Roadworkx, J. F. Kennedystraat 32, Heinenoord (2024)

02/09/2024

Still on the first trip this year, a lot has happened and I am back in stifling hot Spain. I follow smaller inland roads like today on the N-422. More than 500 kilometers of rolling hills, narrow gorges, waterways an loads of twisties.

So 20.000 kilometers popped up on the €14 Aliexpress aftermarket odometer that surprisingly keeps the almost exact reading as my Garmin GPS. Many would joyfully dance around their machine and justify this milestone event to buy even more unneeded accessories.

My nearly 25 year old machine has absolutely flawlessly done around 190.000 kilometers. And it has done so without even having a name or blanking it's license plate in public posts.

I would say that the engine is about properly run in at the moment...

23/08/2024

In France they will tell you that the Col de la Bonette with 2,715 metres is the highest mountain road in Europe, while everybody knows that the road over Mulhacén, with an elevation of 3,482 metres is definitely much higher.

Today I was told that the Tunnel de Parpaillon is closed because of a massive cave in.

After lifting the barriers I could drive straight trough the tunnel, without even stopping the "massive" cave in was merely a moles heap.

Welcome to France, the country where Fake news was invented and thriving like never before....

22/08/2024

One of the highlights of a trip into the French Alps is the rocky gravelroad up to one of the highest tunnels in Europe. At least up until now.

According to this news article the tunnel could be closed forever..

But there is light at the end of the tunnel, I have been through it at least 4 times.. 😁👍

14/08/2024

Help, my balls are cracking up..

I mean the Ram Mount ball joints of my Double Take Mirrors. The rubber became so badly cracked that I was about to order two new ones.

Before I discovered a neat little trick to make them even more vibration free with the help off a piece of bicycle inner tube (22-25 mm). It sits tightly over the joint and will give the mirror more friction.

When I was looking for the right size I noted that at the end of the product description it said LIFE LONG WARRANTY...

I send an email to motormounts.nl and without any fuzz received a pair of new ones in the mail, from Rammounts.nl.

Needless to say that I am very happy with my new balls. I put a fresh bit of inner tube over them and also put a small dab of Locktite blue on the threads to prevent them from shaking loose..

What do you think about the Double Take mirrors and their mounting system?

10/08/2024

Last bit of maintenance before the third leg of this years trip that started on January the twenty second 2024

Now I am on a total of 18.000+ kilometers, after putting in a new piston & rings last winter the engine still miraculously does not use any oil at all.

This time after clocking 9000 km in the north the valves were all still within the specifications found in the owners manual. They should be checked every 1000 kilometers according to the same manual.

Based on experience and the many kilometers I have done so far, possibly around 175.000 km. I know it is not necessary to check the clearance as often as recomended by Honda.

In the manual it says that minaral oil should be used and a grade number is given. At first I wanted the best for my engine and started putting the most expensive full synthetic Motul oils in my trusty traval companion. Not anymore!

I have gone back to the minaral oils as recommended by Honda nearly 25 years ago, I dare say that the engine is happier with this oil, the clutch stopped slipping and over the last 3 oil changes I did not find any more metal particles in the filter and in-frame sieve then before.

Although there apparently is a lot of fake news in the original owners manual, I trust the Japanese engineers on some points, it never states that you need to give your motorcycle a name or that you need to clean or ever wash it.

My favorite choice of oil these days is Valvoline 10-W40 bough in my local supermarket (ACTION, LIDL, BILTEMA or ALDI).

Buying a brand new motorcycle is easy, keeping an old one on the road and learn how to do the maintenance yourself can become a rewarding art form and way of life.

Would you use Budget oil?

$Seita of TaatsiLake Taatsijärvi has emerged in a deep fracture zone in the bedrock. The solid bedrock of the area consis...$

24/07/2024

Seita of Taatsi

Lake Taatsijärvi has emerged in a deep fracture zone in the bedrock. The solid bedrock of the area consists of approx. 1.9 million-years-old granite of the so-called Hetta type.

