After following last weekend`s Ural purchase and training odyssey with MMC by working a week of 6am-2pm shifts,many people would have had a quiet relaxing weekend at home this time around.
Not me...this weekend was the Conwy MCC`s 49th Dragon Rally,and my 3rd one.
Many people prepare for rallies by having an early night or maybe just a quiet peaceful drink and chat in a quiet pub.
Not me....I was DJing from 9pm Friday until 2am Saturday and didn`t get to bed until 3.30am.
So,naturally,I was up and about at 8.30am loading up Skaya (my 650 Ural) for yet another adventure.
The great thing with any combo is the carrying capacity compared to a solo and the Ural is even easier than many combos because of the lifting boot lid.
All my camping gear,creature comforts,food,water and beer went into the sidecar and its boot without even employing the large luggage rack on the rear of the sidecar.
Not forgetting some essential unguents for my traditional 'Arrival Celebration', as although I know my Urals inside out,there`s never a total guarantee of arriving wherever you are heading for.
As indeed,there never really is with any motorised vehicle.
Once my GPS
augie ) was fitted it was nearly time to go...
The Conwy MCC don`t tell you where the Dragon Rally is when you send for your ticket...instead,they send you a confirmation ticket and then a few weeks before the Rally you are sent a set of instructions to find a Control Caravan where you get your confirmation ticket stamped and are given final directions to the Rally.
It`s never more than ten miles or so extra,but it always adds a bit of fun and adventure,and gets you studying your map in advance trying to guess that year`s location for the event.
This year the Control Caravan was just outside Tal-y-Bont in the Vale of Conwy (overseas readers are going to LOVE some of these place names!).
So...here is my route for the day....
I live just off the right hand side of the map and the Control Caravan is at the left hand end of the highlighted line.
Many folk would have slavishly followed the A55 dual carriageway to Conwy the ridden down the Vale but the A55 is just a featureless,boring concrete slab rather like a motorway and infested with excessively fast,often incompetent and aggressive motorists.
Instead,I followed a favourite 'breakfast run' route of mine along tiny lanes and through wonderful scenery to Llanwrst then a few miles up the Vale to Tal-y-Bont.
Suitably clad,we`re ready for the off.............Dragon Rally 2010 ahoy!
A friend once said that riding in Wales is like being in a foreign country....mmm.
Well,guess what,Sherlock....that`s EXACTLY what it is!
Just to prove the point,the road signs are dual language.
I`m loving the mental image of overseas readers' expressions when they see the Welsh writing.
The Welsh road gangs had even been out painting desparaging remarks on the roads about my Ural`s performance......
I saw some lovely little properties en route.....
There was quite a bit of mist for the first twenty or thirty miles but it suddenly cleared to show some of that wonderful scenery I mentioned.
Oy....what are 'ewe' looking at ????????
It was a simply lovely morning.....so mild that I just had a tee shirt under my bike gear and wasn`t even slightly chilled.
Much as I enjoyed my snow rides last month,this was a real treat.
It was just like a Spring day...keep spraying all those aerosols,fellas!
The Dragon Rally has a bit of a reputation for being a hardcore Winter Rally but our Winter weather is just a shadow of its former self..........
I probably would have got to the Rally half an hour earlier than I did if I hadn`t been taking all these photos,but hey,what was the hurry,and I thought some people may enjoy seeing where I was riding.
This bit reminded me of when I was in the Ardennes a couple of years ago.
On 'reflection' (groan),it was a perfect route for such a perfect day.
I was carrying a bit of gear on Skaya but I figured that this next sign was nothing to worry about.
The photo might 'mirror' the style of the one above (double groan).....
Into Llanwrst and over the ancient stone bridge to get to the Vale of Conwy.
When you are halfway across the bridge,you can see the 'fluffy cottage' on the righthand side.
Naturally,being so courteous to other road users,I simply had to stop on the 'wide as a car' bridge to take a photo...
What a fabulous looking place....
Yippee....here we are at the Control Caravan....nearly at the Rally.
Ticket stamped.....directions given.....get the sticker on the headlamp and off we go for 'Two Point Eight Miles on the left.......You can`t miss it unless the signs have been removed...'
The site was brilliant...something like a cross between the Wild West forested parts of the Irbit Motorcycle Show and the Rachau hillclimb.
Even though she`s only single wheel drive,Skaya romped up the first dirt hill, scattering a few rocks (and onlookers) and leaving an impressive roost as she roared around the uphill bend and climbed to the top field.
Well,the signs said 'No Stopping' !
I really enjoyed this bit.
Here`s part of the hill photograped later in the day.
