Invicta Moto
Registered user
Great thanks to lolgeoff for coming down to Tenterden to meet up with us as we paddled our way across Kent.
After a week of pretty good weather and a cloudy but dry Saturday it was a pisser to hear the rain beating against the windows at 4am on Sunday morning. Patrice from the BMW shop in Arras was leading a group of what turned out to be nine bikes and 17 people across for a day trip. I got involved firstly as an advisor on things to see and then with a route and then as tour leader. Luckily, they have toured in groups before and the “drop off” system used by clubs in the UK was the norm to them. I just led and watched in my mirrors for the bike behind!
The ride from Hythe to Dover was against high winds and driving rain. We were further held up when a lorry and car came together on the way into Dover from the roundabout by the entrance to Dover Eastern Docks. Instead of moving it the clown in the car left it in the outside lane blocking the entire port. Stupid so-and-so.
It was almost 10am when they got off the boat and rendezvoused with us by the BP station. By then in the conditions it was impossible to get to Tenterden for 1040 and the first train of the day on the Kent & East Sussex Railway. We adjourned to the Little Chef at Seabrook to re-group and to make some calls. Me to Lol and to the KESR (who were pretty unhelpful at best!!)
We eventually arrived and parked up, meeting Lol at the same time at Tenterden Town Station in time for the 1145 train. After some discussion we decided to give the two hour round trip to Bodiam a miss as it would eat up most of the remaining time. So we headed to the White Dog at Ewhurst (Egon Ronay class and all that) and the room I had booked for our group. In the end we were slightly too big and so four plus Lol as Englishman sat in the restaurant. The service from the staff at the White Dog was excellent, and they made us very welcome considering there were 19 of us dripping wet onto their floors.
It seemed to be brightening up and we then decided to add a trip to Bodiam Castle into the run. We declined the kind offer to pay a quid each to park and parked across the road in the pub car park. Hey. We were French and foreigners. We had a walk around and group photo by the Castle and then back on the bikes and down to Rye. Some of us had a walk up into town past the Mermaid Hotel and the others stayed by the bikes on the edge of the dock. There was one other bike there as it was so late, but I expect the usual crowd of GSXR1Ninja owners had been there for breakfast. Or not given the weather and the flooded roads.
We were a little late setting off and decided rather than take the coast back to Dover, we’d go to Ashford and the M20. Once clear of Rye we made good progress along the A259 to Brenzett and up the cut to Ashford. The M20 was solid northbound. Later that evening we heard that a motorcyclist had been killed and the m-way closed both ways. By the time we arrived the southbound was clear and Patrice led his group onto the motorway. We sat by the lights and directed the stragglers before setting off for home.
Pictures from the soggy day are up on my website on
here. had it been betteer I am sure I would have taken a lot more!
I think everyone enjoyed themselves and thanks once again to Lol for coming down and acting as one of the tour guides! If we do it again I opt for summer!
After a week of pretty good weather and a cloudy but dry Saturday it was a pisser to hear the rain beating against the windows at 4am on Sunday morning. Patrice from the BMW shop in Arras was leading a group of what turned out to be nine bikes and 17 people across for a day trip. I got involved firstly as an advisor on things to see and then with a route and then as tour leader. Luckily, they have toured in groups before and the “drop off” system used by clubs in the UK was the norm to them. I just led and watched in my mirrors for the bike behind!
The ride from Hythe to Dover was against high winds and driving rain. We were further held up when a lorry and car came together on the way into Dover from the roundabout by the entrance to Dover Eastern Docks. Instead of moving it the clown in the car left it in the outside lane blocking the entire port. Stupid so-and-so.
It was almost 10am when they got off the boat and rendezvoused with us by the BP station. By then in the conditions it was impossible to get to Tenterden for 1040 and the first train of the day on the Kent & East Sussex Railway. We adjourned to the Little Chef at Seabrook to re-group and to make some calls. Me to Lol and to the KESR (who were pretty unhelpful at best!!)
We eventually arrived and parked up, meeting Lol at the same time at Tenterden Town Station in time for the 1145 train. After some discussion we decided to give the two hour round trip to Bodiam a miss as it would eat up most of the remaining time. So we headed to the White Dog at Ewhurst (Egon Ronay class and all that) and the room I had booked for our group. In the end we were slightly too big and so four plus Lol as Englishman sat in the restaurant. The service from the staff at the White Dog was excellent, and they made us very welcome considering there were 19 of us dripping wet onto their floors.
It seemed to be brightening up and we then decided to add a trip to Bodiam Castle into the run. We declined the kind offer to pay a quid each to park and parked across the road in the pub car park. Hey. We were French and foreigners. We had a walk around and group photo by the Castle and then back on the bikes and down to Rye. Some of us had a walk up into town past the Mermaid Hotel and the others stayed by the bikes on the edge of the dock. There was one other bike there as it was so late, but I expect the usual crowd of GSXR1Ninja owners had been there for breakfast. Or not given the weather and the flooded roads.
We were a little late setting off and decided rather than take the coast back to Dover, we’d go to Ashford and the M20. Once clear of Rye we made good progress along the A259 to Brenzett and up the cut to Ashford. The M20 was solid northbound. Later that evening we heard that a motorcyclist had been killed and the m-way closed both ways. By the time we arrived the southbound was clear and Patrice led his group onto the motorway. We sat by the lights and directed the stragglers before setting off for home.
Pictures from the soggy day are up on my website on
here. had it been betteer I am sure I would have taken a lot more!
I think everyone enjoyed themselves and thanks once again to Lol for coming down and acting as one of the tour guides! If we do it again I opt for summer!
