Thumper Club Forum
Club House => Chatter => Topic started by: Steffan on February 10, 2013, 03:44:46 PM
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I am back home and I am half way through cleaning, washing but mostly drying the kit. What a soaker!!
Nevertheless, I for one had a beauty. Met up with all the usual reprobates had a few beers, talked a great deal of nonsense and that was just on the Friday.
Then on to the site, seemed familiar, although a toilet block which is merely too small but not fetid and running with bodily waste was a bit of shocker this morning, as was the sight of someone with a mop cleaning it out - what has the dragon come to?
No timepiece meant that some of us had had a few more rather sooner than we might have otherwise but it was a good laugh and the hangover from such unbridled hospitality as I was treated to during the evening was not as severe as I had feared.
The ride home was more like a fully clothed extended stay under a cold shower in a wind tunnel but even at the modest pace I set myself and losing all by companions was almost pleasant and certainly uneventful.
I have come to the conclusion that in the final analysis it is not about bikes, they are just the excuse, it is about friendship and good company, and by those standards this Dragon would have to rate as one of the best.
Steffan
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Whole heartedly agree Steff.
A fine weekend blessed with some good company and fine repartee.
Room 11, the smoking room, the SFB, the immortal phrase " any one fancy a beer now we are here " and the sesh that produced.
That ride home.......
All good.....
Rob
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You boys were shifting nicely on the way home, caught up with you above Dolgellau but you were gone and out of site by the roundabout.
I thought it was the FSB actually - Jethro??
For the record, I took exactly the right amount and the right clothes to wear.
Steff
(again)
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just seen a facebook report from someone at nabd that someone was found dead in their tent this morning at the dragon.
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Oh dear, something of a damper on proceedings really, given that most everything else seemed to go tickety boo.
I am only now really warming through.
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Back home after a rather rainy and sleety session on the roads back.
Good to see the old faces and a good time was had.
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good curry friday night and a wet but enjoyable dragon,see you next year ;D
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As a bit of a lightweight here, I found the Friday night exceptionally good, the camp site although wet at the edges seemed fine and the loos were way above normal standard. The company, although very familiar was great fun and the "smoking room" added a whole new scent to the Rob/Steff normal mix. The Conway Club guys who were "marshalling" seemed much friendlier than ever before, Ok Mark I know you had to move, but the club had no choice here, Europe rules OK. moving my bike for me was really helpful and I felt making a run for it on Saturday night so avoiding the "great soaking" and keeping a genuinely poorly Mol happy was worthwhile.
Furry John
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Yep, goodly weekend. Big thanks to SteveD and his hospitality, or more specifically, his cheese board. Ride home was moist to say the least, but the kit held out (except the boots), and the mountain road was interesting!
Tent hanging out to dry. Bike wiped over. Whiskey being drunk. All is well.
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You boys were shifting nicely on the way home, caught up with you above Dolgellau but you were gone and out of site by the roundabout.
I thought it was the FSB actually - Jethro??
For the record, I took exactly the right amount and the right clothes to wear.
Steff
(again)
You were shifting nicely as you flew past the petrol station at the bottom of the hill.................... ;)
We waved but....................
Rob
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Sorry I missed you all. Made it into Shropshire on Friday (too tight not to use a nights pre-paid camping!) including a nice little convoy made up of an MZ outfit, Ural and unknown modern combo from Holm to Glossop. The Woodhead and Leek road/Cat and Fiddle had it's moments:
https://picasaweb.google.com/104442976739427547289/NotTheDragon#5842969168148590258
The "Family Event" yesterday was more of a damp squid than the ride past Manchester, but :-X
Andy
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Good weekend, great to see everyone.
Got back safe, cold and wet, but surprisingly no hangover.
Mark
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Weekend started early for me: 5.30am on friday morning. I had to load all my tat into the van and drive over to Gareth's house to pick up the Yamaha Diversion 600 that he had very nicely bought for me to ride to the Dragon. Due to insurance restrictions I couldn't have ridden it any earlier than 12.01 on that morning.
