OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th September

Get on yer bike and lets rumble!!

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AMCQ46
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Re: OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th Septemb

Post by AMCQ46 »

You definatly took one for the team this weekend Tony, that was care in the community 8O

I still don't understand the dogs sh1t bags on the mirrors, but even before that there were a lot of red flags that should have said, "this is perhaps the wrong group". But I am not sure he would have understood..and I dont think Kevs group would have been happy either

You showed the patience of a snake :lol:

So a great weekend to round off the crazy covid year mk2, and I think it would be fair to say we all needed a good blow out, so that is what we had :D

In what must be a recent record, we had more firestorms than KTMs, but the BMW team had rallied to take 1st place away from the Honda.

4 storms with MacV2, flatline, AMcQ46 and a lad called Viktor, off Facebook that knows Gabi (but we didn't hold that against him)
6 BMWs (Cheekykev, Curley, Budd and Chris's mate Suckey, GrumpyFrogs brother Lindsay, little Chris, and big Christian Jonesey)
3 KTMs (Jamie, Grumpyfrog, and Budd),
2 Suzukis with PeteL and Simon on a bandit 12
2 ducatis for Gabi and Mark VTR1000
1 Aprilia V4 - Tony.mon
1 Vw caddy - Bazza
1 Audi TT - cheekysue
1 Mini - cheeky Sandra


I think most people got wet on Friday as we made our way out to Wales, but by the time we all arrived at the bunk house the weather was great, so having scoffed the food that Kev and sue had made for us, we got the fire pit started and the music on and proceeded to get pissed and talk sh1t.

We were very good at the drinking and talking sh1t, and that perhaps showed the next morning, but after a huuuge fried breakfast, and multiple confusing incidents with bikes disappearing in all directions, we managed to get the 2 groups separated and in the road.

Group A was supposed to be the faster group, no sightseeing, eat at petrol stations, seek out the best B roads and small A roads etc, and group B was going to go scenic and might end up on some single track.

Group A report card. 1 rider managed to drop his bike onto Jamie KTM rc8 before we had even left the farm track and got onto the main road, and our day continued to revolve around this individual and his lack of suitable pace (hence Tony's opportunity to take in the scenery.)
My planned route was going to cover 220 miles, and using the 2nd man drop off, I was able to get flying down a lot of great roads until I had run out of 2nd men...... And then we had a bit of a wait :? I think it was better for me as I would head off as soon as I had 2 people behind me, so I got some flow, but others were stop start. So By 4pm, we still had 80 miles to do, and as we passed through Builth Wells, there was signs for 15m to Rayhader, and there was a vote ...... One by one the group decided they would just take the direct route home, and to be fair, the effects of last nights drinking and lack of sleep, made it the obvious call..... So off we went back to camp and hit the beers out.


To be continued.
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MacV2
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Re: OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th September

Post by MacV2 »

Mean while in the wobbly group, I mean the not progresive group. No it's the relaxed group really.

Just 7 of us with Cheeky Kev up front & Jonesey acting as rear gunner on the huge not really suitable for some of the roads BMW Panzer 1300.

The day split into 3 stages.

Stage one from bunkhose round some lakes to a stop, for some pics...
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Proof of a Storm out in Wales.
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Then via some very dubious roads with lots of shite & gravel in the in all the wrong places...

We stopped at a Dam somewhere in Wales, possibly with a name begining LL about 14 letters long & pronounced like a plemghy cough... :lol: :lol:
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Kev, Victor & I think Gabbi practicing his sheep mounting routine.
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Kev & Victor now distancing themselves from Gabbi following his demonstration of ovine loving...

So the morning ride was a bit scetchy TBH & not really enjoyable for me anyway.

The mid section from the Dam to the cake shop in Abersomethingorother, where we took lunch.

Was a much better ride I got into something like a nice rhythm 3rd or 4th & just roll it on & off, nicely surfaced roads lots of shellgrip in all the right places & not too much traffic apart from the odd que behaind a learner.

Unfortunatly after our luch stop it all went a bit tit'sup.

Well for me anyway, we had some back marker issues/confusion with a backmarker leaving before he should, leaving Jonesey riding around Abasomwhere for 20 mins trying to find us...

