Morocco by Bike?
Going for it.
So it started in January as an aside in an email from Badger about getting hold of some new tyres for his Land Rover, "I have decided to do a bike ride in April to Morrocco via ferry to Spain and then down to Morocco. Fancy it?".My immediate thoughts were "Not a cat in hell's chance!" After three bouts of celulitis, a major pulmonary embolism that should have killed me, 2 hip replacements and 2 hip dislocations, not to mention being on the wrong side of 20 stone, I figured my motor-biking days were long since past - I'd even had a clear-out of the biking gear that I thought I'd never need again. There was also the new web-site I'm developing www.tyrefactors.com, where could I find the time in my already over-stretched schedule to take off for the best part of a month just as they go live? Could I still ride a motor-bike? could I even swing my leg over one - I couldn't the last time I tried about 10 years ago.
I didn't say no immediately, but decided to have a think about it and - as usual - never got round to doing anything about it. In a twinkling of the eye it was March and I was feeling guilty the next time I talked to Badger. After a bit of umming and awing on my behalf it was agreed that Chris could lend me a bike and I should talk to my better half and see what Claire thought about the idea. Much to my amazement, instead of the snort of derision I was anticipating, Claire thought it was a brilliant idea - perhaps my last chance for a bit of of adventure. My daughters and pretty much everyone else I talked to reckoned it sounded fantastic so I thought I should at least give it some serious consideration.
As Badger lives in South Gloucestershire and I'm based in the Scottish Borders with zero spare time, perhaps borrowing a bike might not be the best idea. So I had a quick look on ebay and Motorcycle news and before I knew it the biking bug had bitten. I found a 20 yr old Pan European in Consett being offered by a lovely bloke called Ian Hunter - no not that Ian Hunter. After a few calls with Ian, I had agreed to buying the bike at the asking price - £1,600.00, subject to being able to a) get on the thing and b) to ride it.
. My local bike mechanic - Willy Stewart from Tweedvale Motorcyles, Walkerburn agreed to come with me on the Saturday to give the bike a quick look-over and ride it back for me should I buy it. This was despite never having actually met me and he wouldn't accept payment for his time - at least he allowed me to buy him lunch.
Saturday dawned in Galashiels - wild, wet and windy and it was agreed that we'd go down and have a look at the bike, maybe's even buy it but not ride it back to Galashiels until the weather improved. Luckily for me it was bike week at Aldi's. So a quick trip saw me leave Aldi's with a Helmet, Boots, Gloves, vests, thermal long johns, a neck warmer, bike cover and change from £140.00 - great! Let's hope I could ride the thing! A couple of hours later saw me and Willy lost in the Pennines - well Consett anyway - a quick call to Ian and he and his neighbour came out to retrieve us and guess what? The sun had come out and it was lovely if still a trifle chilly. When we finally got to Ian's place - it was love at first sight - with the Pan European - not Ian!. For those of you that have never been to Consett it sits proudly on top of the pennines and if there's any flat bits I've never seen them. On with the new helmet and gloves - I'd even found my old Belstaff jacket and padded trousers - time for the moment of truth. Could I get on the thing? Well Yes I could - now the brown trousers moment could I ride the thing.? God! it felt massive and incredibly heavy - the front brakes were seized on - but that's getting ahead of the story. Well put it in gear and off I went. I managed to navigate the streets of Consett and even find my way back to Ian's house without killing anyone or frightening the natives so a deal was struck, bank transfers were made, insurance was purchased and all from the comfort of Ian's living room - don't you just love modern technology.
I decided that I should ride the beast home and Willy would follow on behind in my car. I put on my new boots and old padded trousers and off I set. I got 2 yards down the road and had to stop - with the trousers and boots on I couldn't get my feet on the footpegs. So back into the house, Willy and Ian helped me get my boots off and sans boots and overtrousers and with just jeans and normal shoes on it was take-off mark 2. This time I got my feet on the pegs and we navigated our way out of Consett and hit the A68, which is definitely bike heaven. The pan felt rock solid as I leant it over on my first bend, a huge grin covered my face and I started to remember just how much fun biking could be. A quick pit stop for lunch at a pub en-route and off to Corbridge to fill up. Due to too much blethering with Ian over coffee and biscuits and the boots/trousers fiasco we were way behind schedule. It was after 5.00 pm when I filled up - I'd hoped to be back home by then. Willy set off ahead of me safe in the knowledge that I soon catch up on the Pan. I went to start her up and ... nothing - flat as a pan-cake. I'd brought tools, but they were in the car with Willy somewhere up the road along with my reading glasses. A passing cyclist helped me try to bump-start the bike, but no joy. Despite hardly being able to read my mobile I managed to leave Willy a message on his mobile and eventually he got back to Consett. None of the tools we had between us was enough to get the side cover off so we couldn't jump it from my Corolla - it was held on by one rather worn Phillips screw and we didn't have the right screwdriver to get it off. Retrieving my reading specs I called Ian who immediately agreed to drive out to our rescue with his toolbox. Armed with the correct tool and Ian's knowledge of the bike we jump-started it and off we went again. Ian was distraught about the affair and said he'd put the cash in the post for a new battery, which he did - what a top man.
