Annual Ride-out 2006 - Points for discussion
 

Okay okay I know we've only just finished the AR05 but I thought maybe some early thoughts and ideas would be in our best interests and rather than have umpteen polls about location and every little thing, it might be worth having an objective discussion at this early stage to try and work out where, why and how for next year to make it an even greater success than this one.

For a start, thanks to Jelster, Baldyman and also to Sid Squid, we know that the marker system works very well with the SV650 crowd (being generally sensible and well-behaved etc), is easy to implement and ensured that no-one gets lost or left behind. So unless anyone has any objections I think we'll keep that for next year too.

But what about destination? I know some peeps have mentioned Scotland and without doubt it's a gorgeous place but is it a reality for the big annual ride-out or more suited to those adventurous peeps who don't mind riding 400 miles in a day? This also applies to Cornwall and other far-flung reaches and I say this because I personally think that the main objective of the AR is to get together as many SV riders as possible in one group on one day, with the collective spirit of a mass of SVs etc giving it a special feeling, just like we had last Sunday.

http://www.bureaunet.com/SV650/Avata...out2006Map.gif

Now in reality I reckon that there is a limit to how many miles the majority of peeps are prepared to ride and the map below probably represents the most effective geographical area for the AR if we're to carry on amassing SVs rather than go to a far off beautiful area off the country where the turnout will be significantly less. Naturally there will be a fair amount of argument over this :lol: but surely it has to be pretty close to the mark as the people from the far south don't want go to the far north and the people from the far north don't want to go to the far south - and let's not get started on the east to westers!

Another point to consider is the social side. As without doubt we are a particularly friendly lot and there have been a lot of comments about extending the social gathering so that we all have plenty of time to meet up and preferably have a drink or two, which will mean a definite two day event. Now this year I was persuaded to camp for the Saturday and I have to say it worked really well and there were quite a few us at the camp site all mucking in and making merry. Maybe this could be expanded upon for next year?

Length and pace of the ride? Now some thought it too far, some too fast ( :?: ). Maybe we could have a two stage ride with 60 miles of each and aimed at the more casual rider in one and the more focussed rider in the second (though I don't mean a balls-out scream-around!)?

Support vehicles? Well if partners aren't keen to ride pillion (which is understandable) then a support vehicle(s) would be really handy and allow non bike peeps to participate in a valued role should they wish. This year we had Mrs Ape (Jo) as unofficial support vehicle and it worked very nicely.

Various points like these if thought over might make next year an event not to be missed and one where the social factor is as important as the ride itself. Okay I'm done ranting, over to you guys and gals.


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I vote for Lincolnshire :lol: Having lived there in the past the roads are awesome.

More socialising, definitely.

Doing a split groups would mean more organising, so whoever is in the local area would have more to do than this year.

Where ever it is and what ever the circumstances I will be there, and so will Jo. :thumbsup:

I actually enjoyed the Saturday evening more than the rideout day it's self. Not to say that I didn't enjoy the rideout. Just thought that the socialising bit was better. :D :D

personally- I think if that red line is a proposed route for next year its a little too long !! :lol:

NO- serious...:
yep- it has to be within easy access but distance isnt a factor it is time ! hence M6 corridor- M5 .M1 etc...

deffo it needs to be a social gathering as well as a ride out- maybe even to the "detriment" of the rideout length !! it was quite far !!

or- there could be 2 over 2 days- one nice n social.and one like "speed skating" at the ice rink!!..a faster /harder ride...then one can choose - one or both !! ...

Could we pay a premium! to camp like- where we were was £4 a night - I would have paid £10 a night if we could have taken over the whole site !! so we could have been more "relaxed" and maybe even not had to go to the pub but had BBQ and cans into the early morning....

This forum is ace for findig out info - a rideout/meeting is a prime place for face to face interaction and to look at bikes- there wa snot enuff time to do that this time

name badges.forum name /real name are a must !!!!!!!

Can't fault the system/the markers/indicators at corners/organisation.etc etc - it was faultless !! ..... s the infrastructure is there it is just the niceities that need addressing....we are all aware and appreciative John of the input and ime it takes to organise such an vent and the personal "worry" you must have that it all goes without a hitch or incident or safety issue ..........as you said everyone is fun and friendly but ADULT and it all went well...