We were on the road by 8am. Gareth had only finished rebuilding his CB250RS the day before (after two lower crankcase swaps in a week!) and I was on a £500 second-hand bike that I'd only previously ridden half a mile (Liz was comfy on her pristine ER5). However, we made good time to the Dolwen Garage Cafe, where our friends took care of us and fed us a much-needed breakfast.
We rode on to Llanberis and discovered that our bunkhouse (Pete's Eats) had made a booking error and so they agreed to put up the last arrival (Terry) in a nearby hotel at no extra cost (what a jammy git!) ;) When we did get to our bunks it was to find a policeman going through the belongings of a walker who hadn't returned the night before. Before it was discovered to be a false alarm I uncharitably thought "aha, Terry won't get his luxury berth after all"
Steve D turned up, then Terry and then Simon Morgan. Other Dragoneers had booked the remaining bunks so we agreed to book a table for all ten of us in the curry house for 7pm. In the interim we did some marvelous camping gear browsing and some drinking. The curry was nice and we then set of for the pub popular with the Berghaus and NorthFace brigade who seem to make up half the town's population. It was overpriced and a bit dull (although the totty level was fairly high) so we returned to the funny little pub opposite the bunkhouse and drank away the night.
One of the nicest things about Pete's Eats is being able to just walk downstairs and get a stonking great breakfast... so we did. And then we set off for the control point. What a shock to discover that the tickets weren't being doled out through the window of a mouldy caravan, but from a table in a plush cafe-restuarant. I asked about the caravan and the bloke grimaced and said "We dropped a bollock, we scrapped it instead of Ebaying it". And he's right, any number of us Dragoneers would have bid for it :-)
I was pleased to get to the site early enough to pitch the tent on the spot I'd occupied the year before. It was short work to chuck up the tent, discard all my luggage and head off to the control, greeting old faces every few yards or so. After Gareth and Liz set off for their hotel in Beddgelert, Simon and I did a good tour of the field. Then, with a very smug face indeed, he asked me if I'd like an espresso. "But where" I asked "could you get an espresso in a muddy field full of smelly bikers?" He produced one of the most fantastic gadgets I've ever seen, a stupendously sexy coffee maker that uses Nespresso pouches and is pumped up to 15 bar! Bliss ;)
Simon and I had agreed to meet Gareth and Liz later to watch the rugby in a bar so i gave Simon a half hour start and he trudged off with the furtive look of a man about to engage in some sneaky geocaching. Then I got into my running gear and set off to track him down. Sure enough, some 3 and a half miles later I saw a figure scouring the undergrowth on the lakeside. His caching device was useful to confirm that I only had a mile and a half left to run so I jogged on. After I while I began to wonder if the village was ever going to appear and when i saw a woman walking towards me i shouted to her, "is it far to Beddgelert?" She looked very amused and pointed out the 5 foot wide brown road sign ahead of me saying... BEDDGELERT. I could still hear her laughing as I jogged up to Gareth's hotel ::)
Gareth had carried my party clothes to the hotel so I showered and changed and then Simon rolled in. We had a raucous old time watching the Wales game and, by a stroke of luck, we got chatting to some ConwyMCC bods who offered to give us a lift back to the site after the game. That's how we came to be stood up in a swaying van with eight other blokes, looking like a vanload of illegal immigrants.
Our plan had been to join SteveD in his civilised tent/tarp drawing room, but we stopped off to look at the band. Lo! Behold! they're playing punk classics and modern indie rock anthems. We breifly returned to the tents for some supplies and then spent the rest of the night bopping like loons. Simon insisted I shout out for some Stiff Little Fingers and after about ten seconds of the guitarist playing with some chords to remind himself, they launched into "Alternative Ulster". But it got better...
