AGM is now over… And I´m back….

And my story continues… after that I have rolled out Vlad from Richards friendly workshop it was time for another ferry…

This was a short journey over one the many canals in Holland.. took this route due to the fact that my new friend Richard recommended me a very nice campsite… And indeed so it was… It was so nice that I wished that I could have stayed a little longer but I had a ticket booked the following day on the Ferry that would take me to sunny old England…

And when it comes to the English weather there is probably twice as many opinions about it than the number of people that actually lives in the United Kingdom….. I will get back to that subject later….

When I arrived at sunset it was dry and no clouds… temperature was around 16c… A comfortable temperature to ride a bike…. well I got on my way just about the time it went dark but that made it a lot easier to keep an eye on my phone on the handlebars that showed me the way using google maps…

To be riding on the left side of the road is no big problem,,, The biggest challenge doing that in the dark on a sidecar outfit is the that my bike is a bit slower than the average English car….But I did manage to stay clear of the big motorways… This reduced the risk of me being hit in the rear by a Polish Lorry…

And even if my butt now occupies a bit more space than it did when I was young and beautiful it will still loose and argument with the average Scania..

I must say that even if the English motorists sometimes drives like an Italian car thief that just have nicked both the car and the petrol they are polite… And even if the number of cars that had to pass me was very close to the numbers of roundabouts that I had to pass on my way they all politely waited until they could pass… No flashing of lights, no honking horns…

Back to the roundabouts… Well tome it seems like if the British Engineers that work with the roads find when finding a crossroad big enough to paint a circle in the middle of it… They go…” Jolly Good,, bring out the paint… we got our self another roundabout…” And why not… They slow down the traffic a little.. and for me thats good… Its nice to be able to catch my breath every now and then…

Tomorrow my journey continues… Updates will follow….

Fair Winds..

Stefan

I´m a little overwight, and my logbook is far behind…

Six days on the road and I gonna make it home tonight… As some of you might understand I´m back in to theme of Country Music…

Well… I wont make it home tonight.. and thats not my plan…

Back to the story of my trip… Left The Gashaus Block after I had a nice cup of coffee and a chat with the nice Lady that was in charge of the reception.. Set course for Holland… crossed the border without really noticing that I really just did that….

Saw a little fastfood joint and parked outside and went in to get something to eat.. A lot could be said about Holland, or the Netherlands if you prefer that… Its clean, flat and full of nice people.. To be honest it so clean and crispy so I do might understand why they have a liberal approach to the “Wacky Backy” Thats a product from the hemp plant if you wonder…

In a country so nice and clean that you would not be surprised if you suddenly would see Ken and Barbie waving at you from their immaculate garden… Well if you live their then you might need a whiff off that strange stuff they smoke in the coffee shops to stay close to be sane??

And no I´m being sarcastic,, The Dutch are friendly, organized and its amazing to drive trough the countryside… no litter, no graffiti.. just a nice country with nice people..

But back to the food…. and the Dutch… The Dutch got balls. and their balls are big…

Thats a Dutch meatball… Gehaktball… Taste great and its enough food for me to be able to drive for the rest of the day…

Now back to Vlad and his performance/behaviour… While still in Germany I suddenly realized that ther was som oil on my left boot… pulled in to a lay by and it looked like my left valve cover was leaking a little… Not a problem.. I had spare gaskets…

The old one…
New on almost int place…

Then we rode on… when filling up in Holland later on i saw that my left boot now was well and truly waterproof… A visual inspection made me think that I might had a faulty head gasket…. And head gaskets was something I didnt have with me…

So I sat down at gave it all a thought.. The engine was running fine… no strange noice and the power was still there… But when a gave the cylinder another glance I was convinced that it must be something going on with the head gasket..

So what to do?… Should I just top the engine with oil and carry on.. Then try get a new gasket in England?? But then I remembered my old friend Google… And what do you know? Ten kilometers away was a shop called RB Motorhandel… Dealing with Ural and Dnepr and the spares you need to get our trusty old Soviets up and running….

So I called the company… Richard answered… And sure he had the gaskets… He said he would be at work until 17.00,, Well I could just make to the location given to me by Google…

At 16.45 I was in a residential area.. No sign of any shop… but a slightly surprised neigbouhr understood that I was searching for Richard and RB Motorhandel… He called the man … he then typed the right adress in my phone and of I went…

I wound RB Motorhandel.. but the door was locked… what to do..?? Another call to Richard… And then I got the picture… He was at his daytime job and he will met at the shop after he finished att five o clock… What a relief…!!

So I sat down in the lovely sunshine and spent about ten minutes wiping oil from left boot..