Main areas I feel- to address going forward are:

* Location
* Mileage of rideout
* day.time of rideout to allow social aspect and maybe sleep it off b4 journey home.- this does lean towarda saturday ride out which may be too busy on the road !!!
* Stop offs in the rideout...maybe 2 to 3 stops would be better one with a fuel stop of course
*Those who gave up their enjoyment to give us enjoyment this year should be given opportunity to enjoy next year- there are enough competent riders and mture adults to relieve baldyman/jelster sid and yourself on the day and allow you to become the rideout and soak it all up .
* wales is do able by all !!- and scenery is perfect and roads are ideal..but we all know the boys in blue and bikers in wales do not mix !
* Does it need to be annually!!..... cost is minimal can it not be twice a year- (cant say BI- scoobs will pounce)

Without a doubt it was testement to you and the site when there were so many there on sunday - they just kept arriving !! --- I was amazed when the figure surpassed 40 then 50 then + + + + ..........awesome.....so the feeling is there/the committment is there..we just need the input...!!! and an agreement..........

2 camp site?? wales first ? small rideout then pack up n all ride over to midlands! and camp and go see the motorbike museum?? just an idea...then its central to get home for all !!............(unless ur welsh !)

I think folk should just thought shower (cant say brainstorm can we now !!) any idea no matter how daft it appears and just pool the best thghts !

thats my input anyway for what it is worth...

if i had to say one thing - I enjoyed it more than anyything I have done for a long time- serious !..but would have loved more time to interact and view bikes and talk biking and put faces to names.... thats not a negative just a constructive point ..you cant be all things to all people...

cheers - was ace roll on AR06 (with social gathering!)

more socialising is a great idea but to pull that off the date needs to be set early. Then more people will be able to book time off work etc and maybe turn it into a long weekend? And possibly we'll get people from further afield.

I would like to see this extended to a full weekend. Maybe a joining of the rideout and the jamboree idea.

The support idea is a good one, and gives a role for those who may not be able to ride. Some bits and bobs and general stuff.

I know what you are saying about distances but I think we should go further afield. I see the arguments for being close to the main centres but I'd personally like to be more adventurous and think we should occasionally try and go to meet the far flung groups. For example TBH SVEcosse have been stalwarts of this forum when other groups have been less active. I think they are used to having to travel and make an effort and we can be a little lazy (and I include myself as I didnt even turn up this year). Howevee I appreciate your point in it being a social gathering. Its difficult.

Perhaps therefore theres scope for an Annual Rideout AND and an SV-adventure (more of a UK version of the Eurotour) similar to the joint Scotland Ireland venture which is to be applauded.

The roads are good in lincolnshire but i wouldnt recomend the company they keep (by that i mean the plod).

A fortnight ago i was up there as a pasenger in a car and we got zapped coming around a long bend from about 1 mile away across a field by a copper in a lay by :o I just dont think thats cricket :shock:

Wherever it is next year i will be there and i'll be camping roll on ARO6

:riding: :thumbsup:

Quiff, Wales was put forward this year and turned down.

BUT its important that this misconception of all of Wales being like the problems in the north. The South and Mid Wales are great biking territory and the plod seem fine as well. Many of us ride the south and the mid wales mountains a lot and without problems.

Im not advocating Wales as an option, although its a good one, but this poit needs puting straight.

if we get any more turning up we'll need a police escort :shock:

Bring your battery charger..... :lol:


Lincolnshire and Wales are great for biking and get my vote. I think the police are fine for large "well paced" groups that ride safe and organised. Its the smaller groups that ride at ridiulous speeds that are frowned upon.

i think a couple of annual runs a year would be good maybe one in april/may and one in aug/sept.

us up here in jockland (the best biking roads you will find in the country i might add) often ride 100 miles just to meet up and our usual rideout usually twice a month is about 250 miles.

i couldnt make this rideout due to lack of sitters but the distance was a bit off putting as it would have been about 400 miles one way.

glad you all had fun though. irish/jock run on weekend of 16th july if anyone is interested in joining us. :lol:

That's a very good point. The Jamboree never did take off and to combine the two would be an excellent idea.

Another good point (blimey! :shock: :lol: ). I like the idea of an an Adventure rideout too and can't see any reason why we couldn't do one at the end of the summer. That way there's the AR early summer within the (suggested) red circle limits and then the AV which can be anywhere, will have far less of a turnout, but allows the more adventurous peeps to meet up regardless of distance.


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oo i will be back off hols then-
sorry John- dont wanna derail and make this a chat room!!

but I for one would not be bothered if it were Scotland .....in fact i wud suggest scotland.

I will have a think about this and post my thoughts soon. Attending and organising rallies is something that i have been involved in, in the past.

We did this year, but he was a very bad influence. Although he did say at the end of the day that he thought no-one had broken any laws what so-ever. So that was nice. :lol: :lol:

Having just done two large group rideouts in quick succession i'd like to put my thoughts up. the thundercat ride was on a saturday, most people rode down on the fri and stayed in B and Bs . The ride started on the sat at 9.45, break at 10.30 - 11.00, for 30 mins, on to the lunch stop at around 1.00 for 1 hr, then another stop at 3.00 and back to the start at 4.30. Total distance was 180 miles. every body met up in a pub in the evening where a buffet had been arranged from 7.30. peeps then stayed sat night and went home on the sunday. This gave a more relaxed ride and no aches and pains from having travelled 3-4oo miles in one day!. also it was more of a social occasion. people from up scotland and down south have also arranged their own rides for later on in the season. Perhaps this would be a better format for our rideouts. Camping is also a possibility to keep costs down.

