3/08 – My First Traffic Stop! – 08/10 Feb 2025

A bit longer than usual this post, but not a single technical word in sight; promise! Saturday 08 Feb 2024 My day dawned in darkness at 0400, as I had to be at the ferry by 0515 and had been warned that they were pretty strict about timing. Unusually, I got there early after ridingContinue reading "3/08 – My First Traffic Stop! – 08/10 Feb 2025"

3/07 – Ups, Downs, And Finally On My Way! – Mon 03 – Fri 07 Feb 2025

Monday 03 Feb 2025 Up early for my usual travelling breakfast of oats, but this time with the addition of a my “Eet-Sum-Mor”; I limited myself to two! 😁 The rest of the day was spent on my dive and a visit to Cathedral Cove, a “must-see” attraction on the peninsula. The dive was fun, butContinue reading "3/07 – Ups, Downs, And Finally On My Way! – Mon 03 – Fri 07 Feb 2025"

3/06 – Getting it Right – Mon 27 – Fri 31 Jan 2025

Today I took the engine out again – getting quite good at it – and took off the top. The timing of the cam chain was off by one tooth. This could well cause the issues I noted. Question now is whether I have done any additional damage. The cost of shipping a new headContinue reading "3/06 – Getting it Right – Mon 27 – Fri 31 Jan 2025"

3/05 – It’ll Be All Right In The End … 23-26 Jan 2025

Unable to do anything until the head had settled into place I used the morning to do a few chores. Chief amongst these was to have a zipper fitted to my tent bag, made out of on an old Zim BMX bike box cover.  With the waiting over I got the top end finished, andContinue reading "3/05 – It’ll Be All Right In The End … 23-26 Jan 2025"

3/04 – A Cylinder Head & A Cracked Pot – 18-23 Jan 2025

On Saturday morning, I unpacked the cylinder head only to discover some gouges on the mating surface – forgot to take a photo. As I could feel these with my fingernail, I decided it had to go back to the shop, if for nothing else than to get their opinion on it. Since this meantContinue reading "3/04 – A Cylinder Head & A Cracked Pot – 18-23 Jan 2025"

3/03 – Reunited, And It Feels So Good – 14-17 Jan 2025

Reunited and Uploaded! Darryll and Helenna live in a town about 40 minutes from Auckland. I was greeted with the same openness and warmth I had experienced across N America.  A little later, while Darryll prepared some dinner, Helenna insisted I sit and put my feet up. I wasn’t too hard to convince as IContinue reading "3/03 – Reunited, And It Feels So Good – 14-17 Jan 2025"

3/02 – Getting to New Zealand – 10-13 Jan 2024

10 Jan 2025 Thanks to Stéphane’s speedy driving, I arrived at the station in, unusually, good time, only to see that there was a short delay! Why did I expect anything else. I  have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the SNCF Intercity train. It was clean, comfortable and quiet. I passed through Narbonne, BezierContinue reading "3/02 – Getting to New Zealand – 10-13 Jan 2024"

3/01 – How hard can it be? Departure No 4 – 10 Jan 2024

09 Jan 2025 I’ve often heard it said that half the fun in a trip/journey/holiday is in the planning and anticipation; I’m not sure I’d agree! Getting my bike physically on its way to NZ was easy enough, if you discount the mega oil leak it developed on route from Fresno, and the rain – first inContinue reading "3/01 – How hard can it be? Departure No 4 – 10 Jan 2024"

2/49 – The Final Word (for now) – 05-14 Oct 2024

So I’ve completed the journey; I’ve visited every place called Belfast, that I could find, in Canada and N America! Some were more substantial than others, and some were sad, or virtually non-existent, remnants to their former selves. A couple I discovered in name only and as they didn’t appear on any map, didn’t getContinue reading "2/49 – The Final Word (for now) – 05-14 Oct 2024"

2/48 – The Last Leg – 30 Sep-04 Oct

Monday 30 Sep 2024 I didn’t leave the camp at Jedediah Smith State Park especially early, and the host came by to collect the cards that have to be hung by the site you occupy. However, he didn’t stop to chat, so maybe he and his missus had a talk and decided it wasn’t worthContinue reading "2/48 – The Last Leg – 30 Sep-04 Oct"