Lessons learned? Never agree to be last man unless you’ve actually ridden the route!
That left a group of 11 bikes to ride back to the rally site, just over an hour away
and I was finally able to take up my position as back marker again! A stop in Llandovery
for petrol and we were back on site at about 18:30, just 3 hours late! All in all
an eventful day, but ultimately successful and enjoyed by all except possibly Skipper!!
Thanks to Jon & Bob for finding a superb route, it’s one we’ll be back to do again.
About 30 minutes after Jon returned we were just wondering if and when an ambulance
would arrive when we spotted a police car heading up the hill, closely followed by
an ambulance. At the same time the air ambulance flew over the hill and all three
arrived at the scene together, pretty impressive to see! A quick check by the paramedic
showed that the air ambulance was not required and it duly left the scene. A few
minutes later the ambulance set off, either for Llandovery or Carmarthen, depending
on availability of a doctor.
After a short break we all set off again, but before very long there
was a sudden and unfortunate stop. Looking down across a downhill right-hand bend
I could see a new 1700 Classic Tourer laying in the road, with Skipper, the Swedish
VRA President, laying at the roadside apparently unconscious. His fellow Swedes quickly
checked him out and administered first aid while we tried to sort out what had happened.
Looking at the marks, Skipper had drifted onto the grass verge and the bike had slid
until the right-hand crash bar dug in and flipped the bike, resulting in Skipper
being thrown off and the bike landing in the road causing a fair bit of damage. For
those of us who have commented on how flimsy the panniers on the new range are, it
was interesting to note that the offside pannier was badly scratched but otherwise
intact.
Skipper had hurt his right hand and left shoulder and was not considered
fit to ride. There was no mobile phone service available, so one of the Swedish riders
set off uphill to try to make a call, while Jon Talbot set off downhill toward Llandovery
to find a landline. Luckily, Jon found a pub about 3 miles down the road and was
able to summon help. While waiting for the ambulance, it was decided that the rider
who had been acting as backmarker would ride back to the rally site to arrange for
Skippers bike to be collected. Shortly after this the majority of the other riders
left to return to site, guided by riders front and rear armed with GPS. Rob, Jon,
myself and the Swedish group stayed with Skipper to wait for help.
2009 VRA International Rally Ride-out
Shortly before the rally I received an e-mail from Jon Talbot asking if I would act
as last man on the group ride-out on Friday 24th July. Speaking to Jon later that
day on the telephone I confirmed that I would be happy to do so provided I could
ride the route first. Arriving at the rally site on Tuesday 21st July, we set up
the tent and then headed for the Rose & Crown in Carmarthen for an evening meal with
those who were staying the night there. A quick chat to Jon & Bob confirmed that
we were to rehearse the ride-out on Thursday afternoon while most of the rally-goers
were arriving on site. I had a quick look at the map, which showed a route to Llandovery
and a loop through the Elan Valley and Llyn Brianne back to Llandovery and then back
to the rally site by the outbound route. Due to a combination of bad weather and
the amount of work still needed to get the rally started we never made it on the
rehearsal ride.
So on Friday morning it was a case of “are you still OK for the ride-out?
We were going to cancel but the Swedes want to go!” With some misgivings I said yes
and we agreed to assemble for a 10:00 start. At 09:55 there was no sign of anyone
wanting to ride, but a couple of minutes later a large group of bikes rode onto the
rally site having been to fill up with fuel. Naturally, they all assembled in the
wrong place, so Jon and I moved our bikes and started to get everyone ready. Luckily,
I made a quick dash to the tent to pick up my glasses and a copy of the route map.
It must have been 10:30 by the time we were ready to leave, but there were still
stragglers joining the group, so Jon set off and then stopped near the main gate
to allow us all to catch up.
Everything went well for at least 5 minutes!! The first two roundabouts
saw well-placed second man working well, but I arrived at the third roundabout in
heavy traffic to see one rider turning left and another turning right, no second
man in sight! A quick circuit of the roundabout to check and then I set off in pursuit,
not absolutely certain I was going the right way. At the next roundabout there was
no sign of anyone, so I had to stop to check the map before riding rather faster
than I should have to try to catch up. Frustratingly I got stuck behind a police
car for quite a while and lost a fair bit of time.
Arriving at Llandovery there was still no sign of any second man or any
bikes and it was at this point that things went really pear-shaped. Looking at the
route map, which was about six inches square for a 150 mile ride, I couldn’t quite
see which road to take and guessed wrong. Some time later, arriving at Llyn Brianne,
I realised that I was doing the main loop clockwise, while Jon was leading the ride
anti-clockwise!! By this time I had no chance of catching up, so I decided to carry
on in the hope of eventually meeting them coming the other way.
The weather was much better than expected and the scenery was stunning,
so although I was a bit stressed (and extremely embarrassed) I enjoyed the ride.
I probably rode a bit faster than was wise on some of the narrow roads, but luckily
it was very quiet and there were plenty of open stretches allowing me to see well
ahead. I had stopped for petrol and a couple of times to ask people if they’d seen
the bikes and was beginning to think I’d missed them when I finally spotted a big
group of bikes parked at the end of a dam in the Elan Valley. Having removed my hi-vis
vest to reduce the embarrassment factor a little, I joined the group. Jon explained
that one of the German (I think) riders had seen me set off around the roundabout,
losing the group, and he had taken over as last man at the first stop. So despite
my incompetence the group had stayed together. I therefore discreetly joined the
group in the middle for the rest of the ride.
By the time we reached the next stop I was fairly desperate for something
to eat. We stopped at a viewpoint car park overlooking Llyn Brianne and I consumed
my pack lunch, unfortunately without anything to drink, but with a superb view of
the reservoir to gaze at. Chatting to Rob, one of our Scottish members, we tried
to estimate the number of bikes present. A quick count revealed that there were a
total of 36, which made an impressive site on the narrow, twisty roads.
