XRV National Meet, Dartmoor |
This was going to be the big one - 3 and half weeks off work, do the XRV meet on Dartmoor (a couple hundred yards from the prison), then see family for a week, and finally head off to Biarritz and the Pyrenees for nearly two weeks with my mate.
It started with the normal ferry crossing, ride down the motorways and then the minor roads from Exeter to Princetown - this time with the benefit of my Zumo to stop me getting lost. Or rather, to stop me getting lost when it was working - wiring into the rear light circuit wasn't the best plan, as every time I braked, it reverted to battery, and the message obscured the directions on screen
The weather wasn't great for most of the weekend, but there was still a good turnout
Mine on the left, fully loaded with ARDcases and Honda top box
Nice paint job on one AT there
There was also a presentation from the XRV club members who rode The Longest Day - John o'Groats to Lands End in under 24 hours (830-some miles, of which 450 were motorway, the rest being minor roads of one size or another). As you can see, the riders raised over £15,000 ($23.000) dollars for MacMillan Cancer Support!
It wasn't all bad weather, mind
For a change, and a rest, on the Saturday (ride short on miles, long on hours), a few of us stopped off at Lydford Gorge
Oh, and I tried to resist the urge of a ford, but couldn't.
A video taken by a camera
Yes, yes, I know, I should be standing, but...
After the meet, I rode up to my parent's in Yeovil - funny how you can even get lost with a Sat Nav on! Road was closed, detoured, ended up back at the road closure from a different direction twice!
Had a chilled week at home, and then my mate as on his way down from the island ready to meet me for the trip to France on the Monday.
Monday dawned, and I had what I can only describe as a panic attack - right hand and arm shivering uncontrollably, tears, the lot :sick I got in with my old doctor and he prescribed me some beta-blockers and that calmed me down. I can only attribute it to being my first Euro trip since my accident in 2006 in Italy..
Too late for our Eurotunnel crossing that day, and when we rang up we were told that due to the fire shutting one tunnel that weekend, we could either go that day or 3 weeks later! As I wasn't sure how soon I'd feel up to riding distance, we decided to re-arrange the Eurotunnel to next June and cancel the French hotels (thank goodness for online booking of Formule 1, Premier Classe chains
Instead, we had a few more days in Somerset, and did some local rides on the B-roads, seeing the Cerne Abbas giant
Yes, those are people between the Giant's legs....
And down to Portland Bill on the Channel coast for an ice cream at the lighthouse
Stopping off at the Smithy's Arms - now closed but reputedly the smallest pub in England
And on another day to see the hippiness of Glastonbury, including the Tor and bits of the Abbey (too tight to pay £6 to go into the abbey
