Thursday 20 June 2013

Costa Del Brean

A bit of sun works wonders! We have been so lucky this weekend and had our second weekend away and a bit of beach time.

After the "shake down" trip last weekend with a promising weather forecast we decided to go for our second weekend on the coast. With bikes packed and being more organised this Friday I had even got some food on board!  We arrived at Unity in beautiful sunshine and were quickly settled in the Yellow Field backing onto the golf course. We had taken the bikes so did a quick trip around the camping fields which were remarkably full. The telly tuned in with no problems and a pleasant evening quickly passed.


Saturday morning dawned with a beautiful cloud free sky. A bit windy but sunny, we decided to give the bikes a good try out on the beach and see if we could ride from Berrow to Brean Down. Fine for the young and hearty a marathon for us! The beach was really like the Costas without the crowds, warm, sunny, a bit windy but beautiful!



We even spotted another Bailey on the beach! Brave person!!


It was a lonnnng, ride but we made it, cycling into the headwind on the way down the beach was "challenging" riding back was fun. We had a quick coffee in the cafe at Brean Down but enjoyed the sunshine and even got the sun! I got a new picture for my facebook page!


 
Yes it is England in June! The tide is out but the sand is golden and clean, not sure if I would want to try the water out though!
 
We rode back to camp after a nice lunch in a local watering hole.
 
 
A very successful weekend!!

Thursday 6 June 2013

First of the Season

After a very long , cold miserable and soggy winter, we have finally caught up with summer.

Billie has had a wash, buff and service and we are ready for the sun!!

The winter passed fairly uneventfully for us, a silver screen on the front and an oil filled radiator inside, kept Billie warm and cosy. We put a solar panel on the roof and that works well when the sun shines and saves us plugging in the electric in the summer. A first service and habitation check got Billie in the "summer mood".

We did the usual "start of the season" tank sterilisation saga, a bit of light hoovering and dusting and we were ready for the off. The major body clean was completed and a good polish with the dry wash, worked really well and was a lot quicker to do than Mer! We will wait to see how effective it is! The new bikes were loaded and as they are so much lighter and easier to put up, hopefully we will make more use of them. Not to mention the exercise. Weight reduction takes on a new meaning here!

We did a short first weekend away last week and hope to do another trip this week.

Strange, but after the winter we did need to think about how to do certain things again. Tuning in the telly was fun, but we think we have it sorted. We had a brief play with the Wi-fi Booster and may have another go this weekend. We have a ferry booked for France this summer but need to do a few little jobs on Smartie's trailer first and take him out for a run! We are still thinking around innovative new ideas to do with chairs and trailers, watch this space for further developments.

We are still considering an  A-Frame for Smartie's stablemate Heidi the Hyundai and we did investigate a few more types last weekend. For the moment, the jury's out on the best system. Electronic, brake buddy, heavy or light, everyone you speak to is convinced their system is the best, so we will rely on the trailer and Smartie on tow for now! New European regulations come out in 2014, so that may make up our minds for us.

All in all, the last weekend away reminded us how pleased we are with Billie! A great nights sleep too and a perfectly dry and un soggy comfy and cosy bed to sleep in. Too much food, too much drink, a bit of biking ( round the campsite once ) a bit of walking and a bit of sun. Perfect!