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Finally after having to cancel at the last moment for 2013&14 I was making a return to join my fellow Thundercat owners (and former owners) on their ‘WeeMac’ event in South-East Scotland, based at the spectacular Broadmeadows Hall that has hosted the meeting in recent years. But before any fun could be had the long haul north had to dealt with, the better part of 300 miles, much of it on the M6. Luckily I would not be alone for the trip as I met up with a mate (Steve) on the outskirts of Brum in the charming (ahem..) little town of Oldbury. He had rolled up on his shiny new MT-09 Tracer which was resplendent in deep red, definitely the best colour.
I won’t dwell too much on the trudge up the M6, suffice it to say we had to do a lot of filtering and both of us had a couple of incidents. My friend had to contend with a MINI driver updating her Facebook status whilst in the outside lane – not perhaps the brightest of ideas. Meanwhile I had to contend with a BMW driver who took exception to us picking our way past him and moved over to block me as I got level with his front wing….lovely chap!After what seemed an eternity we got up on the northern section of the motorway where the views over the Pennines become expansive and the road a little windswept. Here as the backdrop improves and view in places really quite beautiful, even the M6 becomes bearable.
But the first real taste of real fun riding came as we peeled off the M6 and cut across the lower reaches of SNP land as Scotland is now known. By now it was late afternoon and the light was just about perfect, the sun and cloud mixing to giving the surrounding vistas an almost ethereal feel as the hills and forests rolled past this strip of open, quick tarmac. It was such a relief, like God himself (herself?) was rewarding us for putting up with the M6! I bet God is a biker, but doubt he rides a HD….not with roads like this about!
Suddenly the aches and pains begin to melt away and this section of the ride was highly enjoyable. Steve was still leading on the Tracer and I must say just how well matched he and his new Yam seem. Swift, assured, a match made in heaven to extend the religious theme I seem to have adopted!
Rolling up the drive into Broadmeadows never fails to impress, it is a stunning building and a welcome sight after several hours in the saddle. Not quite the place that people might expect a group of bikers to be staying. Fantastic.
Slightly better than a damp dome tent, and a very welcome sight at the end of a long rideHowever there was a catch…this time I was banished to the tower, a climb up 64 steps in full kit dragging my Givi case left me a little breathless to say the least of it! All I needed now was long hair to hang out my window and await rescue by a beautiful princess…or something like that!
64 steps, did I mention it was 64 steps???Once recovered I joined the main group back down the 64 steps. As ever it was great to catch up with some old friends and make some new ones. One lad had not had the best of trips up, he had an accident on his freshly re-painted VTR Firestorm, but he was ok and the bike was still ridable thank goodness. The traditional first night pizzas were consumed with enthusiasm and the atmosphere was great right from the off. The scene in the kitchen where 3 of the lads were linking up their helmet Bluetooth headsets was a little surreal especially through the haze of the several ‘designer’ beers that I had already consumed
The evening was good one as we moved into the huge living room and settle down in front of huge roaring log fire, chatting, laughing, drinking 10 year old cask matured whiskey and playing obscure card and dice games with infinitely variable rules.
A long day, but a good one, and the riding was yet to come!The first (and as it turned out only) day of riding got underway once we had all enjoyed a hearty breakfast. We had some other lads joining us for the ride out so in total we had an impressive 19 bikes in a line as we streamed out of Broadmeadows.
Some of the crew
The roll outWe then proceeded to spend the next 30 minutes wondering around the streets of Selkirk as we tried to pick our way around all the road blocks and closures that were unexpectedly in force. There was a mountain bike race going on and it was causing us a few problems…at one point we even managed to turn all 19 bikes into a cul-se-sac! I could almost hear the Benny Hill music in my head as we bumbled our way around the town trying desperately to escape!
The forum lost in….SelkirkBut before too much longer we had broken out the ‘Twilight Zone’ and we were soon bombing along the A7. It was no hardship to find myself on this lovely road once again. The weather was a little overcast, but no matter the pace was brisk and I had a smile on my face. As usual the junction marking system was working well and the group was keeping together well. I was in group that include a lad on a KTM RC8, must say that I really like the look of these and one would make a natural progression from my Duke when the time comes. The pace was snappy, but not stupidly so and one chap on BMW F650 was hanging on admirably even going prone on a few sections in bid to extract every last drop from his poor little Beemer…he reminded me of a spotty 16 year old trying to squeeze one last mph out of a screaming Fizzy back in day! Considering the number of machines involved the line was not too badly strung out at all.
