Wander - Saturday 14 September (noon) to Sunday 15 September - St Quent

An excellent Wander, with the magnificent five.

My thanks to those that made the treck to the Chunnel for our Saturday departure. Six in total was a great number to have, enabling us to make good progress on both days.

Thanks too to the five for fuelling-up in an efficient manner and being ready for wheels rolling. It really does make a difference over the day, saving us from chasing our tails.

The weather gods smiled on us too, all through Sunday, right up to getting off the train in England. A just reward :thumb2

It would be a pleasure to have you all along again anytime.

Richard
 
Many thanks Richard for organising another excellent jaunt.
Weather was great on Sunday until we got back to good old Blighty.
Arrived home in Norfolk at about 21:45 not a pleasant ride in the wind and rain !!
Great company one and all. Thanks again Richard. :thumby:
 
One vaguely amusing anecdote from the jaunt.

One 'no show' resulted in us dropping into the petrol station rendezvous point, in the hope that Mr No Show might be there.

There was indeed a GS mounted bod waiting, so I strolled over to him. "Hello", said I, "Are you waiting for a Wapping Wander or are you just waiting on your own?"

"Yes", came the answer.

Ok I thought, there's obviously a communication problem, let's try again...

"I'm Wapping, are you waiting to meet up and join us on a Wander, or are you just doing your own thing?"

"Yes".

Sweet Jesus on a bicycle, it's like drawing teeth....

"Look, there are two separate questions, the answer to both cannot be yes...
Are you: (1) Waiting here to join a Wapping Wander on UKGSer or (2) Just waiting?"

Slowly the lights came on... The cogs whirred....

"Er, I'm just waiting"

Thank feck for that, I thought. Bikers, ya gotta love 'em.
 
A great wander as usual, many thanks to Richard for organising and to Kev, Andy, Paula, and Al :beerjug:

The Florence was a really decent stop off, have to remember that one for the future.

Thankfully we didn't wait around for the no-show or we'd still be there! :rob
 
Thankfully we didn't wait around for the no-show or we'd still be there! :rob

I don't mind waiting if we know why we are waiting and / or how long it might be for. We have had all sorts of reasons for ‘missing’ individuals ranging from a small accident in the car park before loading, getting on the ‘wrong’ train, missing a train, a breakdown on getting off the train and unexpected illness, all of which can be sorted out via a text exchange or a phone call. If waiting at the petrol station is really not practicable, then we have sometimes arranged to meet the straggler elsewhere en-route (them catching up by the most convenient, quickest, route) or to meet them at the hotel. It works out well for everyone… and it helps if they have a map!

Similarly, if there is no message of any sort as to why someone is delayed (or is simply not turning up) then I feel no compunction to delay the whole Wander any longer than is necessary. Not least, it eats into our day and it’s not fair on everyone else to then rush about even more than usual. It’s ‘Executive Decision’ time… and we are going!

Of course it always leaves me dealing with the possible problem of an unoccupied hotel room; but that's another matter entirely. I have always wanted to avoid charging Wanderers any sort of deposit and / or always tried to avoid giving the hotels any form of cash in advance. That being said, I have given deposits (on trust) and / or have used my own credit card to secure bookings. The only alternative would be to:

(a) Charge a deposit to everyone. That is not the spirit of what is an amateur endeavour just to arrange a jaunt for bods.

and / or

(b) Ask all Wanderers to make their own bookings with each hotel direct, with all that that might mean.

‘No news no shows’ are rare. If they become common I will either stop doing the Wanders or simply do them on an invitation only basis. It’s not something I want to do, nor should it be necessary.

Richard
 
Hi Richard,

Another enjoyable Wander with you and the others. Planned and executed with the usual military precision, everything ran smoothly with no hiccups. :thumb

It was good to catch up with the Essex boys again and meet new Wanderers (Kev - ping me a PM with your address if you are still interested in the Accelerator Module).

A pity I can't make the proposed November jaunt but it clashes with a family trip to Cologne.

Best wishes,
Andy :beerjug:
 
I don't mind waiting if we know why we are waiting and / or how long it might be for. We have had all sorts of reasons for ‘missing’ individuals ranging from a small accident in the car park before loading, getting on the ‘wrong’ train, missing a train, a breakdown on getting off the train and unexpected illness, all of which can be sorted out via a text exchange or a phone call. If waiting at the petrol station is really not practicable, then we have sometimes arranged to meet the straggler elsewhere en-route (them catching up by the most convenient, quickest, route) or to meet them at the hotel. It works out well for everyone… and it helps if they have a map!

Similarly, if there is no message of any sort as to why someone is delayed (or is simply not turning up) then I feel no compunction to delay the whole Wander any longer than is necessary. Not least, it eats into our day and it’s not fair on everyone else to then rush about even more than usual. It’s ‘Executive Decision’ time… and we are going!

Of course it always leaves me dealing with the possible problem of an unoccupied hotel room; but that's another matter entirely. I have always wanted to avoid charging Wanderers any sort of deposit and / or always tried to avoid giving the hotels any form of cash in advance. That being said, I have given deposits (on trust) and / or have used my own credit card to secure bookings. The only alternative would be to:

(a) Charge a deposit to everyone. That is not the spirit of what is an amateur endeavour just to arrange a jaunt for bods.

and / or

(b) Ask all Wanderers to make their own bookings with each hotel direct, with all that that might mean.

‘No news no shows’ are rare. If they become common I will either stop doing the Wanders or simply do them on an invitation only basis. It’s not something I want to do, nor should it be necessary.

Richard

So, did you ever hear from the no show? What was their excuse, if you did?
 
Zip, nada, zilch, silencio, naff all, nothing.

Perhaps they died?:nenau All joking aside, I don't understand some people.:rob At least you didn't let it impact on the trip.:thumb:beerjug:
 
Richard,

My apologies for my late post for this Wander. It was a good one and I met some great people; good to put faces to the names you see on the site and made some new friends.

An interesting and varied route through northern France, more picturesque than I had expected, but then some views took us all by surprise! In (Albert) the back of this wedding car was a bed of straw, rabbit, cock and hen....



Lunch time on the Sunday saw us at Saint Valery, still enjoying the great weather. Group shot of the other runners and riders...



Thanks again Richard, they who didn't come missed a great jaunt :thumb

Al
 
(b) Ask all Wanderers to make their own bookings with each hotel direct, with all that that might mean.


Richard
Hello Richard,

I have faced a similar issue, with the the small jaunts I do. A no-show who then refuses to pay for the hotel room, that I have to pay for, due to less than 24 hours cancellation notice. So I now let the guys book the hotel them selves. Not what I like to do, but I do not like having to pay for other guys rooms when they do not show up.

dxtans
 


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