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Sunday 29th November : Pack ride to the NEC for the International Motorcycle Show.
At just after 8 a.m. on Saturday 28th November, the 'phone rang in the RAT household - it was Bob Millard at Cardiff West Services, asking where everyone was! "It's tomorrow Bob, that's why there's nobody there!"
Bob probably had the best idea, because the weather on Saturday was definitely better than on the Sunday - the forecast showed rain and low temperatures for most of the day. Notwithstanding this, five Pack members on five bikes left Cardiff at 8 a.m. to head for the NEC. Ted went up by car, as he was continuing on to Lincolnshire after the show to stay for a week or two with family.
The run up was uneventful and, other than spray off the motorway, the rain held off virtually all the way there. We stopped at Strensham Services for coffee, hoping to make a pre-arranged meet with Mark and Jessica on their two Triumphs. The weather must have put them off, because they didn't show at Strensham, but were later spotted at the NEC, having travelled up by car!
We were inside the halls by 11 a.m. and the crowd level was not too bad - you could get to see the exhibits and talk to the representatives on the various stands. We made a stop at the Triumph stand and said hello to Pete Clarke and Wendy Shepherd, who told us that the National RAT Party, held the night before at Sutton Coldfield, had been a successful event (it's a shame we had no takers for the event). Dee had a sit on the new Rocket Roadster and reckoned that it would be a piece of cake to ride after experiencing vibration white finger on her 3,000-mile ride around America on a Harley Davidson!
We spent a good deal of time talking to the representatives on the motorcycle touring holiday stands - checking out new overseas destinations for 2010 and 2011. The Pack overseas ride in 2010 is to Corsica and Sardinia, but South Africa is beckoning, as well as another trip to the USA! We bumped into several people that we knew at the show "Are you running the Dragon Rally next year?" seemed to be the general theme. I pointed out that we were already committed to a lot of work planning the Corsica/Sardinia tour and that we were committed to supporting the Durham RAT's Lake District weekend in June. Accordingly, it was unlikely that Bevan Motorcycles would be planning the Dragon Rally in 2010.
We all met up in the covered bike park at 2.30 p.m. to head off back to Cardiff, hoping to complete most of the jouney before darkness fell. We were not so lucky with the weather on the return trip and had to put up with steady rain for most of the journey. On the A449 dual carriageway, the bike behind me decided to pull into the Services for fuel and all the other bikes followed him. After a couple of miles of watching my mirrors and seeing nobody behind me, I stopped in a lay-by to wait in the pouring rain. Nobody came, so I had to strip off my gloves and helmet, remove the waterproof cover from my tank bag to find my 'phone and glasses and ring to find out what the problem was. Imagine my joy, sitting in the pouring rain, to learn that they were all in the services! It was not possible for me to turn back, without going further on to find a roundabout or flyover and, even if I had been able to do that, it wasn't possible to turn into the services from the opposite carriageway! So, all I could do was ride on by myself, muttering curses under my breath.
Overall, this had been a good trip, where Pack members braved the elements, having had the foresight to buy new gloves, fit or repair heated grips and handguards etc before they went. This should stand them in good stead for the Icicle Run to Bethlehem next week to post our Christmas cards. See you at the start?
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