It was now well after 6 o'clock and the sun was starting to set and we had 60-odd miles to do back to Galashiels. The ride along the A68 was great but up ahead I could see dirty great storm clouds forming over the Carter Bar. By the time we hit the climb up it to the Border it was freezing cold and it started to snow - not hard but more than enough to put me off. After some exciting riding we finally got back home by about 8.30. I was cold, a bit damp but not soaked - the pan had kept the worst of the weather off me. I was absolutely knackered and totally elated at the same time. I didn't feel quite so elated at 2am when I woke up literally screaming with the lypmh nodes in right leg going into spasm - they've not been right since the celulitis. Still at least Claire was working nights that weekend so at least I didn't wake her up.
I put the bike into Willy's for servicing that week. Apart from the seized front brakes it was in pretty good shape for a 20 yr bike. I got it back on Friday and aimed to go to Edinburgh on the Saturday, drop some stuff off for my daughter Jess and take my brother-in-law for a spin to Glasgow or Dunfermline - he's just bought a 125 and his doing his CBT. My knowledge of Edinburgh is rubbish, I took the wrong turn and ended up in the Gorgie road (near Heart's ground) on a warm saturday afternoon on match day. Whilst it was good to practice my traffic skills I noticed the biting point of the (hydraulic) clutch was getting closer and close to the bars. I pulled off the road before it went totally. After soome frantic phoning around I ended up riding the bike to Saltire Suzuki, who were just a few hundred yards away and had a workshop open on a saturday afternoon. Several hours and 50-odd quid lighter they weren't able to fix the problem and couldn't even guarantee that it would get me home. By then I'd given up on the trip to Glasgow. I had twigged that it was probably a temperature-related problem and ended riding to my daughter's flat then riding home with a clutch that disappeared as the bike warmed up. By the time I got back to Gala it had cooled down and was fine.
I drove out to Glasgow on the Sunday in the car and bought a new jacket for the trip to Morocco - I didn't fancy riding in Morocco in my old pastic padded Belstaff. Listening to the radio on the way back I was delighted to switch on just as Paulo di Canio's rejuvenated Sunderland side took the lead at Chelsea - sadly like my new jacket it didn't last long - we got beat 2-1. I called Willy up on Monday and booked the bike in to replace the front brake hoses with new braid stainless steel hoses and get new seal kits for both clutch cylinders and tbe front brake master cylinder. I put the bike in on Tuesday and got it back a couple of days later with shiny new brakes hoses and hydraulic seals. I'd ordered a top of the range Givi Top Box, rack, backrest and brake light kit, which cost a bomb and turned up while the bike was in Willy's. I fitted the rack on the Thursday evening and fitted the back rest and brake light kit to the box on the Friday evening. When I went to fit the wiring connector into the rack I discovered the was no hole pre-drilled for the connector. I called the company who'd sold me the box, but there was no-one in. I left a message on theor website then called them on the Tuesday. They guy there said he'd have to call Givi - and that the rack was probably designed before Givi did brake switch kits. He promised to get back inb a day or 2. By Friday afternoon I'd heard nothing so I called him again - he'd done nothing. He suggested I call Givi and what could I expect for a 20 yr old bike. I suggested that he might have told me that before he sold me the kit. A very unpleasant row ensued and I ended up slamming the phone down. I managed to track down Givi's UK number and spoke to a very helpful young lady. She and her couldn't help me, but they gave me the number of a dealer in Edinburgh. Of course by then it was after 5pm and the dealer was closed. I took the rack off the bike in order to check out if I could drill it. Guess what! There was a fitting already there. I just had to pop out the blanking section and file the inside of the hole smooth. I was just about to head up to Edinburgh to take my brother-in-law out when my business partner - Chris - called - he'd broken a throttle cable of his 1970's Lancia Fulvia - could I help him fix it. As I took the bike off the centre stand to ride out to him - the clutch went totally - absolutely no pressure at all. Gear off get the car. I managed to replace his throttle cable with an old bicycle gear cable inner and some brass fitting from an old wall socket - worked a treat but took several hours.
