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FleetwoodMac, Peter Green, brings me back to this years Rory Gallagher Festival in Ballyshannon, with a lot of less familiar bands playing music of Rory Gallagher of course but also a lot of Peter Green. Oh Well(1) and Shadow Play, made the crowd go bezirk (big pogo in front of the stage) to such an extend that the artists feared for their audience. Great time.

Not really sure where to post this, but last night on a trip to Paris with my wife, I stumble upon this beauty in an antique store window (called Lila's Antiquities). Seems to be all aluminum Guzzi - not sure what the donor model is. Went back today to arrange for shipping ([emoji16]), but they are closed til Wednesday. Leaving Paris tomorrow, but will be emailing them soon. Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

First of all, I will be in Paris during that time. So, a quick hop using one of those fast train Paris to Milano is within the realm of possibility. I have not made up my mind yet. Nowadays, you no longer need to go to these sort of exhibitions in person given the number of YouTubers we will broadcast the event for you. Previously, it used to be possible to actually climb on the bikes, to get a feel for the position. I watched several of the Vlog of EICMA 2023, and it seemed that many manufacturers now prohibit seating on motorcycles. It was the case for Moto Guzzi for example. If you remove this ability, then there is not much reason to go there in person. In any case, I am planning to resplenish my motorcycling attire and accessories.

A lot of cut off roads, I'll go exploring where I can.

Never do the Great Ocean Road on a weekend......Full stop! Cheers

In the land of @Lucky Phil & @pete roper and ran into the same problem at the signature places. Went to the 12 Apostles on Sunday and it was packed full of tourists, largely of Indian and Chinese extraction. I blame the tour buses. And Sundays! Experienced London in summer, and it was packed with Europeans, mostly French & German judging by the easily recognizable speech. Hereford was quiet & Cornwall quite surprisingly not crowded although the beaches were. I think the solution is to stay away from signature places and only visit in the low season as @pete roper does. But the problem really is social media (instagram, tiktok & facebook) and the hordes of people who want to experience the world and have the (fiat) means to do so. I like stumbling on nice places on my motorcycle like Whytecliff park in Vancouver … but then it turned out that it was insta-famous as I noticed there were lots of strange people taking dangerously self-aggrandizing photographs on the rocks. Or perhaps the solution is to go to places where there’s a tribe you can identify with, like say Phillip Island on a track-day. Then the strange customs become familiar and understandable — like earplugs at a racetrack in contrast to the baffling wads of coconut-oiled cotton-wool in Indian-ears at the Apostles. I really appreciate places like whale beach in the shoulder season, where one gets looks from the locals that are somewhere between curious and aloof (I hasten to add that the locals were friendly and pointed out a whale waving its flipper at us) as it’s an indication that they’re not much trafficked. Anyway, I blame much of what ails this planet on fiat money, and mass tourism is but one (most annoying) symptom of that. Now get off my lawn!!

It has never been started stateside that I know of. The man I purchased it from knew the original dealerships owner and after he died and the son sold the dealerships the new owner went 100% American brand only. So the son sold this and other new un prepped Guzzi's to the man i bought it from.

SNL used to do a continuing skit where a fake Buckingham was always a guest on the skit's 'show' but they always ran out of time before he could talk. This time the real LB showed up, Watch Paul Simon. He knows.

Whether the extreme weather can be attributed to a single thing, no doubt CO2 emissions and global warnings are contributors. For sure what was considered a 500 year flood have now been revised to 5 year flood. I think before we get the climate straightened out over the next 3 or 4 generations to heal (100+ years perhaps), we'll have to reconsider reconstruction, flood plains, and better infrastructure. Some places shouldn't be built back, It might also mean that planning and restrictions on how much "higher ground" can be controlled by a few. Can it be done? I think so. The Netherlands and Venice have shown the technology and big infrastructure does work to protect from flooding. I think The Netherlands is one of the most rationally run nations in the world. But even in America, we're not going to be able to build like that for everyone, everywhere. We'll have to have priorities as I wrote previously. I've obviously stepped over the line here, so I apologize. I'll drop it here.

