Thumper Club Forum
Club House => Events/Meetings/Rideouts => Topic started by: Steffan on February 07, 2010, 03:20:23 PM
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Well that was a belter!! Good company both days and the site was less what we are used and more what it ought to be like. Special thanks to Jules et al for the hospitality and I hope to check out a new pre-dragon site for the hardcore later in the year. MZ went like a dream - what a hoot.
Steffan
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Good Dragon, good site (both) and good company.
The 50th could be a belter.
Richard
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I agree. Got back about 3:30pm.
For me this will go down as one of my favourite Dragons.
Friday spent in Bettws was very enjoyable, good company , beer and food. The run up was not without incident and one of the collars on the XS disintegrated leaving the downpipe away from the head and blowing badly.Sat morn saw an abortive attempt to get bits and bobs in Bettws. Obtained some electrical lighting wire from Tony in the B&B and wrapped it around the pipe to take up the missing length of collar. It got me to the Rally but still blew. Further tinkering saw more wire and some heat shield stuff courtesy of Oz. Thanks.
Saturday night fine time around Jule's tent. Much laughter and p*** taking. Hospitality was first class, thanks to all but Boyd's sausage did stand out :o as did Richard's chillie vodka. Keith was very funny as well ;Thanks for bringing him)
Who can forget C**t Westwood as well as the hot air balloons ;D
We made our way to base camp in the woods { first class site } but got sidetracked by the band. Weren't they good 8).
Sunday I was convinced I would have to recovered at some point. However the repair/bodge worked and the Xs brought me home in fine style, possibly for the last time :'(. Can't go without mentioning Furry John who stayed with me all the way home. Thank you.
A classic Dragon.
Rob.
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Agree with all the above.
Gareth, Warren and I met up at 8.00 on Friday morning and had a leisurely ride to the Dolwen garage cafe where we had the rare (for us) experience of having our fried breakfast in the morning (we normally get there around lunchtime). From there we meandered to llanberis via Capel Curig and Pen Y Pass. The ride to the top of the pass and down the other side has to be in the the top ten of my riding experiences. Gareth was towing a trailer so he waved Warren and me on and we had a hoot. I'm sure we could have gone faster, but we had a blinding laugh.
Once in Llanberis we dumped our kit in the bunkhouse and wandered around town. This year's camp shop bargains were some £1 stuff sacks and a stainless steel folding spork. By early evening the bunkhouse was full of smelly riding kit and two mountains of luggage, one was called Mount Dalby, the other Mount Crustyclown. We ate in the cafe downstairs and retired to the conveniently located nearby pub (it took longer to put my coat on than to walk to the pub).
The following morning we breakfasted in teh cafe and set off for the rally. Mark had some tyre issues, but thanks to SteveD he made it the site (and later to a nearby town to get it fixed). Once at teh site we bagged a nice big area and attended to the club erection. With the gazebo up we surrounded it with our bikes and tents.
The site was superb, with a long steep(ish) climb up to the camping fields. Some riders made complete *******s of themselves on the track, including more than one 'adventure' bike rider.
Given the importance of the afternoon's rugby game (Wales vs England) the lads had established the location of several pubs in walking distance before they had unpacked their bikes. After a nice sunny afternoon of bike spotting and (in simon's case) tipi envy, we set off on a mile walk to the pub. We got there to find it packed out with like-minded rallyists, but we still had a good time. On our way back to camp Gareth decided that we could take a footpath through the woodland up to the camping field. There then followed one of the maddest 15 minutes of my life as five of us (only two with torches) trudged uphill through brush, thicket and scrub until, by some small miracle, we emerged almost directly below our encampment.
We then drunkenly cooked 2 million burgers and three pots of stew. Some of us decided to 'pop' into the beer tent to see what the band was like. We stayed until the end of their second set. They played lots of rock n roll and blues and put on a superb and humourous show.
We returned to the gazebo to find Steve Dalby, Terry and Mark sitting in their underpants around three insanely hot charcoal burners (well ok, they had their coats off). Nibbles were passed around, matters discussed and beer drunk and then I retired to bed.
We woke to find a heavy frost and had trouble getting water out of frozen containers into kettles, but we managed to brew lots of coffee and cook several more tons of bacon before packing up and heading home.
The ride home was bloody chilly, but we made good time.