I got home about 3.30 and dismantled the clutch master cylinder and had to head to Halfords for circlip pliers and brake fluid. I couldn't find anything wrong. I put it back but couldn't get it working. I did some googling and tried again on the Sunday - no joy. I called Willy on Monday, without a van or trailer there was no way to get the bike to him, but he gave me the number of an engineering company in Galashiels. I ordered a braided steel hose for the clutch - just in case. I called Anderson and Wilson and they said to bring the clutch hydraulics down to them. I didn't have time to dismantle the entire fairing so just took both cylinders down. They weren't able to help with just those, but showed me how to bleed the system correctly, which I did. They also said that if I couldn't get it going they would pick the bike up in their van and fix it for me. I followed their instructions and 2 hours later I had a working clutch but had lost yet another day of development time. I took the bike out for a test ride in the evening, got 4 miles down the road and it failed totally. I lost the whole evening waiting for the AA to recover the bike and take it back to my place. I didn't have proper gear on just a light jacket and as the sun went down it got really windy and cold. Luckily Chris came out in his Fulvia bearing hot soup and somewhere to wait for the AA - I got home at 9.15 knackered.
First thing Tuesday I called A&W and at lunch-time Ian from A&W turned up with his race van and we loaded the Pan onto his truck - I got back to programming. Ian called the next day - he fixed the problem - the smaller of the two bleed holes was blocked and a seal had been put in the wrong way round - it must have been like that for ages and Willy put the new seal inu the same way as the old one. When I went to pick the bike up Ian and I got chatting and he reckoned that even though the tyres weren't worn much he recommended putting on new ones and getting a new battery for the Morocco trip. Funnily enough I'd just put the first motorcycle tyres on TyreFactors.com that morning - so guess where I ordered my tyres from. Ian and I also discussed the clutch itself, apparently after 40K miles the plates can warp, when that happens the clutch can fade when hot - that rang a bell. I called Willy again to get him to fit the tyres, a new battery, fit the new hose, strip and check the clutch, fit new plates if required and reassemble the fairing. I now only had about 9 days left before I set off. Willy booked the bike in for the next week to allow time for the tyres and battery to arrive, but agreed to fit the new hose, checkout the clutch and put the fairing back in the meantime. I took the bike to Walkerburn yet again - it rained my new jacket leaked really badly at the sleeves, I got wet. Willy did his thing and I picked up the the bike on the Friday - when he stripped the clutch the plates were virtually new - a previous owner must have had them replaced. I called my brother-in-law, 3rd time lucky, did he fancy a trip out to Glasgow on Saturday - but he had a course that day and couldn't make it.
On Saturday off I went to Glasgow on the scenic route via Peebles. It was windy but fine. I got to Glasgow without incident and they swapped out the jacket - no probs. I came back via the M8 and A7 - the bike was fine I was shattered. The gear lever and rear brake pedal were both far too high. My right foot was swollen and I couldn't walk on it. To be honest I thought that maybe I had celulitis again - with 6 days to the off it didn't look good. Claire rubbed loads of Ibuprofen gel into my foot and on Sunday it was fine - no celulitis just sore muscles not used to the lifting action. On Tuesday I have to take the cat to the vets and have her put down - she was in her 19th year and failing badly. We'd known for a while that this day would come, but I still cried like a baby and felt awful. The house feels empty and the dog is plainly depressed. After the vets I drove to Kelso to pick up some foam and waterproof material to try to raise the seat a wee bit. On Wednesday I took the bike to Walberburn yet again - I took my android tablet and stayed while Willy fitted the tyres and battery. He had to remove most of the fairing and side panels to get the wheels out so I got him to adjust the levers as low as possible. While I was waiting I ordered a cheap one-piece rain-suit with next day delivery - 2 days to go before the off. I rode home and got back to my computer desperately trying to finish Tyrefactors. The clothing company emailed me - the suit I had chosen was the last one they had in that range and it was damaged. I called them but just got through to an answer phone. On the third attempt I got through to a real person - actually the lady was very helpful - I selected a replacement rain-suit - she assured me that it would arrive on Friday. I worked till nearly midnight to finish TyreFactors. The site is not finished but customers can place orders and pay online. I can go to Morocco with a clearish conscience - one day left.
