Spanish Adventure Part 2

 

Spanish Adventure

Part Two.

 

Overnight in Valladolid and another bright sunny morning to explore the old historic town. Not much time to do anything with the prospect of temperatures reaching into the thirties as the day progressed and so did we, south towards our next destination in Caceres 217 miles. The old part of the town had restricted access and parking was in a secure municipal underground facility that was in amongst the narrow streets. You have to go slow as junctions are not marked and there is no right of way. I remember a moron in a white van even trying to overtake on a street that was only one car width. That was the most eventful part of the journey. It was all motorway work keeping at a speed not quite with the lorries. The long inclines were too much for 602cc with frequent excursions into third gear to cope with the load we were carrying and mindful of the cost of fuel at 2.20 euros per litre. Care with the throttle to get as many miles as we could from each drop of fuel.

The hotel was right on the main square and it being a Friday night it was a bit noisy. We grabbed a beer in a bar and watched the world go by for a bit and then went to a restaurant for a meal. Accommodation for Saturday night was a problem with booking as I had a plan to visit Cordoba but hotels in our price range were just not available. Saturday is wedding day in Spain and finding paces if difficult so the reason for the location of the next hotel. For want of a better description it was a gastropub. It was in a relatively remote village of Hornachuelsos on country lanes, some 175 miles away and more than four hours of slow driving up hill and down dale hairpin bends and steep off camber corners to keep you on the ball. 

We arrived just in time to pick up the keys to the room and get two beers before they closed up at 4pm until 7pm when they opened for the evening session. In this small village there was no street parking only a car park at the back of a block of flats that everyone seemed to use. It was not a secure set up.  We escaped for a walk around the village and found the church and the castle. Highlight was finding the Ferreteria. It is as the name suggests somewhere to ferret around in. It is the local general store which has everything in from electrical goods to building materials, cooking utensils and stationary. A gold mine of stuff!

We eventually ate in the pub and after a walk around the village left the locals to it which was around the pizzeria. There was not much to do there so it was not surprising they had a play with the car stealing the tow ball cover and bouncing it a few feet from where it was parked over night. Other than that incident people were very respectful and left things well alone and in other parking areas there were no problems.

Hornachuelsos was bitter sweet and no breakfast as they did not open again until 10am. I left there annoyed but by the time we had reached the next town we found somewhere to have breakfast  my demeanour improved. Our next destination less than a hundred miles away and again another country lanes drive to Ronda and a two night stop in a five star Paradore.

 

Spanish Adventure Part 1

                                                          Spanish Adventure.

Part One

We had just packed our Indian side of the family off home on the Sunday and set about packing for our journey. We were on our way to Barcelona to see our daughter Neema in a Musical. We were to drive there in the El Cid with all of Neema’s stuff that she could not take on a plane. The car was full to overflowing. The cat went into the cattery on the Tuesday morning and we went off to Bristol to stay with my brother Adrian overnight before continuing on to Plymouth to catch the ferry to Santander. We thought it best to break the journey as neither I nor Gita had done any big journeys in a car since the first lock down and were a bit a bit “rusty”. We filled up with fuel at Sainsbury’s at Plymouth and headed in to the ferry port. All going quite smoothly until at check-in we needed a Covid passport. Shock-horror the proof of vaccination was not enough. It had to be digital. I have two gripes here. The Government website gave all the either, ors but did not say that it was essential. Brittany Ferries only told us that at check-in. As a first-time foreign traveller since 2019 I had been on-line checking what was needed and no-one said that you MUST have a Covid Passport!