Lindsey Buckingham is a highly under rated Artist...Although Billboard does rate him as one of the TOP 100 guitarists of all time...He is self taught..does not read music..but that finger Picking...OH MAN. He wrote this song and was pissed off when singing it to her live for the first time on stage here..right after she had walked out on him..She only got the job with Fleetwood Mac because Mick wanted him for a guitar player and he insisted they hire her too or he wouldnt accept the role..she was his longtime girlfriend at the time...no good deed ever goes unpunished. ha ha

Example of simple oil question: "Oil?" Example of simple answer: "Yep."

At what point does this turn into the dreaded oil thread?

I'll take all that off your hands.. and use it.

Ah. I am the Goofman and I approve this idea.🛫

I thought I recognized those , but this will be of no help . . . Let's not give up, though. Those risers look worth identifying . . .

It’s a forum worth saving, I say we go for a deasnt seat across the pond next year for Jaap. We can make that happen . Cheers Tom.

Today I received a big envelope with some really nice goodies and letters from the US. Thank you ‘spine raiders’ 🙏 And especially Docc! Hope you had a great weekend.

Thanks for letting us know. Godspeed, Bill. You are missed.

I always like to pick a favorite from Bill's lovely slideshows . . .

Yes, finally. My pix of SSR XX. Lots of reasons for my tardiness in gathering, culling, and adding captions, including general sloth and lethargy. These are, if not quite ready for prime time, they are probably "good enough." Even if barely that, consider that I started with 452, and deleted 300+. In other words, could have been worse. As usual with my pix, opens in “collage landscape,” and you can hover your cursor over the individual to see the captions, but those are easier to read in slideshow format. Bill's Pix of SSR XX September 2024 Bill

It seems the proper term is " giallo " . . . (pronounced: JAHL-oh )

cruise ship in front of st marks? i’ve not sent that in my biannual visits, they're always over at the cruise ship parking area on the south side. that said, venice is certainly a place that used to be sort of busy when i was younger and would visit, but has become a total zoo. but even there, there are ways to enjoy. spend the hard-earned $$ to stay on one of the islands at a fancy hotel, and just shuttle in on the private hotel shuttles to mingle with the masses and see those sights, then back to the quiet of isola delle rose, or one of the other islands. i’ll save money at other places, but if i’m bringing someone to venice, i tell them to pony up, to transform that stop into something worth doing. i’d think neuschwanstein would be one of the good spots to hit in the “roper season”, the off season he spoke of. used to be the shoulder seasons were good, but those are jammed now as well, so gotta go full-scale opposite of prime season! Roper also mentioned the non-anglo areas, a great option. mainland japan has been crowded in its huge cities forever, but the smaller islands of japan that i’ve visited are full of beautiful sites for touring on a motorcycle, thin crowds, and such pleasant, non-self-centered people. i look forward to getting back.

Nice story Pete. My good wife also reminded me that since my 80's sojourns around Europe the wall has come down and China and India now have burgeoning middle classes. So Eastern European, Russian, Chinese and Indians and probably more I haven't thought of are now travelling. Phil

