Massacre post mortem

[fizzwheel]

AR08 was held about 4 miles from my house... I rode past the campsite on my way up to the Massacre... it was 494 miles from my front door to the campsite. So yep it was a fair way to travel.

[dizzyblonde]

<edit for AR stuff- NW>

No probs chick ere don't forget Blueflame rode that far with Northy(I think) In fact Scotland and Somerset(the AR) for me was about the same..250 odd miles each way.....+ rideout
I would like to make a serious point though...... next year it must be on a sunny weekend

I must admit, that it wasn't unreasonable for cost..i.e the camping side, perhaps if the site were more clear about the wigwam being hired for 3 nights and I'd have to pay for three nights, instead of the two, i'd have thought twice, but it was the luxury of not having the extra weight. I'd certainly like to see another venue having an option for the tent fearing folk!
The plastic came out for all petrol and i were dead skint allll weekend, and I still had a great time, i'm pretty sure you couldn't get a much cheaper weekend TBH. I make the most of these bike weekends, as I really don't have any me time. And believe me, the Ecosse massacre kept Dizzy from loosing her marbles

Maybe just me and being new, not knowing anyone and turning up bang on 10 on the sat, but it would have been good if the tea shirts were handed out prior and or the bikes were temperarily marked or something. 40 odd people to meet and chat to was good, I'll stay longer next time.

Originally Posted by gerbrox

Maybe just me and being new, not knowing anyone and turning up bang on 10 on the sat, but it would have been good if the tea shirts were handed out prior and or the bikes were temperarily marked or something. 40 odd people to meet and chat to was good, I'll stay longer next time.

Some people had sv650.org stickers on their bikes, there was a lot of people that didn't know anyone either, My rule is if you see an sv or a group of svs, you ask them if they are members. If they aren't then you force them by gun point to join.

We aren't allowed to put a massive banner up at the start point, it may attract too much atttention.

There were reasons for the Tshirts were not handed out till after the rideout. Party due to the fact that some people hadn't paid and people turning up at different times made it inpossible to keep track of. There was the option of asking your tshirt to be delivered before the rideout, but as far as I know no one requested this.

Turning up on the friday would have helped you though as I was there to welcome people, then everyone else joined in as more and more people turned up.

So If you want to get to know people at a big (yearly weekend) rideout then it is really best to turn up before the rideout sets off, as there isn't much time once its started (that is until someone fills thier bike with diesel )

[appollo1]

[quote=tosher;1611882] <edited AR stuff- NW>

Ok so this thread is a post mortem for this years Glencoe Massacre - don't want to sound harsh but the AR is a totally different weekend.

Back to Northys questions/points.

This was my first weekend at an event like this and first weekend camping and I had a great time.

Location was good but yes being told 4 times when i 'checked in ' at the site that there was to be no noise after 10.30 did annoy me and i hadn't even set up my tent. Kids running about between the tents during the night obviously had their own rules.

Route was good with the optional extras (oo-er) but due to various delays !! it did drag on a bit and i know due to the distances travelled by various people there were a few knackered riders. Now please dont take offence at this but when there was a fuel mix up delay there was a lot of waiting about. I know that evreyone was concerned about what had happened but maybe IMO if the slower riders had been given the opportunity to carry on then some of the faster more experienced riders may have waited then i am sure they would have caught up at Callander. Just an idea and sorry if I offend anyone.

Lunch - brilliant but if a location/hotel is arranged again then timing is essential so as to not annoy the manager. A Callander type location would be better IMHO as it gives everyone a food option.

breakfast and cleaning up after - well done to KG and Ralph but if there were more volunteers to get this started in the morning then it would take the pressure off them. I was up early with a few others every morning and would have happilly got breakfast started but didn't want to step on any toes.

The ride out marker system I found very confusing. I knew there was Carelesschucca at the front and Northy at the back but everything in between was confusing. When I got to a roundabout/junction and someone was sat there I was waved on in the direction of travel but thought I was to take over as the marker.

Northwind took a lot on in organising this and i think for next year after the success of this years it will be better attended. On that note delegation is required. I know that there were a lot of riders who knew the routes but most didn't. Maps were put on the original thread but how many people actually printed them off? Next year if someone loads a map to show the route and people want one, i can print copies and laminate them so that each rider has their own copy and should something happen then everyone knows where the next stop would be and make their way there.

[yorkie_chris]

Well you said negativity was welcome:

The bugs... aaahhhhrrrg. Nothing to be done about that really though, except maybe an 11 tonne can of raid to be released the day before we all arrive?

The campsite... food and booze wasn't cheap, but it's the middle of nowhere and I didn't expect it to be. The only unexpected drawback was nowhere lit to hang around after official "bedtime"

The rideout... the only problem which I saw were the delays at various stops, I'm not sure how to get round this other than shouting a lot at people and making it more clear when to fill up.



The marking is an odd one, hi vis would make some sense, but then you're not letting nature take its course with who ends up at the front. I think the best thing about the second man drop-off is that whoevers on form that day ends up going their own pace untill they reach the front, then can drop off and repeat the cycle. With a designated marker system, what are you meant to do if you're not a marker and end up at the front, just sit there bimbling?