I was looking for a decent pitch when a guy approached me and asked if I`m Tarka...he was 'Miggins' off ADVrider who I`d never met before but we`d waved to each other a few weeks ago in the snow on the Horseshoe Pass.
He only lives a few miles away from me,too.
It`s a small old world,isn`t it?
Here is Miggins` combo.
The time was only about 1pm but there was already quite a few bikes and tents established on the site.
Space was becoming of a premium due the sloping ground.
The main 'roadway' bit was a bit boggy and quite slippy with mud so it provided much merriment later watching some bikes wheelspinning down to their rims and some almost doing 360 degree turns.
I found a decent spot which ended up not far from Miggins` tent and got the tent equivalent of Chateau Tarka established.
Time and justified reason for a small celebration,methinks....cheers!
The Dragon Rally is a traditional social type rally...although there was a catering van,and a marquee with free soup and buns,and a small bar,plus a band later on.
However,the main gist of the event is to meet up with friends who you may not have seen since your last rally,and make new acquaintances too.
A quirk from being on Internet web forums and posting Ride Reports is the number of people who 'knew' me without us ever having met in real life.
It`s all good stuff though,and although I attended alone,I was never without friendship and good company all weekend.
I went for a walkabout to check out the weird and wonderful combos that are a staple feature of the Dragon.
Here`s the 'Austel' which I believe went into limited production some time ago.
The GoldWing combos always look comfy and capable.
Saying that,I do love the 'home made' appearance of some of the others.
I bet this V-Max one could be fun......and I bet it isn`t just the road surface that`s had skidmarks on it going onto some right handers.
This one was great....but I bet it`s a tad twitchy at times......
Solos weren`t ignored...this one was SWEET.
Keeping with the military theme for a minute,this Armstrong looked good parked here.
It wasn`t just some combos that were home made....look at this cool trailer.
A couple more serious looking combos parked partway up the hill.
Now then....have you toured France and seen those spooky black silhouettes by the roadside in the shape of men,women or children that are showing where people have died in road incidents?
Well,near the top of the first hill I saw these.....spooksville....
As if to assuage my worries,a familiar face arrived.
My friend...ever so slightly eccentric friend... The Reverend Jay Phelps (really).
A former Uralist (bitterly regretting selling his combo to a delighted Moses who bought it)....and dressed in now de rigeur tweeds to prove his allegience to a crazy rally organisation he`s created and talked me into joining.
It`s called AGA (Association of Gentlemen Adventurers) and is an attempt to bring back English sartorial elegence and qualities to the rally scene.
Yes..I`ve been to various charity shops and acquired some tweeds and plus fours but NO,I wasn`t wearing them at the weekend.
Jay adopts a suitable posture while lecturing someone about something.....
I made good my escape and found my favourite non Ural combo of the event.
I found two more Ural combos,owned and ridden by two Tossers of this parish who had kept ownership rather clandestine and were attempting to pass the weekend without being detected.....
One of the nameless duo was horrified to learn of my friend Peter Barker owning a 'Burple' coloured Ural just like his...he thought his was unique.
There`s certainly not many Burple ones about.....believed to have been created when a Vodka addled Ivan got the tins mixed up in the Ural factory paintshop.
It`s a bizzarre kind of blue,kind of purple which actually starts to grow on you after a while.
Talking of horrified...I was horrified to see the naffest and 'gheyest' add-on I`ve ever seen on a Ural.
This abhorration was intended to stop the spare wheel nut from coming loose.
I simply tighten mine with the peg spanner,dum de dum.
I went for another walk about and look around the ever filling up site.
It was also time for some 'light refreshment'......
Whilst imbibing,I met the 'Heavy Mob' of Micky,Buckles,Laughing Gas,Shaggy,Martyn,Jan and others as they were setting up and then agreed to meet them later for a few drinks.
A few more drinks,that is.
Hmm..is that Buckles with a miniature bottle or a forty foot tall giant resembling Buckles with a regular bottle???
Peter Barker looking suitably intimidating.
Or maybe he`s half sloshed because he`d had a few beers and his minature of Scotch before eating his tea.
He was abducted by aliens just after this photo was taken and not seen again until his return to earth on Sunday morning.
Talking of aliens.....
Micky had some kind of sexual fantasy going on in his head due to me wearing my publicly announced 'faux fur' Russian hat,and likened me to some sort of Russian schoolgirl porn star.
Apparently it was something to do with the earflaps being tied down.
I`m certain tying down was mentioned somewhere anyway.
He`s at that funny age,you know.....
And no...my eyes don`t always look like that,heh heh.
