Schuberth E2 helmet: the right lid at last

The last ride but one – wearing the Nexx Viljord flip front/modular helmet – convinced me beyond all doubt that it had to go. It was too tight around the jaw, the ears and, probably worst of all, on the top of my head – where it really hurt. I couldn’t deny it any longer. It was the kind of torture that meant that after about an hour, maybe less, I just wanted to stop riding. And added to the physical pain was the realisation that I had wasted a large sum of money on this. So a week ago I took the train down to Motolegends just outside Guildford, walked from the station down to the shop and told them the story – that I’d tried on a Schuberth E2 large and extra large at the MCN show and that L was far too small and XL a little, I thought, too big. But after measuring my head they started me out with a large and gave the fitting proper attention, changing the cheek pads and neck roll, repeatedly checking for fit, until we were satisfied that this was the right fit. As the guy said about my experience at the MCN show, its not rocket science to fit a helmet properly and Schuberth’s selling point is that people can adapt the padding to get the fit right for them. But of course at a trade show, there’s no way someone on a large stall with hundreds of customers is going to take the time and trouble to do this. I was sceptical about trade shows to start with and I am even more now – at least if you are there for some shopping that needs careful attention. (Or getting fitted for custom earbuds – which was fine because I knew exactly what I wanted from UltimateEar.)

An hour later, I walked out of the shop with a big orange and white and box and my bank account £560 lighter. I tried it on at home and it felt just right. I spent some time trying to clamp on my new Senna EVO20S but in the end gave up and used the glue mount – heating up the helmet first for a good seal and with a neat tethering cord hooked inside the helmet just in case. It turned out easy to swap out the speakers that are already fitted (for the ridiculously expensive kit that they offer) and replace it with the Sennas (they are probably the same speakers). The boom mike is a little short but I doubt I will use it. Slightly more challenging was fitting a helmet cam. There was just no way to mount my Sony so I bought three attempts at the right mount for my GoPro and after studying how a couple of Vloggers have mounted theirs on a flip front, more or less copied the approach, also heating everything up before gluing and installing a tether from the camera to a discretely mounted spot inside the chin bar. Its a little heavy but all feels sound.

I rode from Cambridge up to the land in Suffolk and back again, with the GoPro filming and all seems well.

I am happy with the Schuberth and can see its beautifully made, just one thing though: Next to lids like the Arai Tour X or the Nexx XD, it does look like a huge germanic spherical thing with a peak stuck to it. You wouldn’t exactly call it aggressively styled. But this was definitely a function-over-style decision. I’m not complaining.

KTM bike in a barn with rider in front

Camping on the land post-work

1st April 2023 was the start of a new part of life and to draw a line of sorts under the routine that went before, I decided to ride up to our land (half an acre of land with an old barn without services) and spend a few nights camping (instead of sitting at my desk). It would also be a testing ground for my trip to Norway later in the year, a chance to try some new devices too.

It wasn’t a huge trip. Here’s the overall map.

Just under 200 miles in total.

First, thoughts about the weather and the impact that had. This Spring has been cold and wet here, slow to come. I was lucky in a way for my few days in that the days were sunny and, if you were in the sun and out of the wind, warm. In fact just warm enough on Tuesday to mow the whole field without a shirt – it takes most of the day to do. But as soon as it started to get dark, the temperature fell and the nights were (forecast to be) 2 degrees c. The grass, and my tent, had frost on it in the morning. That’s a first for me.

I have two sleeping bags. I think of them as a southern and a northern European version. I packed by Rab Ascent 900 (I think) which is a down bag and super toasty, though it takes up a lot of room in a pack – 3 or even 4 times the volume of my Mont Bel lighter bag – so its quite a commitment to pack for a journey. So at 9pm I crawled into it with long johns, thermal socks, three layers including a Patagonia quilted jacket – and fell asleep. I awoke during the night of course and was over heated and removed layer after layer and was still too warm. But I noticed that the outside of my sleeping bag was wet with condensation and so was the inside of the tent. In the morning I discovered that the foot of the bag where it rubbed up against the tent was very wet. I felt confident that all would dry out in the warm sun the next day but wondered whether this would trouble my camping in Norway where the next day may well be wet. (Mo I Rana is 9 degrees high and 4 low – that’s the furthest north and other cities seem to go no lower than 10 or 12 degrees coldest, though rain is frequent). I need to decide whether I need to take this large bag….

For the second night I slept in the barn on a makeshift bed, next to my bike.

I’ve been gathering some new kit and gadgets over the winter for my trip. Here’s a summary of what worked well and what didn’t and what problems I need to sort out before June 12th:

The helmet – Nexx Viljord flip front

Occasionally it was totally comfortable and at times really so uncomfortable you want the ride to end. Nice in the city to ride with the lid open. Riding at speed with the lid up is possible but not for long. Moving it around the head helps and opening it for a spell then closing again also helps. Needs wearing in big time.  At times I thought this just will not work and I need to swallow the fact I’ve wasted £350 and try the Schuberth again and get some proper fitting advice.

Sena 20s Evo bluetooth headset

Works well clear and loud. No crackling or distortion. Which way turns it up and can the radio be got to work? A good buy though I didn’t use the earbuds that I had made (£180) as I didn’t need to because the sound was loud enough but also the helmet was too tight. 

Trangia stove

Is heavy and takes up valuable space but the adjustment of the flame is superb. Lights easily. I used the frying pan and the useful kettle but not the saucepan that I took. It’s a different experience to the lightweight stove I had before. It’s an end to perching and instability. I don’t think I’m going to go back.

GoPro Hero 11 camera

Easy to use and nice to see what I’m filming which you can’t do with the Sony. The 1/4” adapter mount is useless because it doesn’t tighten enough so if not level to start with, it slowly tilts back till headshots from the handlebar mount end up as sky shots. I will use the ball mount instead. That might be better made. 

