...Day 4....362 miles so far......Met up with my friend Toby aka Captain MT350 in Hull which was great....Talked about his travels and ours to come....Got the ferry last night....There were about 30 bikes on it of which 20 were Manchester Hells Angels heading to something in Austria....Got a really good nights sleep on the ferry only to be wakened by the call to breakfast in at least three languages!.....Really great feeling rolling off the ferry into sunshine in Rotterdam (actually Roterdam port is about 30km from the old town).....Last time I did this it was peeing down....My neck is already sunburnt from 4 days in the sun....The ride through Holland has been a joy....no hills and we stuck to the minor roads......Stopped in Gouda for a cheese sandwich & coffee......Arrived in Soest in the afternoon.....Staying with Caroline & Arie, some couchsurfers who recently stayed at our place whilst touring Wales by bike......Tomorrow is Ruth's 40th birthday so we're leaving the bike here and getting a train upto Amsterdam for the day.......

..Day 1!.....Machynlleth to Buxton.......157 miles..... What a day to start the ride!......I hope the weather stays like this.....Called in to see Nick Sanders down the road as we were leaving.....There were so many bikers on the road today......By lake Bala especially then loads more by the Cat & Fiddle near Buxton.....The bike ran really well....Visited my parents near Manchester then onto Ruth's family near Buxton.... After a bit of fiddling, we got the packing of the bike right....Need to check a couple of things on the bike this morning, then it's onto Hull where we're spending tonight before catching the ferry tomorrow...

....Packed our bags yesterday to see if everything would fit....Then took out the stuff we thought we might not need and tried again!.....There's no space left!.....After loading the bike I stepped back and wished I'd fitted my 500 engine.....but then today went for a trial run and all was okay......Got up to 50 with the wind behind us so all is well.....Bumped into Huw Lewis in Machynlleth....Together with Michelin, he has generously donated the tyres for the trip......Michelin T63's.....the best tyres for this bike....

....Done a bit more work on the bike.....just bled the front brake as it was getting a bit spongy....have finished signwriting the panniers and getting the locks working on them.....In 2 weeks time we'll be in Amsterdam......Taking in the culture!......These are our thoughts so far as to our route.....

.... Had new Michelin T63's fitted today at Huw Lewis Tyres ..... Big Big Thanks to them for providing the tyres for the ride..... Lovely ..... Got my International Driving Permit which is basically a translation of a driving licence ...... useful in Russia & Ukraine .... Rode home 2-up with my old tyres strapped to the back of the bike ..... and me & my bits pushed halfway up the fuel tank whilst Ruth enjoyed the full comfort of the seat!.....

...We spent the weekend at the Classic Motorcycle Show in Stafford.......First time we'd been 2-up on the bike with all the luggage....The bike ran well.....It was good to meet other MT Riders and get some good advice for the trip......Russian Visas arrived today.......26 days to go!......