Septumbrage 

Hi achternaam,

Life can take a radical diversion as a result of one dumb moment. Just ask Romano Fenati, now famous for all the wrong reasons he allowed a brain fart to trash a promising career.

Motorcycling's like that, it's a game where a few seconds inattention or a dumb error can have drastic consequences. Not only do we have more distraction from technology these days it also comes down to hydration, food choice and the night before's indulgences. How many have avoided disaster by plain old dumb luck? A narrow miss or an "it could-a-been-worse" moment. Hands up... I have!

Total concentration is the key. That's actually part of the attraction, isn't it? A total involvement of the senses. When riding well, nothing else can impinge on the old grey matter. I reckon that's never more true than in the wet.

On one recent soggy spin for an over-nighter in Licola a mate and I plowed through wet, wet road, brown rivulets, falling rocks, leaf and branch litter. Intense concentration and smooth riding in those conditions make for a Zen-like experience in my book. Fine weather riders miss out I reckon.

On a sad note, my alarm clock is dying, I fear it's not much longer for this world. I'm serious, it's gonna be the end of an era. This is a cheapie clock, powered by a single AA battery that needs changing about once a year. I bought it in the first few weeks of my Nursing training in 1983 and it's never missed a beep in 35 years of silent service. It's a mechanical sympathy thing.

Like me, it makes weird noises when it gets picked up off the floor and takes a few minutes to settle afterward. It ticks loudly for about 5 minutes in an off-kilter idle a bit like my old Ducati. The delay between the click of the mechanism and the beeping of the alarm is getting longer.

I always had in mind it would go until it was time for me to retire and never need an alarm clock again. Maybe I should retire when the alarm clock does.

Tempting...

Pannier Special Offer

In 2014 we had Expedition Pannierz produced for us in Fiji for a UK client that reneged. Held in dry storage in Fiji for a couple of years they finally got sick of tripping over them and sent them to us. Now we're tripping over 'em.

They have exactly the same raw materials and the production was supervised by a senior member of our team who was flown over for the purpose.

There are only a few pair of these 4 Pocket Expedition Pannierz available and you get the first dip at them.

We need to get them out of the warehouse so they are being offered at $250 a pair. When they're gone, that's it. No rain checks (I've never really understood why that term is used). Extension Strapz included in the deal. One year warranty against faulty materials and manufacture. Give us a call (03 9786 3445) or Flick us an email and we'll send an invoice that can be paid by direct deposit, credit card or PayPal.

 Be quick there are only a few sets and they're not listed on the website yet.

Testing Times

I was recently sent a pair of Held's Sambia 2-in-1 gloves to trial. I'd heard that they were on the way and have to admit to thinking... Why? I'm a big fan of my Sambia gloves, they are the most comfy summer gloves I've ever used. The "stock" Sambia are great in hot weather and the promise of dye stability has held (wink) good. The perforated kangaroo skin palm provides great feel. After about 2,000km in the 2-in-1, my question remains... Why? Taking nothing away from the 2-in-1, it's up to the usual standard I expect, it is warmer than it should be and didn't leak in a pretty rough winter ride or two. But, they seem lost in the middle ground. The "breezy" layer is too bulky to be great like it's simple brother, especially around the thumb seams.

Like all the Held gloves we've trialed so far, the double wrist strap idea works well. Their gloves can't be removed without the first (red tag) strap being undone. The upper closer is a bit small for my liking and I'd like to see it a little larger on the stock Sambia too actually.

The short story is, I won't stock it at this stage. Air n Dry are a better proposition, are more useful as a 2-in-1 and Sambia work well as they are.

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Soggy mits

While I'm on the subject of gloves...

For some time now I've been of the opinion that the waterproof glove is an oft-misunderstood creature.

I see them as a way to get home from a ride with dry hands, they are not something to head away for a four-day ride and expect them to ward off Hugie's worst. Gore-Tex is a very thin membrane and as long as it is intact will not let water through but it does allow a two-way passage of vapour.

As the days progress the glove outer soaks, while the dampness inside the glove increases from the wet hands we inevitably slip into the glove from stop to stop and from normal sweating. There's nowhere for it to go, it's not going to improve. Even though inside the gloves aren't wet, insulation qualities fall away as the outer "wets out".

As the inner gets damper the risk of inverting the finger lining increases and don't that thrill ya!

That's why I never go any distance from home without my RainOff overgloves and why we liked the company so much we bought it.

Extension Tips

I've been meaning to point out that a set of our Pannier Extensions are really useful as strap extensions too. At 45cm long, they add a handy amount of adjustment.

Moto GP Shop Reminder

It was never gonna last forever, the usual shop we use for the MotoGP Pop Up shop isn't available this year. That means we've had to move back down the street opposite the Woolies shopping centre, just over the road from the Caravan Park.

The all-singin'-all-dancin' shop you've come to expect will be up and running from Wednesday arvo.

It turns out it's the shop on the right not the left

That's about all I have to write at ya for now.

Copyalater