Why?
As much as I like Eds proposal, we were in Wales last year. We haven't been oop north since 2007 from what I've read, so maybe its time...
So whats your idea?
I want to show off the area where I go to play, and this is far enough away for you lot not to ruin it for me...
More seriously, this is the part of Yorkshire which is picture postcard beautiful in most weathers... even the snow, as the Hardy Bikers photos prove.
Where are you basing yourself?
The plan, if they'll still have us, is to head to the Dalesbridge centre at Austwick, which is near Settle. As you've probably never heard of the place, its 50 miles to Leeds and 70 to Newcastle or the Scottish border. On the other hand, it is 120m to Birmingham and 200m to London.
So what facilities are there?
Like last years, everything can be catered for on-site - there are bunkhouses and B&B on site and it looks like we can get an area of the camping fields exclusively for our own use. There are also other facilities nearby in Austwick (about 1/4 mile from the site), and the closest thing to civilisation is down at Settle. Dizzy and crew took a trip up to the site and took some photos - they're up over in
this thread
Whats it going to cost me?
Looking at the current provisional rates, tents would be £4 plus £5 per person in. However, for a bonafide group booking the owners are willing to drop the tent fees, making it £5 a head per night. We have been warned that there may be a small increase in the new year, but this should be no more than £1.
Right, so I'm comfortable and settled... where are we going for a ride?
I thought a nice meander around the national park (680 square miles, so there should be some decent roads in there). I've got some rough ideas for where, but I'm keeping them under my helmet until I've done a proper recee.
Anything else I need to know?
Well, I'm aiming to be up on site from Thursday through to Monday. We had a brief discussion in the PM about rideouts routes, and did decide that there are some areas where the full group would overwhelm the road. The aim is to maybe run a secondary ride on those roads on the Sunday if there is any interest.
Dogs are allowed on site (£1.50 per night), but owners need to be responsible for them and clean up afterwards. The same applies to children, except they're more expensive.
Why so short?
I wanted to get something up before the Sunday deadline... can't let it not go to a vote at least
