ARTNW Picture Thread

[Quiff Wichard]

well me is home from work now.!


so...

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8176.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8177.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8184.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8186.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8187.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8183.jpg


http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8187.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8188.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8190.jpg




this is one of the best ones she took all day I reckon.. well done Mand.. .. brill ..

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8186.jpg

[Quiff Wichard]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8181.jpg

and the best one I took all weekend..


ED seems to be enjoying his lunch a little toooo much .



http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8128.jpg

[Quiff Wichard]

few more off the phone to load up folks..

[wyrdness]

Whose idea was it to hold a Justin Beiber lookalike contest on a rideout?

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8177.jpg

[Quiff Wichard]

oh yea sfter the rideout we went down to southampton and matt sv and anita's house -

we saw the Queen Mary 2 .. it is biiig

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8230.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8233.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8234.jpg

and Matt saw a speed camera..

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8221.jpg

[Quiff Wichard]

us setting off.. stopped at Mandys pub..


http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/IMG_1624.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/IMG_1623.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/IMG_1622.jpg

ED's fire pit.. and Ralph's

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/IMG_1627.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/IMG_1628.jpg


that is it ! all my pics.

[Littlepeahead]

That QM2 is nearly as big as my car. As well as bits dropping off someone smashed of my wing mirror this morning too.

Great pics Mand. But did anyone get a single photo of Ravingdavis riding his bike?

[RichT]

oh yea sfter the rideout we went down to southampton and matt sv and anita's house -

and Matt saw a speed camera..

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8221.jpg

A couple of Organ's pass by that camera every day. Should have given us a shout Quiff.

[Quiff Wichard]

oh yeaa Lee on the solent we were at..

me dont know down there didnt realise we were so close to you

[YellowMonkeyBoy]

Does look good, Missed it though FFS #-o

[christopher]

Oh yeahhh theres some uncalled for leaning off if ever I saw it :takeabow:
Just your usual riding style then :p

this is one of the best ones she took all day I reckon.. well done Mand.. .. brill ..

Yep some very good shots she got, nice to see some "in action" ones instead of just at the stops :D

[sv4me]

Oi :smt019

Not that i'm denying it mind ;) overcooking it into that 90deg right hander after the crest on saturday, then it wasn't uncalled for! :smt103

[Milky Bar Kid]

I learnt a very valuable lesson at the AR....campchairs only hold on person...not Wideboy, Me, Tinpants, Badger, Girth.....and whoever else jumped on....http://i637.photobucket.com/albums/uu94/andysv/AR%2009/ARTNW/DSC_0147.jpg

[Speedy Claire]

I learnt a very valuable lesson at the AR....campchairs only hold on person...not Wideboy, Me, Tinpants, Badger, Girth.....and whoever else jumped on....


http://i637.photobucket.com/albums/uu94/andysv/AR%2009/ARTNW/DSC_0147.jpg



am surprised that one held us both!! apparantly someone requested some girl on girl action!!! I don`t think we gave a very good show tho lol.

[Bluefish]

No you didn't, i want my money back :(

[Speedy Claire]

No you didn't, i want my money back :(

you didn`t sign the cheque.. but now you`ve revealed your identity I could forge your signature :D :p

[sv4me]

http://i637.photobucket.com/albums/uu94/andysv/AR%2009/ARTNW/DSC_0147.jpg

Cmon Claire, put some effort into it ;)

[Bluefish]

you didn`t sign the cheque.. but now you`ve revealed your identity I could forge your signature :D :p


:D

[xXBADGERXx]

I learnt a very valuable lesson at the AR....campchairs only hold on person...not Wideboy, Me, Tinpants, Badger, Girth.....and whoever else jumped on....

I didn`t actually provide any mass to that chair collapse , I just doubled over and grabbed the end of my winkle to stop the wee coming out

[Milky Bar Kid]

I didn`t actually provide any mass to that chair collapse , I just doubled over and grabbed the end of my winkle to stop the wee coming out

Was much funniness....

