latest ecosse disaster oops I mean rideout

well what a fantastic weekend. Thanx to stuarty boy for supplying route. Ralph for supplying the turnip juice (no honestly I couldnt drink another) Kilted Ginger for fantastic breakfast this morning. To Tony and Marty for making me laugh so much. and to everyone else for being there. great time.

so the disasters, where will I start:

I leave house at 8 am heading to Kinross. Tail pack has been packed and unpacked more often in last few days. Decide just to go. I arrive at Kinross at 920 (10 min early). refuel and on walking back to bike notice tail back missing. Panic. Then I notice its not missing at all its just slipped phew - onto exhaust, which has burnt a huge hole in back and all contents.

I head into services to survey damage. Jammies - melted. Shoes - melted. Phone charger - melted. 3 big bars of chocolate cooked and covering everything. New top - nice holes in sleeves and back. New jeans - lovely hole in the bum. Luckily my big pants survived.

Enter Stuarty and GF. She kindly nips home (luckily they live close by) and returns with t shirt and rucksack. I repack (not much) and decide not to let it ruin weekend. Everyone has a laugh.

Everyone arrives. 9 bikes and riders. We dish out maps and contact details.

Off we go one hour late. 500 yards later we have lost 3 of the group. Text sent advising we will meet them at tesco in perth (need to buy new clothes)

Head off - 6 bikes.

Few miles down the road, my exhaust gets very loud Marty passes me waving and shouting and flashing lights etc. I pull over to find my exhaust has fallen off and is causing some lovely sparks. Scoobydrew promptly gets on his back in the grass and re attaches it.

In the meantime the 3 misplaced riders have found someone else and drag him along (nice to meet you Ian)

We meet up at Tesco. I nip in for clothes pjs, top and jeans for £20

It is noticed my chain is loose (thanks northy). We head to wee garage round the corner and Graeme decifers my "I need a round thing as my chain is loose. cant remember what its called but its about 28" or cm or mm. sounds like sproket i think" He duly tightens chain free of charge. But i give him a £5 for being nice. (see it does pay to be nice)

And off we set. We pause in Dunkeld and head up to Spittal of Glenshee for lunch. Due there at 1230 its now 230.

Great burgers - half a cow on a roll, with egg! Cheap petrol. tank full only cost tony £3. think the attendant enjoyed his banter.

AFter we are all fed and watered time to head off to tomintoul. Single track road - bit hairy in places. Then tony pulls over approximately 30 miles from aviemore (final destination)

he has left his rucksack at spittal of glenshee - 45 miles ago.

so off me and tony set thru the clouds and rain. Arrive at spittal again and pause for hot chocolate as we are now freezing.

refuel again and head for aviemore, back over single track road, with wet bends, blind summits, sheep lying in the road, the threat of deer coming down from the hills. Cloud so thick you could only just see rear lights of bike in front if you were under 10 foot from it.

Then the rain starts and darkness falls.

We finally arrive in aviemore at about 8pm.

quick shower, put on new clothes, only to realise new top is a bit tight, bit low cut. oops

Off to pub to meet others, head to roos for food and beer, off to pub with lots of strange people. no female over 16 in the place, lots of boys with funny hats on. All looking a bit like each other (inbreeding me thinks)

the party animals (tony, grant, stuart, mike and marty) pay £5 to get into nightclub.

the party poopers (scooby drew, me, ralph, northwind, kilted ginger, haggis and ginger ninga) return to room to drink copious amounts of beer.

and jimmy went to bed

Tony returns with others at 230 and proceeds to annoy neighbours who comes up to complain we are making a noise and its 4 am. We all head to our bunks

snoring commences.

up and out of room by 10, breakfast. me and scooby drew head down A9 to home.

hope everyone got back ok.

when is the next one?

[JediGoat]

Fabulous tale!

[on yer bike]

gutted I missed this one

Aye, not so much a rideout as a survival test! I think i failed it in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Got home myself about 4pm.

The pre-lunchtime pace was steady mainly due to adverse conditions. Namely the condition our heads were in! But everyone was enjoying taking in the views from Avie to Ft. Bills and all agreeing that it was a fab road. Must go again!!!

After lunch i said my goodbyes to Mart, Tony, Northy and Grant. Stuartyboy who had decided not to stop, left us at Spean Bridge.

I headed north (made Broadford in an hour so my focus was back!) and the rest of the guys were going for a wee play around Kinlochleven and Glencoe. Hope you had as much fun as me.

Cheers all, and I'll see you next year.

[Blue Flame]

Yeah a good weekend.

Got home about 5:30PM. Great weather and roads today.

Good night out, thanks everybody for the company. Gutted to have missed the "riding" part of the rideout, however, just been for a consolation blast round west lothian!

finally made it home after driving 80 miles to perth to refuel, then 90 miles home. change get into car, drive 90 miles to perth pick up kids, drive 90 miles home.

since 6pm friday to tonight I have driven/ridden 800 miles. hardly surprising my bum is sore.

A great weekend thanks to the company and the excellent choice of roads.
Good to put faces to the names (haggis and Ginger ninja) and great to see Kilted Ginger again (Thanks for breakfast)

Our ride home was uneventfull compaired to yesterdays fiasco,
Rode to Spean Bridge (B9152 then A86) with Stuartyboy, Haggis, Mart, Blueflame and Northwind where Stuartyboy bowed out and took A9 home.

We then rode to Fort William (A82) where we had lunch and refuelled then Haggis bowed out to head west.

We then rode to Ballachulish (A82) and did the Kinlochleven loop (B863) before stopping at Glencoe which was awesome, so awsome that Northwind bowed out so he could do it again in reverse.

It was then off to Tyndrum (A82) where Mart bowed out leaving Blueflame and me to enjoy the Green Welly's hospitality

So with 2 of us left it was down to Callander (A85 Then A84) where we refuelled and headed to Stirling where we separated and I took the M9 / A80 home

Over the 2 days a total of 500 miles

Pit stop at Perth

lunch break at Spittal