Richard then arrives… Just a second he says… He rolled out two sidecar rigs and then waved me and Vlad inside.. And to my surprise he said.. Well then we start the job.. I was just expecting to be able to buy to gaskets and then do work on the roadside… Nope… Richard got his tools out and soon a new gasket and a pushrod was in place.. ( the pushrods was obtained in germany since I have realized that one was slightly bent)

Had a nice chat with this friendly man.. told him that I had designed a couple of T-shirts that I now was trying to get on to the market.. Well he liked them and I had one in his size .. For me this was a golden opportunity to market my products.. so i dug out a couple more and said here is my card and if you want more just send me a mail and will have them shipped…

We talked for a while and showed all of his shop… A very nice place that I´m looking forward to visit soon again… And then.. My question was.. How much do I owe you????? The reply.. for that??? nah thats on the house… and then you should remember… He supplied the parts.. gave me two spare ones and did all the work….

I got a new friend… spares and a opportunity to sell my shirts… !!! So once again.. Kharma… I love you…. =)

And before I end this post… yes I´m a little overwight ( but dont you call it a beer belly…Its an ecologic airbag!!!) and the logbook is one or two days behind… thats due to the fact that I do believe that I need that distance to produce nice enough posts…

So please stay tuned.. I got more to tell you…

Until then…

Fair Winds

Stefan

Another day… And the same song plays on repeat….

And thats a good thing… I have heard people saying that Karma is a bitch… well if so … I would like to marry her…. You will get the picture later on in this text…

After I had left Ural Hamburg it was plain sailing for a while.. I´m cheating on this trip .. I got my phone on the handlebars and Google maps are giving med excellent directions so I stay on the smaller roads and i cruise at a relaxing pace…

But… at a redlight in a small German village… Well my clutchcable decided it was time to retire…. Luckily there was plenty of room for me to park Vlad att the side of the road and then start digging trough all the stuff I have brought with for this trip…

After a while I found what I was looking for and pretty soon ,,, well to be honest it took me a good hour to get it sorted .. But never the less… I was on the road again….

But since my planning for this trip is a lot like Donald Trumps humour… ( non existing) I wasnt sure where I should stop for the night… So drove in to a lay by and tried to find a campsite that might be open and let me rent a spot for my tent… As I was tapping on my phone i heard a noice from the sky…

It was Thor… … A Thunderstorm… quick look on a weather radar… Yep.. Thor is coming my way…. Back on the bike… Managed to stay ahead of the weather… Saw a Hotel/Gasthaus… Zimmer 38 euro a sign said… Great… not to expensive so I parked and walked inside… The lady behind the counter didnt speak English … But she understood that I wanted a room for the night…

Well, she called for another lady,, who alledgedly was familiar with earlier mentioned language… Waiting for Helga or Gretchen or whatever her name was she started the paper work…. And then she arrived… Tze Hauptkommenderende ChefzMädchen…. And she gave me brief look… Then she looked att me again… from my boots to my face and then she looked at som spot that appaerd to be above and behind me….

And the she said… NEIN… No rooms left……..

The other lady just shook her shoulders and looked surprised… So back on the bike… Still now rain but I can now see lightningbolts in my mirrors… and its now dark and my chanses of finding a campsite are just as plausible as Trumps attempt to buy Greenland….

But just as the rain starts.. A GastHaous… Gasthaus Block… Und tze story was to begin whit the same… No English… another Lady arrives very quick.. She smiled… And off course we got a room for you… You ride a bike? Yes.. Follow me… You can park indoors so that your bike and all your stuff dont have to stand on the main parking lot…..

So I got my room and then I went down and had a chat with Bianca and Olga… It turned out that Olga was from Russia.. Hence no English… But kein problem.. Bianca was translating and while she was preparing the kitchen for the night or maybe the next day she was running in between and helping me and Olga with our comunications…

And since these two lovely ladies said that my designs where to their liking I was proud and happy to give them two of my T-shirts….

So if anyone is looking for a biker friendly Gasthaus…. Gasthaus Block Hotel is the place….In Harkebrugge…!!!

This post ends my adventures in Germany…. And now I got to get to bed… Will be back here tomorrow and tell you about Holland… and belive me… Karma is alive and kicking…

Fair winds Stefan

What will you hear if you play a countrysong backwards….????

