slightly surprised........
 

I've never seen it so quiet, normally there's a AR buzz after the event and suggestions for the following year, or have I missed something......:smt102

Re: slightly surprised........
 

You and me both, I think...

Re: slightly surprised........
 

Yep, its very quiet

Re: slightly surprised........
 

Maybe this year's AR was so staggeringly good that nobody can top it... prove me wrong then ;)

Re: slightly surprised........
 

SHhhhhh you might wake em all up, they're snoozing after all that cake

Although have to admit, its a bit poor


AHHHH welll........You and Me for next year eh Oli????:cheers:

And Miss YC.....nobody can prove you wrong on that....twas the best one EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, so perhaps folk might be put off for ideas?:smt102

Re: slightly surprised........
 

If no-one else fancies it, I don't mind running the same weekend again. Maybe we'll take in some of the new extension to the national park that was on Look North earlier...

Re: slightly surprised........
 

Yorkshire wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

Oli how far they extended the national park? I know its going quite far north

Re: slightly surprised........
 

I can't find the details, but it looked like it might extend out by quite a way into Cumbria

Re: slightly surprised........
 

That was similar to what I read

Re: slightly surprised........
 

I've still got the marquee...provided it doesn't rot over winter in the shed, and access to all that lovely food at the wholesalers......although i might not buy so much bread next time:rolleyes: but defo one more cake:smt040

Re: slightly surprised........
 

finished the breadbuns yet??

Re: slightly surprised........
 

Lol, I distributed them to the needy......the YCs, us, my parents, me gran!

Re: slightly surprised........
 

We still have a couple of packs inthe freezer :P

Re: slightly surprised........
 

More seriously, I don't think I've ever been to East Anglia or the extreme South West on the bike...

Re: slightly surprised........
 

You didn't do Somerset did you?

Don't think theres anyone from further South Westerly than that is there?

Re: slightly surprised........
 

Well, I was thinking where I haven't been, so no... :p

I was wondering if any of the EAR crew were paying attention - it's worth a shot

Re: slightly surprised........
 

Hello i'm here lol

Re: slightly surprised........
 

Not exactly EAR but AR09 was down in this part of the world - well Essex with a few hundred yards of Suffolk thrown in for good measure !

I have a plan to bring the AR back to this part of the country but figured 2012 is too soon. I'd like to go somewhere daaan Saaaf or Saaaf West but as always, it's dependant on someone (or a group) willing to take it on.

Re: slightly surprised........
 

I am still considering a "London 2012" bid, tho more close to London than actually in it.

Just weighing up if I will have the time to organise.

Re: slightly surprised........
 

I'd like to do one in N. Wales, but its too soon after AR10 to bring it to God's own country again. Also, I really wont have time this year....

Re: slightly surprised........
 

i liked this years. But i also liked essex? and then there was the GM... only one way yo decide?








btw i think it could be improved upon by having nice weather and taking in some of the more challenging roads we have? just a thought. i like the idea of the coast as well!

Re: slightly surprised........
 

Im here, but not sure im paying attention :p

There are some good roads (but not a hill in sight!!) this way but whether they can be linked up to a good enough route im not sure, i'll mention it in our megathread and see what the general opinion is.

For the record, this is NOT me offering to organise AR12 :p

I think we should take it abroad....

Re: slightly surprised........
 

It usually boils down to needing people in the local area to organise things - plus the last few years have been fairly nicely spread about so I understand people not wanting to cover old ground.

I personally think that the roads of Suffolk can yield a great rideout - but I just don't have the time (or inclination if I am honest) to organise anything :(

Re: slightly surprised........
 

I'd struggle to find a route as suited to my bike as that one Oli prep'd loved it, would hapily do it every year.
Steelie's already been back once and camped at the same venue.

Re: slightly surprised........
 

The weather bit I'd agree with - but, "...more challenging roads" is at best problematic :-

What is 'challenging' for you might be downright scary for others; this along with the number of bikes involved in recent years (high point I think somewhere around the 100 mark) mean that any route has to cater for all abilities from someone who passed their test a few weeks previously to those that have been riding in all weathers for years - not an easy task I can tell you !

Re: slightly surprised........
 

Wales is far far away from Gods Own Country.......;)

Re: slightly surprised........
 

If we think of the AR as being the major meet up for most of the org, it makes sense to have it in as many different places as possible. In terms, roughly, of North, south, east and west I think it goes
AR08 South (west)
AR09 East
AR10 West
AR11 North
(I think AR07 was orth again, wasn't it? The very wet one in the same place as this year?)
So it looks to me like it's the South's turn again.
As mentioned Supervox and I have discussed the possibility of East again, but not until 2013, but that doesn't rule out an EAR proposal

Southern volunteers - PLEASE STAND UP!

Re: slightly surprised........
 

seems fair!

Re: slightly surprised........
 

Yes AR07 was in the same place as this years.

Re: slightly surprised........
 

And am I right in thinking that AR06 was West (ish) ? Over Ed's way?

Re: slightly surprised........
 

Yes, Shrewsbury ish... IIRC

Re: slightly surprised........
 

