Peaks, Pleasure & Pain

Although every New Year's Eve I resolve to attend more UKGSer meetings next year, I usually only manage to make the East Midlands Do in the end. This is in no way a reflection on locations, organisers or attendees - only on the abundance of events for the keen motorcyclist and my poor time management skills...

However, for this year's EM I even left work a bit earlier to be at Lumb Farm in time for Flipfly's Friday night off road bimble.

The first members of this illustrious forum I met on site were Spikehammer and Proff, which is not a bad start at all


Tina and Forry, stopping over on the way home from their Pyrenees' holiday


Then it was time to get ready for the off road run


Clive - a man and his panniers...


Are you sure you want this beauty to get all muddy? Flip trying to persuade JustStan to leave her new baby to him...


We had a lovely bimble (and a few hiccups...) on tiny country roads to the start of the trails...


... where SkyGod took over the command and sensibly split the group into two


JustStan - determined to get dirty with 'Eric'


Bakerlonglegs - the man who makes any GS look tiny


Who said there was no mud in the Peaks?


Motörhead had a little tumble at this point...


... so he was awarded the 'Truly Committed GS Trail Rider' insignia afterwards, which he wore with pride


The weather didn't look very promising...


... it was still raining and getting dark on us (here on Clive and Colt)


... which didn't stop Motörhead fiddling about with his fuel injection in the middle of nowhere...


Funnily enough, this couldn’t remove that certain off-road-grin from our faces…


After a few more gloomy but exciting lanes (did I mention that I was a bit night-blind?) we returned to Lumb Farm all in one piece – so far…

Thanks to Flipfly for a very enjoyable ride-out on some of the finest easy trails in the area!

As it was already quite late when we came back, I hastened straight to the bar for food. Only after indulging in a delicious dinner and a long hot shower I realised that my bike was still parked outside the main building. Well, not being dressed for the occasion (i.e. ATGATT) anymore and as a frequent winner of the ‘Clumsiest of the Day’ competition, I thought I’d rather not try to manoeuvre the big pig through the wet grass on a crowded campsite.

Shouldn’t have mentioned it to Timpo…


Fortunately, all went well and it was then a quiet night without significant snoring…

Unfortunately, my lunch break is over and I have to stop for now –

To be continued

Brilliant report so far Ela, keep it up.

Glad you enjoyed the bimble. We definately had a much bigger turn out than expected, especially considering the naff weather

So glad Gaz agreed to come along, we'd have struggled to get everyone down the number of lanes we did.

Cheers Gaz, your reat

Big thanks to the attendees, lets face it, it only works if you have the right people. A few ex virgins now and maybe a future hardcore off roader or 2 in there, who knows

Peaks, Pleasure & Pain

Click to expand...

sounds like a good title for a film
it was a good evening rideout.
especially if you have night vision goggles.

Saturday morning -

The roadside repairs started before we even hit the road...


... and so did the pain...


Not sure why everybody looks so depressed here... SkyGod must have reminded us of the trails we've lost...


Or he might have explained the 'drop-off' system: "When you drop (off) your bike you stay on the ground until everybody has taken a picture." Only Tina and Motörhead seemed vaguely amused...


Packer was going to add some extra thrill to the experience by his choice of tyres...


Then we headed to the trails through the beautiful countryside of the Peak District


... which called for frequent appreciation stops...


... not only of the scenery but also of SkyGod, Flipfly, Spikehammer and their efforts to hold such a large group of varied abilities together


The local boys even showed us tourists their playground


Who goes first?


Sycomoto


El Forrito


Which rider has the right of way? Got a bit crowded in the quarry after a while...


I would have had a go, too, on my DRZ - but with the big pig? And there was also some interesting wildlife to watch...


You'd better be on foot so close to the abyss...


Ok, that's enough pleasure for the moment - let's move on


You are here.


We were then given the choice of either doing a nice little country lane or a rather technical mud, sweat and tears trail. Somebody raised my hand...

Stay away from the walls: it's very slippery - oops...


This warning came a bit too late for Molemule


The going was tough and slow...


Giving Forry plenty of time to get the camera out


Sycomoto's desert horse didn't take long to get used to the inappropriate environment


Are we there yet?


Tina & Sycomoto exchanging tips about skin care and how good a mud-bath is for the complexion...


These humans - one crazier than the other...


Oops, lunch break over again - T.B.C.

Some great camera work in there Ela!

Note to self, really must get organised with a camera.............

Fantastic pics and write up, keep it coming please

cracking photos.....

Ela, your ride reports are always the best

Ela - great pics!

Thanks very much for posting

(And Syco, if you ever consider the possibility of selling 101, drop me a PM, eh, eh!! I know a bloke who fits it.... )

Thank you all for your nice comments.


Where did I stop? Ah ja,

Saturday - still before lunch

At an average speed of 0.8 mph we approached the end of the lane - all happy and nicely warmed up, especially Molemule


Lifestyle guru Spikehammer showed us what to wear on the trails this autumn: the Freckles Look


A fashion quickly adopted by Chris who probably thought his KTM would go unnoticed that way...


Shouldn't really make fun of you after you helped me so knightly getting out of the hole I dug for myself earlier...

Roadside repair part II: Forry adjusting Tina's brake pedal


You can't really beat that fantastic sense of achievement at the end of a challenging lane!


On the next trail I noticed some strange noises from underneath my beak - the ballast of my HID lights had come loose...


But thanks to Spikehammer, Flipfly and a few cable ties this mishap caused only a slight delay. Thank you!

Shortly afterwards we arrived at SkyGod Manor where we parked in front of the servant quarters...


... and were then generously fed and pampered by Mrs SkyGod.


Don't get me wrong - but of all people in Europe only the British could have invented such a composition...


Nevertheless, food and drink were savoured and greatly appreciated - at least by Motörhead, not sure about JohnnyBoxer though...


Thank you again , Helen and Gary, for your outstanding hospitality!

And another lunch break over.

To be continued...

bakerlonglegs said:

Ela - great pics!

Thanks very much for posting

(And Syco, if you ever consider the possibility of selling 101, drop me a PM, eh, eh!! I know a bloke who fits it.... )

Click to expand...

It'll never happen, but get in line

Great report and piccies

Superb photographs.

Had to choose between the Off-Road Ride and the Fords Ride on Saturday. Chose the latter - no regrets.

But PLEASE tell me where is that quarry/playground

Great report Ela, I look forward to the next part.

Ian

Great stuff, lets see more

Great pics and report Ela keep them coming.

Thank you for your kind comments and apologies for the delay in posting the next instalment.

I had another rally last weekend and am now on nurse duties again...

That nurses outfit must be almost worn out by now...

Get well soon Possu...

Ouch! That is going to hurt for some time.

Get well soon Possu, I'm sure it won't seem as bad with nurse Pumpy caring for you

Now more importantly, where are the photo's of the "off"