The actual "seita" is marked by the tall stone slab at the lake shore. Seita refers to a place of worship and sacrifice. A deer hunter or a fisherman would pledge to give some of his prey or catch to the seita. People also sacrificed artefacts or money in hope of good luck.

Northeast of the seita, on the shore of lake Taatsijärvi, rises a high rock cliff called Kirkkopahta. It is not unlikely that the ancient Sámi used this cliff as an efficient means of hunting thousands of years ago, chasing deer and the like over the edge.

The old-growth forest of Taatsi is another interesting sight of cultural-historic im- portance.

20/07/2024

Tonight I placed a piece of vulcanic rock from the most southern point of the European Union on top of the rock that marks the most northern point of the European Union...

From La Restinga on the Canary Island of el Hierro all the way to Nuorgam in Finland.

The rock has traveled with me in my bags for more than 9000 kilometers

20/07/2024

Another challenge accomplished :

The Trident route, connect the three main Norwegian capes.

Nordkapp - Slettness Fyr - Grensejakobsvel

Distance a bit more than 850 kilometers...

20/07/2024

Yesterday was mainly an internet free day riding through the remote northern parts of Norway.

Managed to complete one challenge, connecting the most southern European lighthouse, el pharo de Orchilla in the Canary Islands with the most northern one. Slettness Fyr just north of Gamvik in Norway.

Road distance about 9500 kilometers.

Could it be a coincidence that both lighthouses were build in 1927?

09/07/2024

NOK Off Part II

But in 2024 the story gets a nasty twist as now the community themselves are dipping their hands into the parking fees! And you would now typically have to pay for not only the entrance to the North Cape hall with its restaurant and exorbitantly overpriced souvenir shop but also for the parking again. What happened with the all important allemannsretten and utmark? It goes to show you that most Norwegians have no principles or higher values when it comes to money.

On 23 May 2024, Nordkapp Municipality made a decision in the Municipal Council that it can collect a fee in accordance with article Friluftsloven $14. This fee includes both visitors and parking.

This fee goes to the maintenance, safety and organization of both outdoor areas and parking. Visiting guests have access to toilets and rubbish collection all year round.

The Operator of the parking area is not allowed to make a profit from this, all income must be used to facilitate visitors. A question forms in my head, does Santa Claus also exist?

Per Person NOK 17
Motorcycle NOK 50
Car NOK 125
Motorhome NOK 175
Bus NOK 200

This fee does not include an entrance ticket to Nordkapphallen, which can be purchased separately.

Welcome to the Diabolical country that is called Norway and their greedy clutches…

I could challenge them with my lifelong free admission on my North Cape Club membership card this year. If they won't let me in for free, I will tell them to just

NOK Off...

09/07/2024

NOK Off Part I.

According to an article I found online from 2022.

The views can be spectacular if it is not snowing in July, but under the sporadically aurora sky, a battle took place that affects allemannsretten.

Allemannsretten is one of the most important rights Norwegians have to move freely in nature, in what is called utmark. The small Nordkapp municipality won an appeal in Hålogaland Court of Appeal against the billion-dollar hotel group Scandic Hotels AS, which for several years has collected parking fees from visitors to the Nordkapp plateau.

The Rica/Scandic group has collected almost NOK 80 million (about 7 million in €uro’s) annually in admission tickets for the area where the E69 road ends. But is it considered innmark or utmark where visitors and locals move around outdoors?

Around 600,000 tourists visit the Nordkapp plateau annually; 254 cruise calls were reported in 2023, but most tourists are captivated by the landscape and completely unaware of the dispute over the plateau.

“This is a victory for allemannsretten and people’s access to Norwegian nature. This is an important verdict for everyone who wants unique nature experiences in Norway,” said Jan Olsen, the mayor at the time, in a press release.

There was no less joy when the appeal was won by the small northern municipality. “The Norwegian state is satisfied,” said government attorney Henrik Vaaler, who assisted Nordkapp municipality in court.

“This is a verdict that may have an impact on the ability to charge parking fees in many recreation areas in Norway, so it has the potential to be of great significance.”

