XT660 Dales Meet - General chit-chat
 

[ I've shifted all the chit-chat out of the sign up thread to keep it clean. Please use this post if you want to ask any questions, advice etc

Regards GULG.]


Just a bump to get you guys onboard for the forthcoming ANNUAL XT660.com rally.
C'mon get your names down.
We now have a leader for the offroad rideout.
I will be going up in the next couple weeks to ensure that the on road rideout is still good and to add a few extra details.

Lets make this a good weekend.

Cheers Steve

hello everyone

Can newbies to the forum join to the meeting? i would love to spend a weekend riding and camping around in uk.

cheers

YES, no problem. If you can make the dates then come on down and meet us. You will not find a friendlier group of bikers.
Call Nut Travel in the uk for best ferry prices.Telephone 02870351199.
I use them regularly to travel over toIreland.

Steve

Super!!!!
Book me in then to the meeting.
I'll start looking for the quotation of the ferry to liverpool

Best Regards

This topic of ferries has been discussed quite a lot just recently. A group of Norn Ireland lads are over here for a Thumper Club doooo this weekend and some of them do the Cairnryan / Stranraer crossing as its considerably shorter. You do get a good ride this side though. I will certainly be checking this route in future as I did the Liverpool - Belfast recently and it wasn't a good experience. It's a smaller ship, the bar is in the cefeteria and very small and shuts at 12pm. Not cheap. I'd rather do a good ride and have a shorter crossing. Just food for thought.
Whatever you do it is always good to see new faces rather than the ugly mugs I have to put up with!:rockwoot:

Does the campsite have a name? Or is there only one in Dent?

The name of the Campsite is Conder Farm.
There are two sites in Dent, we are booked on the smaller site. When in Dent you will be able to ask a local or at the small shop...............or just ride around as I'll be there from the Thursday evening and if the weather looks crap I'll have a marquee up.

Cheers Steve

PS the site is seconds away from the pubs by bike!:headbang:

Wonderful, surely i will find it! See you end of july!

Are we there yet


Cant wait, havent been doing much camping recently apart from a week when i went to the TT but dont wait to meet up, bike ride, drink beer, chat bikes and rubbisg, BBQ and smoke everyone out!!!

I am still waiting for my bike to come back from the insurers so is looking touch and go as to whether I can make it. :(

Well it looks I wont have my bike back for many more weeks so I am not going to be able to make it. A shame as I was really looking forward to this. :sad:

Next year maybe?

I have today purchased a barbeque.
Meat it is then.
I will be taking the unit up to Dent this weekend and putting in an order for meats. This will be a variety of animals and we can organise salad stuffs when I get up there.
I still intend to get there for the Thursday to organise things.
I just might go up in my van and take my little 250 Honda if someone happens to arrive in a car. What do you think?Steve7

Nice one Steve, see you there.

The weather is a bit crappy this weekend so I plan to go up either Wednesday evening of Thursday morning work dependant.
I have started to collect a few things to take up and will also bring some of my step ups for seating.
I'll have plenty of charcoal and water carriers.

Do I need to get any vegetarian barbie food?

I do know of one that is coming, but need numbers or starve!

I will have local maps of the rideout and other routes.

Bring a really bright torch as there is a cave to have a look at.

Still not sure about this music event as nothing on their web site. All that I know (from Mick at the farm), is that about 300 are booked into the other campsite.

I will have to charge for the food and I recon somewhere between �5 and �10 should suffice.
I will have receipts to work this figure out.

As I am coming in my van I will also bring along a Single silencer, with link pipe and brackets by MTC. Its too loud for me.
Also a good pair of Klim pants which have just failed at the crotch in heavy rain.
A pair of SIDI adventure boots, just failed at the stitching where they bend, as new on the uppers as I've always had pants over them. Ideal for off roading to use up the rest of their life.
If anyone has a damaged plastic bash plate I have two, YES 2 virtually new original!
Any offers will be donated to AIR AMBULANCE so bring your full wallets with you.

If anyone else has good that are surplus to requirements then might I suggest you bring them along and exchange / sell / donate.

