2006 Event Reports

2005 Event Reports

January 2005 Run Report

21 bikes, some with pillion passengers, braved the cold weather for a ride to the Lysley Arms near Chippenham. Mike & Archie thought reports of bad weather were exaggerated but bowed to pressure to avoid the minor roads. Reaching the top of Tog Hill we were glad we had listened as suddenly we were riding through a snow scene that wouldn't have been out of place on a Christmas card! The Lysley Arms is known for being biker friendly and we were well looked after by the hosts and staff. After lunch we returned to Bristol via Bath, by this time the roads had started to clear up and instead of snow we only had to contend with meltwater. All in all a good day for Archie's first ride out as run leader. Thanks to all who turned up including a contingent from the Bath Classic club and a gentleman from Weston-s-Mare who had been with us on the Pet food run the previous week.

February 2005 Ride Out - "The Lake District"

Several courageous souls braved the cold weather for the shortish run to the lakes of Blagdon & Chew Valley. I'm going to have to invest in a better map as we did take some interesting diversions including one into a housing estate! Other than that the roads were pretty much as you'd expect for the Mendips in February - mud and loose stuff in all the wrong places.

Gordon said it reminded him of a journey we did in France a couple of years ago. If you want to hear more about that one you'll have to see him, suffice to say there was grass where a white line would be if only the road was wide enough. Back to the Mendips where on one track barely wide enough for two bikes to pass we saw a sign saying road narrows 200yds. Not sure how narrow it actually was but I believe the panniers on the Varadero were touching the hedges on both sides.

Looking on the bright side we did see some spectacular views acroos the lakes and hills, many of which had previously only been enjoyed by mountain goats. Generally an incident free run (apart from the unplanned roads bit) and we all got back to the Colosseum safely for a warm up and a splendid Sunday roast.

Everyone enjoyed it even though it was going to take longer to clean the bikes than the run lasted! Memo to self for next month, avoid the dirt tracks or borrow someone else's bike.

20th March 2005

In contrast to the previous two runs we enjoyed excellent weather, not quite summer gloves time but dry and sunny from start to finish. We met up with a couple of Dave W’s friends and another potential member, Andy Knight (Soo’s note – thankfully not related to the other two Knight brothers!) at Bridgwater Services*. From there it was A & B roads around Taunton and on to Exmoor.

Quite testing twisties not made any easier by the higher than average amount of roadkill. Somewhere in this part of Somerset there’s a mad professor cross-breeding pheasant with lemming! A great route for pillions to enjoy as well (I did risk a brief glance at the scenery too!) It was pleasant to wander around Minehead in the spring sunshine, some of us indulged in fish ‘n’ chips or ice cream on the seafront.

The route back was even better, Archie has looked at taking a particular B road on other trips in the area only for it to be closed for road works. Well his luck changed and ours did too. What a great biking road, good views, smooth bends with nothing tightening up too much and very little traffic. The only slight error (mine) was missing a signpost to Bridgwater when we got to the outskirts of Taunton, still I know where it is for next time!

Mike

*The run actually started at Gordano Services but due to some people not marking the junctions properly it was all rather chaotic until we re-grouped at Bridgwater. Those (ir)responsible are now aware of the procedure. For those who didn’t get to witness yours truly going off on one the basic rule is:

If you are the second bike (immediately behind the run leader) stop at any junction or deviation, which is not a straightforward continuation of the road you’re on, and point the rest of the riders in the correct direction. Move off only when the back marker passes you or gives clear indication that they have seen you. If the back marker doesn’t turn up then you have two choices. Either wait a bit longer or retrace the route until you meet up with the back marker. Obviously the reason for the delay will affect what happens next but the reason you must go back is that somebody may need help with a mechanical problem (even the best maintained bike can get a puncture!) or incident. One of the benefits of riding as part of a group is that somebody will come looking for you if you do have a problem. Anything can happen to anybody, let’s look out for each other.