The municipality won the dispute, and the hotel chain was ordered to pay legal fees of NOK 1.6 million to the municipality. Now they must also pay court fees of NOK 970,950 and NOK 262,092 to the Ministry of Climate and Environment.

06/07/2024

Time for a service I thought and started looking for a couple of O-Rings to replace the old ones in my MSR Whisperlite camping stove.

It had started leaking a little at the fuel valve. Strangely the parts could not be ordered individually but you will find the O-Rings only in what is called the MSR yearly Maintenance and repair kit.

When I bought it the stove came with a set of spare O-Rings but I had used them up two years ago when I took everything apart and gave the stove a good cleaning and service.

My stove is about 15 years old and has already made more coffees than a trendy professional barista at a hipster cafe in downtown Barcelona.

For the maintenance kit you would typically pay around €32 plus shipping from various outdoor shops selling MSR products. The repair kit comes in at a little more than €50.

For that kind of money the kits come with some spare O-Rings, a safety pin, the MSR tool and a few more worthless bits and bobs. Most I would never use anyway.

It was time to go online and see if these 4 O-Rings from the fabled maintenance kit are really worth €12.50 a piece plus shipping.

After finding the right sizes and material for the O-Rings I found a website where you could just order them by the piece. Some websites are cheaper but the minimum order would typically be at least 20 pieces or more.

The Small one is a size 3.68 x 178 mm Price = €0.13 (a piece)
The Larger one is size 6.07 x 1.78 mm Price = €0.19 (a piece.)

Important is to get the type that is called "Nitrile", those are the original specs from MSR. Nitrile rings are resistant to chemicals (petrol, diesel, vodka) and high temperatures.

So what should I have done? Get the cheapest yearly maintenance kit for €32.00 or get a set of O-Rings for €0.32 cents? I don't think this really requires a serious answer as this really is a no-brainer...

The MSR Whisperlite camping stove is a quality product that has been a reliable expedition companion over the years, but MSR after sales and customer service are at an all time low when it comes to replacing simple wear parts. The profit margins on these maintenance kits must be mind boggling...

17/05/2024

Back on the road again, today I illigally broke into what is left of the Aliaga Thermal Power Plant, in the province of Teruel, a huge building that was the most important thermal power plant in Spain at the time.

It was built in 1949 and inaugurated in 1952, taking advantage of the Aliaga coal mines, having enormous boilers 76 meters long and 36 meters high. The fate of this plant was linked to that of those coal mines and when these were exhausted, the plant ended up closing in 1982

14/05/2024

Slowly getting ready for departure in a few days.

Quick curbside oil filter, full oil-change and also fitted new shoes.

This time I could not find an ACTION supermarket nearby, so the oil was bought at ALDI today.

**t

04/05/2024

Finally feeling well enough for an unboxing...

I was lucky that the European warehouse was just restocked, so delivery times are swift and today I got from the Arse-Fender-Spec company a delivery of a pair of side-stand CROCKS.

An absolute must have for serious Adventure Riders. Deep sand or mud does not bother these ultra wide size 19 CROCKS. And at only €165 you cannot go wrong. Soon there will even be some smashing grafics available for your CROCKS.

If you buy a size 19+22 so you could layer them for the colder days..

**t

03/05/2024

Part-Six, The Time Traveler of Denia..

I also had two fysiotherapie sessions and all was good. After the last session in the hospital gym I was allowed to walk back to my room by myself and totally by “accident” I must have taken a wrong turn to miraculously end up in the hospital's Cafeteria. Once there I order my first real double espresso in ages, a bacon and cheese sandwich plus a nice flaky croissant.

With a mouth full with coffee that is so strong that it nearly makes my eyes water, I lean back and just reconfirm for myself that life is worth being lived. In three weeks time I have two more appointments in the hospital, then if all is good I am free to go.

The body is a complex machine that will allow you to travel through space and time. Just be sure to make the most of it, one day the machine will stop forever. The trip needs to go on to Nuorgam in Finland, the most northern point of the European Union to finish this year's challenge.

