I am hopefully getting my bike and kit taken down for me as I am tight on time this year.
I am flying into Barcelona on Monday night from Luton and hiring a car to travel up to La Molina.
After the event on Friday morning I am going back down to Barcelona airport to pick up my other half who is flying in at 1400hrs before we head South for the weekend.
Anyone who wants a lift in either direction let me know.
Leaving Barca @ 22:30 Monday 26th .... going back to Barca for 14:00 Friday 30th.

Simo-n-ice... we must meet up for a at the event ... Im 'part time' there too... a bit further South toward Tortosa... have a couple of lightweight traillies down there.

HI guys
I have been looking at this years HUMM and think it would be just wot i want to do,got the time off work and could go from the 23rd of july but all my mates are doing other things and i have got no one to go with would any one mind me tagging one with them or starting a new team ,id be going on my r1200gs from stoke on trent and i could meet up with others on the way or at Dover , ive been trail riding about 12 years, a trf member ,am 39years old and could be talked into havin the odd drink or 10,any ideas would be, great ; cheers Dave (billy no mates)

Tim was spot on there with his advice - can't think of anything useful to add, other than both parts of your driving licience of course. Tim - have you found this out from experience?

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Pat
www.patonabike.blogspot.com

Hi,

I'm another solo newbie - maybe this topic should become a dating agency

I'm well keen on registering for the Mountain Madness together with Klaus, my BMW G650 X-Country. I live part-time in Tarragona, along the coast near Barcelona, and part-time in the Catalan Pyrenees!

OK, my credentials, or lack of them:

Age: the wrong side of fifty - just.
Experience: 1975 - 82-ish (can't remember exactly, it's the tablets you know!) Triumph T140 Trident, Ducatis; 350 Mac III and 450 Desmo, Laverda 750 SF2* - what a silly, silly boy!

Off-road: just getting the hang of it in the Pyrenees but plenty of free time to pratise before July - including in those very same hills!

Motivation: riding-wise I'm just along for the craic really, not a competitive type . . . so no neck-breakers on the team please!

Map reading: actually quite good, used to do 'real' orienteering as a cadet in school.

Secret weapon: I speak Spanish and Catalan, so I can always ask for diretions, and perhaps better, remember unpronouncible place names like Castellar de n' Hug - which means (Baron) Hugo's domain -or Bosc de l'Orri d'Andreu - the woods of Andy's sheep fold!

Habits: clean in thought, word and deed - can be pursuaded to imbibe!

So maybe there is a potential team: 'Team Cat-attack'**, i.e. me, Barcelona Pat possibly, or anyone else from around here.

My bike is 652 cc's so I'm with the big boys I guess , but could you clarify this Grant, as there seems to be some leeway - I mean what's seven cc's between friends! I'm not sure if Pat is interested or just being helpful about the headlights issue above, as his profile bike is a Suzuki VL800.

So, I've gone ahead and registered self with the provisionally named 'Team Cat-attack' in the over 650 cc fun-loving, easy-going category - so let's wait and see.

Regs

Simon

* which of course ended up in Brighton bankruptsy court - only joking!
** or should that be Team Cardiac-arrest!

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Blogging around Iberia

Simon, you're over 645cc, so that's it!

IF you have a team member with an UNDER 645cc bike, then you can choose whether your team will be in the under or over class, as discussed above.

The reason for the break at 645 is that an F650, KLR650 etc are all effectively in the same class as a 1200GS - big and heavy offroad, with a good turn of speed on the road - COMPARED TO a DR350 or KTM 525EXC or TTR250 or similar serious small and light off-road bikes, that are slow on the road.

And just a little note - the over 645 class is HARDER than the under 645 class - the overs have won overall every year.

hope that makes sense!

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Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

If you're having trouble getting a team mate, no worries, go ahead and register and get yourself sorted, we can easily team you up with some compatible folks - in fact the dominant team over the years, "The Two Iains", we originally teamed up!

Keep looking and discussing it here, that's great, but if you don't find someone by closing date no problem, we'll find you a team mate so you'll be ready to

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Hi Pat thanks for bringing that up ,i have old type GB licience (one part) is this a problem .. steve

Evenin' all,

Thanks for the quick adjudication Grant, no problems at all on that score.

One question/doubt though:, what do you mean by harder? More difficult than the under 650, longer, steeper, through tickets of rotating knives (only joking ). Seriously, the way I read it, the teams get to plan their own route around the checkpoints and use their own judgement about how tough the trail is likely to be - is this the case? Sorry to be so naive, it's tough being a virgin you know!

Slightly more seriously, are all the legalities checked out. The thorny issue of organised motorsports in controlled nature reserves has cropped up in the press again lately here in Catalona. I know that if one goes wrong the fine can be severe, especially for the organisers. But bearing in mind I have Spanish plates I'd get no quarter from the Constabulary if there was a bust. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to put a dampener, but it is a live issue!

I could try to look up the regs if that will help, but you know what you're organizing and where not me.

Regs

Simon

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Blogging around Iberia

I love the idea of rotating knives, may we should mount them on the wheels - sounds like Roman chariots!

By tough I meant harder to win - the fastest guys are in the over class - as in the overall winners have been on over 645s every year. But then some of us like a challenge

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Always interested in what's happening. We're not there, so hard to keep up with the latest. Please find out what you can and email me,
thanks, Grant

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Hi Simon.
How are things in sunny spain.
Ger F650gs Ireland

Hi chip eater

Count me in - I don't think it's gonna be a problem to team up with someone this year - It seems there's a lot of lonely riders out there.

BR. from Copenhagen /Lars

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http://www.N69S54A.com

OK, panic over.

I've now found the archive of the debate. This year's controversy is that the law, which has proven to be unworkabe, should be revised. The relevant minister promised this over a year ago but nothing has happened.

One of the motorbike organisations* has brought the subject up and that was what all the fuss was about. The answer was a big flo on the law, basically the view is that with the financial crisis no-one needs more expensive regulation, so for the tie being everyone just plods along as ever - only a very few green lanes are prohibited and signposted and there are precious few forestry police around to enfroce those that are!

Anyone who speaks Catalan can see the video here - but you'll have to select the 'Tema del dia', theme of the day, for 10/2/2010

Grant, I would send you the programme by email if I know what your address is!

Cheers

Simon
* in fact it was two NGOs led by the same bloke, Jaume Mimó, the Federació Catalana de Motociclisme and the Associació Catalana d'Access al Medi Natural

Phew and it's only Monday morning!

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Blogging around Iberia

Thanks Simon, That's good to hear - we didn't think there was a problem, but you did get us worried - nice to have it confirmed that all is good!

Contacting me is easy - see the Contact link at the bottom of every page, Or click my name at the top of the post, and "Send email to...", or: My name is Grant, and I'm at HorizonsUnlimited - easy!

thanks for checking into that and bringing it to our attention, we'll be be keeping an eye out. Anything further you hear, please let me know.

see you in the Pyrenees!

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Yes, glad that's over. Now all I have to think about is joining/forming a team!

Quite happy to take to luck on the day, of course, but it would be good to built some kind of a taem beforehand, bonding, all that sort of stuff.

So - anyone with a 650-ish single, not too interested in the competitve edge, likes/interested in good food and wine, jazz, gsoh . . .

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Blogging around Iberia