Whilst idly surfing the net last May I came across a mention of the Round Britain Rally on one of the bike sites that I visited, intrigued I put that into a search engine and came upon this superb web site.
I was at a bit of a loose end trying to decide how to fill a two week holiday in June and thought that this would fit the bill. Off went the cheque, and back came the "bumph" after studying the list I found that there were several "landmarks" that I could cover in a weekend's camping trip.
First I had to locate the landmark and then discover as much information about what I was looking for as well as decide the route and where I was going to camp for the night. I found the whole thing really enjoyable.
The following weekend I loaded my trusty Dullsville and set off into the unknown, confident in my homework I had planned to "do" six landmarks, (I like optimists .. GF) three on the Saturday before arriving at my chosen Camping and Caravan Club site to cook my evening meal and retire for the night. After spending about three hours trying to find my first landmark I started to think that this was not entirely going to plan Lesson 1. Don't rely on computer information only, ask real people
(Lesson 1A Only believe half of what you are told ... GF) the feeling of achievement when I did find the target surprised me, off to find the next "target"
Lesson 2. Do not over estimate the distance that you can cover even on a motorcycle on a busy Saturday afternoon.
Once again took a little bit of finding but eventually located it and bagged my second kill. Following a swift re-appraise of where I was going to be for the night I got my tent pitched and proceeded to cook my usual menu of "lorry drivers surprise" this is basically empty any two tins into a saucepan, heat and eat (hopefully one of the tins wont be peaches) as I sat quietly drinking my cup of tea I thought to myself "this is really good fun" that was the point where I became well and truly hooked.
After my first weekend's adventure I could not wait to get under way again so I then decided to break my remaining holidays into two separate weeks to cover the West Country and Cornwall for the first week and then the Midlands and the East coast up into Yorkshire for the second.
With a more realistic approach to the planning this time I actually got far more done on the Cornwall trip and ventured into Wales.
Lesson 3. take a list of landmarks with you so you can plan "on the hoof". The only way I could find the landmarks for this part of the trip was by endless phone calls to my daughter who was my remote computer operator and very good to.
It was about this time that my grandson, Jack, twigged that I was doing something that was obviously fun and he was not included, this led to all sorts of pleading that I found very difficult to fend off hence the buying of a sidecar outfit for the 2005 run.Oh dear another huge learning curve approaching ... GF
I had by now set myself the target of a Bronze for my first year and had planned about four more weekends and bank holiday trips for North Wales and Kent/Essex etc. I had also discovered one or two useful web sites to help with the location of landmarks.
All the previous lessons and my more confident approach to what I could do, led to me securing a Gold in the 2004 rally, now I am just counting the days until we kick off for the 2005 rally conundrums, hoping for at least a Gold again but secretly trying for the coveted "All Rounder" here's hoping!
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