Dartmoor 12-16 may

[mitch]

I've just come back from the Dartmoor meet

Thanks to Mcvicar for the organisation.
Good to meet up with you guys and put names to faces.
Thought the ittenary was good ,great roads and seaside resorts, and it didn't rain.
Looking forward to the next trip.
I might bring a saucepan, only kidding I 'll stick to using a helmet.

Mitch

[Whealie]

McVicar arrived, planted his sidestand on the ground and it pomptly sank three or four inches into the soft mud. I thought he'd done it for a laugh and was only pretending to drop his bike, until I saw the pain and anguish on his face as he tried to hold up his "mighty Varadero". So I saved him from the embarrassment of dropping it.
His luck just got better and better after that. What a great weekend. When Honda does bring out the NEW Africa Twin, Dartmoor will have to be the place to test-drive it.
We went to Boscastle

and took some pics

It was a bit grey ont the Saturday along the coast>

I did some heroics

While the others watched

This is where we parked our bikes

Then we went to Padstow and parked even neater (except for McVicar's "mighty Varadero"

The we found this little crossing

Which the Africa Twins made look easy (here's mark in cyber space)

But then McVicar tried to give his "mighty Varadero an offroad Christening.

But stalled and nearly gave it a full baptism

And then roared out

And the next bit of water we crossed was by ferry.

And there I left them, about 1.30 this afternoon.
I'd book with McVicar's "Mighty Varadero" Tour company again - especially when Honda brings out the NEW Africa Twin.
Oh yeah, and here's the campsite. Geoff was there first and boy can that man snore.

[mitch]

Im gutted, a ford and a ferry ride all in one day, I wish I'd stopped on.

Did a little man run into the ford to push the mighty vara!

[Whealie]

A ford, a ferry and ........ an ice cream in Salcombe. What a morning.

[Dee Duble Yuh]

That was a great weekend.

Nice pics, Whealie, mate. It's amazing what you can do with Photoshop!

Maybe next year I'll arrange something in Wales. You'll all be able toi turn up on you new Africa Twins (if they've brought it out by then )

[McVicar]

Just got home. Great weekend and even better company. Nice writeup Whealie. Will get to work sorting out my 71 photos now! Hope to see you all soon.

[IanS]

Home Safe but very wet, Rained all the way home.

Photo's later.

IanS

[xrv_jim]

Great pics, I'm looking forward to seeing some more. It sounds like you've had a great time.

[Whealie]

IanS will have more info about the rideouts as he led for most of the time (and did a great job as I took everyone down a cycle path and to a one way street coming in the opposite direction, when I took the lead).
Mitch reckoned we did 140 miles on the Saturday but it was a superb and varied ride with some nice twisties on open roads, some with high-sided hedges, and some stupidly tiddly roads.
We were held up twice, once by a tractor and once by a ranger's land rover but the rest of the time we had the roads to enjoy.
On the Sunday we also only came across one silly motorist who held us up until we eventually got some long distance visibility and roared past her.
My GPS tells me from leaving home on Friday at 11.20 to getting back about 6 on Sunday I did 623 miles. I was on the bike for nearly 19 hours and the bike was moving for more than 13 and a half. I won't incriminate myself by naming my top speed but on the way to the campsite I hit a hump-backed bridge at possibly a little over the Dartmoor National Park speed limit of 40mph and me, @, topbox and two alu boxes had a short air flight as both wheels left the ground. It is a dead straight piece of road with no traffic and a tiny hump-backed bridge in the middle of nowhere. It was built to make man and bike fly.
The rides with the lads were superb. It was basically a major sight-seeing tour but with great roads in between - even the short hop between Boscastle and Tintagel was excellent riding.
And we got stickers for our luggage - ones from Cornwall and specifically one from the Jamaica Inn.
We ate well, had no problems parking up when we wanted to and did everything we set out to.
If only I'd let McVicar drop his "mighty Vara" we'd have even had a great laugh (actually, wait a minute, Mitch admitted to having had a saucepan stuck on his head).
Must ask Mr Honda for a saucepan removal tool to be fitted as standard on the NEW Africa Twin.

[Chad]

im so pissed off i missed this i hate work


well pleased it went well heres to the next one

more pics please