Brexit, Bloody Brexit!

It's a bit early I know and nobody really knows what's going to happen at the moment but if we crash out of the EU without a deal, there's a real possibility that I may have to pay for a visa to go on this bloody trip. In the great scheme of Brexit, I know it's only a small thing but that would really make it personal.

Not much to say, with just 110 days to go. I'm still waiting for our final 'other' hotel to become available. I had expected it to show available already but maybe it IS actually booked. It does only have 8 rooms. I'll keep on checking though, at least for a little while longer.

Sanch seems to have fully recovered from his hip operation now and has moved on from walking 3 or 4 miles a day, to getting his leg over his beloved Honda Shadow once more. This all bodes well for when we get on the continent.

I mentioned in the last post that I had invited the other Route 66ers to join us when we are in Portsmouth. At the moment, it looks like just me, Sanch, Simon and Viv. Talking of Route 66ers, yesterday was the 5th anniversary of our Wild Hog chum Bill's sad departure from this world. Needless to say, we were thinking of him and the family and rest assured also, that he shall be with us in spirit on this trip, as we'll have his Harley Davidson bandana with us once more. Gone but not forgotten.

In a little under a month, Ginny will be 1 year old! She's still tucked up in the garage on her trickle charger at the moment but the weather is perking up a bit, so who knows, she might get a run out fairly soon. I'll need to put a few miles on her before this trip, as I'll need to get her serviced before we go. I have a potential trip to my daughter in Exeter, for her birthday and a definite trip to Le Mans with my brother, to watch the MotoGP race, both in May. That should get me to the 6k service interval nicely.

Think that's it for now.

Bill Walker, a.k.a. Wild Hog Dudley. R.I.P.

Welcome to 2019

It always feels good when the year you have been planning in becomes the one you are in. From that point on, those days on the counter seem to just drop away. So, welcome to 2019, the year of the Wild Hogs Iberian Tour.

A few things have happened since my last post. Firstly, Grizzly or Sanch, has booked his trips to and from Ireland on Irish Ferries and was pleased to see that the discounted price meant the cost was the same as when he last came across in 2017. Speaking of Grizzly, he continues to recover well from his hip operation and is walking for about an hour each day, though still with the aid of crutches. No need to rush. Not as if he's missing any summer riding time and best to get properly fit than try and rush back.

Secondly, I've been in contact with David (Biggsy), the third remaining and lapsed Wild Hog and the others from our Route 66 group, Simon/Viv, David/Francoise, with a view to having a re-union in Portsmouth, the night before Sanch and I catch the ferry to Bilbao. A meeting with Simon/Viv was muted when I paid them a visit in the summer but it just blossomed a bit and now there are 3 invites on the table. Simon/Viv have accepted and duly booked a room at the Keppels Head Hotel, so it's down to the others now.

Thirdly, I have finally secured my first choice hotel in the Picos mountains. You will recall I've been waiting for this and one other to become available on Booking.com and finally it did. Hopefully it won't be too long before the other one becomes available to book too.

That's all the news for now.