Bruce Pollard Memorial rally & Dragon rally

Loaded and ready for the off, nice bright 250 mile ride to the Giler Arms in North Wales for the BPMR.

Engine warmed pasty was just lukewarm after an hour of riding when I arrived due to the low air temp. I suppose but still a welcome snack:


All set up and waiting for the Scottish and Midland contingent:

This Uralista brought a heater for the whole campsite:

Local beer:

And a trophy for me, I reckon painting the wheel neon yellow when I got a new tyre fitted helped win this:


Leaving the BPMR to head for the Dragon rally control after a nice cooked brekkie, the rain had already started:

Dragon rally control at the Conwy Mcc club house at Conwy Castle, the rain had stopped by now after an hours ride in the wet:

This BM was ridden by a lady of smaller stature and looked like it'd been squashed flat from a distance:

Another old CBR set up for comfort, note the footrest brackets to move the pegs and the lowered saddle- it was the guys wifes bike, a rare genuine ratbike:

So another hours ride to the site by which time I was completely damp through apart from my main core.
The last 3 or 4 miles were a proper battle against gale force winds and torrential rain riding into the valley the rally was held at the bottom of, for the first time in my riding career I had to lift my visor to see where I was going due to the sheer amount of rain (also inside my visor)- luckily we were only doing 20mph due to the road and conditions.
Not all of us stayed for the night (no names!) but I wasn't doing anymore riding that day thank you so I set up me tent, sorted my shit out best I could and had a couple of beers with Scott and Tony before getting a very early night.

I had just enough dry clothes to spend a warm dry night in my tent, no sleep- just listening to the wind and rain and waiting for the inevitable time when I'd have to don my soaked through riding gear and ride 250 miles through the sodding rain to get home!
Sunday morning I just packed up and left, no brekkie, no cuppa- just heading home already wet from the outset.
Ride 40 miles on decent interesting roads, fill up.
Then it was just motorway hell with constant spray, massively reduced visibility and mentally telling myself I could do this- I've never been so wet for so long on a bike before, proper endurance test it was.
Ride 100 miles, fill up, huge hot chocolate to warm me core again, dry gloves (heaven for 30 mins before they were soaked, even through handlebar muffs which will get covered with plastic bags next time!).
Ride 110 miles and hot bath, pizza, bed.
Since getting home I have seriously reviewed my waterproof riding kit and kind of look forward to seeing if my efforts will pay off.

Cheers for the report Hoon, sounds like it was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend.

Bits of it were.

I was glad to get away for a bit but am again happy not to do it again for a couple of years.

Monglord wrote:Bits of it were.

I was glad to get away for a bit but am again happy not to do it again for a couple of years.

Which was the best bit - the bit where you opened the garage door when you got back, bunged the bike in, shed all your `waterproofs`and walked into a warm house to put the kettle on and wondered why the feck you decided to do that rally again....?

It could well have been the moment when I got home, whacked the central heating on full, had a hot bath and put dry clothes on- yes, I think it was then.

And yes I was already thinking about the next time I'll go for some strange fucked up reason.
7hrs solid riding in the pissing rain, did I mention I was piss wet through before heading home?
And I'm considering doing it again...what is wrong with me?

Sunny Blighty.......

Got trenchfoot now?

I'm amazed not to have it.

The weather was very Welsh.

There`s always plenty of weather in Wales.

Thanks for sharing, I feel like I was really there............and it sounded horrible and now I don;t have to go for real

Cold wet and miserable, fantastic