So sitting with one hour to go I went on line and registered ten finding out how to do it showed Gita. I hate doing things on my phone. My fingers do not work well with touch screens. I found that out when they were first introduced in 1995 where it is with laser beam or touch sensitive screens they will not work consistently because that I have trepidation about using them. It is infuriating when you touch an icon and it does nothing or something that you have not touched and I can demonstrate that time and again that modern technology fails me. People with size one fingers complain I am doing it wrong but then they are not using my size 9’s. My Covid passport arrived in minutes but Gita’s was still pending. We were waiting still as the last cars checked. This level of tension I could do without. We may not be able to travel and that would mess up all the pre-booked hotels. We had help from the check-in people who were pleasant and considerate as we waited for the Covid passport to come through. It had started to rain to match our desperate mood.  Just over the hour it came through and we checked-in. Relief there was still time as we joined the Passport queue. We had made first trauma of the holiday had been dealt with. Plain sailing now but that was not to be. Gita was seasick and wasted a complete dinner until she took some seasickness pills. Sea Legs. They are good for her and bought them in New Zealand in 2011. As we disembarked from the ferry there was a niggling rattle that was like a loose tappet but did not match the engine noises. It was not the engine.

 Pressing on we reached our first hotel 155miles south of Santander. Enjoying the sunshine and heat that we both needed and can only get from southern Europe. The overnight stop was at Valladolid in the four star Filipe IV hotel which was a great place to stay  but the car parking was in a prohibited pedestrian area and going, what seemed, the wrong way down a one way street.

We had survived day one in Spain and driving through rush hour traffic to find the hotel was an experience to be repeated a number of times as I had booked hotels as near to the centre of town with secure parking.

April 2022

 

April 2022

 

I almost did not do a post this month not because there was nothing to write about but I have a number of ongoing projects and the decision when to document them is the real problem in that when  is the time to do it as mostly they are parts of a complete whole but still unfinished. As usual there are some jobs around the house that have to be done. This month the cold side of a mixer tap in the bathroom had no cold water coming out of it. I had to make a castellated nut spanner to dismantle the tap, which was fine so the problem was in the supply. The problem was in the pipe between the isolation valve and the tap. To get to it I had to remove all the panels surrounding the sink to gat at the pipe with the blockage being a disintegrating fibre washer in the coupling. The washer had migrated into the pipe and took a bit of poking to get it out. Have you ever tried to get a specific sized fibre washer? I can assure you it is not easy. The solution was from an unusual source. Lidl has boxes of fibre and rubber washers and one, although not the correct size, did fit and is still doing the job. 

Next was the boiler service. I was told that it was kettling and would need a new heat exchange or a flush out. Neither would be done at the service. I was not impressed by what they covered in the service and told the engineer so. I decided that a flush would be done and got the flushing agent and inhibitor from Screwfix. I drained the system down as much as I could and put the cleaning agent in and left it for a week. This stopped the kittling noise straight away. The system needed to be drained and flushed three times with the fourth fill the inhibitor was added. What a palaver and it took all day to do it. At this time I was doing other things like working on an aluminium cover to fit below the spare wheel and when I finished that one a cover to hide the filler neck, sender unit and fuel pipe over the petrol tank.

In between was Easter and a visit from my brother Adrian. He arrived Good Friday and left on the next Wednesday. It was action packed. Saturday we went to Brooklands for the day. As we were approaching the car park we were flagged down by a steward and asked if we had booked. For what? A Classic Car day. They let me in on my BCMT card, British Motorcycle Trust, and were directed to a parking area along with lots of other classic cars near the bus museum. There were so many cars there I just had to take a picture from high up on the banking. I was promptly told off for doing that! 

Sunday we were off to the Citroen 2CVB national meeting near Ely in Cambridgeshire. At registration we were asked to join the line up of different models of 2CVs in the arena. I didn’t win any prizes but did get a few spares including a big spanner to tighten the drive shaft nuts. I was also introduced to people who could help me with my hood replacement on the El Cid. Another good day out. The front tyres were squealing on roundabouts and there were allot of them on the trip. The kingpins had just been replaced and things disturbed. Another job to do. 

Monday the relatives arrive from Assam with six large suitcases. Lots of presents and gifts for everyone.

