I was on the BMW Off Road Skills course in South Wales the weekend before which was a brilliant (if expensive) confidence builder in terms of what a complete novice can do with a bike off road. A quick word of thanks too to Jasext and his mate Terry for keeping me entertained the night before.

The eagle eyed amongst you may realise I'm carrying my nobbly tyres as I was riding down and back through France and Spain which would kill the nobblies. Of course the extra 15kg+ and the lack of suspension adjustment meant the front wheel was given to serious vibrations whenever I came to a stop.

The lesson I learnt from riding through France and Spain on autoroutes on the way down is that it is bum numbingly dull and is not something I want to do again.