First Drive For A Fit Body – Personal Trainer

19 August 2024 | Richard Morris

At the weekend it was time for Alison to meet ‘her’ car, so off I went on Sunday down to Street in Somerset to pick her up from a few days staying with family.

The original plan was to meet in Taunton, especially as Waze was showing road closures on the A303 around Stonehenge, but what actually happened was that they were governing closures, scheduled to finish at 9.00am on the Sunday and I didn’t leave until after then.

By the time I’d reached the usual turn-off towards Street, ETA to Taunton was showing as 11.15am and they hadn’t left Street yet, so I re-routed and was at Street by 11.05am, which meant I could unload the car (mainly gym mats and some left-behind grandkids’ toys).

We then drove to Taunton with me explaining all the killer features Alison would need to know, like how to quickly turn off the nanny nags and why she should always have it in ST Mode – like we do the Sport mode on the Abarth 124 Spider – and get her connected to the car for BT, CarPlay and the FordPass app.

Coming back to Street, Alison took over the driving: she’s not really driven that much since moving in with me 10 years ago, so familiarising herself with a new car – where the clutch bites, how much to accelerate and what the steering’s like – was what that was all about.

Her verdict? Very nice to drive.

That’s just as well given all the money we’ve spanked on a car ostensibly for her to take to the West Country for family time.

And then home, via a very circuitous route and re-route chosen by Ford’s navigation system to avoid some of the issues with the touristy route back. We still sat in a lot of queues as usual around Stonehenge, so much slower coming back. The M3 as we joined it wasn’t much better either.

The plan had been for Alison to drive back, but happily I was told to do the honours instead. Alison couldn’t get over how much leg room she has with the ability to then recline the seat, unlike my lovely 124.

Overall? Fairly economical. Fast. Quick. Comfortable. Well-equipped. We even had a cool bag plugged into the 12V socket in the boot for perishables for dinner and a bunch of new plants in a tray and in the rear passenger footwell, including rose bushes and honeysuckle. Plus a carry-on suitcase. A proper family car!

Overall mileage when we got back was up to 362 miles with a busy weekend next weekend to look forward to as well.

Pick-Up

14 August 2024 | Richard Morris

No, it’s not a pick-up; it’s been picked up. Today!

I was dropped off at Group 1 Farnborough on the first wet and miserable day in a couple of weeks – with bonus mud all over our road thanks to the road builders further down – to do the final paperwork, pay for the dash cam we’ve had fitted and drive it home.

And here is is:

Its first longer drive comes this weekend with a 250 mile (or so) round trip with Alison getting to drive it back.

July 2024 Stats

31 July 2024 | Richard Morris

July 2024 saw another 10 days’ holiday and trying to cram in some of FulGaz’s challenge over the course of the year, the FulGaz Ironman Sprint Series which I had started a few months ago.

The holiday was our second long distance trip on the BMW R 1250 RT starting in Northern Spain and heading across the Pyrenees into France before heading north through Switzerland to Luxembourg before heading back to the UK via Belgium and France.

Most of the luxury hotels we stayed in put rest and relaxation above exercise so trying to hit the gym was difficult plus we were travelling for many hours each day.

Anyway, here are July’s stats:

July 2024 Statistics

Activities: 29 Distance: 342.23 km Time: 14:15:47 Calories: 12,836

Turning to my weight, at the end of June I weighed 81.9kg and at the end of July I weighed 84.7kg, which is up a massive 2.8kg. Most of which was gained by eating, drinking and being merry in some fabulous hotels and restaurants…

Order Update

29 July 2024 | Richard Morris

Last week we were on holiday on the BMW R 1250 RT LE driving through Spain, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Belgium when we got a call from Group 1 Ford telling us that our car hadn’t actually been reserved!

That was the bad news.

The good news was that they could get hold of one with the same specification but with the Driver Assist Pack (Driver Alert, Traffic Sign Recognition and Adaptive Cruise Control) as well, but they’d need to charge me a little extra towards it.

I was concerned that would take it over the £40,000 list price issue, but I was assured that that doesn’t include the first year’s VED figure, so with that taken off, it’s still under the £40k ceiling.

The other news is that it should arrive in August: good because it means we get it sooner, but bad because that means it’ll be a 24 plate rather than a 74 plate.

So we went ahead and agreed over the telephone (confirmed by email the next day).

Eurothrash 2024 Day 10: Luxembourg to Home

28 July 2024 | Richard

Just 582km to get us home from Luxembourg via Belgium and France. In total, Eurothrash 2024 was 1,904 miles or 3,064km and averaged 54.3mpg.

The RT was battered and bleeding but got us back. What a trooper!

Battered and Bruised

So yes, the bike is excellent. But the BMW Connected App is simply awful. It falls over all the time. It drops in and out all the time. Give us CarPlay!