See you next week

Steve


NEWSFLASH Stumpy Dave has notified me that he is coming
Some of the Thumper club lads are coming over from Ireland

that's awsome Steve. I was going too drag my bypass smoker up in the trailer but if you got it covered ill leave it in your capable hands.

is there electric hook up available for laptop /route planning??

I also have some stuffs for trade /sale

a pair of low mileage lightly used front brake discs. offers or ebay.

standard fork springs. 10k miles no offroad. (donations to air ambulance)
pair of short cnc levers (most cans of beer gets em) :love5:
front master cylinder. (air ambulance)
chain guard almost new (air ambulance)

see you guys there. ill be traveling up Friday morning.
:partyondude:

Hi John, thanks for getting back.

Barbeque is in hand and plenty big enough. I'll also have plenty of charcoal.

I'll be in my van which has two cigarette lighter power take offs (and fire extinguishers!) and I'm OK with the farm if anybody needs mains power.

Can I have first dibs on the chain guard as mine is broke / repaired.

I have printed out routes on A4 which cover the area so you could also mark up some of the off road parts.
My road route is in my GPS

I will be up Thursday afternoon to organise meats from Sedburgh.

The marquee has been erected in the farmhouse garden since the last music festival. We are welcome to use it but it is not that small and will need lifting over a stone wall, that or dismantle and re-erect. So....as soon as we can get some bodies there we can get it down to the field.
I will take some rope to mark off 'our' area i case we get inundated with these 'musician' peeps!

PS for those that do not know you can get a fantastic breakfast IN the farmhouse kitchen for �5 which I can thoroughly recommend.
Showers are basic (free) but do the job.
Camping is �5 per night and I will ask for donations, again to Air Ambulance for tea and coffee which I will supply all weekend. I have a rather vicious burner!
I will have a big water carrier and cold box for milk.

Steve

chain guard is yours Steve for the grand total of ****** all. ill stick a 5er in on your behalf for air ambulance. :smile[2]: for all your hard work.
Ill upload the offroad routes too my GPS,s before I leave home but if the weather turns its not so easy too re-plan without appropriate software. ill improvise haha.

bike has power take off and I have a vast quantity of power bricks.

what's the phone reception like at the site??

and if you require a sous chef gimme a shout I looooovvveeeee BBQ haha got 4 of the ******s. and 2 meat smokers haha. if i can get myself organised I may travel up Thursday night after work. help set up have a cheeky extra nights drinking.

now the dilemma......... tent and air bed......... or hammock stand and tarp?? or........ hammock in tent.................? after that I gotta pick which boots??

soooooooo much too do lmao
:rotf[1]:

If ????

When. It's Cumbria after all.

A quick update. I've been thinking that an AUCTION would be better for this event and it's a bit of a laugh. I've seen it done a few times before and it can raisee some good money for the Air Ambulance.
I do have some really excellent goods to bring along, for instance the tent that I used before I damages my knees. Still got years in it but now surplus to requirements.
I also have some star items to go, so have a shufty around and if everyone brings some item to put in we can get rid of your surplus items. It doesn't matter that it's not bike related but may be of use to someone else, DVD's for example.

Have a think and you'll be amazed at what you can russle up.

I've got loads and as I'll be in th van I'll bring the lot and it all has to go.

This will happen after the barbie.


Cheers Steve

I have been collecting some very good items to auction off.

Think about what you have that could be of some value to someone else.

All in aid of Air Ambulance.

I will be setting off soon to organise things so see you lot there.

Cheers Steve

Hi guys hope you have a good one been a bit wet up here as I live in Kendal and would have loved to come over to meet up but got stuff on .

...........but now it's glorious in the sunshine here in Dent

Ps remember stuff for air ambulance auction

Just came back home from Barcelona this afternoon, got my bike packed up and will leave for Dent very early in the morning tomorrow. Looking forward to see ya all!!

Has the meet happened yet?
 

I was wondering if this meet has been n gone?
Can you give me dates when evernts are happening?