Over the weekend I bumped into several TC and SidecarsUK forum members which was good fun. We met up with XTwill in a garage in Dolgellau and he reported that his (and his mates') C90 trip had been a hoot. Trophydave entertained us with some good singing and dancing in the beer tent ;)
Bruce was there on his Norton, the Dragon wouldn't be the same without them. Was your ride home OK Bruce?
GC
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Trophydave entertained us with some good singing and dancing in the beer tent ;)
GC
Thank you very much,hopefully I didn't make too much of a tw*t of myself this time.I had a great time although having to leave three of our group waiting for the recovery man to come and pick them up put a bit of a downer on things.
ADDED BY GC - no mate, you were bloody good company. The band were blinding weren't they? Tell us more about your mates, three out of action?
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Good Rally to be sure. Did manage to have 1 rally disaster though. I was so chuffed not to have left my bike keys in the tent [managed it twice now and only discovered what I'd done once everything was loaded and the helmet was on ::)] that I rode off without my rucksack! That meant no wallet, no phone, no house keys and no waterproof trousers! :o I only noticed 50 miles down the road with only enough petrol to either to go back or press on to the cafe we all stop at for lunch. I decided to press on, knowing I was ahead of the others. As luck would have it Furry John and RobG were at the cafe when I got there and without thought or hesitation Furry was passing me £30. Thank you sooo very much Matey, a true Gentleman. When I got home I received a phone call from a fellow Dragoneer telling me he found my rucksack, took it home and will post it on tommorow. Another true Gent. Stuff like that, and Furry's selfless generosity, warms the cockles.
Steffan and Richard passed me on the way out of Bettws. Ah the smell of a two stroke! Bike was going well Steff, more than I can say for the XT :'( I've some work ahead trying to figure out why it's so gutless over 4k rpm. BTW Richard, honestly, your headlight looked off as you approached, very dim matey.
Thanks to everyone for the laughs and another big thanks to Furry for bailing my arse out of jail.
Cheers
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I enjoyed the band,as you could tell ;D If you like that sort of thing try and get to see Hotrod 55 if you get chance.
As for the bikes we had an 80's Yamaha thingy and a BMW R80 completely refuse to start and a modern K something BMW rattling like a bag of spanners :'(The K bike had been into the dealers on Friday and been fitted with a new camchain tensioner,which seemed to have cured it but when he arrived at the rally it was just as bad as before.This meant three of us had missed Friday night in Betws,arriving at the rally Saturday teatime .What made it worse was that two of the chaps had come from abroad.The chap with the K series BMW had come from Ostend,the R80 rider was from Norway but had borrowed the bike here.
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Hi guys,
Very enjoyable back to nature camping. Hill from the marquee was a good workout did it about 8 times :o
Nice to meet a gaggle of TCers at the Stables on Friday night, and a few at Dolgellau on the way home today. Screwed the arse of the C90 all the way home, made good time, home in Pembrokeshire just before 4pm.
Look forward to next year already, can't promise I will take the C90, on the other hand :P
Keep it steady
Will
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Had a good craic up there and enjoyed the odd passing conversation with members but just so many people to try and catch up with that I missed out on many. Oh why is it only one night??? not enough time.
Yet again missed out on Richards Chili Vodka and Boyds sausage.
The Jalapenos were an entertaining band, saw them at The Shires Show a couple of years ago and am glad they are still in business. Me and my mates were laughing at you lot performing in there, especially Simon, he was well off it.
Met up with XTwill and his mates in the garage just outside Dolgellau after Ifors 16h lost compression going up the long hill, he had to freewheel all the way back down to the garage for us to have a look at it, once cool it was ok again, suspect sticking valve. Other than that it was a trouble free COLD ride home.
Due to the lost time we decided not to detour to the Dolwen Cafe but took a more direct route stopping at the Wetherspoons in Aberystwyth for food then Lampeter for fuel. Passed Richards house(well his bike was outside) about 4pm.
Roll on the 50th
Mark
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Glad you all had fun, sorry for not catching up with you all. My Dragon went as follows;
Thursday 6 people pile round mine, we catch up, all good fun.
Friday we set off. I'm navigator and we do a nice run up Talgarth road/Builth/Devil's Staircase/Aberystwyth sea front/Dolgellau. At Dolgellau I begin feeling a bit ill. This rapidly goes to very ill and huge amounts of abdominal pain (I currently have an undiagnosed colon pain, as of last Dec) so bad that people are on the verge of calling an ambulance. I debate riding home then, sanity and an inability to stand decides otherwise. I pass out for a bit, then have a restless night of nausea and more pain.
