goes without saying)
Jamesobrady (A man who understands the true nature of friendship)
Kaostheory (he's just a bloke right? wrong)
Tazzzie ( Mount Teide beckons )
The Mex ( A true friend and fellow night driver, love the late night calls Bro!)
FrizzyLizzie (Credit Cards? We don't need no stinking credit cards )
Frodi (Bloody serial cable )
Ogimos (And not just for the Bike!)
Golly (Always takes time to catch up and I need ot get better at that)
Rudy ( Who despite the fact that is current work contract ends on the 24th, he is NOT an Elf)
Gaz46 (Despite not being on the forum much these days is a great friend - see ya soon bro!)
TinyTurnip (We will never get to share that taxi now, well not with me driving that is )
Horsey and Sirius and all the smoke and coffee crew.

Also should mention Magnets and Creeping Death who provide huge entertainment on facebook as does our own Dragonfly!
Probably forgetting somebody important but yis are all bored to tears at this stage. To anyone I have missed out, apologies. Just because I may have forgotten doesn't mean ya don't matter!

But I will leave you with this thought, friends are important. Pick up the phone and call a mate you have lost touch with. Do it now!
It's important and may extent your lifespan!

Pete

Postscript:
I completely omitted some people who have had a serious impact on me. I omitted them because they will probably never read this.
They are all taxi drivers who work the Eden Quay rank.

Sexy Beast (Christy)
Don Corelone (Tony)
Enda - Jaysus this guy is screaming out for a nick name.
The Ghost (Andy, a true gent)
Luskovite (Niall)
Cheers for all the laughs, rows, grievous bodily harm visited on others and the Tea!!

So with all this gloom and doom it is nice to have good day!

Start!

Out of bed at 06:30. Over to Aussies place to pick him up and bring him from Carpenters town to Cherrywood. All before 8:00am so still on the night time rate! 60 yoyos

Bonus: Pick up two fares on the way back in totalling 30yoyos!

Next: Home to work on the central heating. Thanks to Aussie I was put in touch with Tojo! Tony Hanlon 086 408 3102. Builder, house repairs, plumber etc etc. Tony came out last Friday and we worked through the system trying to identify the problem. He came back out today when I had done some donkey work to strip things out and just managed ot stop me ripping the immersion out by identifying the real issue. A small pipe with u-bend clogged up. Fcuking Result. All working again perfectly. And the financial damage means that insuring the bike is back on the cards.

Next: I mislaid a Snap-On ratchet screwdriver a long time ago. This is not to be underestimated as a cause of pain. It was without any doubt my favourite tool of all time (well bar one ). With all the messing about with the heating system I come across said screwdriver. I think I shed a little tear of joy as I hugged it.

Next: Heating sorted. next back out ot Cherrywood to pick up Stoners greatest fan. Only he has a business colleague with him. Off we go to Carpenterstown Inn for dinner. Another 45 on the clock (day rate) and then treated to a gorgeous dinner. And then drop Rob off to his Hotel, Bewleys Airport. Another bit of lolly as well as a good conversation. AND I get another customer at Bewleys who turns out to be a gent and generous tipper.

So feck it I says. I have done enough. I am off home to spend some time with the forum and a bottle of whiskey.



Oh why was today so special. Well none of the above really!

I got called for a second interview for a decent job!

Oh happy Day!


Only downside: I missed doing the lotto!

Well a lot of you will know that I lost my job back in July and I have been relatively quiet on the forum since then. I had lost interest in the forum to a large extent and only really posted about ride-outs but since July I have only managed a couple of ride-outs.

Stepping down from Admin was the right thing to do and a rotation of Mods is in the best interest of the forum as it keeps the forum in good shape to have relatively new people modding as they bring enthusiasm.

So do I miss modding/admin, simple answer is no. Am I enjoying the forum again. Most definitely!

So why am I not posting that much or more importantly why am I not on any ride-outs? Well the simple answer is that I don't have the time or the energy because for the last couple of months I have been driving a taxi to bring in some money.

So whats that like?

The first night out was terrifying, I had a Garda car nearly crash into me when he drove the wrong way up Capel street, I had a very drunk (hopefully gay) man try to feel me up. I say hopefully gay because if he was straight then he has serious issues with drink!!
I also had a woman scream at me to take her the wrong way to her place. She screamed at me to go onto the M50 despite the fact that we were less than a mile from her gaff in Clondalkin. Once I calmed her down and explained we were now heading for Dun Laoghaire she allowed me to get back on track.

