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

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

big thanks too Steve 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
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/

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To boldly go where no Tenere has gone before.

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


PS A big thanks to Greatescape who sent �30 with John to the cause

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If I'm not working, I'll be

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!

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

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If I'm not working, I'll be

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!!

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XTz 660 tenere, adventure spec bash plate, main stand, skid marks tall screen, Oxford tail pack 36 litre. Kobra hand guards, Bigger cast footpegs, Zen overland luggage plate, USB power point, iridium spark plug, TKC80 f k60 R tyres, o2 and fuel Kev mods, DNA stage 2 filter. bark buster bar wieghts, Touratec side stand base and GPS mount. Led spot lights

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