I will probably be on blood thinning medication for some time so the riding will not be fast, I cannot afford to have a bad fall. But at least I am still going places..

02/05/2024

Part-Five, The Time Traveler of Denia..

The hospital is absolutely great, I am transferred to another private room which is also very quiet. It has a large bathroom and I am allowed to shower again with a plastic bag taped around my arm. In Intensive Care I was being washed every morning by two lovely Colombian nurses, rubbed down with moist Fragrant towels, followed by a body lotion treatment to prevent drying out. I even got a new pair of official HBC hospital slippers.

Doctor Sonja tells me that based on the latest scan, I had an embolie or blood clot in the brain stem. She is more than surprised that there is not more damage, I could be sitting in a wheelchair with a diaper on. Totally unaware of my surroundings, softly humming Una Paloma Blanca all bloody day long.

It is the forth time within the last eight years that I go through the eye of the needle. I strike off my fourth life, hopefully still five to go. All that bu****it about you only live once. It is more like you live every day and you only die once if you play your cards right.

If all goes well I am allowed to leave the hospital on Wednesdays, I am going to miss the VIP treatment. The only thing that truly sucks here is the food. Sometimes near un-eatable in the form of a gunky lukewarm kind of pig swill, pretending to be a stew of some kind. But I am not the food critic I once was. I became a lot milder and made a point of writing something nice to the kitchen staff on my menu every day.

From the head nurse I later learn that their favorite message was :

-La comida es como un rayo de luz durante mis días oscuros.

-The food is like a ray of light during my dark days.

It does not take much to make somebody else feel appreciated or at least make them smile.

01/05/2024

Part-Four, The Time Traveler of Denia..

There is a line of sunlight creeping up towards the side of my bed, next to me is Señor Augustine, he is the self proclaimed master paella maker of Denia. He has been a rugged fisherman all his life he proudly tells me, now he is on oxygen and has some needles in his chest. The line of blinding light creeps closer to my bed, my eyes hurt and so does my head.

The brain wants to shut down and I think about a song on a Rick Wakeman album from decades ago. ”The shadow of the noose grew on, a sundial of the time, the prisoner had left to live a self-inflicted crime”. Am I that prisoner and what crime did I commit?

The cheap nylon shroud they hoisted me in is uncomfortably clinging to my now sweating body. Night comes and at four in the morning I ask for some Paracetamol. Finally after asking two more people I got some at nine in the morning. I did not get any food or anything to drink. Getting out of bed and having a drink from the tap is the only way to survive. Spanish tap water will not kill you these days, but the taste is awful, so much chlorine.

During the day I had some scans and on my second day I had an appointment with a neurologist. Wires are attached to my head via a strange looking shower cap and I need to lay still for 30 minutes. The young doctor tells me that more information is needed but the hospital is extremely busy. He says that he checked with my insurance and the ambulance is on its way to take me to a private clinic in Denia.

When I arrive there my cheap nylon shroud is being replaced by a cotton one with a cheerful print. I am alone in a quiet room and there is a bottle of water next to my bed. Several bags are dripping goodness into me, mainly anti epileptic drugs, painkillers and I also get blood thinners shot into my belly every now and then. I stayed in Intensive Care for three days I think. It all became a bit of a blur to be honest.

30/04/2024

Part-Three, The Time Traveler of Denia..

I do not even have to wait two minutes longer before I see it happen before my very own eyes, suddenly all the muscles in my right arm contract, the pain is intense, my right hand, folded all the way inwards, somehow it sneaks behind my head and my shoulder locks up. Nothing I can do now, the tension is too high and the pain close to unbearable.

It is as if hot pokers are relentlessly driven into my flesh. I see in my mind the snow capped mountain tops of the Sierra Nevada, the sky is a dome of intense semi translucent crystalline blue, a shrill contrast with the white snow. I give up and prepare myself to die, I just reached a pain level I have never experienced before.

I must have passed out, the pain is gone. I am still here! I try to get up and unsteadily walk through the room. I need to go out and get my phone from the shop later in the afternoon, this is all I can think of. I lock my room and walk down the hallway.

