The Border Patrol Covering North Wales, Shropshire, Staffs, Merseyside and Cheshire for SV650.org members, past, present and future |
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#1 |
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Preparation for the “Barmouth or Bust” Ride out , or “BoB” as I like to call it
Well it is Thursday morning in the Badger`s Sett and I am shuffling around like a Zombie in my pre-work preparation , it involves lots of yawning and scratching myself and turning around in circles trying to remember what it was I was going to do . One of my best mates Daughter is lodging with me for a few weeks after a boyfriend split scenario and she comments that it was about a year ago when I got my SV . This jolts me into thinking “Hmmmm MOT is due quite soon” , I shuffle over to my folder where I keep stuff like that and rummage around to get the last MOT certificate . I unfold it and my eyes bulge …….. “Sh!t” , Zoe asks what’s up and I pass her the certificate . She starts laughing as the MOT expires the very next day …….. ![]() I formulate a plan and a couple of hours later it is opening time for bike shops all over the land , If I ring slightly before opening time I stand a good chance of getting a boss or owner who will be greedy for money and will want my desperate business , no MOT , No BoB rideout ![]() ![]() The next day I finish work and I am worried about something being a fly in the ointment on the MOT . I deliver the bike to the Shop’s bike park , they are running late . I am pacing up and down and fretting , one of the counter guys asks me what is wrong and I explain that the pipe is a tad “fruity” even with the baffle in , they reply “I am sure it will be fine” . The next thing I look out the window and there is a young feller sitting astride my bike with no helmet on putting the key in the lock , I instantly get a bit of Red mist seeing somebody else on my bike . He thumbs the start button and the bike barks into life and his head nearly disappears into his shoulders in fright ……. Ooops ![]() I go back inside and pace a bit more and check out some bits , I spot a nice chain cleaning brush and pick it up , the end flops to one side , clearly broken and I put it down and walk away from it ![]() ![]() Last edited by xXBADGERXx; 05-04-09 at 04:16 PM. |
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#2 |
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“BoB” day has arrived – The Ride In
I am awake with the birds this morning and have a couple of hours to kill , I drop my Video and Digital Cameras into my Kriega rucksack , throw some cable ties in there in case another Orger needs a quick fix for something loose , a multitool , bungee web and 2 bungee cords , and lastly I chuck the baffle , bolt and allen key in there …. You never know . I ring the Ponderosa and tell them to expect about 50 bikers in an hour or so . The other Orgers are riding en-masse but seeing as myself and a few others are fairly local we are meeting at the Pondy . Ed has PM`d me and asked if I would lead the ride from the Pondy to Barmouth . I fear that I would get too excited and go for it and forget to tell the rider behind me to mark a junction . I drop him a PM back and say that Luckypants is a fast rider and knows this area like the back of his and his Children’s hands . I am all prepped and only have to suit up , a quick walk with the Dog and a Shower and I am ready . I Suit up , throw my U-Tag I.C.E. USB device ![]() ![]() I pop outside and arm myself with the Video camera . DaveP joins me and I mention that it would be sweet to go to the far corner looking down the valley and film everybody coming up the pass from Llangollen . I think about it for a few seconds more and think “Sod it – it’s gotta be done” . It’s a long walk but I arrive at a nice spot and lurk with intent . The wind is blowing a hooly up here and I am rocking on the spot from the blasts and in the distance I am sure I can hear the blarp of a Ducati . I squint down in the valley and a wondrous sight and sound emerges , I flip the camera open and start filming them overtaking a couple of cars right down in the valley , I grin to myself as I witness the awesome power or the Org arriving in a loudsome fashion …… a truly great moment for myself and I am proud to see my friends , old and new , giving it some stick ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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#3 |
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The “BoB” is on (names of Roads withheld for future ride safety)
We head down into the Valley and make our way along some nice sedate bends and settle into a running order , a few overtakes and some of the faster riders come past me on various sports bikes but I am at the head of the SV pack and hoping a few of them will overtake me so I can hear their cans ……. Hardly anybody comes past and I am starting to wonder why . We eventually get to a big “A” road and I notice Luckypants and a few other bikes pulled over , I pull in and there is some confusion , Somebody tells me that one of the Triumph riders has had an accident , I ask which one and somebody mentions a TT , damn …… I ask if he is in one piece and nobody knows the score yet as it is too early . DaveP pulls up alongside and informs me that it is his mate Andy and his ride is over because he has to go and see if he is ok . I contemplate going with him in case there is any local help they may need and ask DaveP if he knows where he is going , he says he is fine . This is why I wasn’t overtaken a lot at the beginning . We are filling the car park and tourists need to get in and out , we pull out and immediately drop into a little lay by to regroup , as I get off the bike I notice a Green Kawasaki starting to wobble as the rider steps off into a bit of Grass that is lower than the road , I start running and watch in horror as the bike topples over and hits the