Well the answer might be… Your dog/ horse comes back to life… Your Pickup truck mends itself… and your ex girlfriend/wife comes back to you..( or vanish forever??? )

So why do I start with those lines in here?? Well… as some om you now have noticed I´m trying to write in English… The reason for that is that I´m on trip with my trusty old Dnepr… ( thats a negotiation in terms.. )

Well this journey started … I left my HQ and rode my old Dnepr to the Stena Line terminal in Gothenburg … And as i parked my bike cause a was a bit early I met som very nice peopler on a Honda Pan European… From Wermland and Karlstad.. And off course they both were supporters of the best Hockey Tem in the world… Färjestad….. ( Hard work/Great Heart)

A great start… Drove on board.. strapped Vlad (thats the name of the bike) down… Then I spottet another sidecar.. Couldnt determine what it really was.. I was thinking MotuGuzzi.. Maybe BMW.. but after that I have walked around it about 8 times… Still confused… all I could say that it was a 4 cylinder engine and that it might be a V4…

Well… later I actually met the owner… the owner of a bike thats is so rare that you probably will see a Harley Davidson win the Isle Of Man TT before you see the like of this bike again…

It was a four cylinder engine… but not a V one.. it was a boxer… And thats about all that I will tell you right now… Got half a promise from the owner that we should meet up and then I could take som pictures and write an article about this amazing bike…

Well after that I found my cabin… I only got lost once trying to find it… Thats a good start .. aint it? Well… To celebrate that my trip had startded out in a very nice way I found a bar and ordered a beer.. The beer was a bit cold but when you let it sit for a while it becomes moore likeable…( for my taste..)

Sitting there thinking about my journet this guy in a fairly nice suit a and a Stena Line Tie walks pass ,, he is pulling a trolley fully laden with sparkling wine… vodka.. whiskey.. and a few other bottles.. Well it was a raffle… I found 6 euros in my kevlarjeans and handed them over to the gentleman…

The result… One large bottle of the bubbly stuff and a fancy bottle of Koskenkorva…

Well… None of the bottles are something that I want on my menue.. but … I´m on my way to meeting with the finest bikers that roam the roads in Europe… So I do believe that someone will help me to empty them ,,,,

Well.. after a pleasant night sleeping in my cabin we arrived in Kiel… and the the usual entertaiment started… Its called… Try to get to cardeck… after watching people pusing buttons to make the lift come to your floor and the go to the car deck where your car or bike or bus or.. well… its fun… If you pay attention you can actually learn how to curse in about eigth different languages…

Finally… The lift took me to the car deck … found Vlad… waited until the crew gave the all clear signal to start my engine… what a surprice for the cars parked behing me… My bike has to be started by me kicking a lever… Holy shit.. the delay from that moment you see my taillights untill the engine actually is upp and running…. thats a trauma for those who are sitting in a Volvo,, Mercedes and so on…

Those 12 seconds…. Well If you have read the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy there is a restarount mentioned there that describes what they are seeing…

Well.. after I kickstarded the old 650 I left the ferry… Drove to Ural Hamburg in Trappenkamp… Thats a store that sells all the parts that yopu could ever ask for if you ride or drive a vehicle that origins from the Soviet Union…

The man in the picture is Michael… He is the on who speaks English and the man who makes sure that I get the spareparts that I want when i order them

Michael was kind tp take a picture of me … Well… now I can prove that I actually was there…?

Then back on Vlad… Heading for Hoek Van Holland….

Well now its getting late… got get myself into bed…

There is moore.. but I will tell you this later on….

Fair winds Stefan….

På Tisdag afton……

Ja imorgon kväll så är min plan att här skall finnas ett inlägg som har ett visst läsvärde… skall även försöka att få mig själv till att ta många bilder av det äventyr som nu ligger framför mig….

Rörande livet i övrigt… Jag upplever nu att jag märker av en viss förbättring i mitt allmänna tillstånd… Detta kan bero på flera orsaker, medicin ,, vädret.. Robert Lind i Kramfors…. Ja listan kan göras lång… Men strunt samma… Jag har åter en viss framtidstro och den tänker jag försöka att vara rädd om….

Nu måste jag ägna mig åt att gå igenom det sista innan jag ger mig ut på ett litet äventyr…

Hmm??? Undrar ni vad jag nu har hittat på??? Tja det gör nog jag med men om ni kollar in här så blir ni snart lite klokare i ärendet…. Om jag själv blir det? Ja det är nog en annan femma….

Fair Winds

Stefan

Kanske är jag då på väg…. ?

På väg vart kanske då vän av ordning helt korrekt frågar både sig och mig… tja, på den den väg som kanske kan leda till den framtid som jag har lämnat bakom mig lyder det konfunderade svaret….

Jag har fått enastående fin respons på mina tröjor, både de som vänder sig till Dnepr och Uralentusiaster men även på de som jag tillverkar för den veteraner som likt mig lever med PTSD..