Friday - one day to get ready. A hour or so on some tweaks for TyreFactors and a quick support call for www.footstompin.com. The suit is due for delivery between 1.12 and 2.12. I tried to do something with the foam and material - gave up after an hour - If I can't adapt the bike to me I'll just have to adapt to the bike. I nipedp out to Boots for first-aid stuff, Halfords for GB stickers and some tools for my bike tool roll and some rubble bags from the builders merchant to keep my clothes dry. Jewsons give me half-a-dozen sacks for free - TVM! I got back for 1pm and the suit turned up at 1.20 - it fits - hurray - hope it keeps the rain out. I started packing - how am I going to load everything into the panniers and top-box? BS&I - brute strength and ignorance - works every time.
Saturday - time to go. I was awake at 5am and up shortly after. I managed to get everything except my everyday shoes into the panniers and topbox. I decide to take the shoes in a small rucksack, which I will swap for a tank bag that Badger will lend me. By 9.45 I head off - well go to ASDA and fill up. The bike feels very heavily loaded - I have not done a mile yet and my right hip is already aching, how will I make it to Morocco? I squirm around until I find a slightly more comfortable position. I rode to Melrose to say goodbye to Chris and let his kids have a chance to see the bike. His son thinks it looks pretty cool, his daughter is underwhelmed. I finally head off properly. The bike does feel a bit wallowly on corners and it's pretty windy but it's mainly sunny though cold and at least its dry. I've left the one-piece in a pannier and am just wearing my Aldi thermals and a pair of jeans. I have to stop at Jedburgh to put the lining in my jacket as I've already gotten cold. Finally I'm off - next stop Sunderland I should get there by noon. The ride down the A68 and A696 is great apart from an idiot in a 4x4 outside Newcastle who takes great umbridge at me squeezing between stationary lines of traffic at the roundabout that joins the A1. He honks his horn at me the whole way round the roundabout - I ignore him or was it her - I can't see which and don't care. Spot on noon I roll up at my cousin's house. Coffee and biscuits and a quick catch-up. He was going to run me to the post office in town to get my International Driving Permit, but it closes at noon - so I'll get it in Bristol on Monday. A quick trip down the A19 and lunch with my godson and his wive. Amazingly I'm feeling fine - the sun is shining and we watch a replay of Sunderland beating Newcastle 3-0.
I head off for Huddersfield at 2pm and decide to give the AIM and M62 a miss. I really don't enjoy motorways on a bike - so it's the A19 then off through Ripon, Thirsk, Harrogate and Bradford then a last few miles on the M62 as I only know how to get to mate Jim's place from the M62. In the event I might as well have gone by A-road as I got off at the wrong junction and had to phone Jim for directions. By the time I gety to Jim's it's 5pm, I have done 200 miles, the bike feels fine and amazingly so do I. My neck is a bit sore and I'm still getting used to taking bike gear on and off, but it feels like 200-250 miles a day is achievable. The good news is that the bike is getting about 50 mpg. Jim and his family made me very welcome and we enjoyed a lovely supper and a few drinks. My resolution not to drink falls at the first hurdle and I end up drinking a bottle of wine - oh dear a thick head in the morning I think!
Just for a change I actually get a decent nights sleep in a strange bed and I wake up feeling fine. Jim and Annette had insisted I drink loads of water before I went to bed and that probably helped. Jim makes a lovely breakfast of bacon rolls with mushrooms and tomatoes and I finally get on the road at about 11.30. The good news is that it's not raining but it's incredibly windy and there are rain-clouds in the air. I'm heading to Badgers place and decide to stick to motoroways until I get to Cheltenham. The M62 is a bit a mightmare - particularly over Saddleworth Moor as it's so high up and exposed. The bike feels fine on right-handers, but it seems to "nod it's head" and wallow a bit on right-handers. I don't know if it's the wind, the bike or just me being a biot of a wuss. After a while I get a bit more confident but it I'm still really cautious. The trip down the M6 and M5 was fairly uneventful. It rained a teeny bit but was no problem. I get off the M5 at J11 and follow the A46 through Cheltenham and Stroud towards Bath and get to Badger's place just before it rains. Badger and Kate are away but his son Charlie is still around to let me in. It's nice to see him again - he's a man now and the last time I saw him he was still a boy. I meet his fiance and a couple of their friends.
I stroll off to the village pub for supper and a couple of orange juices - honest! This evening is the first time I can remember that I've been able to just sit down and relax for ages. Hope you enjoy the blog. Tomorrow I've got to nip off to Bristol to get my IDP and then Badger should be back and we'll set off to meet Eddy whose coming with us as far as Spain. This time tomorrow we'll be on the ferry to Normandy and the trip proper will begin. TTFN Denzil (aka Mike Dennison)
Sorry aqbout the Typo in the Blog Title, but I can't work out how to fix it.