[xXBADGERXx]

I know , I was crying with laughter then saw Lily`s face and felt like a naughty schoolboy

[Speedy Claire]

Cmon Claire, put some effort into it ;)

lol I think I was a bit too drunk!!! looks more like i`m trying to give her a huge love bite!!! :smt103

[fenjer]

Where's Ed's photos...

Come on Ed...

[MisterTommyH]

lovely little castle at whittington.. we often pass there and never stop.. will do next time.. there was a medieval day on there everyone in costume.. did you all notice it??

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b326/sigourneysbeaver/DSCF8153.jpg




Yup, and I've just noticed something else about that picture. Never seen a castle ruin in that shape before......

[-Ralph-]

Yup, and I've just noticed something else about that picture. Never seen a castle ruin in that shape before......

That masonry's got well and truly screwed over the years hasn't it! ;)

Wonder why the town is called Whittington then? Think there's any truth in the old folk tale of "D1ck Whittington"? :lol:

[Ed]

Where's Ed's photos...

Come on Ed...

Patience my friend!! I been away all week, not been able to do it, but I am starting to upload them to the bucket now.

[Ed]

No running commentary, just a few snaps.

sv4me's rig

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011205.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011204.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011203.jpg

Firepit just got going. Did I mention that I had my chain cleaner with me, my chain was a right state!!! - why did everyone stay on the other side the field for so long:confused: The site provided the steel trestle that it's sat on.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011206.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011209.jpg

And then it really got going, really hot:cool:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011211.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011212.jpg

Saturday morning, time to set off!

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011213.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011214.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011215.jpg

Next, when I realised that I didn't have a clue where we were going. I took a wrong turn in Llanidloes, ended up on a gravelly road headed for Rhayader. But nobody really cared. It was a fantastic road that I discovered by mistake, and with scenery like this you'd be very awkward to start whining.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011215.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011216.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011218.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011221.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011220.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011219.jpg

We eventually found the right road thanks to my superior map reading skills. C'mon, who needs sat nav?;);) Just as well sv4me had his, else we'd still be in the middle of nowhere.

But on the right road, the road up the side of Clwedog, enthusiasm took over. Well to be fair it's very easy to let enthusiasm take over on that road. I couldn't quite remember where the left turn was, so I was going a bit slow, so hardly surprising that others overtook, and missed the turn. Oops. Most of us did a left at Staylittle and took the mountain road to Mach. They've resurfaced it, it's really good, but the wind up there was so strong I had to lean like crazy into it to avoid being blown off. Fantastic road. Down into Mach, refuelled and waited for the lostees to catch up.

Into Aberdyfi. English spelling is Aberdovey. Dyfi is lovely, upmarket place on the Dyfi estuary. By now all getting a bit tired - it was red hot - and a belated lunch. We had lost time cos of a late start (the site cafe didn't open for brekkie till 9 FFS, and then there were to ofew staff) and then not evertyone had fueled up so I stopped at Ellesmere to make sure nobody ran dry.

Aberdyfi:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011229.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011228.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011227.jpg

[Ed]

Here's all the bikes parked up on Aberdyfi sea front. We should all enter 'show us your illegally parked bike' thread as every sinle one was parked on the orange hatching:cool::

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011222.jpg

Mirror mirror on the wall,
Who's got the coolest bike of all:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011223.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011224.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011225.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011226.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011237.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011232.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011233.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011234.jpg

Here's the shed on wheels. No that's the horrible thing behind Daryl's bike:smt082:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011235.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011236.jpg

Here's a nice arze;):

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011238.jpg


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011239.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011240.jpg

Sorry if I missed your bike out... sun was so strong on the image screen that I couldn't see what I was taking, so there was a bit of guesswork.

By the time we were ready to go there was general consensus that we didn't have time to go through Tywyn up to Dolgellau and Barmouth, so we went back to the campsite along the horrible A458. I really don't like that road, the twists are just too much - 270 degrees in some cases, road usually streaming wet as it's under the trees next to a rockface, and bits of gravel and rock over the road - and I'm usually tired by this stage. I turned off onto the A495 for Meifod and Llantsanfraid-ym-Mechan, and stopped just past the junction while the people who had buggered off up the A487 at Dyfi Bridge just outside Mach caught up (why did you:confused::confused: - it's not an obvious route back).

