November 2017 - TBNI - The Official TBNI World Blog

Scotland’s North Coast 500 (NC500) – In 2 Days (Day 1/4)

November 29, 2017November 29, 2017 by TomBoyNI

Disclaimer : Having completed the Wild Atlantic Way in under a week I thought a reasonable time period to complete the North Coast 500 would be two days. However you will notice that this ride report actually covers four days – so what’s that about? Well it’s simply about travel. One day to get to the start and one day takes me home. So really it’s a four day trip to Scotland, during which I completed the NC500 in two.

Download the NC500 GPS File Here : http://www.tbni.blog/downloads/North-Coast-500.gpx

Day 1 : 29/07/2016 : Two of us set off on this journey, myself on my 2014 BMW F800GS Adventure, my mate on his Kawasaki ZX10R. Yep an adventure bike and a sports bike are heading to the Highlands.

The day starts of at Belfast heading to Cairnryan on the 07:30 am ferry. At 07:30 am the most important thing is breakfast and at £10.00 for a fry I am expecting a great breakfast. Nope – not great at all. It tasted alright but the portions were beyond miserable. The beans consisted of 3 lonely individuals drowning in a sea of watered down tomato sauce. One good point is that if you buy a cup of tea / coffee your refills are free. Maybe the £10 fries subsidise the hot drinks bill?

Here are a few tips for this ferry :

1. Get a McD’s breakfast on the way to the boat.

2. Sit in the bar – not the restaurant. FIFA on an xBox was in the bar.

3. Find someone a bit secluded on the boat – the bodies (by the time you move off) will be strewn about everywhere, the noises are like when zombies fall asleep with a sinsus infection. People really need to try sleeping the night before their journey!

On a plus note through the weather was glorious! My fingers were crossed it stays this way!

NC500 : Belfast - Cairnryan Ferry — NC500 : Belfast – Cairnryan Ferry

2017 Motorcycle Live Review – MCL in a Day – from Northern Ireland

December 5, 2018November 24, 2017 by TomBoyNI

Motorcycle Live is probably the UK’s biggest Motorcycle Show and follows closely on the heels of the big European shows – as such it is normally the first opportunity that we in the UK get to look at all the goodies the manufacturers are planning on bring out in 2018.

That makes it a pretty exciting show for UK bike fans.

Coming from Northern Ireland though it is quite a trek to get to, and it means a really early start to get the most out of the day.

I have been going over for a good few years and I had pretty much perfected the routine of getting up early getting to Belfast for a 7.30 am flight – getting into Birmingham, getting fed and getting into the event for the doors opening at 10.00 am. The flights would have cost about £70 for the return fare – Motorcycle Live and a Programme is about £30 so all in it was about £100 for the day.

This year though I went a little different. I was able to pick up flights for £19.98 for the return with Ryanair – then the £30 for the show and programme meaning the full day was costing a mere £50 ish. The only trade off was the start time and travelling.

The flight was at 6.55 am so I had to get up at 3.00 am and head to Dublin Airport. That got me in at about 7.40 am. So 2 hours 20 minutes before the show starts. Then it was time for my best kept secret. Off the plane and up the stairs in the Airport for a Frankie and Benny’s breakfast. Every year everyone hurries off the plane and rushes to the adjoining NEC – I however go upstairs, sit down and enjoy a tasty breakfast of bacon and scrambled eggs (the eggs by the way are outstanding). That was my plan this year as well although it now seems that this well kept secret has been rumbled – half the damn plane went! However the most important thing remains – the eggs were outstanding!

With breakfast eaten and thoroughly enjoyed it was still only 08.30 am. An hour and a half until the doors open, so bring a book, magazine, iPad or whatever to pass the time, or if like me you like a little flutter you could always check out the casino at the Genting Arena, about 5 minutes of a walk will take you to it from the NEC – so hop on the fun little monorail and zip over to the NEC and pass the time.

Before we even consider going any further here is the most important tip for the day :

Bring your Driving Licence.

I forgot mine!

RIP – Dan Hegarty, 31, Macau GP, 18/11/2017

November 21, 2017November 19, 2017 by TomBoyNI

TBNI.blog and I would like to offer my condolences to the family , friends and team of Daniel Hegarty who sadly paid the ultimate price yesterday at the Macau GP. Another great rider gone too soon.

Whatsapp Scam : Text Message States Subscription has Expired – Click Link and Pay 99p for Lifetime Subscription – Don’t Click – Don’t Pay

November 15, 2017 by TomBoyNI

This scam has been about before and is actually quite clever as previously you could have paid 99p for a Lifetime of Whatsapp (or a year depending when you joined), but since 2016 Whatsapp has been free and still is!

So don’t click the link and don’t pay! This is an attempt by scammers to harvest payment details and no doubt rip you off further. Just press delete.

Don’t give it another thought – this is a scam full stop. Delete it, ignore and keep enjoying your Whatsapp.

Oh and on this instance the message was sent to my phone number as a regular Text Message not even as a Whatsapp Message – why would Whatspp do that. Think about it then forget it, happy that you still have your 99p and more importantly that you haven’t given this scum your bank details!

The wording of the message is :

Your subscription has expired. To verify your account and purchase a lifetime subscription for just 0.99 GBP simply tap on this link [LINK REMOVED]

Griffin Survivor Extreme : iPhone X Case – Unboxing and Review

November 15, 2017November 15, 2017 by TomBoyNI

Another iPhone and another chance for Griffin to produce a new version of their hugely popular, successful and extremely protective Survivor Case.

