Well done to the organisers, speakers and volunteers. Everything was of so much a higher standard than I imagined, toilets, showers, bar etc. Sure they got the pricing on the grub a little on the strong side (£7.50 for a breakfast plus another quid for a a cup of tea to go with it) but hey, it tasted really good and was served punctually and with a smile. You gotta cut these guys a bit of slack, it must be a steep old learning curve your first time out. I thought the venue was great although I did wonder that given the farms eco credentials should I feel a little guilty with my 30 year selfish obsession with burning as much fossil fuel as possible in the petrol tanks of my motorcycles. Nah!
I didn't attend any of the talks on the Saturday daytime as the opportunity to explore the north Devon coast was too much to resist so my Bro and I knocked out a cheeky 200 miler; however those that I did go to in the evenings were first class. Particularly Matthew's '7 day adventures'. (In the shearing shed, Priceless!). Apricot jam/yoghurt guy which was it?, your presentation was great too. Not many there but I think you were up against motorcycle travel royalty in the other presentation room. Never mind, I laughed like a drain, glad I was there.
I loved getting to talk to so many of you ( Altberg Hogg guy, Harley riders, and dude with the spooky R80/XT lovechild bike who knows the Picos like the back of his hand, to name but a few. I loved seeing the variety of bikes you all go adventuring on; you may have seen me on my XT with the white long range tank. It's nothing to shout about as it is getting on a bit now and bares the scars of quite a number of 'offs', my body has a few scars to match. It is a real handful off-road when loaded with camping gear so I am in absolute awe of you GS riders who ride those enormous bikes off-road. You are motorcycling gods as far as I am concerned.
Surely given the geographical location of this venue, by that I mean its accessability to such a large number of the UK motorcycle adventuring population (South West, Wales, London, Midlands) and the excellent organisation by Charlotte and Gabe, this event is bound to grow in the coming years to rival Ripley. What do you think ?