Once stopped, everyone overtook and I fess up that I was so glad when they did, the pressure of leading really shouldn't be underestimated - am I going too fast, am I going too slow, that's difficult to judge with 27 bikes and a wide range of abilities behind me, would people like me filtering through the traffic in Welshpool town centre with that stupid one way system, would everyone follow me on the 3 - 4 mile filter past the hardly moving traffic on the road into Newtown or am I going to p1ss some people off, where the hell am I going, are we sticking to time, what about the guys (Ryan and Sean ) two up on a restricted bike, all the while thinking 'I'm busting for a pee and if I don't stop soon I'm going to wet myself'.

Back to this

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011243.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011244.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011245.jpg

You prolly guessed - I like fire:cool:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011249.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011247.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011248.jpg

It was a simply fantastic weekend. Great company, great weather, great roads.

Thank you everyone:D

[Specialone]

Good pics Ed :)
You missed the nicer looking bike though, my sprint obviously.


Thanks again for organising the weekend, it wouldn't have happened without you sorting it all out, wish it was this weekend ;)

[fenjer]

Firepit just got going. why did everyone stay on the other side the field for so long:confused:



Making sure it was safe, we saw the lighting fluid you used....


Next, when I realised that I didn't have a clue where we were going. I took a wrong turn in Llanidloes, ended up on a gravelly road headed for Rhayader. But nobody really cared. It was a fantastic road that I discovered by mistake, and with scenery like this you'd be very awkward to start whining.



It was fantastic, and the scenery was pretty, but the being lost was a tad inconvenient.



Who needs sat nav? Just as well sv4me had his, else we'd still be in the middle of nowhere.

But on the right road, the road up the side of Clwedog, enthusiasm took over.



Really?

Well to be fair it's very easy to let enthusiasm take over on that road. I couldn't quite remember where the left turn was, so I was going a bit slow, so hardly surprising that others overtook, and missed the turn. Oops.

But the plan was to follow SV4ME and the satnav, not to split the groups, so overtaking shouldnt have been an issue...

Most of us did a left at Staylittle and took the mountain road to Mach. They've resurfaced it, it's really good, but the wind up there was so strong I had to lean like crazy into it to avoid being blown off. Fantastic road. Down into Mach, refuelled and waited for the lostees to catch up.

No we didnt - we left without them...again.



By the time we were ready to go there was general consensus that we didn't have time to go through Tywyn up to Dolgellau and Barmouth, so we went back to the campsite along the horrible A458.




I turned off onto the A495 for Meifod and Llantsanfraid-ym-Mechan, and stopped just past the junction while the people who had buggered off up the A487 at Dyfi Bridge just outside Mach caught up (why did you:confused::confused: - it's not an obvious route back).



Because it was fast and fun and not an obvious route....



Once stopped, everyone overtook and I fess up that I was so glad when they did, the pressure of leading really shouldn't be underestimated

Leading is a tough task that shouldnt be underestimated, maybe next time we can switch leaders to reduce the pressure on one person? I'm sure there were other there who would have offered to lead for a while.


'I'm busting for a pee and if I don't stop soon I'm going to wet myself'.

I can sooo sympathise with this sentiment...


It was a simply fantastic weekend. Great company, great weather, great roads.

Thank you everyone:D

Over all a fab weekend, thanks for organising.

[MisterTommyH]

Hey, I had fun, even though I lost everybody from about 1pm until 6pm.

Great roads. Great campsite, Great company.

[aliwakeskate]

Yep, was an awesome weekend and some nice pictures here.

Thanks again to you Ed as it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't organised it for us and I wouldn't have got to met such great people :cool:

[ManxMatt34]

Had a great weekend, some great pics, thanks for the pics of the lunch stop for me and Tommy to see :P.

