We headed out through Llangollen onto the A5, and down through Newtown and some lovely twisties into Llandrindod Wells.  Unfortunately I had to take it easy due to the new tyre, so I couldn’t make the most of the bends.  Having avoided the most erratic and dangerous car driver I have ever had the misfortune to happen upon, we lived up our first stop in style with pasta lunch boxes and chocolate bars in Tesco carpark.  We know how to do it in style.

Once more on the road, we munched the smiles and before we knew it we were in Magor Services on the M4.  From there it was a short hop to the Travel Lodge at Swindon where we met up with my brother Tim (who some of you will have met) and his mate Daz.  After a quick shower and change we headed off to find somewhere to eat.  A short walk into town got us to a Harvester, which served particularly pleasant food for not a lot of money.  It wasn’t quite Tesco, but we managed.

Sunday dawned slightly overcast with us heading to the bikes at 0745.  Far too early, but we wanted a hearty breakfast before the ride.  I had sussed out a truckers cafe just off J17 of the M4 near to Hullavington Airfield where the ride started.  The cafe had opened specially for the event that day.  Very good of them.  They served a decent breakfast in pleasant surroundings, and had very clean facilities.

By 845 we were heading for the airfield where we were met by a very efficient marshalling system being monitored by an extremely large police presence.  All was well though, and we were ushered onto the runway to await our ride.  The organisers had scheduled departures of 1,000 bikes at a time with a 15 minute lag between waves.  We were told our slot was a 10 o’ clock departure, and sure enough we started to move on time.  Very impressive.  Something had to go wrong though.  We quickly ground to a halt with marshals informing us to cut our engines.  It transpired that there had been a minor accident on the route that needed sorting out, and we were given a new departure time of 1030.  It was 1040 when we got going, this time without a hitch.  The ride was led by Afghan Veterans on trikes, the route taking us through a number of small villages north of the M4.  In every village there were lots of people out to greet us, waving, applaudung, cheering and flying flags.

After 12 miles we entered the village of wooton Bassett and rode the route taken by the fallen as they are repatriated.  I can honestly say I have never seen such a crowd at a ride.  The people of Wooton Bassett had filled either side of the road to the point where the bikes had to virtually go in single file as that was the only road space available to ride on.  I have to say it brought quite a lump to my throat.  The ride continued as far south as the M4, where it officially ended.  It seemed to be over all too soon really, but was fantastic while it lasted.

This ride will never happen again as far as I can tell, as RAF Lyneham is scheduled for closure later this year.  Operations are due to move to RAF Brize Norton from then, so fallen service personnel will no longer make their final journey home through what is now Royal Wooton Bassett.  We all felt very glad to have been a part of this event.  In all quite an emotional day.

Police had limited the ride to 10,000 bikes, and it appers that very nearly every place was taken.  Entry was £10 per person with all the money going to the charity.  Assuming perhaps 40% of bikes had pillions, well, you can do the math yourself.

After the ride we headed back to the truck stop before riding together as far as the Abergavenny turn off the M4.  Nice to know that bikes still go free across the Severn Bridge crossing.  We headed back up virtually in reverse of our route down, and what had cleared into a nice morning soon became an exercise in shower dodging.  It took all my knowledge of mid-Wales roads and a keen eye on the sky to keep us reasonably dry all the way home.

We arrived back in Llandudno very tired, very happy at having been on a great adventure, but a little bit sad too for the ones who will not be going home.  We Will Remember Them.

Sunday March 27th

This event starts in the Carpark next to the Texaco Garage in Ruthin at 11am.  Please arrive by 10.30am latest to allow for briefings and route handouts / explanations etc.

The 2011 riding season will soon be upon us, so to blow away those winter cobwebs and wake up our brains, I have come up with a devious challenge for all.

This is a treasure hunt with a difference.  Navigating a route of more than 40 miles through stunning scenery over approx 2 hours, you will follow a set of clues that reveal 4 words.  But there is a twist.  The letters will not be found in the right order and will need to be unscrambled with the help of the provided clues before you can declare yourself a word quest champion.