Well whilst we are talking about this, I have a possibly a controversial point. What with the Olympic's what not going on next year, are we wise to maybe take a break from AR's and skip next years ?

I'm just thinking out loud, we already have tickets for one of the olympic events and trying to fit that in, my work commitments and also the fact that Liz is on standby for the TA because of the olympics over the summer may involve trying to squash a lot in ?

Also is it wise to have it in the south where it looks to me alot of the olympic events are being hosted.

Not suggesting thatany of the above is what as a collective the org should do, just chucking my thoughts out there. Without my admin / mod hat on...

Re: slightly surprised........
 

That's another reason why Vox and I thought 12 was not good for the South East.

How about having it at a different time of year. Seems like September has most of the good weather!

Re: slightly surprised........
 

IMO, if you make a break from ARs for a year, they will never ever come back.
This years was particularly hairy for nerves, as I seriously thought with the current financial climate, nobody would turn up, those I thought would, never came, which I was quite disappointed with TBH. In the end, it was a very great success, some have said better than any other prior....which is kinda nice guys:D
The financial situation for many has gotten more grim, and next years prospects don't look to fruitful for events such as these, but if theres a little ray of sunshine for a weekend off from it all....the AR is a good thing to have.

I think its perhaps a good idea to have an AR on at the same time as the Olympics, as rather a lot of folk couldn't give a stuff about them, and what better excuse to get away from it.

I would agree however having it down South, although customary to move about every year, would be possibly not so great, having the Olympics on down there, might make it a nightmare to secure facilities.....and we all know how important they are to everyone these days.


Now the question is......is there anyone out there willing to make an even bigger success than it was this year? Its a pretty large torch to carry on......

Re: slightly surprised........
 

I personally think that location comes first and this relies on somebody stepping up to organise and plan it, because when it is I think must dependant on that date being available to the person doing the organising.

Again just my 2p not suggesting that this is what should happen.

Re: slightly surprised........
 

I think if you have it at the same time as the Olympics you limit yourself in terms of numbers and I also believe that the AR should be open to as many people as possible and by having it during the Olympic fortnight I think you might end up excluding alot of people.

I would offer the other side of that coin, there are alot of people who will have by now paid out for olympic tickets, and by having an AR during that time you'll be forcing people to make a choice. Whereas if you schedule it either side of it, you might make it accessable to more people.

Again not suggesting this is what happens, just my take on things.

Re: slightly surprised........
 

I was fortunate enough to pay a visit to John Constable country last year, it's a beautiful part of the world and if someone wanted to put the effort in organising a rideout there I would definitely be up for it.

The problem with the AR is it's becoming more and more of a difficult event to put on because so many people are increasing the standards each year. Many folk will not even want to attempt putting it on knowing how much time, money and effort is involved which is fair enough. Even though it's not intended to be, it could become unpleasantly competitive and change what it's all about which is essentially a load of folk getting together in a field and having a bimble if they're up to it. Requiring a BnB/bunkhouses/shop is really topping the high end of the scale, if the next AR was to be located in the right place it wouldn't have to be such hard work.

Re: slightly surprised........
 

MissYC touches upon a very important point.

MONEY.

If there is anyone out there who wishes to take the AR on in future, they need to be aware its not as simple as booking a campsite, doing a route, and waiting for folk to turn up and enjoy themselves. If only it could ever be that simple.

If anyone wishes to know how much it actually cost to put on this years AR, they are welcome to PM me.

To put on an event such as this years, You need an awful lot of money in advance to secure a deposit on fields in a money earning establishment, you need an awful lot of money to put on food in advance(unless its like GG did with food van), you may need to hire or buy(as I did) a marquee to keep people dry, planning down to the very last detail, does pay off, it runs as smooth as a babes bum if you do, you need to be prepared to ride routes over and over, with lots of people beforehand, you need to visit campsites over and over, it costs time, and money and fuel.....


most of all, after putting your money on the line, you need to hope to god, that folk turn up to reimburse your advance for food and lodgings....I JUST scraped even.

Most of all, the organisers need to be very comfortable with each other, the reason why we as organisers worked together so smoothly and never fell out over anything is because there were no egos, and there was only two of us. We got on so well with it, we would most certainly be happy to do it all over again....some in the past have seemed not as fortunate as ourselves...as I vaguely remember in '08 when the farm fell through. You need transparancy in everything you wish to do, that way you never get any bickering from orgers in threads, no secrets, and many many question and answer sessions on the forum.


IF YOU LIKE THE IDEA OF ORGANISING AN EVENT, BUT DON'T HONESTLY truely HAVE THE TIME to do it........don't offer to do it, it'll turn into your worst nightmare.

Re: slightly surprised........
 

AR09 actually cost me about £800. My own fault I guess because I wanted to give people stuff (even though people then moaned about supposedly paying for goddie bags - they didn't - I did)
Oh yeah, and all the griping about Essex...
oh, and the date arguments.

Thinking about it perhaps I don't want to think about 2013

Re: slightly surprised........
 

What you need to do next time is find someone who'll give you swag like that for free - like your local road safety partnerships.