Thursday 25 April 2024 The day started bright, but with a wind that cut right through you. I decided I was going nowhere in the +/- 0ºC temperature. I thought to use the time to adjust the clutch which had been troublesome since France. Even though I didn’t really know what the problem was adjusting thingsContinue reading "John Smith’s Mermaid"

I left N Sydney at a good hour and in no time i was on the Cabot Trail. More roads winding through pine forests, but now with an occasional glimpse of coastline – cliffs and narrow beaches. I was too early; everywhere was closed, which made the decision on whether to stop at some ofContinue reading "The Cabot Trail – 21/22 April 2024"

Fri 19th April: When I left Waverly for the 2nd time, I still was not sure what my plan was. I had a destination for the day – Boylston, a little place near the coast about 220 km to the NE and I was heading towards Cape Breton but still had not decided whether orContinue reading "Cape Breton – 20 April 2024"

Right then! I left you as I was arriving in Toronto, where I would spend a boring and tiring 8 hours waiting for my flight to Halifax, pay 12 € for a pint of Guinness and sleep for well over an hour taking up 3-4 seats in what became a packed waiting area; and no-oneContinue reading "Departures 3 …. and 4 – 19 April 2024"

The delay of departure finally dawned. Well it didn’t actually, because at 0500 on a wet Belfast morning in N Ireland, it was still dark; but you get the idea. I was as ready as I was ever going to be, but over the last week in this northern clime, I had become really quiteContinue reading "Departure 2 – 15 April 2024"

Getting ready to leave was a somewhat drawn-out process. Due to a problem with burning oil, the bike required a top-end rebuild, including new valves and guides, cam chain rollers and guides, and piston rings. For a variety of reasons this all took longer than anticipated with the result that it was only ready forContinue reading "Departure 1 – 02 April 2024"

As detailed elsewhere on this site (coming soon) Belfast-2-Belfast-By-Bike was conceived in the early 1980s as a one-off trip from Belfast in South Africa to my hometown of Belfast in N Ireland. This was completed between March 2019 and March 2020, aboard my 1974 Honda CB750 K2, which I had rebuilt in the two yearsContinue reading "Prologue"