A Return.

[steveR]

SteveT and I have been swapping a couple of mails of late, and he mentioned the "Gathering" later this year in Galloway and reminded me of the Big Trailie site.

With the fading of xrv, I moved across to ABR, but again, another site that is slowly becoming a shadow of itself of 12 years ago. So on that reminder from Steve, I had a looksee at BT, and finally dug out the old password from an old PC, and lo and behold one hell of a lot of names and faces I first got to know..... urk, 20 odd years ago on xrv!! A few are sadly no longer with us, and if my spreading waistline is anything to go by, some of us will be a little rounder and with a little less (grey) hair on top!

Covid killed a couple of ACT/TET trips I had got planned in 2020/21 and then being a bit broken from first a leg injury, and then an arm/shoulder problem meant I was essentially off bikes for over 2.5 years. Finally back in teh saddle last Summer.

Bikes? Well the Vara is still with me since buying it in 2012, but selling it as part of a cull in the stable, 3 to go in total! A new, lighter filly, in the shape of a 2023 TA arrived from Newton Stewart last week, and is now being given the treatment for my needs these days. Not quite needing a beer crate to mount, but I can almost see the benefits of a lowering link.... I decided on a TA as it was rude not to, having owned the 600 and 650 beforehand. Parallel twin versus V twin.... Hmmm....

Still farming... just but would like to actually retire, but at the age of 63, I decided in a fit of stupidity to start a sheep flock (Janice's description, that I do agree with!) 4 years later, i think it's time they went, as they don't half impact on leisure time...!!

 

[Lutin]

Hello and welcome back.

New bikes seem to be the thing at the moment. Still got my 650 Transalp and have just acquired a Moto Guzzi V85TT Travel.

 

[Steve T]

Hurrah, you made it

Like me, you seem to keep older computers lurking under the stairs/in the loft for theat "just in case" moment

Be great to see you again in September

 

[steveR]

Hello and welcome back.

New bikes seem to be the thing at the moment. Still got my 650 Transalp and have just acquired a Moto Guzzi V85TT Travel.

Hiya, well, a new toy keeps age at bay, and is cheaper than a Mistress.... Those Guzzis are neat little bikes, I have a farming mate near Burnley who aquired one, but has found it a little cramped at a generous farmer sized 6ft!

You still over in the Windy West*? I was supposed to be visiting my Sis in Kinvara about now, but work, aka sheep lambing screw-up, has prevented my slipping away .




* Although looking at her pics of swimming in the sea, you are having some wonderful weather! Stll looks cold to me

 

[steveR]

Hurrah, you made it

Yep, the lure of a good rattle...

Like me, you seem to keep older computers lurking under the stairs/in the loft for theat "just in case" moment

Essential.... I still have hard drives lurling from the mid 90s. God knows why, until I start trawling through ancient pics and files ... And as you right;ly say, that "just in case" event!

Be great to see you again in September

Popped in teh Diary and seeing how the Summer pans out. Got a chum wanting to go to near Gibralter around then when it cools down, but waiting if that happens! Pure road, not like that ACT ride we were looking at in 2019 Steve....

 

[Rubberchicken]

Essential.... I still have hard drives lurling from the mid 90s

Checked whether they still work? Bitrot is definitely a thing…

One of mine still did:

 

[Lutin]

Hiya, well, a new toy keeps age at bay, and is cheaper than a Mistress.... Those Guzzis are neat little bikes, I have a farming mare near Burnley who aquired one, but has found it a little cramped at a generous farmer sized 6ft!

You still over in the Windy West*? I was supposed to be visiting my Sis in Kinvara about now, but work, aka sheep lambing screw-up, has prevented my slipping away .




* Although looking at her pics of swimming in the sea, you are having some wonderful weather! Stll looks cold to me

Yep, still in the West although a little further north than you might be thinking of. We were in Galway City (other side of Galway Bay from Kinvara) but now we're in Bundoran, Co. Donegal. Still on the Wild Atlantic Way mind.

 

[steveR]

Checked whether they still work? Bitrot is definitely a thing…

One of mine still did:

It's a

It's amazing they still work to be honest, dry and cool storage needed I guess? Same as old cassettes from the 80s. And like the cassettes, the content on the HD has not always dated very well....

 

[steveR]

Yep, still in the West although a little further north than you might be thinking of. We were in Galway City (other side of Galway Bay from Kinvara) but now we're in Bundoran, Co. Donegal. Still on the Wild Atlantic Way mind.

Retired then, that would be a fair stretch for a commute?

WAW... home of a million tour buses and camper vans! I had a lad I know who went over to Ireland in 2024 and I suggested a few alternative rides to the WAW if the traffic got too much... It did! I guess the secret is to be on the road at 4am...