In fact the traditional Survivor Case is now actually a range of cases. There is a Survivor Extreme, Survivor Strong, Survivor Clear, Survivor Prime, Survivor Fit and coming soon there is a Survivor All-Terrain. With the exception of the latter the above list goes from most rugged to least. Least by the way does not mean none, the survivor fit is tested for a 2.1 metre drop so is certainly no slouch.

This review though focuses on the Griffin Survivor Extreme.

I managed to pick this up off Amazon at a bargain £21, the RRP being £47 on the Griffin website and Amazon are now selling it for closer to the £40 mark.

It arrived next day (thank you Prime) and I was excited to get at it. I have used a Griffin Survivor before, although I think it was about the era of my iPhone 5. I remember it as a proper rugged case, I had no issues whatsoever with it, it really is remembered fondly.

Look at that range – it was a great case and I remember correctly – it was the case I got for my iPhone 5 on release day :

http://tbni.blog/2012/09/22/griffin-survivor-iphone-5-unboxing-and-initial-thoughts-and-reviews/

In fact after a little searching I was even rocking one of these on my iPhone 4 :

http://tbni.blog/2012/08/23/griffin-survivor-iphone-44s-case-thoughts-and-photos/

But times have changed – we are now at the iPhone X, my needs haven’t really changed though – I still need a good rugged case and when I seen this Griffin Survivor Survivor Extreme (especially at the price I paid) I thought my problems were solved.

2017 Macau Grand Prix Practice & Race Session Timings (UK Times)

November 17, 2017November 15, 2017 by TomBoyNI

Macau GP Logo

The Macau GP Race Fesitval is now underway.

You can find the full schedule of the event here : http://www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo/gp/64/schedule/index.php?content=171&lang=en

If you are in the UK the important timings are as follows :

Check out the Official Stream Here : https://livestream.com/MacauGP-Global/MacauGP2017

Motorcycle schedule:

Wednesday 15th November 2017 : 23.30 Practice

Thursday 16th November 2017 : 07.40 Qualifying Session 1

Thursday 16th November 2017 : 23.30 Qualifying Session 2

Saturday 18th November 2017 : 03.30 Warm up

Saturday 18th November 2017 : 07.40 RACE

Follow the Official Twitter Feed Here : https://twitter.com/macaugpbikes

2018 IRRC Schedule Released

November 13, 2017 by TomBoyNI

The 2018 IRRC schedule has been released.

The exciting six race series runs from May – September and consists of the following events :

5th – 6th May : Hengelo, Netherlands

16th – 17th : Terlicko, Czech Republic

6th – 8th July : Imatranajo, Finland

27th – 29th July : Chimay, Belgium

18th – 19th August : Horice, Czech Republic

22nd – 23rd September : Frohburg, Germany

All dates and events have been added to our iCal Road Racing Calendar so make sure to subscribe to stay up to date will all events :

http://tbni.blog/2017/04/05/road-racing-calendar-now-available/

Enniskillen 100 Set for a return in 2018

November 13, 2017 by TomBoyNI

The rumour mill is in full swing that 2018 will see the return of the Enniskillen 100. No dates are available as yet but rest assured that when more news becomes available we will let you all know.

The official club website can be found at : http://enniskillen100revival.com

After too much news last year focusing on clubs that couldn’t survive or were really struggling to it is great to have the potential to be adding another event to the road Racing Calendar!

THE FUTURE OF THE ENNISKILLEN 100

The Enniskillen 100 Road Race was last run on 20 August 1952. Any Funds raised by Enniskillen and District Motorcycle Club Ltd. will contribute to the potential Revival of the Enniskillen 100. Steps are being taken to assess the feasability of this project – watch this space for updates. We are currently seeking a suitable Circuit suggestions welcome.

Make sure to follow our Road Racing iCal Calendar to keep up to date with all events and never miss another thing again. Oh and it’s free!

https://tbni.blog/2017/04/05/road-racing-calendar-now-available/

iPhone X : A Week Later

November 9, 2017November 10, 2017 by TomBoyNI

iPhone X - 3rd November 2017 — iPhone X – 3rd November 2017

Rather than do an unboxing video or solo gallery of the new iPhone X I have decided to combine a gallery with my initial thoughts and a very short term review.

I have had the iPhone X a week, having been lucky enough to get one on release day (3rd November 2017), and I’ll be straight up – I am impressed.

I’ll also be honest – it is damned expensive! A 256 GB model will set you back £1149 and if you want AppleCare it’s another £199 – so thats £1348 for a phone with 2 years piece of mind! If you dont want piece of mind just throw your eyes over this repair price list – it may (or may not) sway your decision on AppleCare. Personally I get AppleCare on all my Apple devices – (something I have never actually had reason to use) whether you do or not is obviously a personal choice however at these prices some sort of insurance seems like a no-brainer.

Full details on AppleCare – what it covers, and what it doesn’t and how much you pay can be found here : https://support.apple.com/en-gb/iphone/repair/service/pricing

#GAWA : Good Luck Northern Ireland

November 9, 2017 by TomBoyNI

Tonight Northern Ireland take on Switzerland in Belfast in the first of their World Cup Qualifiers for Russia 2018. The away leg being on Sunday 12th November 2017.

I just want to wish the Team the very best of luck – Let’s Do This! #DareToDream #GAWA #WeAreNotBrazilWeAreNorthernIreland

Let me say it again : #DareToDream