Daryl.

My thoughts

In reality this is a club. Maybe we need to think about an events organiser for the whole country?

Id propose an SV gathering. No rideout just a gathering of sv’s owners club style. Find a field with hall, organise a band/disco/entertainment, food, drinks etc. Charge a fee per head or similar and just have a weekend of kicking back and socialising. I don’t see this as being too much of a problem, as the likes of the triumph owners club hold a rally near me every year at a local rugby club, but this would need planning and some work. Location? Dead centre of that circle.

The UK tour idea also sounds good. But if you think about having a lot of SV’s doing serious mileage at the sort of speeds that AR05 was at some of the time, this could be painful, but not to be ruled out. Maybe visiting the regional groups over a week period would be cool. However, I think that its only the southern groups bar Guildford, that meet weekly. Still, it can be arranged

Then there’s the annual rideout like what we have had for the past few years. Yes, make it a weekend. Have a designated campsite. Supply food n drink, but as said, have the ride on the Saturday. To be honest, I have been on a rideout on a Saturday before in the Stratford area, and it wasn’t as bad as you’d think. You seem to get more people ‘Sunday driving’ on the sunday, it is also good to relax after the ride and socialize, and not all dart off as you all need to get home kind of thing. So a 3 day event, ride on the Saturday, BBQ in the evening, then home on the Sunday.

Some problems that I see are that there is a high concentration of sv owners in the south. When AR05 was planned for location, the south actually came top if I remember, with Wales second, and the Cotswolds was a latecomer which we agreed on. Still, a majority of the southern riders didn’t make the effort. We had 50 bikes on the November run to Brighton last year alone. Ok, some of this may have been down to commitments, but I think that its more down to people not wanting to ride a huge distance. It would be good to get their views on this more than the people that came this year.

So there you have my ramblings. I think that we should keep the annual rideout and move it round the country. We have had Buxton, Box hill, Burford, North Wales, so Scotland/lakes would be the next logical choice, and a rally (ok then jamboree – it’s a bit 1940’s fate) somewhere central for all to come,

Sort of Rugby or Leicester then?

Thats just about my usual private track anyway :P

The 400 mile a day is do-able but is probably a lot for some people I agree.

First of all let me say, that AR05 was run superbly, but then again so was AR04 from the Cat and Fiddle.

Personally I would have liked more smoking time :D I was like a prisoner trying to cram 20 Embassy in when we stopped at Tesco :?

Although we sort of had 3 stops not including the flashing competitiion in the hedge bottom :P it seemed we had more time to socialise on the AR04

This year we had little time to meet people at Burford at both ends and too short a time at Tesco. On the Cat & Fiddle we seemed to have more social time at the start, in the park at Chatsworth and then in Matlock, giving people chance of another attack of the cat or meander off your own route.

As I say no complaints, just my observations and my healthy living lifestyle :P

Scotland Anyone?

Name tags seem to be the way forward for next time. I met so many but still can't tie in who's who unless there is a picture posted and labelled. Most places towards the centre of the circle are within range for me, Rutland - I guess. I've never been there.

Getting a date sorted early seems to me to be more important than the venue.

Name tags are indeed a good idea, showing both user name and real name. Rutland is very nice indeed.


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Ooh I've plenty of ideas but as I'm limited for time at the mo.....


2 Ride outs, Southern area and Northern Area, as there are just so many active members in the South.

Most "clubs" do have an nnual event which is a bit of a party, so I'm with Viney on an annual gathering.

I think an informal comittee of "organisers" may be a good idea.

Anyway, back to the trade show.......

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Bad influence? ....What you implying? :shock: (i had to slow you down going home :wink: )

Everyone had a great time, noone got into bother with the fuzz...so as far as i was concerned, noone broke any laws lol :lol:
(I think there would have been an outcry if i would have started sticking people on for illegal plates, exhausts etc lol) although i do have photographic evidence lol

I think it would be good if it were more of a weekend event, I got to say hello to a few people but due to the fact my memory is poo I still can’t place faces to usernames.

I loved the route and the speed was ok on the first leg (I was around the middle of the group) and a bit more relaxed on the second leg but the first stage was too long and I (among others) was getting quite uncomfortable, lets face it the SV especially the pointy one isn't the most comfortable of bikes.

I also like the idea of the gathering rather than just a ride out.

With regards to the AR...

