Adventure Bike Rider Forum

Good post James, here's my initial thoughts.

The ABR Boil should always be free of commercial stuff and just about the people and the bikes they ride. Maybe cutting my own financial throat in the future here but that's what I reckon.

Until we have a big falling out the ABR Boil should be located at Takota, if the numbers increase Paul and Maria must agree to build a mezzanine. :blink: I also reckon we should schedule in an ABR Rally in Scotland - I see that's already on the cards - down south and we'll host one near Stratford in the Midlands. Dates open to suggestions and they must be named after a camping stove feature - The ABR Stratford Simmer Rally sounds like it would be a blast.

We form a small organising committee that meets once, maybe twice, before the events to cover the stuff that could do with just a little organisation i.e. ride outs, camp site layout, meet and greet package, first night curries etc Obviously Paul or Maria would be on the committee for the Boil.

If we're going to have talks then they are done free of charge by forum members.

I feel a little ABR Rally Charter brewing up here.

In summary, I had a fantastic time on the weekend and the laid back nothing formal nature of the Rally hit the spot and how I'd like to see it continue.

We ride, we camp, we boil. :blink:

CRAIGREVO wrote: Vetted ride leaders as ours was a knob! :laugh:

I'll get you for that you southern ponce! :laugh: :laugh:

Just cause you can't ride through 2 inch of water without throwing your bike down in a strop! Wouldn't mind, but I went first and showed you how to do it (even fishtailed a little to show how easy it was!). :laugh: :laugh:

But James' point (not yours Craig) is a good one. The rideout organisation could do with a list on the friday night up in the main area where everyone puts down their name on a route (underneath the name of the voluntary leader). The routes should have an approximate set off time and be limited to a maximum number. It may be worthwhile to have a ride spokesperson to approach with issues etc.

I love fires me (although, quite frankly, Ray Mears, firepile technique proved to be a bag of shit!). So I reckon some sort of fire pit would be great. It's quite common for sites to have sunken wheel rims and by purchasing wood off the campsite, the flame type can be controlled (less sparky, spitting flames). Maybe then we could have a flame-off with only firesteels and a range of wood? First proper fire wins! :woohoo:

I see absolutely no reason why we shouldn't pay up front for this event. It's not exactly big bucks and, if nobody turns up, the people that primarily lose out are Paul and Maria.

Organised talks, explanations, competitions and how-to's sound great as long as they are put togethor in a casual stylee.

Two days (one really) are not enough. At least one more day please! This would enable two ride outs with the first day being a taster almost (less arduous off road routes for example) so that beginners get to have a dabble without feeling the need to push themselves too far.

Curry night was great. Eating well and knowing that my money was going to charity was superb.

I agree with most of the above, although I can't comment on Craig's rideout leader as I was leading my own. On my own. So the list/noticeboard idea gets a big thumbs up from me

As for talks, I think that organising these may detract from what made the weekend so great for many, which was the informal nature of wandering around meeting new folk and having a bit of banter. Whilst I'm more than happy to bore folk to death en-masse, I think the informal approach works best.

Fire pits are a great idea as it can get cold in April when the sun goes down, as the frosted coating on my tent on Sunday morning showed!

900Fantrider wrote:

Vetted ride leaders as ours was a knob!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Ive just pissed my towelling robe!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Good! Shithouse!

So, Alun - you coming to the Southwest rally?

We need some exposure in the next issue of ABR!

can i make the point that nobody can really complain about the rideouts as the guys who led them put a lot of their own time into it, and leading a load of strangers around without knowing them or their 'style' is pretty stressful.
no it wasnt that well organized, but i thought it wasnt really meant to be? im with steveT, informal for me is best. im not sure hudders meant to lead a rideout or just made the mistake of telling someone where he was going and it sounded so good he got followed by 7 of us, but it was a great ride and went on roads we never wouldve gone on, GPS's are fine but local knowledge is tops.

saying that i see where james is coming from, a notice board either real onsite or virtual on the website would help people choose and give an idea of numbers for leaders, eg 8 is a good number but 15 just gets strung out through the countryside, it only takes a traffic light or caravan.

camping wise, no probs here. P&M went above and beyond what you can expect from campsite management in my experience, the curry was a win/win for everyone, the rest was up to us but im bringing my air rifle next time, bet jesse's never done a bunny curry before

Or parrot curry.

davsato wrote:can i make the point that nobody can really complain about the rideouts as the guys who led them put a lot of their own time into it, and leading a load of strangers around without knowing them or their 'style' is pretty stressful.
no it wasnt that well organized, but i thought it wasnt really meant to be? im with steveT, informal for me is best. im not sure hudders meant to lead a rideout or just made the mistake of telling someone where he was going and it sounded so good he got followed by 7 of us, but it was a great ride and went on roads we never wouldve gone on, GPS's are fine but local knowledge is tops.

saying that i see where james is coming from, a notice board either real onsite or virtual on the website would help people choose and give an idea of numbers for leaders, eg 8 is a good number but 15 just gets strung out through the countryside, it only takes a traffic light or caravan.

Hold my Hand up and say It was me who managed to convince Hudders To help me out and lead our small band .. As I was not feeling up to the task, rough night.

He did say that with 2 minutes notice he would do what he could.. He did great IMO.
And I really enjoyed our road trip , without the stress of constantly getting lost .

A local view of the area is what was needed , so If we have a Scotland Boil , I should feel better about leading a ride out .

Cheers LWR

Ah yes the rideouts... Alun says the road one is a round 140... so in my "delicate" state decided it was a wee bit too far , so me and Jules did our own little one... and 113 miles later... got back to the site...doh!

Fantastic countryside is a great healer

Just keep it loose and relaxed... last weekend worked for us

Short and sweet as I write from sunny Galicia.

Yes to much of the above - particularly points on informality and notice board (which should help with the informal nature). The ´charity meal´ could become a feature - even if it is just a BBQ or camp stew! Def stick with curry at the boil, if J is willing again.

I also think James has landed himself a leading role for future rideouts - a great mix of easy start, challenge and an understanding of group dynamics resulted in a very enjoyable ride with no pressure, yet plenty of smiley bits!

Back on the road now (this place looks a bit like mid-Wales to me - can´t be bad!!).
B)
Pat