Rob writes...

Well tomorrow is a big day for me – a trip up to The Triumph factory at Hinkley to pick up my wheels for the trip, a Triumph Bonneville.
Nearly 800cc of British engineering and possibly one of the most iconic bikes, the Bonnie will be my home for the days we are travelling.
As Tom said we have lost our support vehicle and one rider due to unforeseen circumstances, and Dave has had to pull out as he has some other pressing medial commitments.
In his stead, we have Ken Hamilton now joining us on an Enfield Bullet to take care of the photographic duties. We will also be joined by SingleMalt TV (www.singlemalt.tv) who will be helping document the trip.
Meantime I have been reading in some of the bike mags that the Bonnie is not really a touring bike, not meant for the motorway.
Well I guess we are going to test that theory pretty much. And to be honest I think we should blow it out of the water. The marketing manager at Triumph, who has been behind this trip and supported us ever since I approached them, told me yesterday that the bike has returned from a trip round France with another journo, so UK motorways we shall see…
Apart from that the team are pretty much fired up and ready to go next week, just the packing and last minute prep to take care of.
If you happen to live near the routes we will be taking and fancy a ride out then come and join us, why not.
Oh and we will see you all at the Scottish Classic Motorbike show at Fenwick on Sunday 7th, where Tom is doing the ribbon cutting honours.

A week to go...

Right, there have been call-offs (we no longer have Land-Rover backup)but the Great Journey's Blend trip is on for next week...Rob and Ken will be making their way (with camera crew from from Single Malt TV) Norwich to Orkney on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. News from Bonnybridge is that the old Trophy will be ready (after horrendous amounts of dimantling and mantling) for me to pick it up on Wednesday. I'll head straight for Fort William on Thursday and there, we will rendezvous for the whole thing to kick off.

At least, that's the plan...

Triumph in Bonnybridge, Rob safely back in Norwich (via Shanghai)

The Triumph Trophy seems to be in the Bonnybridge garage recommended by my BBC colleague Bill Whiteford, so all should be relatively well...however, my plan to catch the boat from Shetland to Orkney and meet up with The Whisky Pilgrims there has had to be abandoned.

Now I hope to meet Rob and the rest in Tain, for lunch at Glenmorangie before heading to Fort William. First though, what's Mr Allanson been up to?

Well OK, hands up, I should have written about my trip up to Tain when I got back, but things, and a trip to China conspired against me. I just don’t want to end up in one of these situations where you get “Dear Diary…nothing much has happened so I haven’t written to weeks…”

Anyhoo, so the run went well and my little Korean packhorse loaded up to the gunnels with a roll bag and soft panniers did me well there and back.
It took, including a stop in to see my dad and a wonderful brunch, about 11 ¾ hours in total.

There is definitely something about travelling by bike that you don’t get when you take the car. I was sitting in an eatery at Blyth service station when a couple walked in, helmets in hand and jackets on. They were from Norway and were heading up to Edinburgh on what looked like an old Triumph California. We had a good natter about distilleries and drams we had know and loved. Don’t see that with car drivers…
One of my favourite bits of the trip up was sweeping through the Black Isle at dusk to get to the Anderson pub at Fortrose. The scenery, the light scent of the sea and the promise of a good beer and whisky made those last few miles wonderful.

As for the Anderson, if you are ever in that neck of the woods drop in for a glass or two, or even stay. The food, dinner and breakfast, is glorious and you might just learn something at the bar if Jim is holding forth.
I know I did. I now have a new beer friend called Aventinus from Schneider. A dark wheat beer that is simply knee melting – thanks for that Jim!!

After a pleasant night’s rest and a breakfast to stop me til tea time, I struck out on the final leg up to Tain and Glenmorangie.
I don’t know what it is but riding over bridges, especially the one over the Cromarty Firth, just feels odd. Left and right out of the visor is all water, the brain says nooo not right. A funny feeling.

Finally the sat nav (I swear that’s not cheating) guided me to Glenmorangie House where I was met by, the horror of it, a gravel driveway, not the sort of thing you want with a laden bike. Slip slide nice.
One thing I did learn on this journey was a new aspect to parental love. When I got to my dad’s I had been caught in a couple of serious downpour and my boots had leaked. Dad took my wet socks and gave me some dry ones – serious bliss!
The way home was pretty uneventful to be honest. A 12 hour push in one day. The occasional moment of wondering when the next petrol station is, and in fact when the bike is going to cough and stop.

All in all a good start to our big adventure in a couple of weeks. The task ahead is massive, if not epic.

Bike found, trashed

...and I've had to head north, leaving it in Glasgow, exposed to the elements and any renewed attempts to abduct it. Or simply destroy it. Insurance is proving worse than useless, as is every single bike repair company I've contacted. Big thanks to Bill for his efforts on my behalf, but that particular garage's van was too small. It's as if the insurance companies actually want someone to remove it permanently/render it beyond repair.

I'm awaiting news tomorrow of a possible uplifting of the machine. But my insurers said the damage - one sidepanel and comprehensive wrecking of the wiring loom - was 'probably a write off'. Good grief.

Tom's bike stolen

Five days after acquiring a Triumph Trophy specifically for the Journey's Blend project, Tom's mode of two-wheeled transport was stolen from outside his son's flat in the west end of Glasgow.

It had been parked there for around 12 hours. It's almost certain to be broken up for spares, so it's unlikely you'll see it on eBay or elsewhere. If you do, though, it's the only Triumph of its age in Alfa Romeo Rosso Red.

Now, Tom is wondering what to do. Apart from, in the immediate future, getting the bus to Aberdeen...