Tuesday was our trip to Whitewebbs Transport Museum and another full on day out in the El Cid. After Adrian went home on the Wednesday I was trying to find someone to check the tracking and get it adjusted. I think everyone was on holiday that week. I was out of luck. How easy is it to do the tracking on a 2CV? Have a look on UTube. A vernier and a piece of string wrapped around all four wheels. I tried it and it does work. The most difficult problem was one rusted adjuster that took a bit of freeing up. It took a few hours of repeated tweaking and measuring that got the toe in of slightly negative to over doing it and then back to within range of zero to 3mm toe out. I set it at 1.7mm.

The next drive out was for Drive It Day on Sunday April 24^th. Again with the 2CV club on a country route criss crossing the Thames from Henley to Chertsey. Nice to see everyone again after Covid. Good day out and no squealy tyres.

 

March 2022

 

March 2022

 

It is now April and March is receding fast in my memory with a few notable things that went on that included a trip to Whitewebbs Museum of Transport on the Buell. I took my old friend George on the back for this little trip, some 80 miles in total. Bear in mind that George is a fit octogenarian but he did require a bit of assistance getting on and off the Buell.  Velocette man through and through he had a pleasant ride with me and is game for doing it again.

Talking of Velocettes we eventually had the LE Club Christmas Curry at my place with Gita providing a range of curries that everyone enjoyed. It was warm and sunny that day and we spent most of the time in the garden. We postponed it from just before Christmas because of Covid and so many people being unwell. The next week was so different as I ventured out in the El Cid to Staines and Citroen Classics to get the kingpins replaced. Snow flurries added to the chilling cold. Gita was ill and not well enough to be my lift home so it was public transport for me. I was going to hang around in Staines until the car was ready. I had not planned to travel home but the job was going to take longer than anticipated. What did not help was that the access to the bus station in Staines one of the exit routes was blocked so the pickup points were relocated to the other side of the town and I had no idea where they were. I had a choice of a bus to Heathrow or one to Hounslow. As there was no bus at the time to Heathrow and I had found the bus stop for the one to Hounslow and one was due I took that one so as not to freeze. I had already been walking around Staines for an hour searching for a bus. I’ll not bore with more details other than it took nearly three more hours to get home. I could have walked it faster it was only twelve miles away. No wonder why a car is so important. I picked up the EL cid the next day and the TfL route took two hours. The day after I was not well. Having spent almost five hours on the buses it is not surprising I caught something.

March was not a good month for things. The Buell battery died and had to be replaced and a light switch in the study jettisoned its lever. I have never seen that before. In the breakage department the twist grip on the Valiant failed to twist anymore because the casting had cracked so a bit of metal and some araldite fixed it.

A more constructive side of the month kept me busy with making another treasure chest for the grandson. He is a bit young but I have to get on with things while I have materials and how I did it. When I had finished I started on a fibre glass cover for a space below the spare on the van. I started with a plywood former and built up layers to get a reasonable strength. It looks fine but so heavy. 

I then  I made an aluminium one around a pattern, something I had never done before and this will lead me on to another project. Playing with glass fibre I had to reposition the bolt that holds the spare wheel in place. This was necessary as the bolt had been positioned for a 125x15 and I am to use 135x15 wheels. I ordered a new rim from ECAS for the El Cid and that needed painting as I have to change all the tyre sizes to 135X15 and I still have two wheels shod with 125 tyres. I can still get 125 tyres but they are twice the price of 135 tyres and I use these tyres on the Burton. A note for the van is 135 cross country/winter tyres are easily available and a better choice over a 125 tyre.

February 2022

 

February 2022

 

How many more storms are we to have this month? I have repaired the damage fairly quickly. It was a flying piece of wood that struck the left wing mirror on the Burton snapping it off at the ball swivel and only needing a 4mm button head allen screw through the middle of the ball to hold it together again. It took a few days as I had yet another cold and couldn’t face doing the job.

