It is over a week since I returned from my holiday and it seems like a lifetime away. The weather is cold and the skies are for the most at least still grey. However I do feel a lot better than at the same time last year. The winter break has done me the world of good and I am sure I will be going away at Christmas for the foreseeable future. As usual at this time of year I have splashed out on a load of goodies and my credit card is screaming. I have bought mainly travelling gear and some pieces of what I deem as essential kit for Rhonda.
Seeing as Rhonda has not been out for a few weeks I pulled the covers off her and fired her up. She started after a few stabs of the button and within a few minutes we were flying down the highways and byways without a care in the world. It was at this point I noticed a distinct odour emanating from the engine. It was a truly disgusting smell and one I recognised but could not a put a name to. It was akin to burning rubber and sulphur. Slightly alarmed I stopped to see if any thing obvious was amiss. Not being able to detect anything I carried on and returned home and recovered the bike.
My garden is not really big enough to put another shed into it and I do not have a garage. Rhonda is therefore covered up in a waterproof cover and wrapped in swaddling to keep her warm and relatively rust free. I have enough security chains on her to tie up a medium size battle ship and she is as secure as I can make her. As I was putting the covers on, I noticed a lot of holes in the fabric of the cover and on inspection decided they looked distinctly like cat claw puncture marks. I also notice some paw marks on the pillion seat and the truth dawned on me.
Being warm and waterproof, the local cats have been using Rhonda as a place to doss down in the cold and wet weather. As competition for places have obviously been limited they have been spraying my beloved motorbike to mark their territory in an attempt to keep other cats away. I have to assume the main culprit is Genghis and he has been spraying to let other cats know this is his pad.
Exactly what has been going through his tiny fur covered mind I do not know. I would like to think he has just been keeping guard on my property and making himself cosy in the process but as cats are not exactly renowned for their altruism I suspect this train of thought may have less than a grain of truth in it. I will probably have to rearrange the garden to accommodate a shed of some size to place my bike in. One thing is for sure I not going to tolerate for much longer the smell of burning rubber and cat piss.