deck , I get there just as it is up righted , I give the mirror a quick wipe and say “There There , you’ll be alright” hoping the rider doesn’t get too rattled about it and can forget about it in the comedy moment and enjoy the rest of the ride ….. no harm done apart from a mirror scuff ![]() The missing list consists of quite a few and as we are sending texts to those that are missing , DarylB pulls up , Seggons is missing in action and a few people I don`t know . Luckypants decides to baffle up as the Police will well and truly know we are around partly due to the car park scan , a couple of Policemen in an unmarked at the Pondy and an obvious one turned up off a side road when we set out and Andy on the TT having an off . We set off again and get going in good and orderly fashion and hit one of the nicest roads in the area , there is a lot of scenery here and at one point we run parallel with a small gauge railway line through some countryside around a Lake , I can only think that those that have never been here are about to see some spectacular scenery ……. In true fashion the weather darkens a bit and spots of rain hit the visor . I ride defensively on these lanes and hit the warning blinkers if I see a car coming towards us to alert them and our group . We burble through a small Hamlet with a tight bridge on it and a glimpse of the Peninsular is seen , there is going to be a few eyes opening a bit when we get nearer . We hit a bigger road and get a wriggle on , we are on the edge of the Evergreen forests and the countryside is going to get steeper and more rugged with the roads twisting and banking a bit more for a fair few miles . The road gets more progressive and the Org gets to breathe a bit and get a wriggle on . The scenery starts to become spectacular here and the tops of the craggy mountains are wreathed in clouds , there is a fair bit of Road kill here which is a sure sign of the Forest and wildlife getting into the full swing of things , there are swathes of Daffodils peppering shaded patches along the side of the road , I get wafts of wild Garlic and the smell of the undergrowth and I inhale deeply , occasionally there is the waft of something dead ….. but it will bring new life to something else . We round a corner and right in front of us is a wooden bridge and a train rattles it’s way over it , Welcome to Barmouth people ![]() ![]() Last edited by xXBADGERXx; 05-04-09 at 04:17 PM. |
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#4 |
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Dinner and waiting for the “Bust” ones to arrive
There is a swift Fuel stop in the worlds smallest Petrol forecourt ![]() ![]() ![]() (Mmmmm Yummay) ![]() (Recipe for the Fiercest Heartburn ever – Rat-Burger avec Grande Café-au-Nasty) ![]() Some more Banter is exchanged and we contemplate going on the Wurlitzer with our lids on but I am sure we would get refused …. Then again business looked a bit slack , next time eh folks ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() We head out after forming up and there is a local marching band on the corner with cheerleaders , They are about to get drowned out by our Chorus ![]() ![]() Gutted mate , really gutted , I wave bye-bye to him and trundle back up the Road hewn into the cliffs and commence the best part of the ride out , we eventually get to the sticks again and it’s biking country . We all get a shoofty on and open`em up a bit and the road is a pure joy , snaking and twisting to a lower altitude , I have been here quite a few times but only coming up it . I hoof it past a Yellow Curvy on a straight (I do apologize for the noise but SV needed a leg stretch) and decide to start taking scalps . I give chase to a Pointy with Top box but get stuck right on the back end of some cars coming into a 30 . We turn off onto a back road and the Ducati Hypermotard arrives right on my butt , I move over so he can play , it’s just the sort of place where one of these bikes gets to shine and who am I to get in their way ……. I also spot Luckypants behind me and realize he is a person I need to follow as we are soon splitting off from the main pack to head home , I move out of his way and he blarts past with his Staintune pipes wailing , with baffles in they still sound sweet ![]() There are some road works here so we manage to all group up again and a Red 4x4 goes past and I note the license plate is “B4 GER” …. I got all excited as it’s the closest thing to Badger I have ever seen on a number plate . We are off again and the sweet road ends and we reach a bit of civilization and drop into a 30 and are going over a stone bridge , I spot a rather flash Audi coming from the opposite direction and give him a blatt from the un-baffled Scorpion stubby and immediately the naked Pointy behind me does the same (he obviously had the same idea at the same time as both blatts were right after each other) I chuckle to myself and progress through the village . There is some traffic coming into the NSL and various people do some nice progressive overtakes and I get a sense that my break off point is very soon , I spot Seggons on the Horizon and the lad is shifting for a restricted SV , I gun it after him and overtake him and almost over cook it due to tiredness , a couple of more bends and I spot a junction marker and pull over behind Luckypants , GenesisMike arrives and all we need is Speedy Claire and Skeetly and we have our homeward bound entourage together . We mark the junction as the person marking it sees we are here and stopped and can do it for him . Somebody still manages to go past but we flag them down and direct them into the correct road . The Green Kawasaki comes up to the junction and guns it up the marked road and his bike sounds “World Superbike Sweet” , we manage to filter out our locals from the pack and eventually Ed arrives with DarylB and we know that everybody is on course for their final run home . We all say goodbye and shake hands for a good ride out and Ed and DarylB head off , time for us to head off as well . Last edited by xXBADGERXx; 05-04-09 at 04:19 PM. |