Then we ended up back on the single track roads up & around various valleys...

Don't get me wrong the scenery is beautiful & some of the roads are just great when your not worring about whats round the next corner,which way it goes & what shite is in the road or the surface is falling apart.

Which is when it really went titsup for me. Well ground sky, ground sky repeat...

The overveiw.
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Only a slight rise blind crest but it caught me out going slightly left after the crest, I just touched my breaks & the front being a bit light post crest folded... Scheeeerrrchhhhh of bike sliding & me rollling down road.


4 of the others were long gone up the road. Victor was behind me & Jonesey following along.

I jumped straight up & after & after going down to the bike to switch it off as it was lying on it's side still running.

I climbed back up to the road & did my best racers impriession of ripping my glove off & hurling it to the ground whilst shouting abuse mainly directed at myself.



Totaly gutted TBH I was fearing the worse
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How it never hit anything hard is the only good luck about it. I thought on picking it up the fairing would be in bits the tank dented the can haning off...

A bloke called John (IIRC) on a Honda CBF i think stopped to check & between the 4 of us we got the bike back up to the road.



TBC
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Last edited by MacV2 on Mon Sep 13, 2021 4:55 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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MacV2
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Re: OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th September

Post by MacV2 »

Got away with scuffed fairing, bar end snapped off, front indi gone a dent in the link pipe & the rivit strap on the can is fubard but the rivits held. Worse thing the gear lever toe end prong is snapped clean off...

Unsurpringly I have spares so alll is good.

Victor carried out a suprisingly good road side bush mechanics involing an allen key, loads of zip ties & some electriacl tape. Not only did it get me back to the bunk house but the 200 odd miles home & it hasen't moved !

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Still on a good note...
Round the firepit we toasted Wicky... & Norman & Benny...
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Vodka & JD .
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Special thanks to Jonesey & Victor for helping me out on the spot...

As is par for the course almost everyone else took the unrine. Special shout out to Al, Gabbi,Pete,Tony & Bazza...A lesser man could have been hurt by some of your comments so you call all go F*** yourselves... :lol: :lol: :lol:
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ItsaKeeper
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Re: OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th September

Post by ItsaKeeper »

Really glad MacV2 that you did not damage yourself, I'm sorry to see the scuff pictures on your Storm though, all too familiar to mine. Main thing is you are okay and it's a real bonus that you have the parts to bring the bike back to concours :D
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Duffy1964
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Re: OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th September

Post by Duffy1964 »

Gutted for you Macster, but at least it was only the bike that broke rather then your bones. Shame it was on Nue Red though . On the bright side there are a few sidecars on ebay


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Yellow 1997 Storm R.I.P. Orange 2000 Streetfighter (Rufus), Red & Silver 1968 Triumph Trophy 650, Blue 2003 Storm Project, Red 2007 Montesa Cota Trials 250 & 1959 BSA D7 175cc Bantam Trials Project
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AMCQ46
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Re: OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th September

Post by AMCQ46 »

as well as Group A & B, there was 3 other groups

group C - going off shopping & sightseeing while seeing if the Audi TT is really a 4 seater ... Sue and her team
Group D - stay at the bunk house and Valet your van. created just for Bazza, but he was also trying to help with the cat herding when the bikes all left the bunkhouse and went in opposite directions to the run leader, or with the wrong run leader.
Group F - this was Flatlines solo group, where he would set off on his own while we were still waiting for breakfast, and go and ride all day. and to be fair it is a great way to avoid all the frustration & time losses that group riding can bring.......but whats the point of having a great days riding if you cant share it with a few mates. .. its all about finding the perfect balance for your group, and when you are all on the same pace and the same expectations it can be a wonderful thing..... but it doesnt always work that way :lol:



Group A continued.

our group was mostly the usual suspects:
AMcQ46, Tony.mon, PeteL, Jamoi, Budd and Grumpyfrog off the forum, and then a few outsiders :lol:
Grumpys brother Lindsay (who has been on a few rides with us in the past), Budds mate Little Chris (the racing dwarf) who has been coming out with us for a couple of years, their mate Chris Soukey, and his mate Simon (now named Rossi) who were both new to the group.