 

[Lutin]

Retired then, that would be a fair stretch for a commute

WAW... home of a million tour buses and camper vans! I had a lad I know over in Ireland in 2024 and I suggested a few alternative rides to the WAW if the traffic got too much... It did! I guess the secret is to be on the road at 4am...

The WAW has become a victim of it's own success alright. Still, as you say, there are alternative routes (or very early starts) to avoid the tour busses. Around here the stretch of the WAW from Sligo to Donegal Town is not the most edifying part of the route and can best be described as a bit of a curate's egg - good in parts. However, if you were to head inland from Sligo you can get to Donegal Town by a much more roundabout and interesting route that I've never seen a tour bus on. And yes, you can now blame me for the route being infested with the damn things from now on...

 

[Rubberchicken]

the content on the HD has not always dated very well...

I was highly surprised that that disk, which wasn't entirely a paragon of reliability in its day, having been stored in a box for 20 years and been through half a dozen moves, spun up just fine and let its (mostly irrelevant) contents be read without as much as a single io error.

Mind, "just fine" here does include sounding like a circular saw at full whack...

 

[The Don]

hello and welcome back.....we are all greyer...older...... did we meet during the five capitals run....? I was on the RD07 but I remember one or two Varaderos...and that's where I caught the bug, had two of them back to back.....

 

[Stuart D]

Hi Steve, remember the mighty Vara on one of Austin’s Adventures & when we went to Spain. I had a 2010 one, like an @ on steroids but bloody heavy.

 

[steveR]

Hi Steve, remember the mighty Vara on one of Austin’s Adventures & when we went to Spain. I had a 2010 one, like an @ on steroids but bloody heavy.

And it has not got any lighter over the years, much the same as the Rider... But that power is always a dream...

I could not believe how easy it was wheeling the "new" TA around last weekend when fitting stuff, to make it weigh more!!

 

[steveR]

hello and welcome back.....we are all greyer...older...... did we meet during the five capitals run....? I was on the RD07 but I remember one or two Varaderos...and that's where I caught the bug, had two of them back to back.....

I didn't do that one, those long distance events never rerally fitted in with my work on the farm...

 

[(ex) xrv_jim]

Now then Steve, welcome back. I think the last time we met was at my place in Carlisle. You and PigUgly were on your way to or back from somewhere, both on 650 ‘alps if IRC.

Are you coming up for the Galloway bash in September?

 

[steveR]

Now then Steve, welcome back. I think the last time we met was at my place in Carlisle. You and PigUgly were on your way to or back from somewhere, both on 650 ‘alps if IRC.

Are you coming up for the Galloway bash in September?

I dropped in for some tent poles as I recall?

LONG time ago, on the way to one of the Galloway Forest gatherings I think? I am working on coming along, as in theory, I am kind of semi retired, it's just that the workload still kicks up more than I like at times!! 'kin sheep!! The TA came from near Newton Stewart, so it'd be taking her home....

 

[Philwhiskeydrinker]

Now then Steve, welcome back. I think the last time we met was at my place in Carlisle. You and PigUgly were on your way to or back from somewhere, both on 650 ‘alps if IRC.

Are you coming up for the Galloway bash in September?

Hi Jim, that was me and Paul/Bimbler that called in, en route to staying over on Paul's rather lovely yacht in Stranraer (Stranraer, STRANREAR) the rain and wind was quite biblical, we managed to time the trip with some storm or other. (flooding, trees down, roads closed the whole kaboosh).
From Stanrear the weather steadily improved we headed to Ardrossan for a bit of island hopping and a visit to the corryvreckon courtesy of Austin, another memorable trip.

The trip up the M6 was one of the very, very few times in my life that I really wish I wasn't on a bike...(650 X country)

 

[austin]

From Stanrear the weather steadily improved we headed to Ardrossan for a bit of island hopping and a visit to the corryvreckon courtesy of Austin, another memorable trip.

aah yes, I cocked up ferry timings off the kintyre peninsula to Islay so we had to blag a cheap night in huts near Tarbert as we needed to be in the ferry queue by 6am or something. I was coming down with a cold when we camped the next night on Jura and went to bed early but unwisely left a bottle of Jura whisky out. I found it empty in the morning of course, but only after opening my tent to the sight of Phil in his red underpants running into the sea for dip to find that after about 200 yards of running like a lanky Bambi it was still barely knee deep.

Do you remember getting onto the Islay/Jura ferry? We had to time it right as the ramp was lifting off the key side it was that rough. 1 bike in each corner of the boat and that was it. Tetley’s got thrown over when we hit a wave and slid about until we could pick it up.

Hell it was a good but wild and wet trip.

 

[SHarper]

Eyup.

I realise this thread is quite old, but I got prompted to try here by someone and then realised I was already a member..

This is what I’m riding at the mo…

Last week somewhere in North Yorkshire

The week before Lake Bala.