D -4

In four days time the waiting will be over and I'll be on the first part of this tour. A short, 2 hour hop up to Burton Latimer near Kettering, for an overnight stop with my buddy Helen.

After weeks and weeks of dry, hot and sunny weather, the last two days have been dull, windy and wet. I'm hoping this isn't a prelude of what's to come and that we can return to what we've got used to recently.

I have a couple of days holiday this week, which will allow me time to get packed and to get Ginny prepped. She'll get a bit of a polish and a full tank of fuel before we set off. Tomtom has been updated today and my routes have been downloaded. They will keep me off the straight and not so narrow in the main and on scenic and more interesting roads, until I get to the NC500 itself. Obviously, once there, I pretty much have to follow a fixed route, like everyone else. I do have a slight detour built in, towards the end of the route but you'll have to wait to find out what that is.

I'll be updating the blog daily, so don't forget to keep checking in. Obviously, if you've signed up for email updates, then you'll find them in your inbox each day.

Prepared for the worst

Thanks to the advice from some biking peeps at RBS and my bro', I have purchased some of Avon's Skin So Soft, which apart from keeping my rough old skin as smooth as a new born's botty, will apparently deter any midges from wanting to lunch on me. I've read many a review praising the stuff as a midge repellent, in fact more than I have for it being good to the skin. Hopefully it will do the trick, that's if the heatwave we've experienced, yes even in Scotland, hasn't killed them off first. Either way, I'm prepared.

By the time I start the trip, I shall be retired, with my last working day being the day before. I have some holiday to take before then, so I have plenty of time to plan my packing, etc.

If you've not already done so, then you should sign up for email updates, otherwise you risk missing out on how I get on. For now though, I'll bid you farewell. I'll be back in touch on 2nd August.

Avon's midge repellent