Tony had volunteered to be the back marker, thanks Tony, and I was leading ...... obviously claiming that I knew where I was going, even if there were lots of roads I had never ridden before :lol: .
and because I had a firestorm, I also had to make sure I had planned petrol stops every 100 miles, and then make sure all riders with bigger tank ranges knew I wasnt going to add extra stops if they didnt fill up when I did .... this is supposed to be the progressive group! :evil:

target was 220 miles of A & B roads going as far west as Aberystwyth, as far south as Ystradgynlais, as far east as Clun (back in England) and as far north as Newtown.
https://kurv.gr/2HTh4 incase anybody is interested.

Was dry when we set off but we could see some rain cloud lurking off to the west.......... I was going west 8O .
We started with the super fast & flowing main road (A470 and then A44) towards Aberystwyth (also known as Abersomethingorother :lol: ), and after 20 miles of that, my slightly thick head was now recalibrated and the rhythm and flow were back.

1st official petrol stop was at 22 miles and I had told told everybody to have at least 20 in the tank, but Chris Soukey was twitching, as the dash on his BMW XR1000 was telling him he had 27miles, and that 1st section of roads was a full throttle event ..... but he made it. :lol:

From there we turned off the main road and used the devils bridge route into Aberxxx, and now we are setting the standard for minor A roads with endless curves and elevation changes, great road surface and not much traffic. there was also great views into the valley, but with Jamoi on my tail with his awesome KTM RC8, I couldn't allow myself to get distracted as I had to defend the reputation of the Firestorm as a sports bike. :lol:

from Aberxxxx, we turned south towards places with multiple L's in their name (Lampeter, Llandwara, Llangadog and bypassing Llandovery), and the great roads kept coming culminating with A4069 from Llangadog to Brynaman, which was only just wider than single track, but had great visibility and could be attacked like a go Kart track as it went over the mountain. by this time Budd had worked out a cunning plan to hang back at about 3rd or 4th man going through the towns so he would miraculacly be the 2nd man after the others had to act as markers in town, just in time to hit 20 miles of mountain bends. So now I had to set a pace to challenge another big KTM, this time a SuperDuke GT ... we had fun :D .

from Brynville we now went east and then north, but this was now payback time for all the good roads we had been enjoying, this was a string of crappy ex mining towns, with endless 30 & 40 limits, which went on too long even when the road was now getting interesting.
at this point I ran out of 2nd men to mark the junctions and we had to have a long wait :( . eventually Pete and Jamoi appeared and off we went on a very fast, but fairly dull A4067 towards Defynnog. there were long straights on this road, and I fortunately resisted the temptation to go absolutely crazy, but I was still spiked into paranoia when the guys at the back of the group arrived at the petrol stop and said "did you see the copper with the speed gun in the bushes on that long straight"!!!!!!!!

F***K.... no I hadnt :sick:

but when they also mentioned that he had parked his multi colored car in a layby, then it was OK :shh: , we had met that car coming towards us when he was still driving to location, and as an example of how strung out the group was, he had had time to set up and wait for the others to come through. Thankfully the other road users were flashings the oncoming traffic, so all our lads went through under the limit :D.

petrol station in Sennybridge with Cafe was now our lunch stop (although it was already 2pm), and we saw a few other nice bikes there like an original XS650 and a a modern Triumph Speed twin and 1200 scrambler. ... and what must have been the FIAT X1/9 owners club as about 50 of the latin rust buckets drove past us as we sat.
with our bellies full we bimbled at pure legal speeds along the A40 and into Brecon, before jumping onto an EPIC B road going north into Builth Wells.
I think Budd had again played his hanging back in the towns trick, and he and I had a great run through this pure biker route. Riding along to Brecon, I had noticed that the food and rest had actually slowed my brain and body (probably combined with the drinking and talking sh1t from the night before), so I needed this B road to reset attack mode and get focused .... which it quickly did. :biggrin

from Builth Wells, you already know the story,...... after another long wait, during which we were overtaken by a horse and cart, the team decided it was better to go direct to Rhayder and do what they do best. Drink & talk sh1t.