Overall I'm in favour of the system used this time. For people who didn't know why people were passing them, it's because they chose a quicker pace. IMO a high vis vest shouldn't mean any special defference by other riders as you should be showing the same courtesy to anyone passing you where safe. Anyway, the marking worked fine. I'll shut up now.

Gripes, you asked for them. It was a top weekend summed up with


Northy you mentioned the problems which would have been caused if you were out of action due to you taking such a lead in the organisation. I believe in having a leader as comittees tend to pi$$ around whereas a leader can make a decision. What about getting yourself a first mate, deputy or even your very own bitch, who'll be involved enough to take over in case the "main man" can't make it for whatever reason.

[northwind]

Originally Posted by appollo1

when there was a fuel mix up delay there was a lot of waiting about. I know that evreyone was concerned about what had happened but maybe IMO if the slower riders had been given the opportunity to carry on then some of the faster more experienced riders may have waited then i am sure they would have caught up at Callander.

The ride out marker system I found very confusing. I knew there was Carelesschucca at the front and Northy at the back but everything in between was confusing. When I got to a roundabout/junction and someone was sat there I was waved on in the direction of travel but thought I was to take over as the marker.

Northwind took a lot on in organising this and i think for next year after the success of this years it will be better attended. On that note delegation is required. I know that there were a lot of riders who knew the routes but most didn't. Maps were put on the original thread but how many people actually printed them off?

The fuel situation should have been simple- everyone was told fill up before, and where the nearest station was, and there was fuel at Benderloch which every bike should have been able to reach in one jump, even if they hadn't filled up since before glasgow. But, maybe that message didn't get across, or maybe it was just unrealistic to expect everyone to actually listen, not sure.

If I was doing it again I'd start at Arrochar, that was a much less good starting location in general but it would have helped for fuel and that's probably more important. But, I have to say it drove me mental that anyone needed fuel at Glencoe, when they'd sat opposite a petrol station and watched everyone fill up 30 minutes earlier, and when all of the route plans and descriptions had Benderloch as a fuel stop. I'm going to not say any more about that for various reasons.

The marker system, well... I did cover that in the pre-ride briefing, and asked if everyone was clear. But again, understandable- this is where having more people, trail bosses, could be very helpful as there's more people to ask questions, spread info etc. At the AR the briefings are split into smaller groups, that's good that. If you had stopped, though, the marker could have explained what was up. Or, no offence, but if you'd just asked...

Giving people maps... I have to say, no, it's not a route I'd go down, it doesn't work well- we've done it with 10 people and still lost some. This is why we mark- if 50 people try to read a map and follow a route, every corner will have 5 bikers with upside down maps arguing, and a 10 mile ride takes an hour and only 45 people end up there at the end. Also, there are times when you go off map- for instance at Tyndrum CC stopped us at a different place than we'd planned, because the numbers had reduced. Maps cost you flexibility.

But with the dropped off markers, every junction has someone on it who should be pointing you in the right direction. You simply don't need to know where you're going. On AR07, I didn't even notice when we rode into a different country

[northwind]

Originally Posted by carelesschucca

Instead of have people marking the route why not get highly recognisable signs put up along the route. i know its a hassle putting them up but if they are visible to everyone we should be fine...

Signs are easier to miss than bikes, is the problem there- and it's inflexible, we wouldn't have been able to throw out the A811 section if we were dependant on signs for instance.

I did want to sign a couple of junctions as a belt-and-braces, but in the end I got ****ed the night before. The right decision

[northwind]

OK, so what I'm seeing- stop me if I'm wrong...

Some people were concerned about the marker system, but this seems to be mostly down to misunderstandings on how it works, rather than a problem with the system itself. I thought I'd done enough to explain it beforehand but maybe not.

The rest and fuel stops we all agree were trouble. I put that down to me being at the back, there should have been people there at each stop who could keep things on track right from the moment people arrived- "GET FUEL HERE".

Seems fairly unanimous about the accomodation and "aftershow"- not bad but could be better, invite less bugs next year, better entertainment facilities.

Ok so as regards the marker system Northy, I think you are right, Its not that I myself thought it didn't work, what I was trying to say was that it confused me as nothing had been explained on the day about people marking the junctions, maybe I didn't hear it. As I haven't been on that many rideouts I was a little confused by it but thought that it worked really well. I think that more 'sub bosses' would help, and one big chief.

As regards the overtaking, allowing the faster ones to overtake, I am fine with being considerate towards anyone who wants to overtake me but I saw some pretty dodgy overtaking on the day, seemed like some people had to prove themselves or something, In a biggish group like this there were a few people that in my opinion took some unnecessary risks, backed up in part by the fact that I saw a few headlights flashed at the bikes overtaking, quite a lot of overtaking coming up to corners and when at road works it was as if the cars waiting at the front were invisible, do they not have the right to go through the green light too or do us bikers have priority, must have read the highway code wrong. This must seem like fun to some, or even how they normally ride but doesn't really help our image...