Eurothrash 2024 Day 9: Aix-les-Bains to Luxembourg

27 July 2024 | Richard

France to Switzerland to France to Luxembourg.

We left Aix-les-Bains in bright sunlight and 32°C and 571km later we arrived in Luxembourg having endured an absolute deluge (and the temperatures falling to 22°C).

The weather forecast was good for our homeward trip the next day. Another cheeky upgrade to the room in our hotel, the Sofitel Luxembourg Le Grand Ducal, which was lovely, and as for dinner, well that was excellent stuff washed down with a bottle of Luxembourgoise wine.

Sofitel Luxembourg Le Grand Ducal

Eurothrash 2024 Day 8: Cannes to Aix-les-Bains

26 July 2024 | Richard

We were meant to be staying in Grenoble after a long trip along the Route Napoleon. Sadly, neither happened:

Firstly, the hotel emailed us before we left saying that there had been a lot of motorcycle thefts from their car park, so they were no longer accepting bookings from travellers with motorbikes…
Secondly, as there was an oil leak from the right hand side cylinder head rocker cover, we weren’t sure if the RT would make it, so we wanted to stay on the major roads in case we needed to pull over and get collected.

So, 506km and one litre of oil later (the latter to replace the new waterproofing for our boots, trousers and the RT itself) we got to the Mercure Aix-les-Bains Domaine de Marlioz Hôtel & Spa

and a lovely glass of wine (plus some flavoured water at reception).

The battered and bruised RT made it with no real issues as well, which was a bonus.

Fabulous dinner (and wine) at the hotel.

The next day was planned to be a longer day heading to Luxembourg via Switzerland so a two stop strategy ws in place to refuel us and to top up the RT’s oil.

Eurothrash 2024 Day 7: Castillon-du-Gard to Cannes … and the Crash

25 July 2024 | Richard

A relatively short day was planned and that turned out to be a very hot 275km and one crash: a road sweeper doing a left and taking us out.

There was some damage to the RT: both cylinder heads as it hit the sweeper on one side and the floor on the other. I couldn’t avoid the sweeper as there was too much high road furniture on the left. so down we went. And with all the luggage it took four of us to haul it back up onto two wheels.

I was completely unscathed as I pretty much just stepped off, but Alison got her ankle pressed a bit by the rear footpeg (pushing on her boots). She’s obviously not used to this crashing malarkey! But at least we apparently achieved a lean angle of 66º on that side…

It was then that the SOS button might have been useful, but of course that hasn’t worked since very early on with the ownership and BMW were taking way too long to release a fix for it.

So we continued on to Cannes and after more 38ºC temperatures and crawling traffic all the way along the seafront, we stopped at our booked hotel, the JW Marriott Cannes where just one night cost us over €1,150! . When I booked it, I had included instructions that we would be arriving on a motorcycle and to ask them to make sure we had a reserved parking space in the car park underneath the hotel. When we arrived and parked up outside the front next to a Ferrari and a Bugatti, I asked how to get to their car park and was told I wasn’t allowed to. No motorcycles allowed there, apparently! They instead said I should use a public car park a kilometre or so away or take my chance parking on the road nearby. And then they made us wait over an hour for our room to be made available.

Avoid!

Eurothrash 2024 Day 5: Banyuls-sur-Mer to Castillon-du-Gard (the “First Dates Hotel”)

23 July 2024 | Richard

The original plan was to have a long day in the saddle, heading up to the Milau Bridge and the Gorges du Tarn, but herself was beginning to flag a bit, so I instead set a course along some nice-ish roads from Banyuls-sur-Mer to Castillon-du-Gard in Provence, where we were due to stay at the delightful La Vieux Castillon.

Le Vieux Castillon

This was the hotel that Channel 4’s First Dates show had used for their summer holidays the first few series of First Dates Hotel before they moved to one in Italy, I think?

Anyway after a very hot day – 38°C – we reached 1,175km and were ready for a rest day the following day.

By the time we reached the hotel, it was still 32°C at the pool. They let me leave the RT outside Reception which was a weight off my mind. And yes, it’s a fabulous hotel, every bit as good as we had hoped.

We had booked their gastronomic package, but sadly the restaurant was closed the two night we were actually booked in for, having shifted the dates. So for our first night we enjoyed a lighter meal from the bar menu.

The next day was a rest day, so we spent it mainly by the pool, although we did go for a wander around the streets of Castillon-du-Gard.

Dinner was at Joio Restaurant nearby which is managed by the chef at the hotel and opens when he’s not working at Le Vieux Castillon. We ate their signature starter and main and a couple of cheeky glasses of wine. Very reasonably priced too as well as delicious.