Today we headed towards Cockermouth, sneaking back into England! Somewhat of a comedy name…
Cockermouth…impressive old building, turns out a friend of mine works in there…small worldWe duly arrived in the midst of their annual Georgian Festival and the main Street was lined with people and re-enactors in bright period costume. ..
We had to join in!It was here that we managed a first, even for a Thundercat forum ride out. We generally loose a rider here or there, or somebody decides to follow the wrong ride out, however on this occasion we managed to get the whole group separated from the lead rider! He had disappeared off into the ether somewhere so it was that 18 bikes rolled into the car park of a local furniture store and parked to wait for his return, much to the staffs bemusement who had not seen the like before I would imagine.
It was here that a XC800 decided to poop it’s pants and break down. But folk sprang into action like the finely honed crack unit we are and soon had it running again.
The striken XC receives emergency open heart surgery…ok they jingled the main fuse a bit…Once the elusive leader returned we all mounted up and rode out the furniture shop car park as the staff continued to look on slack jawed, We didn’t even buy a wardrobe, even though I am sure one would of been quicker than the BMW…..
As we left Cockermouth the weather started to close in but this didn’t seem to dampen spirits too much as we stopped to take in the views and take a few pictures here and there.
Bikes in front of a Lake…The roads became more ‘technical’ now…tighter, twisting bucking and weaving across the countryside. Quite a few of the pack enjoy this type of running. The conditions were not ideal as we battled our way towards the peak of the Hartside Pass. This would be an awesome run on a decent day, and was still great fun even in the gusting winds and driving rain.. It was a shame this fantastic road could not be exploited more fully, but there will be other days to try this hopefully.
I will tell what is no fun though, cycling in these conditions, we passed loads of lycra clad cyclists bravely battling up the pass. Give me a bike where I am not the primary power source any day of the week!
The traditional all Thundercat shot…only three this time…
The cafe was a welcome sightThe cafe was really busy, but it was welcoming, warm and dry as we all took the chance to thaw out over a decent cuupa. The afternoon continued in same vein as the later part of the morning on generally tighter, twisty roads; instead of taking the A7 itself we took an alternative road that sort of runs in parallel to it. My Thundercat, one of only three in attendance this weekend, continued to run beautifully as it had all day. Sadly the same could not be said of the XC that once again died. Same problem , same fix…something to do with the main fuse apparently. This caused the ride to break up a little later in the afternoon and by the time we returned to base were in groups of 2, 3 or 4 rather than one cohesive line.
It had been a demanding days riding, still great fun and good to see some of the Lake district again: I had last ridden there as a young lad in the 1980’s on my CB100N and RD350YPVS, so it good to re-visit places that I had not seen in a long time.That evening we all gathered for a superb group meal in the imposing dining room, members of the group whipping up some delicious brisquetta and risotto for us all to enjoy, while another backed here up with a tasty chilly and pasta. .
Once again the rest of the evening was passed in front of a roaring log fire, sitting room filled with the sound of laughter, chatting and merriment as the drink flowed and hours whizzed by. Days likes like these should be savoured and remembered, they really should.
The next morning we awoke to a scene dominated by howling winds and driving rain, so only those who had to leave today ventured out on their bikes.Not riding today whilst a disappointment was not the end of the world, I joined in with a small pool tournament
The venue had its’ own games roomA larger group of us also head to the nearby town of Galashiels and spent a fantastic afternoon in the pub. Wasting an afternoon down the boozer is something I rarely get to do and it was great!
140 rip snorting horses, our mount for the trip to Galshiels…
PUB!!!
They let anybody in you know…Our last evening was much like the last and no worse for it. As on previous nights everybody mucked in to set up and clear up. The thing about biking is that is about more than just the bikes and blasting around the countryside. More importantly it is about a bunch of like minded people that have been brought together by a common bond.
The last morning and I was sad when I mounted my bike for the long ride home. But the sun was out once more, the roads dry and welcoming. Above all I rode off with my memory banks topped up with some great times once again!
Thanks to all who helped organise a fantastic weekend, to those who cooked and those who just rocked up it was a blast!
Great write up again, I must come along to one of these runs one day…. Just the Scottish weather and temps put me off
Great write up again, I must come along to one of these runs one day…. Just the Scottish weather and temps put me off
The weather wasn’t great, but the weekend was….
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