I have had nobody get sick yet but it has been a close call a few times. I had a drunk Taxi driver (off duty) who wouldn't tell me where he lived. I had a gay couple with a girl in tow all making out in the back. I have been party to at least three drug deals.

I have had a coked up drunk do a runner. This was actually very funny because the eejit forgot he paid me in advance. God bless them drugs!

So if you are ever thinking about getting a taxi license think twice. I worked one Saturday night where I took in a grand total of 95 quid. I work typically 60 hours a week. Normally midweek I start around 2 and finish at 2 in the morning. On the weekend nights I start about 5 and finish about 5.

What do you learn. You learn the value of money. At any hour of the day I can tell you exactly how much I earned that day. I can also tell you exactly how much it cost me to earn that money.

I have also become a far more agressive person. having had the siht scared out of me a few times I am no longer willing to put up with crap. I had a couple of blokes go on and on and on about what they were going to do to the women they got off with that night that I stopped the car and told them to fcuk off! Their lack of respect for women was immense. I pity any girl out there who is going to night clubs trying to meet someone nice.

I never have and NEVER will go with a prostitute. I have met many who have and to be honest I didn't want to share the taxi with them never mind a woman.

I will never do Coke! It is clearly apaprent that Coke turns you into an instant arsehole.

So what am I getting for my 60 hours working week. On average I clear about 450 euro and thats a good week. I have made as little as 300. I am losing weight because I am never home for family meals. I am getting acne and spots all over as I am run down. I feel constantly exhausted although this is now turning into a general feeling of tiredness that you learn to live with.

I hate the Gardai. But that's OK because they hate me too. But the useless fcuks should have turned up when I rang about the bloke getting a glass smashed into his face repeatedly on Eden Quay. But I am sure there was a rogue Taxi man somewhere with his rear tyres on a double yellow line somewhere that had to be dealt with.

I hate racism. Everyone thinks that Taxi drivers are racist. Well a lot are but not as much as our customers. If you are unlucky enough to be on a taxi rank with a black guy first in line you will be waiting a long time to get a fare. A lot of people will walk by and hail a cab down the road because they wont get into the taxi with the black driver.

Now a lot of people will point out that black taxi drivers are:
1. Mostly illegal. True. You can get a spsv license while applying for asylum but you are not allowed to work. But they do.
2. Over charge. I don't know but have heard all sorts of stories of over charging. I have also heard lots of stories of good upstanding white Dubs over charging so that doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
3. Taking extraordinary long routes to get you to where you are going. Again anecdotal. And I know the first couple of weeks I hadn't a clue where I was going half the time.

But here is the reality, black taxi drivers know that a lot of the time they are not going to make any money if they do the right thing and rank up. So they rely on driving around which is nearly futile. So when they do get a fare they have to make the most of it.

I really really hate double jobbing bus men. Half of Dublin bus seems to drive taxi's when they finish work. Whatever about me doing long hours these guys are putting in 80+ hours behind the wheel of a public service vehicle. Any wonder that four of them crashed in one day, two of them in Rush.

So why not pack it in and go on the dole. Well here is the kicker, its fun. it can be a LOT of fun. There really are a lot of nice people out there and they far out weight the fcukwits. I spend a really good portion of my night laughing. I also have made a good few friends on the ranks and they are a laugh too. Particularly when you lean against one guys car and leave a feckin dent in the side of it. they dont let you forget! There are times when the craic is so good that you are almost disappointed when a customer comes along.

Will I continue doing it. not a chance. I got the mortgage company to put the mortgage on hold for a few months. This will kick back in next month and at that stage I am truly screwed. So I am applying for jobs and hoping for the best. And at some stage I might get to start the bike up and bring it for a run, a Sunday morning run, nice and early before there is any traffic and sit down to breakfast in Watsons and then tear up the N52 following Kido or Aussie into bends far too hot and wondering why the feck I keep doing it.

In closing you will find me on Eden Quay any night except Sunday and Monday but the way things are going I will probably be there those nights too soon.

Support your local taxi driver!! Go out, stay out too late, get too drunk and get a taxi home. If you want to get one of the good guys go to Eden Quay. The regulars there are all sound.