Just One More Mile - Initial Planning

...and now for a perfect demonstration of how plans are meant to be flexible...

Last week I wrote that it was my intention to ride to work on the Monday and go over to Nikki's to change bikes and put the Adventure back into storage. Well, shortly after I posted that entry, I was chatting to Tracy about how big, heavy and intimidating the Adventure is when compared with the normal GS, and how I was getting a bit concerned that it might not be the most suitable bike for our RTW trip. Basically, I was having doubts, which stemmed from some trouble I had moving the bike around our back yard to get it into a position where I could clean it. Anyway, I decided that I would look to use the Adv for my upcoming trip to the NW200 in Ireland in May, where I can really assess its suitability. So it stayed here for the week.

Come Saturday, I realised that I would need to get the Sat Nav cradle off the other bike so I can mount it onto the Adv to test it out and help Colin & I find campsites in Ireland (and the nearest Guiness pub...). So I rode over to Nikki's and swapped bits from one bike to the other.

Saturday night we were out with some friends from Blackpool, at Guys Thatched Village just off the A6 near Garstang - if you go there, be sure to reserve your table as soon as you arrive... we had booked one for 8.30pm, arrived around 7.30 and enjoyed a few beers before going to get our table at the alloted time... then we waited...and waited...and waited. We didn't get seated until nearly 10pm, so by the time we'd eaten and driven home it was quite late! Normally that wouldn't have been an issue (although we're hardly night owls these days!), but on Sunday morning we had to be up early to ride over to Leeds for a Motorcycle Emergency First Aid course.

The course itself was pretty interesting - more so for me, what with Tracy being a nurse! We learnt how to manage an accident scene, do CPR as well as learning the correct technique for removing a motorcycle helmet (and the circumstances under which this should be done - which is basically only when absolutely necessary to save someone's life...). Following that we were exhausted - possibly due to trying to sleep on a full stomach the night before - so we rode home and collapsed in front of the TV to watch the MotoGP race which I'd set the video recorder for.



So now I'm a trained first aider, with specific training on dealing with a variety of potential motorcycle related injuries. Just hope I never have to put that training to use - and that if I do, I can stand back and watch as Tracy applies her much more thorough training to the task!