Thanks Steve. (Derby)

I hope someone picks this up and pass msg on to those involved. I'm really sorry to say I can't get there this weekend end now as need to go into work Saturday morning, my gear is here ready the family is away in Spain without me and I have to deal with work now.hope you all have a good one.cheers

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

It's on this weekend. 5 are here now.
It's a bit moist but we have a big marquee to use.
Try and make it.

Steve

Micron Ed. Got your message.
Not to worry.
See you.next time.
Steve

Thunderbird two is away.
ETA lunch time ish :tongue1:

Was hoping to get away at lunchtime. ...no chance! Escaping work is proving a pain! I'll do my best as I'd love to get there. Steve

2 AM here in Holland, 1AM UK time. Got home, unpacked the bike, had a refreshing shower and now write you all a big thank you for the wonderful weekend! So nice to finally see some of the faces behind the profiles.

The way back home was lots better than the way to Dent for me. No traffic jams, only a little drizzle in the first bit of my ride but nothing to spoil my ride.Arrived in Dover at 5 PM but had to wait for the 8 PM ferry.
Needless to say that the Ten carried through again without any problem at all.

Everyone, thanks for having me around. I really enjoyed. And the rideout... WOW! Very impressed about the surroundings.
Until next time i hope.

For the interested ones,check out www.tenere.nl. This year they exist 25 years and the second week of september there will be a meeting in which we will celebrate it. As many Teneres welcome as possible so it might be nice if there would be an English chapter too. You can subscribe in the forum.

well i made it home safe and sound, no dramas and it only pissed it down for the first 20 mins of the return trip haha. i think an awesome time was had by all, it was really nice to meet everyone. loads of new friends haha :grouphug5:

only me and arn took too the trails and it was very mild stuff but Arn did very well haha.

big thanks too Steve :notworthy[1]: for organising the do and the food and the folks at conder farm. The auction was ace and a great too clear out old unused stuff and raise funds for a brilliant cause and reet royal pissup ensued :partyondude:
it was an awesome weekend, awsome people, awsome location, allready looking forward too next year.

also big props to Harry for travelling 900km in the bouncing rain to sit in a wet field with a bunch of us. top chap. stunning Tenere also.

aftet the massive farce of Photobucket my Photos are all on my Instagram

https://instagram.com/jon_leachie/

Many thanks guys, BUT it's you lot that make the meeting.

I got to Dent for the Wednesday evening to get things organised. Tent up and pub for the evening.

