THURSDAY 15th SEPTEMBER (Magnets & Metal - ARRRGGHHH)

We were up early, excited with the fact that we were heading off to Italy for the 90th Anniversary party of Moto Guzzi.

Paul's job was to take the bike for a test ride to check that all was well. An easy task when you live on the edge of town. Fingers were crossed that Brunhilda went through her paces with no drama's.

My job was to pack our belongings ready for stage two of our trip. I got everything together, had my bike pants on and while half melting in the heat,  Paul said..."Listen to the engine and tell me what you think?"

Well, I'm no mechanic but I knew instantly that we weren't going anywhere today!
B-U-G-G-E-R.
I unpacked and got out of those hot trousers.

Paul then removed the sump and found magnetic particles in the oil. Now that's something no bike owner wants to see. He also discovered excessive movement in the big end - not a good sign at all. We were gutted.

Paul spent part of the day putting all the bike pieces back together, minus oils, then cried. Well not really cried but we were bitterly disappointed.

All the places we wanted to go to on this trip seemed to be slipping away and unreachable.

When Tobi came home Paul helped him build the framework for the new steps to the deck above the shed. That was supposed to take his mind off the problems at hand!

While the construction work was going on I cooked up a pomodoro sauce to have with pasta, hot bread roll and LOTS of red wine. It was the medicine we needed while we contemplated our choices from here on.