Saturday I decide discretion is the better part of valour and head home, a friend rides with me and we meet up with a mate heading up and I give my ticket to him.
Saturday afternoon I'm in the hospital and prescribed plenty of pills, and I have an appointment on tuesday. Still feeling very rough.
So, sorry to Pat for missing the brew, you'll have to pop round sometime and I'll make you one. As for your XT, does it have the twin carb set up? If so I would be looking at (in order); fresh air filter, cleaning the flatslide carb out, and checking your valve clearances.
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Kidney Stones ?
Certainly hurts enough to make you nauseous and pass out. Of course too much chili vodka has a similar effect.
Good luck getting it sorted.
Richard
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Sorry to hear about your illness. A bit of a downer to say the least. It is only a rally though and there is next year.
GC
P.S. for anyone interested in the band here's their MySpace PAGE (http://www.myspace.com/thejalapenosrock) And to answer Jethro's question, yes the drummer did play with the band Engine:
"Since 1997, drummer Ape has been performing as 'Diamond Dave' in Mexican-flavoured rock 'n' roll band The Jalapeños, alongside Charlie Davidson (lead guitar, ex-Bilko's Privates) and Doctor Martyn (bass guitar)."
GC
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This years best sight at the dragon ?
Triumph T140 having its sump warmed over a bonfire so it would start. Worked too.
Never thought of toasting a triumph before.
Richard
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Well that one compared very favourably with Beddgelert, my previous "best ever". The choice of camping areas, the company, the ride up to North Wales and the ride back down to home all made for a really great Dragon. Thanks to all, friends old and new, who made me welcome at their tents as we circulated during Saturday afternoon and evening.
It was good to see Boyd under canvas again. After a moan to Vango, my leaking disaster at Llantony had been replaced with a really first class version, so a trouble free night was had. I thanked the Fairies at the bridge for letting me past this year, 8 out of 10 is the score so far. I was however in bed by 9pm on Sunday night, totally kn..kered, so maybe I had better let the 50th be my last next year, age does not come unaccompanied.
Furry John
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Don't worry about that "furry BJ" bring them along; the more the merrier.
Steffan
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Saturday night fine time around Jule's tent. Much laughter and p*** taking. Hospitality was first class, thanks to all but Boyd's sausage did stand out :o as did Richard's chillie vodka.
Not to forget that sublime beef jerky!!!
Furry
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I'm going to put a request on my Dragon Website (http://www.dragonrally.org.uk/) asking people to write to the club asking them to make next year's event a two-dayer. It's always a drag having to 'do' the rally in one day. Worth a try I'd say.
I was talking to Graham Bradshaw (an organiser) at the rally and he was saying that some blogs and forums have been critical of the club in the last couple of years. They may well make a massive profit from the rally (equally they may not, I have no idea) but £20 for that sort of weekend seems cheap enough to me. This year's rally was, they feared, going to provoke further complaints because of the rough camping and the condition of the access road. However, it's up to us to balance that bollocks out by taking the time to mail the club thanking them for the rally, without them it wouldn't happen, end of.
To my mind this year's site was along the lines of what makes the rally special. The rally trades off a reputation for toughness, but for the last few years it's been a doddle. We can't turn around and complain when the rally lives up to its own image.
Rob and Jethro, I was talking to that bloke Roger (who does engineering for Motorworks) and he was telling me a story about watching a Superdream falling into a culvert. Made me chuckle. (Bit of a in-joke there sorry, for fuller details look at the story for 1995 on my WEBSITE (http://www.dragonrally.org.uk/))
GC
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I was talking to Graham Bradshaw (an organiser) at the rally and he was saying that some blogs and forums have been critical of the club in the last couple of years. They may well make a massive profit from the rally (equally they may not, I have no idea) but £20 for that sort of weekend seems cheap enough to me.
GC
A friend in the Conwy club said they would probably get 5 grand out of it, taking into account the weeks of work preping the site, laying the road etc. and like with most clubs it is the minority envolved in the hard work. They paid for the use of the land and also let the land owner have the beer and food sales. I agree that the £20 is well worth it and would also love to see it become a 2 day event.
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Enjoyed the rally as usual my 38th trip to The Dragon got there and back OK and met a lot of faces that I knew.