I've got to say i disagree though that A485, me and Tommy took it back to site, and i thought that was a belting road.... so good i did it twice that weekend. Was nice to see some new faces for me up there, Slark, TommyH, Aliwakeskate, triple c to the b to the s or w/e the hell his name was (young lad who turned up just for a few hours saturday night. Thanks again to all attending. Oh and to Bluefish for his usual slightly drunk antics :P, can't wait for AR now. Matt.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/Sythree/ARTNW%202011/LondonApril2011234.jpg

I see this gentleman eyeing up who he's gonna attempt to kill with his pillion seat next! :P

[missyburd]

'Ello all, posting here from a sunny Welsh isle :) Just thought I'd mention how lovely it was to pop in on you all en route, you all looked to have had a cracker of a night ;-)

And Claire, you are one piece of hot totty, if I was a man I definitely would :-D :-D :-D

[Littlepeahead]

I've still got awful back ache from camping. I can't even blame the Gixxer as I woke up in agony on the Saturday morning and I hadn't even got on it by that point. Must be an age related thing, I've got into my 40s and started falling to bits.

[fenjer]

Chris wait until youre in your 40's and 50's and see if you arent tired after 200 miles

Better start lacing up your running shoes just now then, if some of our elders (and betters) read that you'll need to be running SO... lol

FWIW I wouldnt be able to lead a ride-out for 200 miles, thats why I've never volunteered to do it, I'd lead for a section of it, thus relieving the pressure on other leaders.

[Specialone]

Better start lacing up your running shoes just now then, if some of our elders (and betters) read that you'll need to be running SO... lol

FWIW I wouldnt be able to lead a ride-out for 200 miles, thats why I've never volunteered to do it, I'd lead for a section of it, thus relieving the pressure on other leaders.

Well I'm 40 and sometimes I'm knackered after 150 miles lol, you young uns, you wait ;)

[Quiff Wichard]

was a good time..

mistakes happen eh .. that is life.

it is how we cope with them and still make it good fun and enjoyable that matters,..

we had a good laugh- was nice to meet many new orgers.

when I get to 40 I will be interested to see how tired I get doing 200 miles ;)

[Speedy Claire]

'Ello all, posting here from a sunny Welsh isle :) Just thought I'd mention how lovely it was to pop in on you all en route, you all looked to have had a cracker of a night ;-)

And Claire, you are one piece of hot totty, if I was a man I definitely would :-D :-D :-D


Thank you so much for a lovely compliment lol and it was such a lovely surprise to see you, I`m so glad you called by. Hope all is going well for you and you`re getting loads of pics of those puffins. What i`d give to have the opportunity to do what you`re doing. Take care hun and try and keep in touch x

[Lozzo]

Chris wait until youre in your 40's and 50's and see if you arent tired after 200 miles ;)


At age 48 and having recently had 5 kidney ops in 6 months I rode 400 - 500 mile days to and from Malta and felt fine after every one of them. Get the right bike and you could too

[Specialone]

I've got the right bike, wrong shoulders :(

Funny cos a lot of people I've spoke to have similar tiredness issues, even the young ones generally don't do over 300 in a day regularly.

Nothing wrong with feeling tired after a ride anyway, I feel tired after playing football for two hours, I feel tired after working all day, just a fact of life.

All I'm saying generally is as you get older you'll feel more tired after a long ish ride or hard days work etc
I personally could not ride or drive 400-500 miles in a day anymore, nor would want to.

[Bluefish]

I've still got awful back ache from camping. I can't even blame the Gixxer as I woke up in agony on the Saturday morning and I hadn't even got on it by that point. Must be an age related thing, I've got into my 40s and started falling to bits.
I know what you mean love, 40's, don't you mean 30's though :rolleyes:

[ManxMatt34]

Well I am in my 30's and knackered lol!

Have to agree Phil - Mistakes like following your Sat Nav when it sent you in the opposite way to Wem lol!

Those 2 lads on the restricted SV (Ryan & Sean) were perfectly able to keep up. When we all got lost they were with me and we followed my SATNAV back and went 20 miles without seeing anyone and then started passing junctions that were marked by riders. Twas a little confusing.

Ask Ryan about the bloke in the Passat that was doing silly speeds!

Also Phil has a point about Alcohol intake. First ever time I have been on one of these meets, but I learnt that burning the candle at both ends and trying to ride a bike is not a good mix!

