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November 07th, 2015

11/7/2015

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It would appear that since moving down to the South Coast, I've been slack with the blog updates and then find myself subsequently apologising for said quiet spells. I wish I could give a better explanation other than I've been either busy with work or just too tired because of work. Its not very 'blogger' really.
A friend of mine even emailed me to check if I was okay as there had been a lack of updates. Thanks KM, yes I'm fine thank you. Great to hear from you. Its been far too long.
So I've applied for my press accreditation for Motorcycle Live this year, so cross fingers I'll get some positive news. I made a huge error last year and could only get there on the afternoon of the second Saturday. It was chaos in there. This resulting in not actually being able to see the whole show and getting extremely fed up with being unable to get the access I would want, i.e photos etc. This year I've booked a week off work and booked a hotel about half a mile away for the Monday night and I'll be up there on the Tuesday. Nice and quiet thank you very much.
On Wednesday this week I had to head back into the belly of the beast for a meeting in Southwark and something happened to me that has never happened to me on a bike before. I had my foot run over in Brixton by a Private Hire Minicab. Both aiming for the same spot, he's come into my lane, but as it was just one of the rear wheels, my foot was fine. In fact the side of my bike probably and hopefully, did more damage to his car. I signalled that everything was okay to the driver, which looked like it pleased his passenger somewhat. Funny thing is, I had my foot run over again twenty mins later whilst waiting at the Elephant & Castle Roundabout. Numbnuts next to me could tell the different between a red light and a green and moved forward on red (we we sat there for about three mins) and rolled forward 5ft, running over the same foot. This driver was unimpressed that I started tapping on his window to tell him he's nearly crushed my foot, but he got out of his car and everything, not actually realising, or in fact actually questioning why I was tapping on his wondow. Tool. I love London. Its just so.....hostile. The only sign of damage was the toe slider being slightly pulled off my Alpinestar SMX boots. Never wear trainers on bikes people. Proper boots all the way.
Before my London trip, I headed to Doble Honda in Coulsdon, South London, to pick up some official caliper seals for the FireBlade. At £111 for the complete set for both calipers, they weren't cheap, but I know they will fit and they will work. Sometimes paying more, a lot more in this case, than ebay is worth it for peace of mind. I'll get around to rebuilding each caliper in due time. I will say, thats one seriously impressive dealership and I've I find myself still employed in the area, the Blade will certainly be booked in for a decent service when the time comes.
On the ride out of London and on the way home I just stuck to the major routes. The twisties in the dark being dazzled by the frankly totally unnecessarily bright car headlights, in the wet, was, in my mind, utter stupidity. I was left fighting through traffic on the A3 and M27 instead and when I got home I was tired and both my hands were hurting more than they have in some time. I felt old. To say I was glad to get home is an understatement. The bike it utterly filthy, but the rain hasn't stopped long enough to clean it. Cross fingers for tomorrow.
Stay safe everyone and I'll try and get more updates to you at a better frequency. 
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    Me

    My name is Matt Brown and I'm a UK journalist formerly based in London, but now calling the South of England home. I've been riding bikes since 2007, but got hooked straight away. Nothing gives me the feeling of freedom, even when stuck in a city. In 2010 I became a RoSPA gold rider, but when it comes down to it, I'm Just a normal man, riding his bikes as often as he can.

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