There will be prizes up for grabs, 1st and 2nd place team prizes, and a bonus secret prize, the details of which will only be revealed once everyone has completed the challenge, a final twist in the tail.   Once more than 10 teams have confirmed entry a 3rd place prize will be added.

Winning teams will be determined by the fastest time (within the law) with all clues correctly submitted.  Full instructions will be given on the morning of the event.

There will be the opportunity to purchase refreshments, relax and socialise at the finish, while you reflect on your adventures.

It is entirely up to you what vehicle you use for your quest.  Some may prefer the warmth and convenience of the car, others may prefer the thrill of the twisting Welsh roads on 2 wheels.  Whichever you decide, a co-pilot will certainly be an advantage.

There is no limit to the members you can have in your team, but you can only have one vehicle per team.  Members families and guests are welcome to attend, and members can enter as many teams as they wish on the basis of one vehicle = 1 team.  SatNavs are banned, and would not really be of any use anyway due to the way the route has been structured.

Entry per team (and so per vehicle) is £5.00.  A portion of the entry fee will provide prizes, and the sum remaining will be donated to the club’s currently nominated charity.

The cost of food and drinks at the finish venue is NOT included in the entry fee.

To enter, please send an e mail to chris•goldwing©googlemail•com  (chris•goldwing©googlemail•com)   including the names of all your team members and the registration number of the vehicle(s) you are entering.  Entry fee is payable to the treasurer by our March meeting.  Team entry can only be confirmed once payment is made.  Entry on the day is allowed, but please be aware that this is NOT the preferrred method of entry.

I expect this to be a fantastic day out, with lots of fun, head-scratching and merriment to be had,  (and the bacon and sausage baps are lovely!)  Remember too that we are raising money for our nominated charity, so please do your best to come along.

Hopefully we have seen the last of this

The format for ride info is changing somewhat this year, a work in progress perhaps.  I have generated a map which lists all the scheduled club rides to date.  This link will take you there http://bit.ly/euKcb0 Instructions on how to use the map are contained within it, but it is quite straightforward.  Just click on a ride destination from the list on the left of the page and the map will take you there.  You will also see a box at the destination containing information relevant to that ride.  It is always worth checking the map in the week leading up to the ride, as information can change.

The map is a working document and is subject to change throughout the season.  I will however let everyone know every time I make a significant change to it.  It does only contain rides though.  Other club and non-club events are still listed on the club website calendar.

I have tried to incorporate everyones requests and suggestions in the rides list.  If you have nominated a location and can attend, it would be useful if you could share your knowledge of the destination (assuming you have any) so we can get the best out of every trip.

There will be a car based treasure hunt event happening on March 27th.  I am still in the process of generating this though, and will have final details for the event available by the March meeting.  There will be an entry fee for this event with all profit generated going into the coffers for our nominated charity.  I am hoping to broker a deal with a cafe for drinks and food either before or after the event.  This will be included in the entry fee.

Chris

So come and see where it all started.  We are led to believe that there could well be in the region of 6,000 bikes attending, and that the event is very well marshalled and is supported by the local police.

With a little luck the weather will be slightly less ‘wintery’ and the roads will be nice and safe for the ride over there.

Meeting at our club hotel carpark for a 915am departure should get us to the venue in plenty of time for the run start at 11am.  Participants need to pay £2 and donate a toy.

Hope to see you all there.

 CANCELLED DUE TO BAD WEATHER

We finally have some firm info for this event, mainly courtesy of Nigels dogged determined efforts.  The ride starts from New Brighton on the 5th December at 11am, ending at Arrow Park Hospital.  This is a great event, and is reputed to be very well attended in previous years.  It is smaller than the Wirral EggRun though, which is claimed by the organisers to be [Quote] ” the biggest bike run in europe.”  We will have to wait until April 2011 for that one though.