Sony action cam – its not new just newly mounted

The waterproof container got locked somehow so buttons didn’t work and I failed to record some things. Also the remote refused to find the camera as it often does and turning it on by hand is uncertain, even when unlocked. I need to sort this so that I know when it is turned on. Not knowing is not good enough.

Rollei travel tripod

this is a new piece of kit. Is easy to use, quite small and light to pack. I set it up when I arrived and kept it around and used it a lot. Is a game changer for self filming. Would I use it on campsites or by the roadside? Maybe not. Looks good. Versatile as all my cameras have a thread and the GoPro adapter doesn’t slip on that because you tend to use it level.

Hario Coffee filter dripper for One

Again, it takes up more room than the GSI dripper that folds completely flat – but that had design faults. This delivers a much nice and more predictable cup of coffee and does not sag, bend or get stuck on top of the cup. This is a keeper – and only cost a tenner.

 

A crazy ride back to Cambridge

Today was not a good day to be trying to travel north from London. The M11 was closed – but I knew that in advance and planned a sneaky route on the slightly nicer A10 but no one warned me that the A10 was closed at the M25 junction so many slow miles across country followed to that old-time route up the A1M to Cambridge. My city council garage is being demolished. Storm Eustace damaged the block – where I used to keep my Beamer on the top floor before they relocated me (luckily) to the ground floor.

Poorly built – just one brick thick

So now the whole building is being pulled down. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if the council sell this premium land to a developer to squeeze some flats onto it. Last week with the help of my son and Cambridge Car and Van Rental on Newmarket Road we emptied the artwork and furniture and relocated to Davy Road in a more residential part of the city. Today was my chance to take the bike back up there and sort out a few things like a ground anchor and some coat hooks – but everything about the garage is hard concrete so these things are either impossible with my battery operated tools or take hours. My drill got so hot I burnt myself on it.

It all looked so neat to start with
New home for a while

The clocks moved to British Summer Time today. When I left the garage for the short walk over the bridge to the station, the evening sun was shining, the playground opposite was full of families and small kids and a couple of guys were walking past with some loud soul music playing – a nice moment or two. Hardly anyone was speaking English.

My indirect route – about 85 miles and three hours riding

A second staycation on the bike (2021)

There’s something about these trips at home that fail to ignite the flame of real excitement – the excitement of boarding the overnight ferry, of rolling off riding on another side of the road, of not saying much because you can’t speak the language, and usually, sunnier weather. But we are where we are and for this trip I have a new motorcycle, after a couple of years of wanting something less likely to land me in it when stuck or on an incline.

But its been hard to give full attention to preparing for the trip. I booked three campsites back in April – one in Derbyshire, one in Yorkshire, and the final in Cumbria ( I think) not far from Hadrian’s Wall. But over the last week I’ve been struggling with moving all my websites from the imminently closing Webfaction to another hosting company (I’ve never had to encounter A records before) as well as getting more and more frustrated with my insurer Carole Nash who have taken payment for a policy I cancelled – on my old bike – despite assurances that they would not. So these have been distractions. Also, with my bike now stored away from home, packing has been complicated. I have been scrabbling to kit out the bike for travel. I’ve installed a new GPS and recently have a new (small) tank bag from Mosko Moto but have to stuff my luggage into a rolltop bag strapped to the rear rack. I don’t even have a map holder for the tank bag (its on order along with a large rackless luggage kit) so have decided not to take any paper maps for the first time.

My sheepskin lives again
Even more minimal packing
Even fewer clothes

New stuff to try out – apart from the bike – drip feed coffee filter I saw on tshansen’s channel about camping with his KTM 790 Adv…

…and the less exciting proper footprint/groundsheet for my new-last-year tent. But last year the groundsheet I had was too big, my Thermarest roll was too long, and there was one too few tent pegs. This year these should go smoothly. I also have an adapter to try to recharge some of my electronics via a shaving point adapter…

What could possibly go wrong?

More poised

I’ve made a more poised entry to the Wee campsite number 30 in the Cool Camping book. The midges are just appearing but though it’s overcast it’s dry – well it’s not raining.

Midge war
I think these are designed to be worn with a hat

This little site seems to attract people from all over Europe who sit on easy chairs in couples quietly reading paperbacks. The view is over a loch and there is sunlight on distant mountains but I hardly look at the view. I rode through breathtaking scenery and as I was warned you begin to take it for granted. You almost have to.

I met four Spanish bike riders from Spain who find Scotland to be paradise although they told me at home it was already 30 degrees and not raining. I stopped and chatted and caught them up thanks to my new found countersteering skill which zooms me around corners. I road 80 miles in vain from the Mallaig ferry only to find it was all booked up till 4:30 – this seems impossible.

This is a pretty little site with basic facilities.

IMG_5377
The facilities are basic

My neighbours in a huge tent are still out (luckily as it turned out). We are all a bit squashed and a man about 20 feet away continually coughs in a way that suggests he won’t be holidaying next year. Tomorrow I will make it up to the top of this beautiful country. To Durness.

Now a German couple drive in on vintage bikes each with a sidecar, one is a 1944 BMW! The other is a single cylinder bike (AJS I think) that sounds fantastic as it arrives. They have ridden round Iceland via Denmark on their way here and within minutes – no seconds – of efficiency have put up a big Robins tent. I am amazed. This makes me consider getting a larger tent to shelter from the rain that seems to afflict every camping trip.

Vintage 1944 German BMW with sidecar
Beamer with sidecar

Look, tent envy.

IMG_5381
Another bike and their huge tent

Day 4 summary:

Miles 188.7Average speed 43.3Max speed 88.4Riding time 4.33