I've learnt from these mistakes, so when me Electro, SpeedClaire, Christopher and Donnybird all turned up early i started drinking at 2pm. But made sure i stopped by 6pm therefore giving me well over 12 hours for the alcohol i did drink too exit my system. I was then up at 6.40am for a shower and then went for a ride into town got a lovely breakfast and therefore was more than ready for the rideout on a bike i wasn't used to with tyres i didn't like. But still enjoyed!

[ManxMatt34]

Ha ha, that'll be after about ten minutes then......eh Matt?

I've no idea what your talking about! :smt071lol. I was getting carried away thats all. Who needs a Daytona when you can have a 10 year old Ninja anyway? :P :smt050

[Specialone]

With me, I drank all Friday afternoon and night but at a steady pace so felt fine next day, Sunday morning I was tired more than anything but that was due to still being round the burning oil drum at 3.am then waking at 7.am.

But drinking and riding don't mix so as matt said, I wouldn't get sh1te faced before a ride out or a ride of any description, not worth it.

Cost me too much money to get my license so I wanna hold on to it :)

Dan, I think you just consumed too many cans, then fell on the barb wire fence lol

[danf1234]

With me, I drank all Friday afternoon and night but at a steady pace so felt fine next day, Sunday morning I was tired more than anything but that was due to still being round the burning oil drum at 3.am then waking at 7.am.

But drinking and riding don't mix so as matt said, I wouldn't get sh1te faced before a ride out or a ride of any description, not worth it.

Cost me too much money to get my license so I wanna hold on to it :)

Dan, I think you just consumed too many cans, then fell on the barb wire fence lol

I think you are right. Lesson learned lol!

[Bluefish]

ARTNW2, some time in july would be good :D

[danf1234]

Wow this has gone a little t1ts up. I would just like to say the following:

I enjoyed the weekend a lot as I have never done out like that before.
I got very drunk.
I am not a fast rider.

I met some new people!

Being a newbie to all this big ride out stuff, it has made me think twice about the AR though.

[ravingdavis]

I got very drunk.


I'll second this one. My head on Sunday morning confirmed this.

I had a good weekend, I will continue to attend events such as this in the future.

[danf1234]

Wow this has gone a little t1ts up. I would just like to say the following:

I enjoyed the weekend a lot as I have never done out like that before.
I got very drunk.
I am not a fast rider.

I met some new people!

Being a newbie to all this big ride out stuff, it has made me think twice about the AR though.

I am talking bo11ocks. I will attend the AR and I will go back for the ARTNW 2 if it ever happens!:D

[MisterTommyH]

I got very drunk.
I am not a fast rider.

I met some new people!

Being a newbie to all this big ride out stuff, it has made me think twice about the AR though.

+1

[yorkie_chris]

Wow this has gone a little t1ts up. I would just like to say the following:

I enjoyed the weekend a lot as I have never done out like that before.
I got very drunk.
I am not a fast rider.

I met some new people!

Being a newbie to all this big ride out stuff, it has made me think twice about the AR though.

Thought about it twice? Great! See you there!

[Specialone]

I had a good weekend, I will continue to attend events such as this in the future.
Oh you wont will you, that will put a few off tbh rapingladies.

[danf1234]

Well I am in reflective mode now, as I am on a 12 hour night shift, I thought I would use my break to post my thoughts of the whole weekend, as my perspective is slightly different to other people’s as it was my first bike meet, and my first “big” group ride.

I was originally apprehensive about going, because I had never met anyone I was about to meet previously. I met Mike Chandler (Chandler 93) at Wetherby Services and rode the whole way down with him. We had a couple of stops on the way so had chance to chat etc.

When we got to the campsite we were greeted at the entrance by Ed, was a really nice chap, and we were directed to the tent field. When we rolled up there were already quite a few people there with tents pitched. As soon as we got there, people came over to introduce themselves, and I quickly felt at ease. I quickly got my tent up and went to the supermarket to get supplies (Beer). Everything was sorted by 3pm, so I was able to relax and talk to everyone else as a steady stream of people came over to take the pi55 out of my airhawk seat hahahaha. I really enjoyed the evening chatting to people and having a laugh. The banter was good. I went to bed about 23:30 and woke feeling like death. After shower and breakfast I was ready for the ride out, but was getting the feeling some people were getting itchy feet to go, while others wanted breakfast. I enjoyed probably the biggest fry up ever, in the satellite dish sized bread bun. Afterwards I went and got my gear on.