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It was a pleasure Furry Bob John.
Do the same for the 50th.
Rob
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Is there an email for the Conwy Club?
Ta
R
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I have got an email address, I'll PM it to you.
BTW, the 2010 page is up on my website, just piccies of the badge, etc, so far, but more to come (if anyone sends me any ::)_
GC
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A 2 day stay would only really work if it wasn't somewhere like the showground/airport/circuit. This years gave just a taste of what it must have been like once - lets have more of that !
I thought that some of the money they raised went to something like the air ambulance - I may be wrong.
Richard
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Don't worry about that "furry BJ" bring them along; the more the merrier.
Steffan
I'm counting on Furry Billy Bob John being there.
As usual he is good company....even if he does talk to fairies.
Many Thanks to Steffan and Jules for their respective hospitalities,and for Viv to let me have a lie-in with her.
Good to see old and new friends alike.
Jethro
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I thought the Dragon rally excellent this year but I have to say that the bogs are unacceptable. One bog per thousand people is a complete nonsense. A trench/ long drop would have been preferable.
Steffan
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My mate Tim was tidying up our woodland camp Sunday morning when picking up a bit of paper he shoved his middle finger through it into someones poop, we looked around laughing as we saw Ifor our diabetic mate(for those that know him) acting coy so we knew who it was. Keith motioned to Tim sucking his middle finger and asked what Ifors sugar levels were this morning. He weren't none happy. :D
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Second time around in Dragon, first time in this forum.
Have to say the rally was really good this year and no problems with the fantastic site!
That's the way it should be... and that hill was not a problem for even a short girl with an srx600...
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Well that was a belter!! Good company both days and the site was less what we are used and more what it ought to be like. Special thanks to Jules et al for the hospitality and I hope to check out a new pre-dragon site for the hardcore later in the year. MZ went like a dream - what a hoot.
Steffan
Well,
i think its all been said,great Dragon,great location,crap bogs(no pun intended)and was it me or was the marquee small this year??,
what made it for me however both this year and last was the Friday night camp out,it was everything that camping should be,a beautiful site,a calm serene relaxed atmosphere,superb food (thanks Stef)cooked to perfection,camp fire songs and poetry,just bliss,thanks to 002 for the assist with the frame tent,id still be there now in knots if not for you,Richard,your chili vodka has to be the chiliest vodka known to man and beast,Christ that was hot :-X
roll on next year!!
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I thought the Dragon rally excellent this year but I have to say that the bogs are unacceptable. One bog per thousand people is a complete nonsense. A trench/ long drop would have been preferable.
Steffan
Lots of similar rumblings and complaints on various forums apparently. Most people have done the maths and worked out the income and they are having trouble balancing that against the facilities provided. It's never bothered me much but some rallyists are getting a bit fed up. Frankly I'd rather the rally was a bit ramshackle in some respects as it will deter the softies from attending.
GC
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To me, having attended Dragon only twice, 2008 and 2010, it was a really good rally. You do know what you are getting from your money when you book your tickets and if you don't, well blame yourself! If someone goes through the effort of organising and setting it all up, if they make any pennies out of it (which i doubt) more power to them! Well, we know only real men and mouses and proper girls attend this rally anyway... ::)
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Second time around in Dragon, first time in this forum.
Welcome, Welcome, try to get to to one or two other Thumper activities this year, the other real lady members/riders would be pleased to have someone else on their side!! We do have one or two members who may seem a little undecided about their gender, but they don't bother many other people with their ramblings, and do provide plenty of entertainment.
Furry
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You did escort Sharon home on Sunday Furry !
Jethro
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Can I just say a big thankyou to SteveD and Gareth for helping make it such a blinding weekend. They each lugged a whole load of kit to the rally that enabled us to really kick back and enjoy it.
GC
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Frankly I'd rather the rally was a bit ramshackle in some respects as it will deter the softies from attending.
GC
There is a difference between "ramshackle" and filth, I don't give a ******* about hard standing, access road conditions and as far as I care, you can keep the marque and the music. I am not asking for a shower block or even plumbed toilets, a trench would do, but what I do expect is not to have to sit in the piss of pissed, lazy or incontinent bastards when I need a dump. At the Friday night location one could dig one's own facilities, at the Dragon they are meant to be provided, in my opinion they were not. If that is meant to be an enriching part of the experience then you can.... Frankly I think it is cynicism on the part of the club; a case of of "what is the minimum we can get away with?" Softies? and who might these be that you want deterred. Wake up and smell the urine GC- if you think the Dragon is in and of itself "hard" then you are kidding yourself. Especially as you managed to spend the afternoon in a warm pub, walking there and back. Before any one goes off half *******ed, I am not taking a pop at you for going to the pub, I am making the point that if you can comfortably walk there and back then it is not "hard". Is it?