Just past reception I see Jenny cleaning one of the rooms, I greet her and she gives me a strange look. In Spanish she asks if I feel okay today? In my limited Spanish I tell her: “No me siento bien hoy”! She tells me to sit down, she still looks at me in a strange way. She gets me a glass of water and says she's going to call an ambulance.

I nearly decline, but she points at the mirror in the hall. When I look at myself my face is a grayish pasty white and I have blood around my mouth. Later I learned that I just had a pretty violent seizure and almost bitten off my own tongue.

The ambulance takes me to Denia some 35 kilometers away from Calpe. I am taken inside and are transferred to a hospital bed. I made a mental note to check off Ambulance ride from my bucket list. The general hospital feels like Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, it is sheer hell and my head is splitting again and yet it is so noisy. After they put some needles in my arms and took some blood they finally left me alone. I am cold and I try to disappear under my thin blanket.

29/04/2024

Part-Two, The Time Traveler of Denia..

I am on my way to Calpe, the fresh air is doing me good, the horizon is filled with the majestic snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It's about 450 kilometers and when I eat something at a petrol station I start to wonder if the worst is over now. With the aid of Booking.com I made a reservation for two nights in the Hotel Calpe, my favorite hotel.

In the evening I even have the full buffet libre in Calpe’s renowned Chinese restaurant Fumanlou, with newfound courage I even order a beer and besides from being dead tired and only having a minimal headache I feel like a new man.

The next morning I drop my phone in my hotel room on the hard stone marble floor, the screen is broken and only shows colorful stripes, input is no longer possible. Is my luck turning again? I found a repair shop in Calpes mainstreet, the screen needs to be ordered and it will be ready the next day after 5 o'clock. I swap the sim card and put it in my backup phone, an old Sony. A top tip is to never leave home without a backup phone. Make sure to have most essential apps installed.

Later in the day I start to feel bad again. I bought a nose spray because it feels as if my forehead is full of snot. The headache returns, I grab a handful of paracetamol and go to bed early.

The next morning I brush my teeth in the shower when suddenly my right hand starts to make erratic moves, as if I have lost control over it. I finish brushing with my left hand and quickly get dressed.

My right arm feels strange, a tingly sensation and a weird stiffness, the fingers are spreading apart all by themselves. I observe this as if that hand is not even a part of my own body. The hand is just a harbinger, I can feel by now that something really seriously bad is going on.

28/04/2024

Part-One, The Time Traveler of Denia..

For weeks if not months I am being haunted by bad headaches and a general feeling of unwellness. After spending 4 days in a darkened hotel room in Granada with all blinds shut I somehow feel somewhat better and decide to move on. I need to go home for a medical examination, this is not good.

Until yesterday my bike had been parked in the street. On a rare outing from my hotel to a Carrefour shop on the corner I noticed that one of my bags was open and my hammock and sleeping bag had been taken out. I look up and down the street and see some benches with a group of homeless people.

Just past them I see my things on the ground against a wall. I pick it all up and return to the bench. With my fingers I make a universal sign that I keep my eyes on them and in my best Spanish I tell them to stay the Føck away from my bike and keep their grimy hands of my things.

Strangely enough I feel sad for them, they appear to have less than me, if only that god damned headache would go away. I put everything back in my panniers and decided to take the bike to a parking garage at the end of the street. It is nearby and all downhill. I get a ticket at the gate and park it at the bottom of the ramp near the entrance.

By the time I get back into my room I am totally exhausted, I have a light fever and need to lay down. The last two days I have not eaten because I kept throwing up until only a thick slimy yellowish bile came up.. Man, I feel bad.

I drink some water that I bought in the Carrefour and go to sleep. I am awake at 7 and feel strangely sort of okay. I shower and make my way to the underground parking, I load up and walk over to the machine where you need to pay. A woman from a glass booth is observing me. I take my debit card out and pretend to pay the €19 that are on the display. I pull out my parking card.

