This weekend has been in the diary for months now - the first time i get to spend the whole time on the bike this year. Planning to ride the 200 miles up to Nottingham and then onto a small town where a college friend is having his 50th birthday. Got room in the town center pub, catch up with friends, get drunk, good nights sleep then a long leisurely ride back home for Sunday evening.

Except that after a mild week full of sun the forecast is truly terrible and gets worse throughout the weekend. Thunder and lightening, black clouds, even ice up north on Sunday. And I have a bad cold and chesty cough, up now at 3am because I can't sleep for coughing so much. bummer. Still plan to go though - test out all my winter kit to the max. Maybe sometimes I wish I had heated clothes.

You're a brave man Bic. Gutted for you though. Let's just hope we have a cracking summer this year.

sun splitting the tree,s up here

Done 150 miles, sitting in a Little Chef near Grantham about to have a steak pie. Weather not that bad yet, good to be out on the roads thrashing the SD. Done nearly all of journey on A roads except for the curve round London on the M25. Got a few problems - clutch still slipping at high revs in 4th and 5th but with the roads so wet not really a problem on this journey, got to sort it out though. Planned to stop off at Hemmel KTM on e way up but took a different route and ended up on the A1 instead so missed it, was going to see if they had a set of new plates I could have had.

Also I seem to be having an issue with my new Braketec discs and Brembo M4 callipers but don't know which one it is or whether it's the pads. Feel a high frequency judder through the lever when braking heavily from high speed, it's still awesome braking but it's disconcerting and spoils the feel. It's like there's ABS kicking in all the time, that sort of feel. Don't know what to make of it. Maybe I will change the pads over for start off.

One thing is clear to me. It might be raining and wet and a bit cold. Clutch slipping and juddery brakes. But it's really great to be out on a bike and have all day to do it in and tomorrow as well.

Your a lucky man Bic,,,the weather here is finally breaking to 70 degree's for the next week,, but,, work and my lady making plan's for "my day off" is having the bike sit idle,,your lady must be a true peach among peaches