Hmm..time for a bit of fresh air,methinks.
And time to grab my last liquid supplies from my sidecar.
I was only zig zagging a little bit so figured I was doing okay for a night on the beer.
Until I saw that it was only half past six in the evening...GULP !!!!
Outside the marquee,things were looking nicely atmospheric.
It was looking like a 'proper' rally.
Ghostly figures loomed out of the darkness at the top of the hill....I hope it wasn`t those blooming silhouettes come to life.
Maybe the silhouettes were the beings which abducted Peter Barker...
And look....it wasn`t just Peter who had been abducted....time to leg it back to the marquee and sanctuary.
Mind you...in the marquee,things weren`t looking much better.
In fact,they were starting to look a tad surreal,man.
Positively scary in fact.........
Outside again,I met another Uralling mate called Rodger who I keep meeting at rallies..we greeted each other like lost brothers and talked the usual alcoholically lubricated bollox.
He was with his lovely girlfriend who did her first Dragon Rally last year and it was great to see them still together and still Uralling and rallying together.
Oh look,talking of alcohol,the 'Box of Salvation' has arrived.....
Eashy now...don`t schpill a drop ovvit....
Ever onwards and this fabulous BMW Oilhead combo hove into view.
I saw it at last year`s Dragon and missed the owner...same again this year sadly.
I met my reporter friend Rod Young who I first met part way up the Stella Alpina a few years back...then didn`t see again until last year`s Dragon!
This is the very thing about what`s so wonderful about winter rallying in general,and the Dragon in particular...all these people you can keep meeting and reminiscing with.
Back in the marquee,Micky was elaborating on his Russian porno fantasy.
Or something.
It was clearly a fascinating tale.
Hmm...I was feeling a bit tired too,so once more I climbed the hill en route to temporary Chateau Tarka and some sleep.
Nearly there.......but what a fabulous night.
Hard to believe it`s only the 6th of February.
I woke to a frosty field but a beautiful morning.
Sadly I`d fallen asleep while looking at my photos so my camera battery was flat.....hence no frosty bike photos.
However,an hour or two was spent chatting to folk,pinching some of Laughing Gas`s freshly boiled water for a coffee and blagging the most delicious bacon butty off Moses cooked via a gas range on the back of what was Jay`s Ural.
Great people.
Great event.
Next year is the 50th.
See you there ???
Not me...this weekend was the Conwy MCC`s 49th Dragon Rally,and my 3rd one.
Many people prepare for rallies by having an early night or maybe just a quiet peaceful drink and chat in a quiet pub.
Not me....I was DJing from 9pm Friday until 2am Saturday and didn`t get to bed until 3.30am.
So,naturally,I was up and about at 8.30am loading up Skaya (my 650 Ural) for yet another adventure.
The great thing with any combo is the carrying capacity compared to a solo and the Ural is even easier than many combos because of the lifting boot lid.
All my camping gear,creature comforts,food,water and beer went into the sidecar and its boot without even employing the large luggage rack on the rear of the sidecar.
Not forgetting some essential unguents for my traditional 'Arrival Celebration', as although I know my Urals inside out,there`s never a total guarantee of arriving wherever you are heading for.
As indeed,there never really is with any motorised vehicle.
Once my GPS
augie ) was fitted it was nearly time to go...
The Conwy MCC don`t tell you where the Dragon Rally is when you send for your ticket...instead,they send you a confirmation ticket and then a few weeks before the Rally you are sent a set of instructions to find a Control Caravan where you get your confirmation ticket stamped and are given final directions to the Rally.
It`s never more than ten miles or so extra,but it always adds a bit of fun and adventure,and gets you studying your map in advance trying to guess that year`s location for the event.
This year the Control Caravan was just outside Tal-y-Bont in the Vale of Conwy (overseas readers are going to LOVE some of these place names!).
So...here is my route for the day....
I live just off the right hand side of the map and the Control Caravan is at the left hand end of the highlighted line.
Many folk would have slavishly followed the A55 dual carriageway to Conwy the ridden down the Vale but the A55 is just a featureless,boring concrete slab rather like a motorway and infested with excessively fast,often incompetent and aggressive motorists.
Instead,I followed a favourite 'breakfast run' route of mine along tiny lanes and through wonderful scenery to Llanwrst then a few miles up the Vale to Tal-y-Bont.
Suitably clad,we`re ready for the off.............Dragon Rally 2010 ahoy!
A friend once said that riding in Wales is like being in a foreign country....mmm.
Well,guess what,Sherlock....that`s EXACTLY what it is!
Just to prove the point,the road signs are dual language.