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#5 |
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The Final leg and the moment I nearly met my maker
Luckypants leads us home and we decide to have a nice gentle bimble , nothing major and quite a bit of spectacular “B” Road . There are some impressive views here and we burble through some very small villages , we scuttle around some nice sweeping and hilly bends and it is all very sedate and calming . I think to myself that this must be some of the loudest noises these sleepy Villages and Hamlets have ever heard ![]() ![]() ![]() The trailer must have jerked on the hitch and it whips out of view mere inches from my face and I flinch as I take avoiding action that seems to be far too late anyway . I am still expecting the thud of Steel on Flesh and it doesn’t come “Oh my GOD Oh my God , F***ing Hell , I made it , I made it , I MADE IT” ……. The tears stream down my eyes from the shock and I am done , I can’t see and I beep my horn , indicate that I am pulling over and Skeetly goes past . I am crawling and the shock hits my system , I flip the Visor up and the tears dry up in my eyes and I decide to keep rolling , we just happen to come to the junction of Bala and I pull over and tell Lucky and the rest what has happened , I am Pale and shaking and I’m done in , Skeetly is pee`in himself laughing at the state I am in and said it “Did look close” , I start laughing and the others bring me back down to Earth with the promise of a Coffee in Bala . We head off to a very “nice” Café , very pleasant and sedate and calming , just the place for an upset Badger to hide in for 20 minutes . I spot some cake but I am torn between that and a rather spectacular looking Ice cream , Skeetly buys us all a hot drink and I make enquiries about the Ice Cream ….. it’s Rum and Raisin ![]() (One for Grinch`s Cake Thread) ![]() Once consumed and warmed up we decide to head off , Lucky and Speedy are going off in one direction and Skeetly , GenesisMike and myself are going in another , after a bit of a junction miss we spin around and I lead us out of Bala , the road that links us to the A5 is ahead and we scuttle along it , after 7 miles I point out where the Bunkhouse is for the last NW run and for the one ahead . We hit the A5 and I pull over to mention to GenesisMike that he would be quicker going over the moors to Denbigh rather than go to Betwys with Skeetly and I . Skeetly hoons off and Mike goes for it but I hold back , I have been clocked twice on this road and there is a massive straight ahead and I don’t want points as I have never had them in 18 years of riding and I am not getting them today either . Eventually I see a “Safe” straight and give Mike a final open pipe flyby and he peels off for his run home and that leaves just Skeetly and myself , we are in the town that caused so much agro on NW4 with the boys in Blue moving our junction marker , I am paranoid and sticking to the limits to the dot . Behind me is a Silver Jaguar and he is being a complete Dork of the highest order , we hit the NSL and he is right on my tail and swerves out around me , I am not in the right state of play for this and this is where accidents happen , he guns it past me and goes after Skeetly , I stick to my gut feeling and stay back , we get to the bends and Skeetly is dusting him off through them and then hits traffic , Jaguar “Driver” ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I chilled out with a Curry and the company of the Dog , but when I closed my eyes in bed at night I could still see the trailer and woke up many times ………… it didn’t get me Physically and it will not beat me Psychologically . Today I feel better about it ![]() I would like to thank Ed for the organizing , all the people that were Leading in various forms and all the TEC`s , those that blocked junctions to let us out and those that marked them , we all got home safe , not all of us made it , but we got home safe ………. Well done one and all and I look forward to riding with you all again ![]() Last edited by xXBADGERXx; 05-04-09 at 04:11 PM. |
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#6 |
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Location: Sheffield
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I love you stories badge
![]() Sound like a proper mot centre (although might be worth removing the mot centres name incase vosa go sniffing)
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#7 |
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Blimey Badger, change of undercrackers moment me thinks?
Did your life flash before your eyes? or just the corner of the trailer? ![]() I bet it hit you later on when you were thinking back about it. I have just got back from delivering my Kwacker to its new owner in Stafford. Cried all the way home in the car. had to console myself by counting all the £50 notes when I got home. I am now officially bikeless ![]() Firts orger to lay claim on it, can have my almost new Abba bike stand for nowt, as long as your prepared to collect it from Holywell. It has the adaptors you need for the SV. PM me if you want it. First come, first served. Glad you all had a good day, with only one real casualty. Hope the TT isnt too badly damaged. Les |
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#8 |
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Join Date: Jul 2003
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Muwahahaha! I have the mod stick......
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#9 | |
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#10 |
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And you Sir, have an almost new Abba stand!
Ive sent you a message back. |
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