A magnificent concerted effort saw 13 riders ready for the off at the appointed time, however, as had been explained in the posts relating to this ride it was necessary, because of the size of the group, to split it into two one group under the watchful eye of young Tibby and the remainder with yours truly.
So, Tibby rode with Nick, Nicks guest, (named Dan), Dave, Pete (whose riding has gone from strength to strength this last few weeks) and Mike (Merlin) as TEC. Tibby decided to do several lanes to the East of Belliver to begin with thus giving us, the remainder, a head start in the hope that we wouldnt be used for grip too early in the proceedings when we were caught up.
The remainder consisted of all the riders over the age of ?? and consisted of Bob, Mick, Les, Len, Neil plus Bonny, that diminutive elf- like lady of indeterminate age and Kev who was on only his 3rd ride out since taking up the sport having decided that road bikes are too dangerous. Well, probably not the bikes being dangerous just the cretin driving the car that hits you.
We set off having digested the rules for the day, such as 2nd man drop- off, Bob sits on his bike at every gate (broken side- stand), 2nd man opens it 3rd man closes itall the usual stuff really and the reminder that, being graced with Neils auspicious presence once more, he would be TEC so if he was in front of you, you were probably lying on the ground![and Im reliably informed there was a lot of lying on the ground going on during the morning- my informant retired hurt at lunchtime after a dramatic lie down]
Swishing into the first lane, well known for its luxuriant overgrowth, I was forced against my will into the centre rut because of the overgrowth, when 3 bike lengths in I spied a hen pheasant and her brood of very small chicks. They were presumably new and had no fear of me, the hen wouldnt leave them and stood her ground in the centre rut. A quick calculation on my part, going something like 14 wheels, 14 legs waving about, they deserve a better chance than that and I stopped, signalled the about turn and had to get off the bike to about turn. So, we cant count that as a lane ridden then, Mr Sussex! (Rights of Way ossifer for Devon Group TRF in case you dont know).
The ford at 201-044 gave no trouble and the climb afterwards saw Micks back wheel slip off line and he came to a controlled stop, virtually upright. A bit of slithering around, a push and he was off again to the top. 201-046 saw us on one side of the old ford and Tibbys men on the other bank. Nick rode into the water from his side then turned round and I rode to the waters edge on our side and turned round. We heard later that Nick and Tibby had completed the crossing but I expect the water level had dropped another 3ft 6 by then.
We crossed the Tamar into Cornwall for fuel ..103.9 a litre- the robbing dogsand a few lanes before lunch at Louis. Neil and Len were attempting to get some life into Lens front brake at Louis and it wasnt until afterwards that Neil told me that Kev had taken a bad fall on a moss covered tarmac lane and had become wedged between bike and wall, injuring again his already once- mangled shoulder in the process. Neil of course stopped to help and stayed with Kev until he had collected himself enough to remount little knowing that while all this excitement was occurring poor Mick was lying trapped under his TTR 250, just round the corner on the green lane proper, for what he later said seemed like ten minutes! No wonder Neil looked a bit frazzled when he got to the top. All he had wanted to do was gently ride his brand spankers KTM 400 EXC ( are you going to change your Forum name Neil?) and now he was spending his morning dragging near corpses from under bikes, no wonder his tea disappeared down his throat like there was no tomorrow.
Jason, a new Cornwall TRF member met us here at Louis by arrangement, and joined Tibbys group, Nick and Dave moved over to my group as they had to get back to Plymouth by 3pm and we would be heading vaguely towards Tavistock whereas Tibby was looping round a well known Cornish landmark.
Somewhere along Tibbys route young Dan had called it a day due, I think, to mechanical problems with his Kawasaki 125. Nice to meet you Dan, albeit briefly. Perhaps well see you again?
In the meantime Len, a fairly recent convert to trail riding, was giving every appearance of enjoying himself. In fact, after his beaming arrival at the top of 201-044 some time previously, Id thought that Id have no worries on either his stamina or his competence and as the day wore on I was proved correct. All right- he may have had a badger or two-I dont know. I do know that he always got to the end of a lane looking like he didnt have a care in the world.
Les, a man of great riding experience was untroubled all day as far as I could tell and thoroughly enjoyed his sausage and egg sandwich at lunchtime. Im not sure whether Bonny ate but she did disrobe herself as she usually does whenever we stop.
Shortly after lunch we met two riders travelling in the opposite direction on 201-029. It was that well- know dynamic duoKnightrider and Grasshopper, sometimes known as Kev and Gary. We all stopped for a brief chat and then went our separate ways. Fellas please accept my apologies. I should have invited you to join us, although youre both far too young.
We travelled out as far as the filling station at Sourton where we stocked up on coffee, tea, pop and whatever else took our collective fancies, before turning round and heading back for the usual sting in the tail. Today though, being so dry, it was more like a stroke of the tail and was quite benign. Whilst travelling down the main road we saw Merlin hurtling in the opposite direction towards Plymouth and his van, in a green and purple Kawasaki- type blur. I hope he had a good day. Again Im sorry we didnt get to speak for longer Mike and I trust you returned to Sidmouth unscathed. I read a report on another forum that your regular riding buddies, Timus and TwoThumbs were spotted out riding, so thanks for coming down to join us.
A hot day, lots of miles covered, but thats the nature of the Border run, and lots of TVTR riders out. Long may it continue. Bob.
-- Edited by Captain Slow on Wednesday 27th of May 2009 10:53:35 AM