I`m loving the mental image of overseas readers' expressions when they see the Welsh writing.
The Welsh road gangs had even been out painting desparaging remarks on the roads about my Ural`s performance......
I saw some lovely little properties en route.....
There was quite a bit of mist for the first twenty or thirty miles but it suddenly cleared to show some of that wonderful scenery I mentioned.
Oy....what are 'ewe' looking at ????????
It was a simply lovely morning.....so mild that I just had a tee shirt under my bike gear and wasn`t even slightly chilled.
Much as I enjoyed my snow rides last month,this was a real treat.
It was just like a Spring day...keep spraying all those aerosols,fellas!
The Dragon Rally has a bit of a reputation for being a hardcore Winter Rally but our Winter weather is just a shadow of its former self..........
I probably would have got to the Rally half an hour earlier than I did if I hadn`t been taking all these photos,but hey,what was the hurry,and I thought some people may enjoy seeing where I was riding.
This bit reminded me of when I was in the Ardennes a couple of years ago.
On 'reflection' (groan)
,it was a perfect route for such a perfect day.
I was carrying a bit of gear on Skaya but I figured that this next sign was nothing to worry about.
The photo might 'mirror' the style of the one above (double groan).....
Into Llanwrst and over the ancient stone bridge to get to the Vale of Conwy.
When you are halfway across the bridge,you can see the 'fluffy cottage' on the righthand side.
Naturally,being so courteous to other road users,I simply had to stop on the 'wide as a car' bridge to take a photo...
What a fabulous looking place....
Yippee....here we are at the Control Caravan....nearly at the Rally.
Ticket stamped.....directions given.....get the sticker on the headlamp and off we go for 'Two Point Eight Miles on the left.......You can`t miss it unless the signs have been removed...'
The site was brilliant...something like a cross between the Wild West forested parts of the Irbit Motorcycle Show and the Rachau hillclimb.
Even though she`s only single wheel drive,Skaya romped up the first dirt hill, scattering a few rocks (and onlookers) and leaving an impressive roost as she roared around the uphill bend and climbed to the top field.
Well,the signs said 'No Stopping' !
I really enjoyed this bit.
Here`s part of the hill photograped later in the day.
I was looking for a decent pitch when a guy approached me and asked if I`m Tarka...he was 'Miggins' off ADVrider who I`d never met before but we`d waved to each other a few weeks ago in the snow on the Horseshoe Pass.
He only lives a few miles away from me,too.
It`s a small old world,isn`t it?
Here is Miggins` combo.
The time was only about 1pm but there was already quite a few bikes and tents established on the site.
Space was becoming of a premium due the sloping ground.
The main 'roadway' bit was a bit boggy and quite slippy with mud so it provided much merriment later watching some bikes wheelspinning down to their rims and some almost doing 360 degree turns.
I found a decent spot which ended up not far from Miggins` tent and got the tent equivalent of Chateau Tarka established.
Time and justified reason for a small celebration,methinks....cheers!
The Dragon Rally is a traditional social type rally...although there was a catering van,and a marquee with free soup and buns,and a small bar,plus a band later on.
However,the main gist of the event is to meet up with friends who you may not have seen since your last rally,and make new acquaintances too.
A quirk from being on Internet web forums and posting Ride Reports is the number of people who 'knew' me without us ever having met in real life.
It`s all good stuff though,and although I attended alone,I was never without friendship and good company all weekend.
I went for a walkabout to check out the weird and wonderful combos that are a staple feature of the Dragon.
Here`s the 'Austel' which I believe went into limited production some time ago.
The GoldWing combos always look comfy and capable.
Saying that,I do love the 'home made' appearance of some of the others.
I bet this V-Max one could be fun......and I bet it isn`t just the road surface that`s had skidmarks on it going onto some right handers.
This one was great....but I bet it`s a tad twitchy at times......
Solos weren`t ignored...this one was SWEET.
Keeping with the military theme for a minute,this Armstrong looked good parked here.
It wasn`t just some combos that were home made....look at this cool trailer.
A couple more serious looking combos parked partway up the hill.
Now then....have you toured France and seen those spooky black silhouettes by the roadside in the shape of men,women or children that are showing where people have died in road incidents?
Well,near the top of the first hill I saw these.....spooksville....
As if to assuage my worries,a familiar face arrived.
My friend...ever so slightly eccentric friend... The Reverend Jay Phelps (really).
A former Uralist (bitterly regretting selling his combo to a delighted Moses who bought it)....and dressed in now de rigeur tweeds to prove his allegience to a crazy rally organisation he`s created and talked me into joining.