The brief seemed perfectly normal to me. It was clear what we needed to do, and the route was explained in detail. When we set off from the gate, I saw the bikes coming past and was a bit confused, but just got on with setting off as I was near the front. I was riding along looking about and enjoying the roads etc, and was thinking the pace is steady, I could go faster if I want, but I don’t know the etiquette on overtaking when part of a group. It was after the town where Steve (DavieSV mate) nearly got side swiped, that I could tell people were getting irate about the pace, as bikes were coming up the outside of people and a lot of changing positions was happening. This personally didn’t bother me, until I started to get near the front, as I was caught thinking, do I ride faster because quicker riders are behind me, but not to fast that I shoot past the leader or worse miss a turning. So when my music packed up on the garmin at the Garden Centre I left right at the back of the group. This allowed me to overtake people and settle in a place where I was comfy. I stayed in that area for the rest of the ride and felt comfortable.

I was conscious that some people had filled up, and others hadn’t etc so we had a big group of bikes that all had different levels of fuel.

When we were on the road by the Estuary, I thought that seemed like we were going very slow. Again it didn’t bother me at all, but it did seem slow. When we got to the seaside town, I was just glad to get something to eat. When I had a good look at the map, and then my Satnav I thought Oh **** we are going to be out until 9pm. I said at this point I will program my Satnav and take a direct route back. I wasn’t really sure what went on after as there were groups talking all over the car park. In the end the bikes all lined up so I set off with everyone else. When I got to the left hand turn by the bridge I was totally confused. Some people were pulling in, someone was pointing for me to go right. There were a group of bikes lined up on the hill so I knew they were going left. I looked at the Satnav and that said turn left so I turned my music up and turned left. I passed about 3 junctions with Markers and then nothing. I thought this a little strange as I had now ended up totally on my own. Following the Satnav I thought fook it and I will cane it to ensure I catch the CO-OP.

I managed to catch a group of people, and we rode on for about another 10 miles and then stopped at the junction on hill. People were all saying different things about the route back. So I said to Ryan and his Pillion follow me and we will use the Satnav if we get lost. We set off with everyone again. I was really puzzled after this though as some junctions were marked and some were not, which made me think we were going a different route to everyone else. I eventually caught the yellow bandit up and followed him until we got to a T-Junction where he stopped. We took a right out of there and that is the last I saw of anyone apart from Ryan until just outside Wem. About 3 miles out of Wem, there was a big group of riders turning left, but my Satnav said we were 3 miles out of Wem. I tried shouting, but to no avail. I took the right, and was back in Wem in minutes. I went to the Co-op for beer and a sit down.

When I got back to the campsite there were a few people there, and I admit to being a bit hacked off at first. After a shower it was all forgotten, and I started drinking with everyone else. The rest of the night is a blur, as was much of the next morning, but I needed to set off back early to ensure I got home for 1pm. I left with Mike at about 10:00am I think

Overall I really, really enjoyed the weekend. The social aspect was a right laugh, and really enjoyed just sat taking the pi55 and talking about bikes. I am not sure riding in a big group is for me though as it mixes so many skills and abilities together. The jury is out, but I am sure the next meeting will help me decide.

The biggest problem I had was when I got home, and my wife found I got a text from a number I had saved as “Specialone” lol!

[Luckypants]

The rideout discussion had taken over the picture thread, which had quite rightly been a celebration of a good weekend's antics. Please go to the rideout discussion thread to talk about that...

http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=166233

[ravingdavis]

Oh you wont will you, that will put a few off tbh rapingladies.

Who gave you the right to be so funny old man?

[MisterTommyH]

Chandler, where's all that video you were going to post up????

[Chandler93]

On my external hard-drive waiting to be edited xP
There's loads and loads to go through and I really don't have the time atm as i'm preparing for America =/
I'll get it up hopefully before I go away providing I find the time!