Rant over
Steffan
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As always you've hit the nail on the head Steffan.
For such a high profile rally the toilets were, literally s**t.
I'm as capable as the next rallyist of trooping off to the woods with a shovel. However why do it when 'toilets' are 'provided'.You expect an element of roughness at the Dragon. That's what it's all about. The site was fine, the marquee was small but fine.
Never in a million years would you find toilets like this at the Elefant, it would not be tolerated. We do not have to tolerate this either.
All this has done is potentially alienate a number of people who may have returned to the rally next year.
Rob.
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All this has done is potentially alienate a number of people who may have returned to the rally next year.
Rob.
Bloody great. ;D
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I have to agree with Steffan and Rob,the bogs were well 'bogging'
Isn't there some sort of minimum number of toilets per punter at events?I realise that it doesn't help that there are always some people at rallies who seem incapable of using toilets without making an awful mess.Perhaps the organisers relied on poeple staying up on the camping field so they could provide fewer toilets and a smaller marquee,who knows.
Moaning aside,I will still be there next year ;D
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There is a difference between "ramshackle" and filth,
I have to concede that I didn't really notice the toilets, there was a huge area of woodland directly below where I was camped and I only actually used the toilet wagon once for a pee in the evening.
You're absolutely right, these rallies aren't tough or hard, even the Elefant is a doddle (in terms of facilities) with bars and food stalls all over the place and a proper pub 1km from the site (which is always rammed with rallyists). The big factor is the weather, which as we saw over the last few Dragons can make getting there difficult (I think you yourself got snowed in one year). What I meant by softies is the sort of people who expect summer rally facilities and conditions at a winter rally, like that idiot who wrote the infamous letter to the Dragon organisers in 2004.
As much as we like playing up the Dragon and Elefant rallies' toughness when talking to the fair-weather brigade, we all know that the average dispatch rider can have as tough a ride on a daily basis. I'm as happy as anyone to play up to the myth, but after 15 Dragons, 4 Elefants and a Tauerntreffen I'm still as hard as a wet paper bag ;)
...Especially as you managed to spend the afternoon in a warm pub
Afternoon? LOL you cheeky monkey ;) :D Two hours from 4.30 on isn't an afternoon. Actually it nicely filled that funny rally time between walking the site looking at bikes and getting stuck into the cooking and drinking.
GC
P.s. Here's a fantastic YouTube clip from the rally CLICK HERE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDWoTkQB_eA)
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Hardness, toilets, bidet! The Dragon lavatorial facilities sound representative of most of GB's circuit lavatory facilities anyway!
"MY MUM WILL CLEAR UP THE MESS!" attitude of many 'bikers' and the general population including many women is to blame. I have had to put up a large notice in the work bog, because of the inability of many users to aim straight, flush a bog or use the brush after they have used it! >:( >:( >:(
Maybe this nasty subject should be diverted to Jule's section? I am sorry if I have offended anybody, BUT! :-X :-X :-X
'Thomas Crapper'
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All this has done is potentially alienate a number of people who may have returned to the rally next year.
Rob.
Bloody great. ;D
That's all well and good, but there are strong rumours that due to the ageing population of the conwy club next years rally will be the last.
The fiftieth will be over subscribed anyway. However there some people who I met who were cracking company and were genuinely miffed at the quality of the basic facilites and who won't return as a result. I would like to take the memsahib , but won't due to the quality of the bogs.
It's simply not good enough.
Rob
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The funny thing is, the facilities at Capel Curig (and that bloody army base) were often just as bad, but nobody batted an eyelid in those days. You'd have to say it's a sign of how our standards have changed over the last decade or so.
GC
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What are you saying? We're all getting soft? >:(
Steffan
;D
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The funny thing is, the facilities at Capel Curig (and that bloody army base) were often just as bad, but nobody batted an eyelid in those days. You'd have to say it's a sign of how our standards have changed over the last decade or so.