 I have had a good number of projects on the go including making stone guards for the van, wind shields for the double burner cooker, a wooden box to transport the cooker in, a bespoke trailer cover, new tyres on the back of the El Cid also new HT coil and leads, getting quotes for a new hood, repairing a leaking radiator valve in the bedroom and making a treasure chest for four year old granddaughter. I have also read The Stink Wheel Saga which is all about clip-on engines for bicycles that found favour post World War Two as cheap transport was needed but by the mid fifties their popularity was on the decline and replaced with purpose built Mopeds. A very interesting read with some of the engines described be quite innovative and powerful. As good as they were they were no match for machines like the NSU quickly. 

Around last September I did a design for the windshield of a double burner cooker. I got someone to undertake the making of it. Only a few weeks was the promise. I finally collected it in the New Year. Covid had intervened. The shield required fitting to the cooker requiring use of button head bolts and washers for spacers. Not much of a job, but fiddly. 

That done a plywood box with hinges and toggle clasps to hold it all together. That took about a week waiting for glue to harden off and varnish to dry. I also constructed two lap trays from a design I saw over Christmas from salvaged bits of wood. Varnished in walnut gloss they looked quite antique so this prompted the latest project creating a treasure chest that I have just completed.

Then trailer cover was similarly delayed. Finished in bright red vinyl to match the Burton. I had done mods to the trailer for carrying large numbers of suitcases but the need did not arise as the Indian family were not able to get here for Christmas. It seems that everyone is so busy that there is several months backlog. The lead in time for a replacement hood is three months. I thought that some small business would go out of business during Covid but they seem to be busier than ever. I had the El Cid stop on me going to the off road bike show. I thought it was the carburettor, but that did not appear to have anything wrong with it so I tried the new ht coil and leads stolen from the van engine. I piggy backed them to the existing coil and gave it a go. After a few weeks of testing the problem did not reoccur. It was the ht coil overheating when I put on the grill muff for cold conditions. The coil was fine as long as long as there was cooling air flowing over it but would fail when the muff was fitted or stuck in traffic. It is not cooled by the engine fan. It took a few hours to remove the coil and fit the new in its place. Another job done. New tyres were fitted now the old ones had worn to the tread depth marker. I am testing them out on the rear to make sure they do not rub the body work and they are slightly larger than previously fitted.

On a mild day I made and fitted the stone guards to the van. They required a bit of three dimensional bending to get them to fit the bodywork. The rationale for fitting them is the rear wheels will be driving so the risk of stones being thrown up is high. The path of the stones puts the fuel pipe and light wiring in the firing line and I thought it would be prudent to protect them.

Christmas 2021

 

Thoughts for Christmas 2021

 

In spite of having had a cold, followed by a Covid booster jab I’ve still been ticking off little jobs. One that gave me some problems is how to tie down the LE to the trailer. I had made something a while ago which worked but pressure on the frame left rub marks so I wanted something better as there will be more frequent trailering in the future. I mused and fussed over what to do. Something under the seat but not over it as this can do damage to the seat base and also the cover. I have now come up with this version of the securing post. Straps can be attached on the upright section while an under the saddle overall strap over the horizontal guides. How this will work in practice I will have to find out but the information gained going to and from the Off Road Bike Show at the beginning of December was invaluable. Much of the old one has been re-used in making the new piece of mechanical art. I also made a new battery strap from 3mm bungee cord.

In November I had a visit to Whitewebbs Museum and left out this bit in the previous post but as Triumph has an electric bicycle I thought the interest in a Triumph electric bicycle from the fifties would deserve a mention. Not as sophisticated as the modern ones but very practical in that it is bolted to the front off-side fork leg and drives the front wheel by chain. Talking of Triumphs I appreciate the introduction of the 660 triple adventure bike, Tiger Sport.  Every manufacturer has their, too tall, too big and too top heavy version and for those real adventure people 300 to 400cc off road bikes or trail bikes are what they use. I’m a fan of Itchy Boots, she is on a 300 Honda and is managing to do some difficult stuff on her latest adventure riding to Alaska on mostly dirt roads.

