*PLUG*

A Shameless Plug for the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ride out at the back end of September.

Why have I posted this here ? . . . . . Well I'm not convinced everyone looks or has seen the ride in the "Why Not" 'Something for the Weekend' section.

Why Surf & Turf ?

Well firstly, Bishops Castle, WeeMac & BigMac ToL & the Harz Germany trip have all happened and Surf 'n' Turf is next in line.
All of the rides are, I think, well supported, and while it's great to see the regulars year on year, a testement to their - the rides- success and popularity, it would be really great to see those that hide in the wings and the forum newer comers, come along and become regulars too.
There's no upper limit to how many we'd like to get on the ride out(s) or coming along to the socials after the rides. It all hangs on your enthusiasm and sometimes accommodation, but there's always a solution to the bed space hurdle.

Secondly there have been rumbles that all the structured 'Something for the Weekend' rides are "Northern" bias. That is kind of true, but that is more by accident than deliberate design.
The forum used to be more southern bias back in the day, but about four maybe five years ago the southern based cat riders broke away from the then, as was, MSN site and created their own forum which now sadly is defunct and closed. With them went the West Country and the occasional SE & Kentish rides. That left the remainder of the forum members mostly north of Watford Gap. We then, and since, have had a big influx of Clan Cats above the border (Och aye the Noo) and the two McRide0uts were born.

We perfer to think of BC & ToL as Central or Midland based, the idea being that these two are reachable by Northern & Southern forum members alike.
The 'Northern' ride out titles going to Surf & Turf (Lakes) and the two McRide0uts for the truely Northern & over the border McRiders.

As well as our own home baked 'Something for the Weekend' rides out, we've been lucky enough these last two years to have been invited to our sister Thundercat site ride out in Germany (2010 The Eifel & 2011 The Harz regions), which a few of us were brave lucky enough to get to and attend. We hope to be re invited back again in 2012.

Of late we have had a slow return of south of Watford Gap & West Country Cat owners coming back online (we were begining to worry you'd all moved to France) and moves have been made to re establish a southern based ride out once more. We're looking forward to that taking a foothold and being added to the annual calendar.

All of this is done with no charge, there are no subscriptions to pay or club/forum fees. Of course these events are not free, you have to pay for your own accommadation, if over-nighting, food, fuel and drinks, and of course that most precious of commodities your time and willingness to support the event(s).

It has been muted that these things can be cliquey. We are not. We acknowledge that from the outside looking in it could appear that way. But we make every effort to make new comers feel, and indeed, very welcome to our events and actively encourage them to come back for more from then on.

Also there is the worry that these things are run "AT A PACE" if you get my drift . . . Again not true of our events. We've actually had comments on the lines of "Yeah, great ride, but could have been a bit pacier".
Well that's all fine and good, but, we try and cater for the MAJority and not the MINority and we also run a 'marker' or 'drop off' system. In essence everytime the group changes direction at a junction a marker is dropped off at that point to mark/point out which way the leading riders have gone. This marker does not leave this point until the tail end charlie or sweeper reaches them with the last of the group. This ensures that 1. the group doesn't go off route and get lost and 2. allows all riders within the group to make their own progress.

I shall leave our newest and latest recruits to BC to comment as to whether I have stretched the truth or been accurate with my observations in the last two paragraphs.

So in summary, . . . The last one of (as yet) this seasons six organised ride outs (S'nT) is fast coming up. There are / is still plenty of space for more riders/pillions to sign up, to come along and support. They are for everyone and while great to see regulars, new comers and first timers are positively encouraged. They're run at a pace to suit all riders. We try once a season to get over the water to mainland Europe (time, support, costs and a future invite not withstanding). We're trying to re establish a southern based ride out for those somewhat closer to the French border.

Quite importantly there are no forum charges or site fees to pay for these events, just your own personal costs, fuel, food, drinks, accommodation and sundries.

Lastly but by no means leastly, a great deal of hard work, preperation and sometimes angst is put into these events behind the scenes for us by some dedicated and long standing forum members who give of their precious time voluntarily for our enjoyment.
A big thank you for all your time and efforts.

And thank you all for reading this wee epic . . . see you out there . . .

Hear Hear Tel, so much preperation/planning/sleepless nights goes into planning a rideout and with that also a great deal of responsibility, BUT as you've said, they are fun, entertaining, and down right bloody brill and the highlight of my year.

Long may they continue!

Ellie...... (Im not commenting on loosing the tail-end charlie.... )

Hi Oldcat,

I found the Epic Speach very informative in light of me being:
a. A New Rider (newly aquired license)
b. Mainly ridden by myself
c. Only having done a 1 day with Stevecat, mrfrance, & espaceman (thanks again).
d. I am going on ToL

From the point of view of a Newbie, I joined ToL with great eagerness, but as time went on and I saw the numbers rising to the 20's and then the 30's (I think it is now) I was starting to feel a sense of trepidation. This was the main motivation for forcing myself down to Guildford from Peterborough to have a rideout with the above folk.

The thought of riding with such a large group (ToL) and what seemed like mostly seasoned riders (and I appreciate what a great bunch you are) as a Newbie to both bike license and bike you do feel somewhat intimidated. Having said that my experience with Steve and the others showed me that there is a new steep learning curve when riding with other riders as a group apposed to riding on your which you adapt to very quickly (having nearly run into the back of mrfrance once - miss is as good as a mile!).

Having done a smaller group I am now feeling more confident and less trpid about ToL, but realise that with a lot more numbers involved at ToL I will have to apply what I learnt down Guildford.

a. Bloody well relax and ride your own ride.
b. Keep ample distance.
c. don't try too hard to keep as a group, at some point you will regroup (even if it's at the end) LOL.
d. do the above and you will enjoy it.
c. don't forget to put the stand down at the end.

A,B & C being the most important.

If this goes someway to helping any other Newbie looking to go on their first Rideout then my Epic too would have been worth while as Oldcats.

John going for a snooze.

You might wanna wee read of [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] before yer snooze . . . if you'd not already found it

Bump back to the top in time for Surf 'n' Turf

I haven't seen this thread before!

I hope I was the only one, as I'd like to backup Tel's sentiments and repeat "Everyone is welcome!" Yes, I know Surf 'n Turf is only a week away, but if you can only join for the day I'm sure you'd be welcome and have a cracking time.

More relevant perhaps is the message that we do enjoy seeing new faces and welcoming new riders to our events. I hope this doesn't sound like desperation, it's not, it's really an attempt to encourage more of you to join us in the events posted on the site. So why not think about it for next season? I'm sure the calendar will begin to fill up again, giving you plenty of notice for planning ahead.

There's been some new faces join us on events this year and I hope their impressions were positive? However we'll take any constructive criticism, might be opening a can of worms here! If any of you would like to share your experiences and give others a better idea of what to expect then please post something up here. And, if you're thinking of joining a meet sometime and have any questions or concerns, then go for it let us know and we'll do our best to answer them. If you want to organise a meet then please start a new thread and send out the invites!

Here's to next season and old and new friends.

Cheers,
Chris