Personally for me, i would only choose one to go to, due to work commitments (its a pain getting time off) and i think having one event makes it just that little more special...more people make the effort to get time off for the one main event each year...if you see where i am coming from.

I camped (thanks to Mr & Mrs Big Ape) on the weekend and enjoyed every minute of it, so i think a long weekend would be really good, a chance for everyone to get together and have a good time.

Name tags..afew people mentioned this on the day that it would have been useful and i agree, i did notice afew peeps who just stayed beside there bikes and didnt socialise.. maybe having name tags will make interaction easier...or a few pints lol

As for the actual ride...well i felt, either it was a tad too long or there was not enough stops, at some points, i couldnt feel my right hand or my backside and i was hurting badly that i considered pulling over. The pace, well this was down to each individual, and as i think Greg mentioned, those who wanted to have alittle more of a challenge kept dropping off for the marker system and then making their way back up the pack (Big Ape or Sid Squid for example)...but i must say that riding with 70 bikes was fantastic...and hearing everyones engines ticking over...and the look of villagers faces as we rode through.

This rideout is becoming not so unoffical after all lol

Great weekend...look forward to next year!

Regards

Fraser :wink:

I agree that one big event is the best idea as although it might seem fairer or more convenient to have north and south meets the reality (I suggest) is that the whole thing will be diluted and nowhere near as much fun.

Regional groups do have their own regular meets and the idea of the Annual Ride-out is to bring everyone together as one big family.

I think extending the event to a whole weekend with a far larger social scene is by far the best choice. However the ride should certainly be a major part of it otherwise it would seem somewhat strange to have the AR without getting on our bikes and actually riding them!.

I'm certainly up for a Fri/Sat/Sun long weekend.


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Agrees with whats been said. Would prefer a long weekend of it all also...possibly stay in hotel...i got naff all sleep...oh wait that might be something to do with Sids snoring :)

A full weekend of fun and frivolity sems to be the only way to go, Apart from those that were camping and 1 or 2 others i don't think i could put many faces to names.

But there's gotta be a rideout in there some where, all those bikes spread out along the road was an awesome sight and sound.

A BBQ would be cool too, Baldymans skills with his sausages would become legendary. :wink: :lol:

[quote="mysteryjimbo"]Bring your battery charger..... :lol:


quote]

:oops: :lol:

I think it is all there !!

:compcrash: :winner:

I must say that the AR05 was much better than I expected.

No one I had ever met before and a long drive (720 miles in all)

I would definitely say that camping was the best decision I made. Got there late friday and got talking to people straight away. Cheers to Muttley and Jimbo for the help with putting the tent up.


I did think that it would be a good idea to have two meet-ups next year (first weekend in june, last weekend in August) but thinking a bit more about it, a lot of people may just choose one to go to.

As someone said ina previous post, this is becoming a bit more like an SV owners club so maybe some kind of organising commitee would be an idea and maybe get the regions to organise a one night camp/ride and if other regions want to turn up then they are welcome(?)

As for next year... North Yorkshire would be good

Just one question before I make any comments. Did moving the location further south this year increase the numbers significantly?

OK just one comment. If it's always going to be inside that circle it should be called The South of England Annual Rideout :roll: Then the rest of the UK can have an sv650.org Annual Rideout 8-[

1 Courd is alive !!!


2. Good point daz !

4 what happenned to 3

3 ahh there it is !!

re- viney's post -

VINEY - YOU SPEAK SENSE !!

like Fraser on traffic duty- good points made !

Well if you look and see that the circle (just a suggestion and point for debate) actually extends further than Leeds I hardly think you could say it was just for the south. And if you're suggesting that inhabitants of Yorkshire are called southerners I think you might be asking for a lot of trouble :lol: .


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I've always thought Cornwall would be a cracking run!

Start at Newquay and follow the coast round up to St Austell.

Shame its a long distance to just get there for many (including me)

Perhaps a candidate for the later summer SV Adventure run ? Im down there a lot btw and it really is nice biking, especially around the Lizard, then back up the North Coast. 3h from Bristol, no more.

Indeed Cornwall would be lovely but the sad fact is very few peeps would actually make the effort to go that far.

Sounds good to me.


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My views.

1. more social time...even if it means less ride time.
2. taking the ride we did as an example... it would have been better broken up into 3 stops as short as the one at tesco.....or stop for lunch at a suitable place and take 2hrs out the day there
3. i think 2 meets would make less peeps show up than a concentrated "this is the one" day
4. I'd be up for having a 2nd "adventure" rideout for those that wanna. Be nice to bring the g/f to next yrs AR...then leave her at home for the adventure ride.

Name badges woudkl be a usefull add on but i'd also feel like i was at some kinda leather fetishists convention. Biking and name badges just dont blend well in my mind...unless we all do it Big Apes way ;)

If you wanted more social ime you should've camped out with the rest of us