Thursday I unloaded the bike from my van and all of the other stuff that I had taken namely the barbie and cooking gear, and the tea / coffee / milk / sugar gear. Drove out and I went to the Spar shop in Sedburgh to organise the meat for the barbie and BAPS for the said meal from Steadmans the best butchers in the Lakes. Darren from the XT club came for the evening and again we had a pleasant evening in the pub. The Irish contingent arrived later on and set up camp in the swamp!
Friday and people started to arrive namely the ABR lads and big John with his trailer and huge tent complete with collapsible hammock framework!, another from Scotland!
By the evening we had quite a few and spent the afternoon acquainting with each other and the usual tyre kicking.
By six ish we were served the most amazing beef stew, dumplings and baked potatoes from Mick at the farmhouse. A woman that I have met several times at the site helped and I'm sure everyone enjoyed it. By the time we were going to the pub, Harry from Holland turned up, slightly moist I might add! 900kms trip in one hit, straight up from Dover, what a star.
A good night in the pub by which time some of the musicians from some sort of meet were in the pub, so a pretty noisy and busy night there.
When we got back to the marquee after the beers some of the musicians were installed in the kitchen of the farmhouse and continued into the late hours.
Saturday morning and a 'healthy' full breakfast in the farmhouse kitchen (�5) and we set off for the rideout, John taking Arn for the offroad, the rest with me. First stop with me was Casterdale for fuel then on to Devils Bridge for a cuppa (where Timbo took one of the guys for a new campbed). The on to the route which took us to Yodas cave where we had a little walk into it and had a look at the waterfall at the end. It used to be a showcave for the Victorians because the Ladies could walk into it.
A blast over the Coal road into Hawes and then to Gayle Mill where I had arranged a guided tour. Ordinarily they do not host such groups on a Saturday but made an exeption for us, but hey if you don't ask!. Before we had set off I was given a number to call and arranged with William Lambert, the Chairman of the Gayle Mill Trust, to meet at 1o' clock.
John and Arn turned up to continue the rest of the road ride.
William did not disappoint, the tour was amazing, truly informative and he answered all of our questions. We had a chat on the top floor which doubles as a cafe, so over tea / coffee he introduced himself and talked about the history of the Mill. I'm not going into detail as there was too much to remember but I can thoroughly recommend the place..
We continued the ride over to Kettlewell where we stopped again for some to get 'supplies' for later on!
Another hour and more smiles up hill and down dale and we were back the site. I counted them all out and back!
John got the barbie going and Maxwell and Arn did an excellent job of cooking the food, which went down well.
Prior to the meet I had been posting for persons to bring something along to AUCTION for the Air Ambulance.
After the food I did the auction, (which I might add I have never done before ) I think it went down well. We had such items as a waxed jacket, goretex boots, tent single side exhaust for the Tenere, the list goes on and all items were sold. The lads were most generous and we raised a good amount for the charity
We spent the rest of the evening at the pub and upon returning to the marquee realised that there were more musicians in the kitchen, again the barbie was sparked up and the rest of the burgers were cooked for the guests there. Another late night and offsky to bed.
Farmhouse for breakfast and we then helped Mick from the farm get the marquee down and into the shed, many thanks to those who stayed and helped.
I was last to leave and shoehorned my bike back into the van and all of the other stuff that I had taken.
I arrived home a very tired but content person.

After all of the expenses and the auction I paid in to the Air Ambulance today the sum of �350.

Cheers guys

Steve

http://www.thumperclub.com/smf/Theme...ify_inline.gif
PS A big thanks to Greatescape who sent �30 with John to the cause

Steve, it was a really great meeting because of all the guys up there, but it was you who did an awful lot of organisation there!
Next time i will try to have more time, so i can drive up there through the smaller roads, and stay a bit longer on sunday. Had a great time thanks to all of you!
Next year new member Renee promised to come along too on her 660R. Great! :headbang:

I hope all of you has a great time! The pictures looked really cool! And yes! I will be joining you next time!

Great write up of the meet....bittersweet to read though as it made me realise what a great time I missed! Next time! Steve

Yep Steve we had a great time.

I hope others will find some time to give me some feedback on the weekend.
ie the general format of events, what did they think to the food, the location, the rideout and the auction etc
As some know I go to other club events and pinch ideas from these meets.
I do things that I enjoy, but others may have ideas that we can incorporate.
After this I hope that it will give food for thought about different locations and activities, because there are many more XT owners that didn't come for various reasons, ie too far or an inconvenient time of the year.
All comments gratefully received.

PS I had to take the last two days off to clean up all the stuff I brought back and yesterday was a writeoff as I felt as though I had been beaten up!

Steve

dales meet
 

Firstly a BIG thankyou to steve for a first class dales meet, this was the best one I have attended upto now the Marquee was a great asset and somewhere to gather and chat when the weather turned moist. The ride outs were great and the barbecue superb and yes Arn I survived the chargrilled chicken so it must have been cooked!! Well done to Harry 00 for his trek from Holland a nice guy with a superb ten. Nice to meet the guys from Ireland who were also a great bunch of lads. All being well I will definately be going on the next one!!:blob7:

Great to meet everyone in the Dales. Steve what a well thought out weekend and with a lot of effort thrown as well. I particularly enjoyed the ride out with stunning scenery and the roads almost deserted... fabulous!

BBQ was great and the auction a big success.

All that bloody rain that fell on us I now realise is good for something, it makes first class beer.

Steve

Sorry for the late reply, I have been out in very wet wales :)

Steve, what a fantastic weekend, loved the venue, the ride out and the hospitality is as always superb. I trust you realize how much every one appreciates you efforts.

Top event .. See you all again soon