Just a quickie on the day out with the visitors from Wiltshire. Arriving in Ivybridge to a car park full of bikes, I ended up with 5 riders who wanted a busy brisk day out. So with Mike and Simon, who shared the role of TEC during the day, that made 8 of us. 2 KTM 4 strokes, 1 KTM 2 stroke, 1 KLR, 1 Husaberg, 1 CRM 250, 2 XR 400's - one with magic button, one without. So, unusually, the kickers outnumbered the electric boots 4 to 3. As it turned out this really wasn't a problem, we didnt have a single delay in that respect all day. First drama of the day occurred five minutes in, when Mr Husaberg stopped us before we got our first lane complaining of hideous metallic clattering coming from his engine. After a brief conflab he decided to pull out and return to his car - the right decision, I think, as it sounded terrible and certainly wouldn't have survived the day. Poor bloke, came all that way for 5 minutes on the roads round Ivybridge!!! Quick easy lane to start, then it was straight to the Devil's Steps - chuck 'em in at the deep end and see what we're dealing with! Considering they are all used to riding flat, chalky, stuff they all did brilliantly. KTM 2 stroke had a little lie down near the top, and XR kicker had a bit of a struggle, which stopped Mike in his tracks and made it difficult to get going again, but they all got up it. Much grinning and sweating at the top. But it was clear to me by now that they were all competant and up for it, so off we went. The route I'd plotted took in all the lanes I know well, the aim being to give them a seamless and flowing day out , with minimal tossing about looking at maps and going the wrong way. I think I managed to pull it off, getting to almost 4 o'clock before the map came out, and that was only because time was running out and I wanted to cut a little bit out to get them back to Ivybridge nearly on time. They took to the second man drop off routine pretty swiftly, which helped a lot. In total we did 81 lanes, not counting a couple we went up and back again, and covered about 130 miles. Being at the front all day I can't say for sure, but I don't think anyone had any offs after the Devils steps, in fact the standard of riding was excellent, the whole group being right up my chuff whenever I looked round. Add to that they were all really nice blokes, made it an excellent days riding. I think they all enjoyed themselves immensely, judging by the amount of hand shaking that went on at the end.
No pictures from me, I'm afraid, but I think Simon got a few, which hopefully he will add to this.
-- Edited by Fixer on Sunday 3rd of May 2009 11:05:19 AM
Great bunch of guys from the flat lands.Tim did a fantastic job of leading,he knows his right from his left and he can remember where the lanes are.These are the two attributes a run leader must posess if he is to become a legend. Although it must be said that Simon and I were truly brilliant at sharing tec duties.The visitors commented on the diversity of terrain,loved the rocky climbs and generally had a great days riding as did we all.
-- Edited by merlin on Sunday 3rd of May 2009 11:01:42 AM
Here are a few pictures from our great day out , not many as the pace was quick thanks to the bloke up front ! (thanks Tim a job well done) with Mike and I sharing TEC to a very high standard also.
Great bunch of guys who seemed to have no fear at what was put in front of them. Shame for the Husa rider not making it to lane number 1
What a fantastic trip you guys arranged for us. Too many individuals to name who all contributed to a brilliant two days trail riding. A big thank you from all of us.
The adventure groups were a great challenge and pace and the scenic routes got the balance perfect.
Clearly you do a lot more riding as a group and your rotation system works very well. We can learn from your guys, I think we probably ride closer together and overlap a lot more which is less efficient and probably not as safe. I think the only misdemeanor was me overtaking someone on day two, I guess I should save that for a hare and hounds.
Happy to return the favor again anytime however I thing you actually have more to ride right now near you.
Many thanks for getting us out and about in your area.
Kind regards,
Don.
Well done to all those involved and I hope you had a great time doing it...see you Thursday at The Rock then!
__________________
I do know where I'm going, but the track it will decide, It's not the destination, It's the glory of the ride!
Sally and John sent this e-mail this morning....once again, well done to all.
Hello Andy - just thought I'd drop you a quick e.mail to say a HUGE thank you to all the guys who made our weekend so enjoyable. We are in awe of both your knowledge of the lanes and of Bob's - the lanes looked great and we really hardly saw anyone else on them all weekend. Some of the ones we rode on Sunday I hadn't ridden since the late 1980s so it was really good to see that they are still there (der...) and open to us all.
I was truly impressed by the way you and Bob spoke to walkers we met, no-one could criticise any of us (in theory...) though sadly the same could not be said for a bunch of quads we met on the lane at Lopwell Dam. Sadly the hooligan element is there in all walks of life, though sadly in motorcycling it seems we are all tarred with the same brush.
Ho hum. Anyway all that serious stuff said, we had a truly great time and look forward to meeting you all again sometime in Wiltshire perhaps?
I've forwarded your request for TRO info to the person who deals with all that, let me know at work if nothing is forthcoming.
Thanks again and pelase pass this on to Chris M, Pete (best bike award!!), Bob, David and the lovely big chap on the KTM whose name I have compeltely forgotten ...
Sally and John
__________________
I do know where I'm going, but the track it will decide, It's not the destination, It's the glory of the ride!
