The essentials to get everyone coming or thinking of it:
Dates: September 12th - 16th, 2016
Venue: Camping 'Collegats', La Pobla de Segur, Lleida, Spain
Numbers: about 45 riders, of whom nine are already on stream - subject to payment :whistle:
Costs: £100 for 'Virgins' plus the camping fees. Veterans get their 50% discount, hence £50 for them - VAT free (thumbs)
Cancellation: 50% refund up to six weeks before the event.
Trails: I'm planning to add a whole new area this year, so the total is getting on for 700/800 kms. I've ridden a lot in the new area, which is to the south of the present one and the trails tend to be more technical (thumbs)
Further notes on the above:
Date and Times
Both of us are working the week (see below) before the HISS so we won't be there for any very early arrivals. I'll be on site from Saturday but we have to be more strict about the starting and finishing times from now on - last year the HISS dragged on for nearly two weeks which was hardly fair ...
Good Housekeeping - the Camping
As usual I give the camp site owners a list of names for them to prepare the discount price invoices. In earlier years this has applied to extra time at the camping but this does not apply to riders who aren't registered, even if they accompany those who are.
I'll be on site from the Saturday to help show people into the site - as veterans will know the site has fixed pitches and the owners assign a large section to us, leaving space for 'normal' people who don't want a load of hairy, noisy and sometime drunken bikers for neighbours - anyone who feels the same way can reserve a space away from the HISS zone but will have to pay the usual rate.
From experience, if there are noisy neighbours - and you know who you are! :whistle: - there is an infallible magic spell, "Shut the f*** up!" which has been known to last for at least twenty-five seconds ... :whistle:
On a serious note, although during the week we do have the place to ourselves the site is used by others and we have to emphasis certain 'house rules' including a ban on popping wheelies up and even down the steps that lead to the bar! :woohoo:
Bar/restaurant
Nothing new here as far as I know. The bar/restaurant is open from 08.00 to 24.00 with a cooked breakfast and evening meals - better to order exotic dishes in advance - and snacks at lunch-time. Fresh bread can be delivered if ordered the evening before.
Costs:
Note that as of this month, i.e. January 31st, the Veterans scheme will not accept any newbies - so get going!
Trails
As mentioned above I'm adding more trails. Although in general the Catalonia trails are more 'technical' this is rather weather dependent, some are prone ti being quagmires of clay after wet weather while wash-outs and ruts are common - a lot depends on the depredations of winter - so far this year this has been minimal.
But in all cases I select trails that an 'average' biker can manage on a big-ish bike - say anything under 800 cc's - other than that there are plenty of trails that I reject; just follow your nose - and the rules!
The Spanish Civil War Tour
I'm running this during the week before; departing the camping on Sunday September 4th and returning on Friday the 9th. Some of the participants are also attending the HISS but as the SCW Tour is hotel based I we can store camping clobber while the Tour is on - it may be possible for riders to leave their camp in-situ as has happened on one-off cases before but I need to square this with the owners later in the year when they open.
Stop Press
Latest News: the camping are able to receive and dispatch camping gear for those who want to ride down 'lite' and send their clobber by courier in advance. There is also a possibility of hiring DRZ 400's from a business contact of mine for collection, drop off in Barcelona. But this isn't certain yet. If anyone is interested in this let me know and I'll find the latest. In any event you can rent Triumph Tigers fitted with Mitas 07's for riding trails from the same guy - NB we have no business link as such, I'm not getting any kickback' from this!
OK - that's enough fro me for the time being - let the fun begin! (thumbs)[/quote]
Regs
Simon