once we were back at the house I got a call from Kev to say he had lost most of his group, and were any of them back at base???......... Unfortunately the answer was NO, but wile he was still on the phone, a biker ( the same one that helped pull macs bike out of the bogs) came past Kev and informed him that a red bike had crashed about 8 miles up teh road. but Mac has already shared his story so I dont have to worry about outing him in public (what happen on tour stays on tour :lol: ).
and Yes, once I knew he was OK, and we had toasted those who are now absent (and thanked Mac for all he had done with the collection & trophy etc), I might have taken the piss mercilessly. Especially as he had by now consoled himself with a dram or 7 and was a bit wobbly on his feet, I had visions of him surviving his bike crash with no broken bones (for once), but then subsequently falling down the stars at the bunkhouse and breaking his arm. but obviously rather than try and help him, I tried to distract and confuse him while he was on the stairs ... I am a good friend :mrgreen: :twisted:

so big thanks to everybody who joined in and especially all those that helped with any of the logistics and organization, we all had the best time despite the various problems.
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Jamoi
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Re: OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th September

Post by Jamoi »

What a superb weekend that was!

I guarantee you'll not find a finer bunch of ladies and gentlemen.

Just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who made this such a great weekend - from the accommodation, communications, payments, food, routes and obviously the stellar company on and off the bikes.

Next year I'll be staying a bit longer in Wales, the all day slog from home to Wales on the Friday is far too close to the all day slog home on Sunday.

The highlights are far too numerous to list here (and probably not fit for sharing on a public forum), but one of them was: following PeteL round some single track, sheep infested Valley Road which seemed to be uphill for miles, but we crested the hill and were greeted with the most spectacular view... PeteL, obviously stunned by the view threw his hands aloft in a hallelujah style gesture, forgetting all about the 1st gear hairpin with the 500ft drop rapidly approaching! Hands back on bars, slam the bike on its ear and carve round the sharp bend as if it was planned and timed to perfection. I don't know why, but I could imagine Petes face while this was happening and it set me off on 10 mins of uncontrollable laughter ImageImage

The lows included "Rossi" falling on my bike and scratching it. Mac taking a tumble. And finally going home - that one always gets me Image

If every weekend could be as good as this one, I'd be a very happy, very knackered man.

Not many pics I'm afraid...

One of my bike at 07:30 on Fri morning at the Jonesey meeting point.

One accidental one of my feet.

One on the way home, of two horrible Custom bikes parked up at the services...

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AMCQ46
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Re: OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th September

Post by AMCQ46 »

dear god, that blue triumph chopper has made me sick a bit in my mouth :sick:

same reaction as when Bazza was talking about hairy nipples / backs and taking one for the team :lol:
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MacV2
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Re: OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th September

Post by MacV2 »

Talking of feet.

Really ?
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Socks N Sandals...

Bloody slippers... :lol: :lol: :lol:
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MacV2
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Re: OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th September

Post by MacV2 »

Sat night after the BBQ & much alcohol...

The blury pics may be either me being really pissed, laughing at something or just a shite camera on the shite work phone...
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Pete.L
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Re: OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th September

Post by Pete.L »

Fantastic write up guys.
Gutted to think this is the last meet up of the year but I’ve got some stunning memories of a multitude of bends and a wheelbarrow full of laughs to keep me going through the winter
Thank you All. It’s been fab


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Re: OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th September

Post by MacV2 »

The bike park... Pt 1
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Re: OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th September

Post by MacV2 »

The bike park Pt 2
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Re: OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th September

Post by MacV2 »

Various other weekend pics...
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I'm a little teapot...
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Kev waiting for the David Baileys to hurry up & stop snapping...
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A lake think this was Catarrhllll or Chests infection-on-the Pleghme. :lol: :lol:
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A sothern Softie mincing back to his Panzerwaggen... :lol:
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To Wicky, Norman & Benny...

Hic...
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Jamoi
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Re: OP Storm Wales 2021 10th 11th 12th September

Post by Jamoi »

MacV2 wrote:Talking of feet.

Really ?
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Socks N Sandals...

Bloody slippers... Image Image Image
Hey, you leave the slippers alone!

The real issue here, is Tony.mon and his post festival leggings and glittery sandals get up...


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Jamie :wave:
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