Fast visst jag får nog erkänna att även om responsen är god så är orderingången skral, men detta beror helt säkert på att jag eller mina produkter är så synliga som vi borde vara… Men jag är ändå där att jag nu faktiskt känner att jag vågar tro att jag är på väg…

Har nu finslipat mina parkeringsskyltar.. Har äntligen en produkt som jag med gott samvete kan saluföra, visserligen så kräver dom lite tid att framställa men så länge jag klarar av att producera i en takt som möter efterfrågan så är ju faktiskt allt väl…

Skylten ovan är dock bara ett provexemplar… texten är där utav dekalvinyl, visst ser det snyggt ut men livslängden när den utsätts för väder och vind är rätt så begränsad.. Men jag färdigställde idag mitt första exemplar som här helt igenom sprutlackat… Detta ex kommer att resa iväg till Kent Farman nere i Skåne, Kent driver Norvalla MC som importerar och saluför nya Ural..

Kent säljer ju även Royal Enfield, tyvärr har jag ännu inte lyckats lista ut vart jag skall sända de som inkräktar på deras parkeringsplatser??

Så när det sitter en slik skylt på Norrvallas fasad så tror jag faktiskt att mer än en av hans kunder kommer att ställa frågan om dessa skyltar är till salu… För även om min humor rörande skylten ifråga kanske är aningen svart så är det ju ändå med humor och en glimt i ögat som jag tagit fram den…..

Och när det gäller just humor så vet jag med säkerhet att detta är något som alla entusiaster som brinner för fordon som härstammar ifrån forna Sovjet besitter…. Hade vi inte en humor så hade vi aldrig vinglat omkring på dessa befängda och underbara fordon….

Avslutar så för idag… Åter till arbetet…

Fair Winds

Stefan

Bedrövligt….???

Ja troligen… jag lovar å lovar men det sker som ni ser inte så mycket… Men jag försöker så gott jag kan… Men humöret och psyket vill inte alltid som jag vill…. Men att jag i vart fall skriver här någon gång även om jag inte har så mycket att komma med känns ju för mig som om det kanske är ett steg i rätt riktning…

Kort resume…. Marianne ligger som nog många vet förtöjd, jag har som sagt tagit mig dit och tittat till henne, men det återstår lite arbete innan jag kan ta henne ifrån kaj.. Som det känns nu är väl det troliga att hon ligger där hon ligger och att jag får peppa mig själv till att ta opp henne i höst, sedan kan jag ju greja lite allteftersom och förhoppningsvis sjösätta nästkommande vår och då hoppas jag ju att jag är i form för nya seglatser????

I övrigt så går livet en dag i taget… Har faktiskt lyckats att göra ett grundligt oljebyte på min Dnepr… Detta kräver en del arbete samt en lite hög med packningar… Detta enär hojen inte har ett vanligt oljefilter utan likt en gammal Scania så är den utrustad med en oljecentrifug… Fördelen med Scania är ju att där sitter centrifugen tillgängligt på utsidan av motorblocket…

På en Dnepr sitter sitter den på insidan bröstkåpan… därav att man får vara försedd med de packningar som krävs för att montera ihop det hela igen…… Men ni kan vara lugna… Jag fick ihop det hela och nu rullar hojen som den skall och jag känner mig lite lugnare när jag vet att den har fräsch och fin olja igen….

Rörande mina tröjor så har jag till min häpnad sålt ett exemplar till en man i Texas… Väntar nu med spänning på återkoppling ifrån honom… Blir han nöjd så kanske det kan bli fler tröjor som skeppas över atlanten….

På bilden ser ni den tröja som snart är “On The Road in Texas”



s

Har även knåpat ihop en liknande Art Deco inspirerad till de tappra själar som kör Ural……

Här så funderar jag dock ännu på en lämplig undertext?? Att blanda in Sovjet känns inte helt rätt enär Ural fortfarande tillverkas… Men nu som då i Ryssland… Visst… Ural tillverkades en massa år i Sovjet men är idag de fakto Rysk….Nåväl.. får fundera lite… kanske kan…” The Roar From The East” vara lite kul???

Å nu lite reklam… Tröjorna är av god kvalitet och av 100% bomull… Trycket är datautskuren textilvinyl av högsta kvalitet och appliceras med en riktig transferpress,, Så trycket håller.. (till skillnad från mina första försök med InkJet…Visserligen var ju det senaste försöket inte så illa… Opaque 3g håller en hygglig kvalitet men kräver att man är aktsam vid tvätt och torkning..)

Nu trycker jag bara Vinyl.. Då vet jag att grejorna även tål att sådana som er bryggseglare tvättar och torkar dom……

Nu tror jag att jag rundar av… Och skulle ni känna ett sug efter en Ural eller Dneprtröja så hojta bara till…

Fair Winds

Stefan