A milestone for the old girl

Today sees me clock up 10,000 miles on Pam, my Honda Pan European, since I acquired her on my birthday in August last year.

No-one else has ridden the bike since I got her, so I have done every last one of them. Getting another bike hasn't changed my life but my life has changed greatly. I sat in the homely kitchen of Gary and Glenda, the previous owners the day I bought the bike and I was fired up about the future despite having no permanent residence.

In that time the exhaust has developed a few rust holes that I knew were going to happen, I've replaced the pads, oil, filters, plugs and tyres and bought myself a tank cover and matching bags. Having been used heavily over the winter, Pam is showing signs of surface rust which wasn't there 9 months ago but she still looks great.

Total problems are that being a very large touring bike, idiots parking mopeds in the bike bay near work don't seem to see her and knock the wing mirror cases off on a regular basis so they are now scratched. About the only other kiss came from the cowboy boot of a work colleague who got a lift home and exited the bike by sliding over the panniers rather than stepping off leaving a nice scratch.

Pam is always there for me, has never let me down, starts first time, cheers me up whenever I see her and never complains. In fact she is almost like a...yes, a motorbike.