North Wales meet 14 - 16th August 2009
Write up by Wirralman
Just thought I'd do a little write up. You had to be there really, but if you weren't-sorry about the length
Heverdot's week-end 15/16 August 2009.
After months of agonising, ‘Will anyone come if I organise it?', ‘Can I persuade the wife they won't wreck the place?' etc, in the late afternoon of Friday 14th August MTs started to appear from all directions, tents were pitched and the sound of cans opening disturbed the tranquillity of Tal y Bont.
The Irish lads opened their wine box, together with their new wine glasses-such style! Andy gave us a welcome pack of Mars bars, whisky, and a coaster. ‘What's the plan?' was the cry, ‘Pub at 7 30 for a meal'. Come the appointed hour, small groups of riders trudged up the hill. ‘Should have brought the bike' gasped Ifor, as he struggled for oxygen.
The pub was full, the sweat was pouring off everyone. Beer was dispensed and we sat on the terrace looking down the valley which stretched before us. Our numbers grew as the Irish boys closely followed by the Rugeley contingent arrived. More beer was dispensed.
Amid claims that work had got in the way, Simon and Alex eventually appeared-by car and trailer (of course). There were mutterings of hope about getting Simon's bike to run, but no-one really took it too seriously. Everyone had arrived apart from Gary, who had phoned to say he'd got an oil leak and would come in the morning. More beer was dispensed
As time went by, the conversation got louder, Mart's stories taller, and the temperature dropped. Good news- the locals had vacated the bar. The terrace rapidly emptied and the bar filled along with the glasses. Before long there were questions about the type of riding people wanted to do.
‘I want to do the roughest toughest you've got ‘ was the call by some. ‘No you don't ‘said the locals
‘Yes we do', ‘We'll see'. Dave and Andy quietly split the party up into groups by claimed ability. Eventually small groups began to drift back down the road and at 1am Simon bought the last round.
Saturday dawned with some droplets of rain in the air but with the odd patch of blue sky. On the garden table, the electric kettle was still plugged in so tea and coffee helped to start the day. Gary arrived hot foot from Nottingham, having set off at 4.30- stout effort. He claimed the first off of the day having had a minor fall 5 miles short of Heverdot's house. This left him with no lights at all and a bent brake lever- not a good start. Andy advised us that we'd aim to set off at 10 am.
At 9 40 cool-hand Mark was cooking his breakfast, when Simon appeared, carb in hand. ‘Do you know anything about these?' he said. Frantic spannering by Alex saved the day. The final groups were decided. There weren't any names assigned on the day but I'll label them for clarity. The SISSY GIRLIE GROUP (their name not mine) led by Dave, BIMBLE 1 led by Andy, and BIMBLE 2 led by Arfon, a local rider. To add interest, the weather turned to more traditional Welsh conditions(rain).
The SISSY GIRLIE GROUP group were to be on green lanes all day and Dave soon sussed his charges. They never made it to the toughest lanes, but Sarn Helen proved a challenge for all. Simon was overtaken by the same group of walkers three times on the same hill. It was reported that the Irish boys rode faster off-road than on road. ‘Faster-in-Black' Ronnie claimed the swiftest dismount – he was doing 30mph at the time he parted company with his bike! ‘Arceye' Phil pushed his bike with determination and Dave showed what could be achieved despite a broken front brake and a slipping clutch. [Edit by Bunker: Dave took us on some incredible lanes, stunning scenery where visible. A few tricky parts but generally some excellent trails. Sarn Helen is a 160 mile Roman road, we 'rode' a short portion of it which was incredibly steep and covered in slippy loose rocks/ boulders. It is formidable, we all agreed it should be called the Rocks of Doom or Pebbles of Peril. 6 of our 8 got to the top, none without alot of 'getting off'! HUGE thanks to Dave for the terriffic trail plan]
BIMBLE 1 were to do 110 miles of sightseeing with a couple of green lanes, then local tarmac. Target for the day was for Steve to get the knack of starting his new MT500. This group were soon led to a green lane and Eric chewed the ferns at the first corner, baulking Pete and Gary who decided to stay put for a while. When we got to the top, the view was limited, but at least we got there and some photos taken. A tour of a Mulberry harbour construction site and fuel replen was on the itinerary before heading for the tarmac section. Tight steep hairpins, gravel strewn roads, cattle grids, and road sections with grass in middle took us to remote lakes and reservoirs. We even stopped to see a cafe called Bunker's Bistro.
Andy allowed us to stop for morning coffee at 3 pm in Betws y Coed, before taking us to the desolation of the moors, the full extent of which couldn't really be appreciated due to the sunshine droplets and the need to look out for Caterhams coming in the other direction. As with the Hardcore group, Andy made all of the riding look easy and we were most grateful for the advice he gave us.
BIMBLE 2 (the Welsh contingent) was led by Arfon, doing the same type of run as BIMBLE 1, but with more green lanes (How come they didn't get very muddy?). Ifor decided to lie underneath his bike in a ditch at one point much to the horror of a local lady who tried to rescue him. It was only after much deliberation that his friends helped him to pick it up! Keith enjoyed pirouetting down a lane much to everyone's amusement. Again there was admiration for the capability of Arfon on his 1942 WD BSA 500.
Amazingly all of the bikes returned to base at tea time, with no significant damage to bikes or riders. Gary's bike was soon fixed and it was time for the barbeque. Mel and Gary showed their pyromaniac tendencies, burning twigs, branches, pallets, tree stumps, whilst Mark showed his culinary skills cooking burgers, sausages, chicken legs, without burning them- good job. Howard arrived having rebuilt his cylinder head on Thursday, re-installed engine on Friday and ridden 7 hours to Heverdot's on Saturday-mighty impressive.
The see-saw, built especially as the week-ends challenge, was only used as a prop for a photo. Andy had ridden it on his DRZ, but it was a bit scary. As the evening wore on, there was canvassing for the Dragon rally in February, conversation about everything from MZs to meerkats, and the bin filled up with empty beer bottles. Fatigue led to the 1000 yard stare as everyone found the new TV- the mesmeric bonfire. Despite Ifor's efforts to rally the troops, one by one they drifted off to their sleeping bags. This didn't of course include Mark and his boys, who felt it necessary to drink the last bottle and burn the last twig. I awoke a t 3 30am to hear them chatting to Dave's wife Heather.
Sunday morning dawned, the bonfire still burning and the kettle still there for an early morning cuppa. Tents were packed away and we all rode to the pub for a proper Welsh breakfast. A photo call followed and those with some distance to travel set off home. Seven of us set off for Conwy, Steve ran over a dead badger (as you do)and we were joined en-route by Woodburner on our way to a bike show where we were directed to the Guest area, warmly welcomed, and given a souvenir coaster. As usual, mud-splattered as they were, our bikes attracted attention much to the annoyance of other riders who were displaying their highly polished trailer- borne machines just yards away.
With Woodburner 20 members attended the week-end and we all had an excellent time. There were characters- but no egos, organisation – but no officialdom, challenging riding- but no accidents. Many of us picked up a lot from the week-end, learning about riding trickier conditions, about improvements we could make to our bikes, and last but not least Mark picked up another wheel.
Respect to the local riders Dave, Andy and Arfon who, without being flashy, demonstrated how to ride the trails.
Many thanks to Dave and Andy for organising the highly successful event.
See MT Glass's photos here
See Arceyes photos here