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Following all the beautiful weather that we had experienced during Wimbledon, people would have been hoping, if not expecting, good weather for Bill & Sarahs barbecue at their smallholding in the Brecon Beacons. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case. Instead, the forecast of persistent rain for most of Saturday and Saturday night proved to be correct, so it would prove to be a tough test of motivation for Pack Members! Of course, we should not have worried 14 people turned up on 7 bikes and in 3 cars to enjoy Bill and Sarahs hospitality.
We assembled at the Sennybridge Garage and Cafe, where Bill met us and escorted us to through the country lanes to their home in the hills. As it was not raining too heavily on arrival, the first job was to pitch the tents and get the sleeping bags sorted even before we had finished that, Sarah appeared in a long dress and wellingtons to welcome us with cups of tea, Welsh cakes and Barrabrith (amongst compliments about how welliegant she looked) . This was closely followed by an inspection of Bills workshop facilities and bikes. Inevitably, we were drawn towards the sound of corks being drawn from bottles, the gurgle of real ale into pint glasses and other such sounds which it would be downright rude to ignore.
Bill had got the barbecue set up beneath a gazebo, just outside the front door and we all congregated in the house in traditional party style. The tables were laden with food to accompany the steak, burgers, sausages and kebabs that Bill was busily cooking on the Barbie. Additionally, there were numerous freshly made desserts for those with a sweet tooth and big enough bellies!
With all the cooking and eating done, we were ready for an evening of banter and convivial conversation, but this was not before Ted poured vintage pink champagne for us all (brought back from Veuve Clicquot cellars in reims) to toast our late Lizzy.
Eventually, people began to drift towards their tents (of course, Martin had to have his glass levered from his hand and be kicked out of the lounge into the night, still protesting that he needed another pint of real ale!).
The following morning, the weather looked a little more promising, so after breakfast we packed away the tents and saddled-up to ride down to Sennybridge cafe, where Howard was waiting on his Thunderbird to join us for the Sunday ride-out. After coffees and farewells to those who could not make the Sunday ride, we set off towards Llandovery to ride around Llyn Brianne Reservoir and then over the Abergwesyn Pass and the Devils Staircase, to Beulah. After a brief shower when we set off, the weather improved to a fine sunny afternoon, allowing us an enjoyable ride over the mountain roads, with ample opportunity for photo and coffee stops.
However, between Beulah and Garth, the throttle cable on Howards Thunderbird broke, so there was a short delay whist we sorted out a way for Howard to continue. The inner Bowden cable had snapped at its mid-point, so we removed both parts of the inner and tied them together with a reef knot, before covering the knot with gaffa tape. With a pad gaffa-taped to the side of the tank to prevent damage, Howard was able to pull on the throttle cable with his right hand and do everything else with his left. It seemed to work and we made good progress along the A483 to Builth Wells and then down the A470 to Cardiff (we elected not to cut across the Eppynt Mountain, but to instead stay on the straighter roads).
Once again, the annual RAT BBQ was a great success and enjoyed immensely by those who attended. Our thanks go to Bill and Sarah for once again making this possible.
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