Itchy wetty boots.

[deadgrass.]

There I've started [a new tale with a bit of mt involvement ]

more to follow [im away this weekend]

dave.

[deadgrass.]

we start this trip as usual with a bit of bike prep,





this is daves,[two pies] new bearing,

me and luke doing a bit of prep also,









oil change for the armstrong along with bearings and front shoes,

oil change and drive chain for the Chinese bike,

dee had upgraded the suspension and bash guard on his bmw x country after last years trip,

shayne had done a few mods to his ktm also,

kev was still undecided at this stage what to take, he'd bought my armstrong i used last year,but also has a xt 660,

oh yes thats the group,me luke,dee,dave,shayne and kev,

a variety of bikes including 2 armstrongs,

more to follow dave.

[Wirralman]

You're clearly taking this seriously. Are the riders also preparing with gym training and beer drinking ?

I look forward to hearing about your next adventure !

[deadgrass.]

a bit of training/testing for me and shayne round Derbyshire tet,



our luke was left to swap his damaged shocks from the last trip,unfortunately he forgot to put the stand under the bike first,eee we did laugh,



i think im taking it far too seriously,new titanium cup and cut down instant tea to fit inside,



a bit of security ally box section safe,



anyhow dave and kev were over at the mt big meet in wales befor we left, me and shayne had a ireland trip planned befor the date for the big meet was announced so missed it but dave had mentioned our trip to Simon [bunker],the next week simon messaged me to say to call in at his as we were passing his doorstep with offers of tea and bacon, i greatly accepted,



route planning was under way, we did a breif trip last year to Northern spain and Portugal and had planned to return this year with more time,the plan was simple, ride south for 7 days then ride north for 7 days.

more to follow dave.

[arceye]

Bet Frank could pick that lock.

[deadgrass.]

so, the start of the trip didn't go as smoothly as planned,the day before we were due to leave kev put a message on the WhatsApp group he'd decided not to come,
pressure's of life etc, but to cut a long storey short we were having none of it and arangements were made with a couple of calls to his mrs to call and collect him,
this meant a change of plans down to the ferry [a quick call to Simon to cancel,he was very supportive cheers mate] anyhow we gathered oop north with shayne posing in his brand new pair of waterproof alpinestar boots ready to make our way south,



half way down the rains arrive,this slows our progress but we should be okay then near Petersfield daves armstrong decides to cut out ,we pull over and eventually get it started we're not too far from Goodwood now so crack on but again on a dual carriageway daves bike stops,we're now split up with the busy evening traffic,we pull over where we can wait,thankfully dave appears and we're off again.

we arrived at Kev's with a volley of bikes revving outside,we spot his xt660 loaded up his mrs had talked him round,that'll do.

A quick cup of tea and we're off ,it's throwing it down but we make it to Portsmouth just in time,they asked us to close the departure lanes behind us.



we get our first pint of the trip cheers



more to follow,

dave.

[deadgrass.]

we had booked the two night ferry as it drops you off at 8am as opposed to the one night crossing that drops you at 4pm which means you need a camp site soon,
its swings and roundabouts i guess, anyhow we ride the motorway and roads west until we get to the part of the spanish tet that leads south towards portugal, once on the trails we settle in to a fortnight of offroad riding gaining confidence as we go,sometimes a little too confident,







luke also has an off damaging one of his bags thats carrying tools and spares,dave also has a luggage problem with his bags sagging onto the exhaust,



we pull over for a rest and daves bike has a starter button problem so he repairs [not a bad place for a breakdown]



once again were on the trails when Dave has a hard impact on his foot its aggravated an old injury and is swolen its been a hard start,time to find our first camp.

were somewhere near Leon,if were looking a bit tired its because we are lol,a few beers before setting camp,





once set-up we check the days toll,





kev has a bit of straightening to do and dave has a slight patching up job,we also find out luke has lost all the parts and tools he'd brought,

food wasn't being served at the campsite tonight so a walk into the village was on [only 10mins walk]

unfortunately dave wasn't up to the walk and wanted to have a look at the intermittent electrical problem his bike was still suffering,

Dave was suffering a bit now foot,bike,tent and was contemplating a return to port at this stage [not surprising really he's had a hard day]

having being told by dave he'd be fine and to go to get food we left for the village,

once there food and drink was well deserved,



we wander back to camp with a full pizza box for dave,

choices for tommorow will be made in the morning,

more to follow dave.

[deadgrass.]

Well tomorrow is another day, After a good nights sleep and a bit of bike mending,[dave had found a loose connection] kev had straightened his brake lever and luke had found a children's zip line,all's well with the world,

The new plan was for he and kev to ride tarmac south to a favorite camp of ours in Portugal and me,luke,shayne and dee would ride the trails further south,

We were to leave first as we had the longer route,we didn't get far, dont know who packed the roofing tile but it came in handy ,



A while later dave and kev rode past oblivious to our situation lol,

unbeknown to us at the time further up the road kev was getting stopped by the local cops for erratic riding,[his bike was also playing up we'd had to bump start it to get on the ferry] it was running out of electricity and missing ,thankfully dave delt with the cops calmer than kev [he was frustrated with the bike not the cops] they were fine once explained,

anyway it was a ride of two half's and it was our turn again[well lukes],

A picture paints a thousand words,



Puncture no two,



don't know who packed them two rocks but they came in handy ,

We rode the two hard sections of the ACT part one as shayne had had an off last year on these and hurt his ribs so we had to try again,



thankfully no problems this time as hed already bruised himself on day one,



The lads reached camp first and booked us all in, dave had managed to befriend a fellow camper and traded a roll of tape for his umbrella [yes you read it properly],







He'd made a very good job as he was concerned about a Portuguese night predator called a Willypeed apparently, dont know who put that in his head ?

anyhow,we were now once again six,



thankfully its downhill to camp,



more to follow dave.

[deadgrass.]

Day three dawns, luke has been suffering a loose gear lever problem [it wont tighten onto the shaft properly and keeps striping the 6mm bolts we have] he and dee google motorcycle shops nearby and find a couple in the village,they head off to get help,kev has a look at the yamahas electric's [dave calls his mate who knows about these and suggests its the connector to the rectifier] he's correct a common problem apparently,





once all sorted we leave on the road to give dave a bit more recovery time,

around dinnertime we stop for fuel and a drink,



here we decide four of us will hit the trails for a few hours while dave and kev will find the next camp,

we again meet up at camp and head off into town,













we're here while the European football championship is on so me and kev find a pub on the way back to camp and settle down with the locals to watch Portugal play,

Portugal take a win and its a strange atmosphere compared to here in England at the end of the game the viewers stand and clap their team, very civilised,

in the morning dave is feeling more up for some trails so we follow the tet trail again,



weathers not too dry today,







apparently the highest part of the Portuguese part of the trip,







we had some seriously bad weather up in the mountains today and were happy to find a camp,







more to follow dave.

[deadgrass.]

The weathers better today so we head off for the trails,







unfortunately luke tent and chair falls off his bike at the bottom of this hill,we spot his tent falling but miss the chair,his mt is getting lighter by the day

the act trail takes you to this place,we stop for food and a brew,







we again hit the trails for a couple of hours befor our luke has another issue,





exhaust bracket broken,

we bodge for now with a bit of wire,

we plough on a bit until it looks like its going to get worse then luke and kev opt for a camp whilst the rest of us follow the route for another hour before meeting up at a arranged site,



when we reach they already have the epoxy putty out and a repair is under way,

there's a bar and restaurant on site and England's playing tonight





pork chips and rice tonight,with a shared starter of chicken gizzards, [throat],

more to follow dave.