GC
Yes....!!!!! Remember my Sh1t Coat !!!!
Jethro ;D ;D ;D ;D
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>Yes....!!!!! Remember my ******* Coat !!!!
>Jethro
What happened ? Did you cr*p in the hood ?
Richard
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Worse :'(
Rob
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On that basis we should all be shitting in out tents or if we're really hard in our sleeping bags. You can imagine the scene, 1500-3000 bikers walking about shitting in there pants to prove how hard they are ???
Steffan
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I for one thought it a great site and had no issues with the loos as I never used them. I did what I would do if I was free camping, went in to the woods, dug a [shallow] hole and made like the bears. No worries 8) Tell you another thing, every Dragon I've been to the loos get shitty (pardon the pun) by the end of it. No one pissed all over the seat of my hole in the ground, or left bog roll on the floor, or forgot to flush it. It was my freshly dug/scrapped hole, for my arse only ;)
Can't comment on the toughness [or lack of it] of rallies past, but when I was sat in the sun in my tee-shirt reading my book and munching on oat cakes, cheese and air dried ham all washed down with a can of SA, I can't say I found this rally particularly tough. ;D Dry all weekend and no wind to speak of (at least outside the trousers :-[), yes it was nippy, but that's what clothes are for isn't it?
More like this one please
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I am with you on that one Pat, i had a good rally. Enjoyed the sunshine during the day and froze my b*****ks off in the night.. like yourself, made a hole in the ground and gave it whatfor...... so toilets were no problem for me. It was also good to take a stroll down a country lane to a pub, unfortunatly i had to watch the rugby through the window as it was packed inside with locals and other bikers..
Again, good rally, good company.
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Take a few Imodium on the friday then don't worry about a bog till the middle of the next week :D
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Ye gods, by wednesday it would be a dambusters moment wouldn't it? :o :o :o :o
GC
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(http://homepage.ntlworld.com/one.pot/temp/steffan%20rant.JPG)
;) :D
GC
Bugger off!!
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Didn't dumping one in your pants and leaving it there a week used to be one of the backpatch qualifications ?
Richard
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Bugger off!!
No offence matey, just a little Photoshop moment to while away 5 minutes on a quiet Saturday morning ;)
GC
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Bugger off!! >:(
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It would appear that my joke was obviously not as amusing as I thought (and intended). Consequently i have pulled the original post. Many apologies
GC
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Interesting read. I was at the Elefant on the Friday and the facilities were already bad enough for a trip into the woods to be prefferable. The problem to me is one of basic numbers. X number of people produce a given amount of waste. If this is all burried in the woods you'd have a first rate source of disease and general ground contamination (think medieval army). To provide facilities requires a significant amount of man power. Imagine having to take your waste home in a bucket and you'll soon come to the conclusion it's actually quite a lot of work. Music festivals etc. employ vast sanitation squads to deal the the ****ed, stupid and generally filthy which is one of the reasons you pay 50-quid not 20.
The solution then is to reduce the number of people to the size where the soil in the woods can cope, limit the rally to places where the plumbing is already in place or provide the minimalistic services we see. For the former you get something like the Tauern Treffen or our own pre-Dragon meet, for the "built in" approach it's Anglesey race track again.
I'm fast coming to the conclusion that as I don't really want to be in a crowd of 5000 and aren't bothered about the band, beer tent etc. I'll stick to the smaller get togethers.
Andy
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Interesting read. I was at the Elefant on the Friday and the facilities were already bad enough for a trip into the woods to be prefferable. The problem to me is one of basic numbers. X number of people produce a given amount of waste. If this is all burried in the woods you'd have a first rate source of disease and general ground contamination (think medieval army). To provide facilities requires a significant amount of man power. Imagine having to take your waste home in a bucket and you'll soon come to the conclusion it's actually quite a lot of work. Music festivals etc. employ vast sanitation squads to deal the the ****ed, stupid and generally filthy which is one of the reasons you pay 50-quid not 20.
The solution then is to reduce the number of people to the size where the soil in the woods can cope, limit the rally to places where the plumbing is already in place or provide the minimalistic services we see. For the former you get something like the Tauern Treffen or our own pre-Dragon meet, for the "built in" approach it's Anglesey race track again.
I'm fast coming to the conclusion that as I don't really want to be in a crowd of 5000 and aren't bothered about the band, beer tent etc. I'll stick to the smaller get togethers.