The link below will take you to a map of the route, including a meeting point for our club riders, prior to heading to the run start point.

http://goo.gl/maps/zXvQ

Our meeting point is The Tudor Rose, on the junction of the A550 and the A540 roads.  From there we will travel in convoy to the ride start point.  Please be at the Tudor Rose, fuelled up and ready to ride away promptly at 10am.  It is approx a 20 minute ride from there to New Brighton.

The organisers are asking for donations of toys, and want to stress that they should NOT be wrapped and should NOT be of a violent type.  Toys will be collected at the end of the run.  Fancy dress is encouraged, with a prize going to the best costume.  Please do not stop en-route to collect toys from spectators unless you are sure this will have no impact on the rest of the riders around you.

So blow off those winter blues folks, dig out yor thermals and woolies, and come along for what promises to be a spectacular event.  Hopefully the snow will give us a miss, and with a bit of luck we will have wonderful winter sunshine.  In the event that we need to cancel due to extremely inclement weather I will e-mail all members, so please check the skies and if it’s looking very horrid check your mail.

Hope to see you all there

Chris

It’s that time of year again to head into Manchester with our warmest winter woolies to support the Salvation Army Toy Run.

We will meet at Chester Services for a 0900hrs departure, aiming to arrive at the Showcase Cinema site for 1000hrs.  There will be food available before the ride, and last year the organisers allowed all the wings to park in their own area.

The ride will depart at 1105hrs, terminating at the Trafford Centre where there will be a presentation of the toys and a carol service.

If I have done my homework properly, I am led to believe that this years route will be heading through the city centre, unlike the route last year which was diverted around.

If you know you are coming and intend to meet at Chester Services, could you let me know please so I have an idea of who to expect.  Many thanks.

Hope to see you all there.

All the best,

Chris

Our club has been asked to marshal this years ride, in the form of having someone at each of 14 junctions to direct riders.  The junction marshals will remain in-situ until collected by tail-end ‘charlie’ (either Dave or Nigel).  They will then continue the ride picking up remaining marshals as they go.  This will result in a grand entrance into the Ponderosa by the GWNW club riders once everyone else has arrived.

The ride begins at the Clwyd Car Auctions in Ewloe.  (link) http://bit.ly/9RtFCv and ends at the Ponderosa Cafe in the Horseshoe Pass.  Once the official Ride for Rotary ride ends, we will continue with our intended club route from there, finishing back at our meetings hotel.

Please try and come along for this one folks, it will be very good PR for the club and for Goldwings in general, for all the other riders to see the ride marhalled by us.  You will also be supporting  very worthy causes in the process.  The link to the Ride for Rotary site is here, http://www.rideforrotary.org/index.html it contains all you need to know about the ride itself, which begins at 1200.

NB  When you arrive at the start of the ride, please come and find Dave, Nigel or me before riding into the shed.  You will not want your bike to get stuck in the start line up if you are going to marshal.

Please could you make your availability known to Dave if you are prepared to act as a marshal for this event, and try to arrive at the start by 1030 latest.

This ride route has been revised mainly due to the wonderful N Wales road contractors pretending to re-surface our roads by throwing endless tonnes of chippings down, followed by a quick tar pouring.

As you will all know, this combination results in a recipe for disaster as far a bikes are concerned for the following few weeks.

The good news is that we get to go to an extra ice cream shop on the new route, and still get to go to the ones which were on the original route.

I have updated the link in the rides list and calendar, so you should see the new route there,  but here it is anyway.    http://bit.ly/bJyErx

Hope to see you all there, don’t forget the sunshine and your wallets!!

All the best,

Chris

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Dave T

As I mentioned in my mail, finding somewhere to stay is proving slightly awkward even this early on in the season. This is partly due to a lot of places not making rooms available for a single night booking on a Saturday during the height of the season.

Closer to the time I will send a trip itinerary to those on the list. There is NO closing date for joining the ride as far as I am concerned. If you want to come at the last minute then that is of course fine. Just let me know and I will make sure you have all the info you need.

Link to ride map:  http://bit.ly/azAmSo

Please visit the map at your leisure.  Clicking the icons on the map will give you detailed ride information.  Any questions, please mail me.

Chris