Mamerki – and as Gareth knows I love a good conspiracy…

But today I had four. In a bunker, hidden deep in the woods of NE Poland, the site of some secret WW2 activities that, wait for it, included;

  1. The supposed site of the plundered amber room, worth half a billion at today’s prices. All we know is that after the war, the Amber Room was never seen in public again, this compounded by the destruction in 1968 of Königsberg Castle suggests it “has to be out there”.
  2. Die Glocke, which means “The Bell” and according to some researchers, was supposed to be a prototype of a machine for controlling magnetic field and gravitation, enabling the Nazis to journey in time.
  3. The UFO project, where the Germans flew a saucer shaped craft (Haunebu III) to carry 40 troops and fly and Mach 10 in silence. Not surprisingly it was a secret weapon of the Third Reich (Wunderwaffe).
  4. And lastly, a secret subterranean complex for the construction of U Boats that then allowed onward transport via a series of interconnected locks via the Mazurian Canal leading to the Baltic sea and overcoming the 110 meter drop.

All I know is these bunkers are pretty amazing, massive structures that are slowly being reclaimed by nature and won’t be moved in a hurry, and remember as Michael Barkun says, conspiracy theories rely on the view that the universe is governed by design, and embody three principles; nothing happens by accident, nothing is as it seems, and everything is connected.

Mamerki Bunkers

I nearly made a mistake today

Made a mistake today. I forgot the tell my Garmin that I wanted to avoid “roads that are flooded by incoming tides”…

So there I am merrily making my waywhen I get to my road only to find the incoming tide has covered it up and it will remain covered for 6 hours. Helpful locals had marked the route with tree branches stuck in the sand / mud and the sea tractor that normally makes the run does not operate at the weekends.

There was some encouragement to “give it a go” in various Cyrillic accents but thankfully I left my stupid head at home.

Flooded Road

Tyre Talk… its controversial.

One of the most lively issues on any bikers forum especially in relation to long distance trips is the issue of tyres. These little black circles are the only contact we have with the ground and total reliance in their integrity and design results in our trust in their performance, but… I fear style over substance is taking hold and this is based on my pre trip workshop enquiries, were a number of customers have asked for the most aggressive tyres that can find for is a primarily road based journey. For the trails I ride, potholed hardtop, forest trails, gravel, sand and unpaved back roads I want a tyre that I trust and I believe 90% of my tyres performance is in my head.

Sure knobblies will work in gloopy mud, the Dakar, and off road racing but for most of us a good open tread is all that is needed — face it most riders spend most of their time on the highway. I use a tyre that will get me from A to B then work effectively on the surfaces I expect then get me back from B to A. Talking to customers recently they seem more concerned about the appearance of the tyre on their bike, never mind its highway performance. The mantra seems to be the more aggressive looking the better. For me one thing is sure, I need confidence at 100 kmh on the road, in the rain, that an aggressive offroad based tyre simply will not give me – so don’t criticise me for my tyre choices, I would rather be safe and upright than look cool(er) but flat on my face.Dunlop Trailsmart

Hard v Soft… I know what I like

Seems to me that pannier manufactures have become a victim of their own success and there is now some inverted snobbery directed at hard luggage – had a conversation this week with a guy who claimed it was dangerous and if I was rear ended at speed my top box would injure me… I assured him that if I rear ended at speed the top box was the last thing on my mind I would worry about… For me the choice is simple, hard luggage is secure, robust and if you buy wisely, safe. The biggest mistake I see is massive pannier sets on bikes that increase width and the temptation to overpack – you really do not need all that stuff and extra weight. I use two small and slim Metal Mule panniers and a small top box – my packing has been refined over years of solo trips and you can see my packing list on one of the main site pages. Metal Mule are different, handmade in the UK, 2mm thick, lapped, riveted, with reinforced seams and edges and bases and just to be clear I have been saved by my panniers on a number of occasions, once in Norway when I was knocked of the bike by a coach, once in Italy when I was side swiped by a mobile phone wielding twat, once in France when the bike was tipped over by a myopic French driver… all these times the bike went down hard but my legs were protected, so it’s an easy choice for me, hard every day.

Hard v Soft