Horizons Meeting 2007

[Glynn Roberts]

All the organisers are now currently on site and therefore cannot answer any more emails directly concerning this years meeting.

If you need to contact us/the meeting please phone 10.00 am to 10.00 pm
07976 214198

Look forward to seeing you all there

Glynn

[easyroller]

i only just noticed this post. sorry for being a muppet!

[Paul Narramore]

HORIZONS UNLIMITED 7TH ANNUAL UK TRAVELLERS MEETING

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I went to the 4th meeting in 2004 and the 5th meeting in 2005 but missed last years as I was in the US. This year's event was the biggest and best so far although I wonder if it's almost got too big. For those who've not been, it's based in a pub on the outskirts of Ripley in Derbyshire, and for three and a half days, 11am to midnight, Thursday to Saturday plus Sunday morning, long distance riders give illustrated talks on their various rides. Even my wife loved evry minute of it. There are three halls at the pub with talks in each, and this sometimes mean't missing a talk whilst listening to another one. Taking the softy approach, we drove up by car and booked into the Moss Cottage on the other side of town. I have to say that the food was quite exceptional with the young staff rushed off their feet. One year the real ale ran out within hours and this time the Fullers 'London Pride' lasted until Saturday afternoon before being replaced with a Greene King . So what presentations did we attend?
LOIS IN THE CONGO - I'd already read Lois's book 'Lois on the Loose' and her talk was superb and very funny. Married now to Austin Vince, their house boat must rock with laughter. One particularly scary time was when against her will her bike was forcibly put on a flat back good train in the Congo which she had to share with a bunch of drugged up, drunk soldiers, and she was the only woman. Truly worrying.
TOGETHER ON THE ROAD FOR A FIERY FIVE YEARS - Pat and Helen seemed complete opposites, argued a lot but enjoyed making up. A very funny talk.
RIDING IN EUROPE, ASIA, INDIA & AUSTRALIA - Colin & Dee Masters - Colin's ex-RAF - gave an interesting talk about their adventures. Lots of useful information.
AFRICA, NORTH TO SOUTH - Mark Kirby and his group on Honda Africa Twins. Would you believe that it cost £1,800 to get a visa for Libya, that they had to spend £100 a day for a government authorised guide, and that their four day trip through it was deadly dull?? Their seemed a very ill-prepared journey with hundreds of punctures after buying shitty tyres in Egypt, worn chain and sprockets (they had to get new ones posted out from the UK) and energy sapping rides in deserts. It got much easier once they'd reached Kenya though.
NEW ZEALAND - Our German friends Ingo & Claudia Cordes had by far the most professional of photos of their New Zealand trip, and did very well as English is not their native language. NZ is another of those must-go places before I die.
BMW Q&A TECH SESSION - Phil Hawksley "Whose got any questions?" session. I looked at all of the airheads both in the campsite and infront of the pub and was surprised that very few had fitted twin-pot front brakes or were twin-plugged. Phil reckoned that it was safer to keep things standard for that big trip although twin-pot calipers are hardly different.
MOROCCO: SAFE, EXITING AND INEXPENSIVE - Tim Cullis gave an interesting talk and this beautiful country and has convinced me that I should go there soon.
I regret missing Austin Vince's talk as not only am I reading his book 'Enduro Mondo', but he's extremely funny - imagine Boris Johnson meets Spike Milligan. He have just a brief 15min introduction on the Saturday night when people were struggling with the infernal computer, and everyone was in stitches. I missed Ted Simon's talk yet again but I think his style as an acquired taste. Perhaps next time.
All in all a really enjoyable weekend and even the wet weather held off until we arrived home.

[Stagbeetle]

Just met a guy and his 'hog' fresh off the boat from Spain in a motorway service area after delivering my bike to the ferry. He'd been to the Hogfest there and told me there were, wait for it......15,000 riders there

Bloody hell, I don't quite know what to say, HU meeting anywhere near that size would just defeat the object. And yet more of us are giving way to our wanderlust each year, so I can see that several regional meetings may be the future, but that would spoil the diversity and world family feel.

I know hogmeisters just talk about chrome cleaner and decibels, chicks and chundering, but like I said all that adventure telly is whetting appetites.