In an interval, a club member's 13 year old daughter asked if she could play the drums and she started tapping out a simple beat. Someone in the audience starting singing "There is a house in New Orleans..." and the whole audience joined in. She looked terrified but gamely played on. Then the band got up and started playing along too. The whole room was shouting out the words and it was possibly one of the nicest things I have ever seen.
Some hours later the band stopped playing and a member of the crowd stepped forward with his bagpipes. It was great. With all music finally done we did eventually get to SteveD's tent for some late nibbles and good chat, and then to our tents for a well earned sleep. I think we made it to 1.30am, which is a late night in Dragon terms :-)
I awoke to the sound of rain on the tent and was thankful that my first planned stop was only five miles away at Gareth's hotel. With a small breakfast and some strong coffee inside me I was ready for the ride home, but what a git it was. I reckon it rained on us every yard we rode. Liz rode brilliantly and we made good time. She has barely ridden for a year or so and it was impressive to see her following Gareth's lines through every bend. We stopped, as all must, at the Dolwen Garage cafe and were soon joined by RobG and Jethro who looked like the unfortunate only survivors of a torrid lifeboat ordeal. I reckon Rob's jacket probably weighed more than his bike.
After a fuel stop at Builth Wells I separated from the other two and rode straight to home. It was a ******* ride. However the new(!) bike performed well and the oil leak didn't turn into anything nasty. Once home I got into the bath, but every bit of me that wasn't under the hot water was still freezing... my legs haven't got the blubber layer that they used to have ::)
What a great Dragon Rally, one of my favourites in years. Thank you to all who made it enjoyable by their company.
Although... my thoughts go to the family and friends of the bloke who died :( After doing some digging I think this is picture of the bloke and his trike (from an earlier event I hasten to add) http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/101/features/61252/headoverwheels-in-love-with-bikes (http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/101/features/61252/headoverwheels-in-love-with-bikes)
GC
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The Woodhead and Leek road/Cat and Fiddle had it's moments:
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-K6DdjrQYB4k/URZlgEUObrI/AAAAAAAAAU0/MxnpSDwaKug/s640/P1020054.JPG)
Looks like fun :-)
GC
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Steffan on you tube at 5.55 min and some other blokes.
http://youtu.be/Ji3tjKxyuKA (http://youtu.be/Ji3tjKxyuKA)
(http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff325/Richard-NL/Dragon%20Rally%202013/Dragoncut_zps0680e9f7.jpg)
Richard-NL 8)
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Mate, I am glad they got my good side.
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Mate, I am glad they got my good side.
Looks as though you are pi55ing like a dog. ::)
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No, that almost came later, I was just thinking...
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Mate, I am glad they got my good side.
Yes but the side car is on the wrong side ... ;)
Ok I quit
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Touch of the Larry Grayson about that flick of the right leg................
Oooooh.........Shut that door ;)
Rob.
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:o
(http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff325/Richard-NL/Dragon%20Rally%202013/SteffanRobGandJehtro_zps290969b4.jpg)
Richard-NL 8)
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Is that a still from the Yugoslav remake of Dads Army?
Andy
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Is that a still from the Yugoslav remake of Dads Army?
Andy
Or Last of the Summer Wine ?
RobG Foggy ?
Jethro
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Or is steffan just showing Rob the choirboys view?
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... I don't know... The BeeGees have really let themselves go! :(
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We were playing charades.........based on the 1981 SWB land rover parts book.
Rob
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Jethro! ;D You just emerged from your brown sleeping pod behind you? ::) Must have an iron and ironing board in there as well, as the jacket is looking awfully spiffing and un-ruffled. 8)
My compliments to you all for your sartorial elegance! ;)
Cheery bye! Off to the NW Highlands for a bit of work, so might return with a tan! 8)
Bill.
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I made a video about this year´s Dragon Rally. It´s more about the ride.
Dragon Rally 2013 (http://youtu.be/2tlTGNIUwMw)
Richard-NL 8)