Andy
Ok, when and where are we going to have a get together next. My calender is looking empty for the next six weeks.;D
Mark
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I was at the Elefant on the Friday and the facilities were already bad enough for a trip into the woods to be prefferable. .
Andy
Andy i too was at the Elephantentreffen,but didn't get to visit the bogs as it wasn't on my to do list :),what i can verify however is that there were plenty of them,
i don't know if you saw the numerous porta loos dotted around the site but there were a good number,the same unfortunately cant be said about the Dragon,
as far as I'm aware it was just the one dump site(pun intended)unless of course you had your own,shovel,quite spot in the woods,and plenty of the soft stuff,
Viv has told me the she and Foxy used the unisex toilets in the woods at the same time after coffee on the sunday morning,camouflaged from one another of course :o ;D
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True. It has taken a fair bit of planning/walking to go to the loo at the Dragon in the past while the Elefant has more. At €20 I wonder if BVDM make a profit? I'm betting they sell the drinks/food/cuddly toy selling rights.
Andy
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True. It has taken a fair bit of planning/walking to go to the loo at the Dragon in the past while the Elefant has more. At €20 I wonder if BVDM make a profit? I'm betting they sell the drinks/food/cuddly toy selling rights.
Andy
Much warmer on the buttocks ,I find. ;)
Rub.
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At €20 I wonder if BVDM make a profit? I'm betting they sell the drinks/food/cuddly toy selling rights.
Andy
At €20,which is cheaper than the Dragon,if theres money to be made it will be,especially at something like the Elephantentreffen,the BVDM is a massively subscribed motorcycle club,
something along the lines of MAG but much bigger
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It'll help the BVDM that it's three days plus. When I go to the Dragon I buy very little as I can bring IPA/Jamesons/Coq Au Van from home and thus avoid the warm Boddingtons/Grants/Burger and chips. At a full/proper elefant you need to shop. The Elefant also seems to have a lot of support from the villages there about, while I'm betting Dragon is probably quite tough to even find a place that'll take it away from the race track.
Andy
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I was talking to the woman who runs the camping shop at was once the A5 services (the petrol station just up the road from the old Capel Curig site) and she said that nobody in Betws y coed really cared about the Dragon Rally, despite the massive boost to the economy that it brings. She also said that the farmer who owns the 'waterworks' site wasn't all that fussed either, despite the £1,000 for one weekend that the rally gave him.
Frankly I find it amazing that no-one in North Wales seems to have tried to bag the rally as a regular event in their area. Just one example, the pub up the road from the rally this year must have had perhaps up to 80 times more business than on a regular February saturday.
GC
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Generally speaking I find North Wales a miserable place. Apologies in advance to the many exceptions to that general statement but I have spent many years living on its borders.
Trawsfynydd - I always think they want to eat me.
Blaenau Ffestiniog - so ugly in so pretty a place.
Don't even start me on Anglesey.
Richard
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Blaenau Ffestiniog - it's just like a grim valleys mining town transplanted into God's back garden. This story typifies the place, five years ago I stopped at a petrol station there and noticed that the MOT garage next door was in an attractive old church. I wandered in and found, to my amazement, that the church interior was mostly intact and the only concession to the garage business was a concrete floor and a four post car ramp in the middle. Surreal. The next time we rode through Ffestiniog I wanted to show the lads this mad place, but in the meantime they had knocked the whole thing down. This year I noticed that it's still bare plot. Classy ::)
GC
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I stopped at that garage the year before that as i needed petrol,bike ran like a bag of sh*t after,didn't notice the church bit until i rode back through,that said i didn't see it at all this year ::) not even the plot it once stood on,i love riding through Blaenau,i think its great me!!,does that make me classy ;D ::) ;D
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To be fair to Blaenau.............
Back in the mid 80's I turned up there with a bunch of caving mates to join in a demonstration/rally etc in support of the striking slate quarry workers. We were pretty poor/tight at the time being just out of college so were all planning on camping, sharing my (biggish) tent. This was mid winter and pretty bad weather. We couldn't find a field for the tent so did our best to pitch it on the nearest nearly flat bit that wasn't all broken slate. Couldn't peg it down so we weighed it down with slate lumps. Off to town for a beer then to the chippy.
To cut a long story short they were so chuffed at us turning up they let us sleep on their living room floor as they felt sorry for us.
So its not all bad.