The bike feels better than me, with the choke out it runs on the first kick. I ride off, cheerfully wave at the woman in the glass booth and at the top of the ramp I swerve past the barrier without paying.

01/04/2024

Fresh snow fell in the mountains over the last couple of days, maybe it's time to head for the beaches of the Costa del SOL....

**t

29/03/2024

First Ride of the season got a little over 5000 kilometers yesterday.

While others are still busy in the garage hovering arond their bikes, unboxing and ordering new gadgets or reviewing products that have been used than half an hour..

I have traveled to the Most souther point of the EU on the islands of El Hierro, la Restinga. Now slowly making my way up north though the Sierra Nevada, to eventually end up in the most northern village in the EU, Nuorgam in Finland.

How many kilometer will I have in the Odometer when I get there?

Leave your answer in the comments, the one that is closest will get a T-shirt, a bunch of stickers and eternal FAME..

**t

13/03/2024

Never ride out without proper protective gear...

Donkey hard parts shipped from the factory, back in stock soon...

**t

13/03/2024

My most favorite watering hole in El Restinga...

12/03/2024

. The Duke of Alva

Late this morning the tree master Alva from Götenburg moored on the dock that is normally stricktly reserved for the refugees ships.

I spoke with several youngsters on board but nobody said a word on why they were there.

Later I hear in the village that the police were onboard earlier and are doing an inquest into the death of a young woman who apparently fell from the mast and died on the deck some 15 meters below during training.

And still there are people that claim nothing ever happens in the tiny Puerto of La Restinga….

**t

08/03/2024

La Restinga's secret dark cargo…

Boat 147 arrived under the cover of darkness on a particularly stormy night some 3 days ago.

It was escorted into the small port by a Spanish sea rescue vessel. It carried no lights but was found in the darkness by it's rescuers.

10 days previous the little ship left the port of Saint Louis where hundreds if not thousands of similar boats are waiting for their own cargo.

Saint Louis is on the border of Senegal and Mauritania, desperate impoverished and hungry people are gambling with their own lives to reach a better future, often paying with their last savings or on borrowed money.

The first one that I saw being carried off the boat was a lifeless baby, after I counted 35 to 40 people coming off this small ship, most had to be carried or pushed in wheelchairs to the nearby Cruz Rojo tents. Nearly all clearly have symptoms of hypothermia and possibly dehydration.

Since January this year (2024) almost 6000 people found their way to the tiny port of La Restinga, nobody even knows how many did not safely make make the treacherous journey and can be considered lost at sea?

Two days later just before the boat is being broken up on the docks where it is getting ready to be recycled I count 12 blue 50 litre jerry cans that must have contained drinking water. That is barely more than one liter a day, for meals I saw some dry biscuits on the bottom of the hull. The stern compartment is full of human excrement, it must have served as a makeshift toilet.

Ironically the 40 horsepower Yamaha outboard engine has the model name Enduro on its cover. There is no backup engine nor oars or sails. I guess ...

Most West African countries are not earmarked as unsafe but desperate people are escaping hunger and a possibly even darker future. How is this even possible, the West African seas used to be full of fish, there were fish factories and trade with neighboring countries. Not anymore Thanks to the destructive Norwegian Salmon Industry.

* Continued in the comments.

02/03/2024

I get this question all the time: "Arthur what are you doing all day long?"

The answer is easy, bu**er all....

**t

02/03/2024

- Meridiano Cero or Prime meridian was longer on El Hierro than it has been drawn over Greenwich in England.

The name Prime Meridian is supposed to have been given by Ptolemy, a Greco-Roman astronomer who, in the 2nd century AD, situated the prime meridian in the extreme west of the island, exactly coinciding with Punta de Orchilla on El Hierro. It would remain like that for centuries, until it was moved to Greenwich in 1884.

**t

15/02/2024

A Swedish Navy training ship, the HMS Gladan, has made an unofficial stop in Tenerife, docking at the port of Santa Cruz after making several stops in Canarian ports since November.

It must be absolutely aweful to be a Swedish naval officer.. 😩

**t

Roadworkx

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