I’d say that while yes, it is a ‘Western World’ phenomenon it is generally more of an anglophone western phenomenon, certainly my experiences in non-English speaking cultures in the last couple of decades have generally been more favourable. There is also the simple matter of history. History and sums! For the last half millenium at least western culture has been, both geographically and politically dominant. The historical narrative, at least the one most people absorb, is western and Eurocentric. Now other countries and cultures are becoming wealthier a proportion of their citizens will want to travel and when you are looking at countries like China and India with populations of over a billion a piece it doesn’t take many as a percentage to mean that their chosen destinations will become overwhelmed. Throw in ‘Our’ own boomers who have retired and want to see a bit of the world, often in a cocooned and ‘Safe’, ie, familiar environment that never takes them out of their comfort zone and it all turns into a rapidly evolving train wreck! I don’t think that the majority of these people are bad or unpleasant. Just boorish impatient and demanding. The way Jude and I tackle it is probably a bit unusual in that we try to avoid big ticket ‘Name’ destinations like the plague and if we do want to go somewhere where you know it’s always going to be insanely busy we go, as we do in most places, in the depths of winter as this tends to thin the tourists out a bit. On top of this we like to go to, and actively prefer, to stay in poorer, less developed and smaller towns and villages. Apart from the fact locals in bars and restaurants are always fascinated by WHY these strange, little old white haired pensioner people have come all the way from Australia to their little turdpoke village in Abruzzo or wherever! Then they want to know if you are on first name terms with their cousin in Griffith in the Riverina in NSW or their son Claudio who is a waiter in Adelaide etc etc ! In the UK we only drop down below the imaginary line we’ve drawn between the Bristol Channel and the Wash to visit relatives as anywhere below that line is an overpriced zoo with far, far too many people, most of whom think they are terribly special and are crying out for a good ‘Throat Punch’! Above the line things are infinitely better. There are still pockets of asshattery and some of the cities are really grim after 45 years of almost uninterrupted Tory destruction but the population density is way lower, it’s cheaper and the locals, (Outside the grim cities.) are friendly and helpful. It is also the cradle of the Industrial Revolution with history and museums to die for. The countryside, even in mid winter when it can be pretty bleak, is beautiful and once you get into Northumbria and Northumberland and thence on to Scotland the geography and landscapes are simply breathtaking. There is plenty of interesting Roman history to tickle my fancy in the borderlands areas and once into the highlands the austere magnificence is hard to beat although the lack of trees in the far north can cause issues! In January on one trip we were travelling around the A9 across the top of Scotland and had picked up some picnic vittles in Wick. After nearly getting stuck when it stated snowing the weather cleared and we continued but Jude got a bee in her bonnet about finding a picnic table and eating out of the car. Somewhere just west of Thurso she spotted a side road with a sign depicting a picnic spot so we hung a right and went down to the small rest area on the coast. It had a beautiful little beach, (Surprisingly devoid of naked Germans because as you know wherever you go in the world if you find a nice beach it will have some ageing banker from Düsseldorf and his hausfrau lying around with their kit off! Even in Scotland in January!) The absence of trees though belied the fact that it was in fact blowing about a force five gale! As we gathered up our meal of some cold cuts and proper English Cheddar the sun broke through the clouds and shafts of sunlight speared down onto the snow covered Orkney islands to the north, it was like the dawn of the world and stunning to behold! When we got out of the car though the gale was all too apparent but my darling helpmeet insisted we go and sit at the table, which we duly did and I set about hacking up the Baguette I’d bought in Wick. Jude unwrapped the 1/2 Kg of delicious cloth wrapped cheddar and sat it down on the table just as a particularly strong gust of wind hit, picked it up and sent it whistling off in the direction of Stromness never to be seen again! One assumes some lucky guillemot or puffin probably dined well that day! Anyway, after that even Jude thought discretion was the better part of valour and we retreated back to the car! And continued our trip! Sure, in the summer it would have been warmer, the wind would probably of been gentler and we might of got to eat some cheese! But at the same time the A9 across the top of Scotland is in some places only a single lane road with passing pull-offs. In summer it would be gridlocked with morons towing caravans and other assorted mouth breathers! We were probably lucky to see two cars an hour! Anyway! Enough. My main message is pick the ‘Wrong’ time to travel and you’ll find it’s likely to be the ‘Right’ time!

Yes Mick it's a western world phenomena.

That's what I get for calling FEMA durtee bastids.

XX plans were scrubbed due to my good friend and riding brother having lost a gallant battle with lymphoma just a few weeks out from the weekend. He loved the time we spent at the spine raids, and thoroughly enjoyed the bourbon and chatter at the evening doings. He was looking forward to bringing his new bike, a KTM 790 Duke. Some of you will know him as the not-a-guzzi-yet guy that brought a different bike every time. Bill Warrick, on the left