Having just got the warranty work done on the airbag system on the fifteen year old Toyota Verso I was surprised they even bothered on that age of car. Job done for Christmas. I am now using premium fuel in that one along with all the other bikes and cars I have. The tickover had become rough and slow on the E10 fuel. I feel I have been forced to the more expensive option because what the government is foisting on us in not fit for purpose. Reports of dramatic drops in fuel economy hit the news regularly. We are paying for it by using more fuel. Ethanol does not have the thermal efficiency of petrol. It does not help the combustion process either. It removes some of the effectiveness of the burn. Not only is the fuel diluted 10% but it takes out 10% of the efficiency of the burn. In fact 20% loss in performance can be anticipated. You may as well just add water! That is not as daft as it sounds because water removes ethanol from petrol. Petrol and water do not mix so water extracts ethanol from petrol but you want to do it before you put it in your tank. Ethanol does not want to be there anyway better to leave it to be consumed other ways. Further to this is how is the ethanol is processed? It has to be distilled from an organic brew and I guess the distillation process is cheaper than that of petrol means even more profit for those selling it at the pump. Burning 20% more fuel does not fit with trying lower CO2 in our cities. Profits override everything. Covid is doing a better job. Working from home, fewer cars on the roads with a fear of going anywhere that could put you at risk. Best to stay in bed to manage it all.

Happy Christmas to one and all.

Off Road Bike Show 2021

 

Off Road Bike Show 2021.

 

This Kempton Park show brings us up to date but in the preceding week was quite busy with visits from the grandchildren over the weekend and our son’s birthday on the Monday and a visit to Whitewebbs Museum on Tuesday with George coming along. The visit was to ask about doing a curry event there with a view to promoting Gita’ cuisine. As usual things have to go to committee and we have to wait for a response. The gem of the day were the deliveries of two famous sports cars, both having been driven by the late Sterling Moss, the Cooper T51 and Connaught ASLR. Beautifully turned out they will make an impressive display. Don’t delay as they are only stabled at the museum over this winter and will be gone in the spring when the new season of classic racing begins.

This week has deteriorated into colds and nasty coughs for both of us. Problems with the show as two of the exhibitors had become ill and would not be there. Plan B was put into action by Janet and backups were substituted to keep the display up to par. I was not too bad on Thursday as I got bits ready for the show finding all the ratchet straps, bungey cords the things that hold the bike to the trailer. The car had a wash and polish, the LE had a wash and polish and a start up.  Friday I was not feeling quite so good with a streaming nose as I assembled the trailer. I managed to get the LE on the trailer on my own and successfully strapped it down. Trailer board lights worked and I was ready to go. Things were stable on the trailer and I was making steady progress to Kempton Park. That is until I got to Feltham and the engine died. I pushed of the road on to a wide pavement in front of a Florist where removed the pilot jet to find it was clean and the fuel pipe for blockages which had a lot of pressure inside it. Adjacent to the fuel pipe is a built in fuel filter in the carburettor which I removed and refitted and lo we were mobile again. It was not long before I was on the allocated stand with the LE waiting for reinforcements to arrive. It did not take long to create the scene with our back drop being a large picture of an open road. The remaining bikes would be arriving tomorrow as there was no more for me to do I went off home not feeling well.

Janet on Friday

Saturday dawned but I missed it. I messaged Janet that I would be late getting to the show. The reply was gratifying but I would have to go at some time to pick up the LE. The thought of not going out almost made me stay at home. I felt a little better and made my way to the show. I did not expect it but when I arrived I was bombarded with questions about the LE not only from club members but visitors as well. It made it worth all the effort. Seeing my travels on the big screen made it an impressive stand at the show.

The Gang

 

As I had been absent the bike information had not been displayed or the voting for the best stand so we didn’t win any prizes as the judges were not able to judge us. I don’t know if the effort generated any new members but it seemed everyone enjoyed the event and want to do another one. That would be the Southern Classic Show in May. Something to look forward to.