It`s called AGA (Association of Gentlemen Adventurers) and is an attempt to bring back English sartorial elegence and qualities to the rally scene.
Yes..I`ve been to various charity shops and acquired some tweeds and plus fours but NO,I wasn`t wearing them at the weekend.
Jay adopts a suitable posture while lecturing someone about something.....
I made good my escape and found my favourite non Ural combo of the event.
I found two more Ural combos,owned and ridden by two Tossers of this parish who had kept ownership rather clandestine and were attempting to pass the weekend without being detected.....
One of the nameless duo was horrified to learn of my friend Peter Barker owning a 'Burple' coloured Ural just like his...he thought his was unique.
There`s certainly not many Burple ones about.....believed to have been created when a Vodka addled Ivan got the tins mixed up in the Ural factory paintshop.
It`s a bizzarre kind of blue,kind of purple which actually starts to grow on you after a while.
Talking of horrified...I was horrified to see the naffest and 'gheyest' add-on I`ve ever seen on a Ural.
This abhorration was intended to stop the spare wheel nut from coming loose.
I simply tighten mine with the peg spanner,dum de dum.
I went for another walk about and look around the ever filling up site.
It was also time for some 'light refreshment'......
Whilst imbibing,I met the 'Heavy Mob' of Micky,Buckles,Laughing Gas,Shaggy,Martyn,Jan and others as they were setting up and then agreed to meet them later for a few drinks.
A few more drinks,that is.
Hmm..is that Buckles with a miniature bottle or a forty foot tall giant resembling Buckles with a regular bottle???
Peter Barker looking suitably intimidating.
Or maybe he`s half sloshed because he`d had a few beers and his minature of Scotch before eating his tea.
He was abducted by aliens just after this photo was taken and not seen again until his return to earth on Sunday morning.
Talking of aliens.....
Micky had some kind of sexual fantasy going on in his head due to me wearing my publicly announced 'faux fur' Russian hat,and likened me to some sort of Russian schoolgirl porn star.
Apparently it was something to do with the earflaps being tied down.
I`m certain tying down was mentioned somewhere anyway.
He`s at that funny age,you know.....
And no...my eyes don`t always look like that,heh heh.
Hmm..time for a bit of fresh air,methinks.
And time to grab my last liquid supplies from my sidecar.
I was only zig zagging a little bit so figured I was doing okay for a night on the beer.
Until I saw that it was only half past six in the evening...GULP !!!!
Outside the marquee,things were looking nicely atmospheric.
It was looking like a 'proper' rally.
Ghostly figures loomed out of the darkness at the top of the hill....I hope it wasn`t those blooming silhouettes come to life.
Maybe the silhouettes were the beings which abducted Peter Barker...
And look....it wasn`t just Peter who had been abducted....time to leg it back to the marquee and sanctuary.
Mind you...in the marquee,things weren`t looking much better.
In fact,they were starting to look a tad surreal,man.
Positively scary in fact.........
Outside again,I met another Uralling mate called Rodger who I keep meeting at rallies..we greeted each other like lost brothers and talked the usual alcoholically lubricated bollox.
He was with his lovely girlfriend who did her first Dragon Rally last year and it was great to see them still together and still Uralling and rallying together.
Oh look,talking of alcohol,the 'Box of Salvation' has arrived.....
Eashy now...don`t schpill a drop ovvit....
Ever onwards and this fabulous BMW Oilhead combo hove into view.
I saw it at last year`s Dragon and missed the owner...same again this year sadly.
I met my reporter friend Rod Young who I first met part way up the Stella Alpina a few years back...then didn`t see again until last year`s Dragon!
This is the very thing about what`s so wonderful about winter rallying in general,and the Dragon in particular...all these people you can keep meeting and reminiscing with.
Back in the marquee,Micky was elaborating on his Russian porno fantasy.
Or something.
It was clearly a fascinating tale.
Hmm...I was feeling a bit tired too,so once more I climbed the hill en route to temporary Chateau Tarka and some sleep.
Nearly there.......but what a fabulous night.
Hard to believe it`s only the 6th of February.
I woke to a frosty field but a beautiful morning.
Sadly I`d fallen asleep while looking at my photos so my camera battery was flat.....hence no frosty bike photos.
However,an hour or two was spent chatting to folk,pinching some of Laughing Gas`s freshly boiled water for a coffee and blagging the most delicious bacon butty off Moses cooked via a gas range on the back of what was Jay`s Ural.
Great people.
Great event.
Next year is the 50th.
See you there ???
. It was the only way we could get Micky to sign up !
.
