HU Mini Meet for woman travellers. 19-21 August, UK
 

Hi,
On 19-20 and 21 of August (2011) we would like to organize a 'Ladies Travellers Only' Mini Meet in South West Scotland, near Dumfries.
The idea is to create a possibility to meet woman who would like to start travelling or have been already on a trip. You are also very welcome if you are not riding your own bike, but are a pillion, as long as you are interested in sharing adventures and plans.
The key question of course is not where we put our hairdryer, it's about fulfilling your travel dreams.
If you have never been on a bike trip you can learn from others. If you have already enjoyed trips near and far, you can share your experiences and knowledge. It's about inspiration and also fun!
We can offer great camping (in Maya's BIG garden; beautiful surroundings, no neighbours) and we can cook inside the house. If it's dry we can have a bonfire.
Let us know if you are interested and if you have any ideas please reply. We can only create together a good Mini Meet.
'Us' are Debz and Maya (both sidecar fans).
www.adventuresidecar.co.uk

Hi Maya, we met on a joint Curvy Riders meet :) If I am not on shift I would certainly be wanting to attend for your mini-meet. I will check my shifts tomorrow and confirm one way or the other :thumbup:

Hi Dee,
Yes, I remeber you verry well! You told me about your plan to go around the world on your BMW. Hope you can make it to this MIni Meet.
Maya.

Hi Debz and Maya,

Like the sound of this, defo up for it, see if I can get the thurs/fri off work to travel up, as i'm in East Anglia. Shockingly, I've never been to Scotland!

thanks

Fern

Hi Fern,
Take some time of and come to Scotland, we have it all; rain, wind, midges...but it's absolutly breathtaking! I am born in the land of windmills, coffeeshops and cloqs, but when I am homesick while travelling I want to be in Scotland.
Hope to see you!
Maya.

Hola Maya
¿Cómo están?

We have few questions:
Is this a Ladies “ONLY” meeting?
Will be other guys allowed to be there? Or will be only Andy strutting around the Ladies?

To make the story short we were thinking to travel to UK and visit some friends, on the way maybe to attend to the big HU Ripley meeting, then we considered the short time left to the event and the short money we have, we decide to re-plan it maybe for next year.
Now you pops up with this event and considering that will be in August, that we want to see you both, and the HU Autumn Mendip meeting in early September, we are again thinking about and considering all what is involve (our work, our sons, time to see the many friends we have in UK, all the places we want to know, money and all that s...)
Bike isn’t a problem we have some offers if we can solve the insurance, we hope few places to stay too, will see...
Keep in touch.
Muchos Saludos
Javier & Sandra

Hi ,I'm from Ireland and on the forum for a while, been to the the Travellers meeting in Enniskillen last month, it was just great.

a Ladies only mini meeting is a great idea.:thumbup1::thumbup1:
I'm planning a big trip to Morocco next year in April,and I would not mind a little trip to Scotland to meet like-minded ladies.

Cheers

SwissMiss

Hi Yavier, almost 1000 people have viewed this thread...4 replies;one from you...as a MAN! Do you have a skirt?
I have send you a PM....hi hi

Hello SwissMiss,
Very nice that you want to come! Our house is only 3 hours from the ferry from Ireland and you can have a beautiful ride through the Galloway Forest Park. You are very welcome, Maya.

Hi Maya

thanks,:DI have this marked in my diary and will send you a post closer to the date.

cheers
Barbara

next year?
 

good idea! i would love to come, also from the land of cloggies, cheese and windmills but currently in africa riding and not back before september.....

so maybe next year?

cheers! go girlzzz

Els
Two for the Road

Hello Els, gut wat jammer dat je er niet bij kunt zijn, tenzij je eerder terugkomt en het kanaal overzwemt...volgend jaar? Waarschijnlijk zijn we dan in Afrika!
Now in English; What a pitty that you can't attent this Mini Meet. ..unless you come back a bit earlier and cross the Channel...next year is a ? because we probleby are then in Africa!
Nice web site, interesting.
Have a good trip!
Maya.

Women and Bikes
 

Hi Debz and Maya
what a great ideabier. Unfortunately I will be away in Portugal that week, otherwise I would have definitely come up for it.
I hope you have a great time and hopefully we will be able to follow it up with another one at some point.

Best wishes

Hi Tiffany,

Thanks for your support all the way from China (I just have been reading your post on the Hubb) and I hope you won't be stuck there for to long.

Years ago I went with my Andy to my first HU meeting in Ripley and the first presentation I went to was yours; you where riding in a chador, fell off your bike sometimes more then ten times a day. Bike maintanance was still a secret to you, but you got everywhere!

So eat a lot of 'good luck cookies' there in China and come back safely, Maya.

MODS: please can we put this as a sticky maybe or a link in the women's section?

I would love to come. It just so happens I already have that friday off work & was looking for an excuse to go somewhere - now I have one! :)
As yet, I have no plans for a big biking trip but always open to ideas and suggestions.

Would love to come, but in Vancouver. Maybe some one could post a pearls of wisdom for women travelers sort of recap for those of us that live too far away. We are starting RTW August 2012 and could use all the wisdom we can absorb. Thanks Sara

Hi Elaine, happy to read you want to come!!

Hello Sara,
I am not old and wise (yet), but here is my pearl of wisdom for you;

Somebody said it couldn't be done,
But she with a chuckle replied,
That maybe it couldn't, but she would be one
Who wouldn't say so till she had tried.

So she buckled right in with a trace of a grin
on her face-if she worried she hid it.
She started to sing as she tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and she did it.

Theresa Wallach.

Theresa is my hero, she drove in 1935!!! with a friend and a Panther plus sidecar and trailer across the Sahara all the way to the Cape. No compass, no back up vehicle, no Ewan macGregor to save her. It's all written down in 'The rugged road', my favorite book.
Maya.

Greetings all,

There's a reasonable chance I will be free that weekend, or at least one day of it, and as it's just down the road it would be churlish to miss it (although I must confess I don't remember the last time I was in an all-female gathering, the thought is mildly more daunting than riding round the world!).

Laura

Hi
 

Hi Laura

Hope you can make it - it would be good to catch up again, it's been a while - think the last time we saw you was Cropton in the snow! Do you think Beej would be interested in coming down?

Hopefully see you soon!

Debz

Excellent idea!
 

Hey ladies!
This sounds like a great plan - I would love to come but I will be in Belgium on those dates, sadly. Please post on HU about how it goes, I bet it will be a LOT of fun!
See you some of you at Ripley I hope.
Lois
x

Hey Debz,

The snow it was. Hopefully I will make it to Ripley, got very excited as I paid up last night having decided I would almost certainly be free, 24 hours later and the bike is unrideable and an offer of work has come up! It all hangs on my mechanical skills and some parts availability... Though by August I should be fixed!

I'll sent Beej a message and see if she's up for it, don't know if her & Chris are planning another extravaganza this summer (though I think Scotland may be back in school by then anyway)

see you soon

laura

Hey everybody,

Can I come please? Should be able to wangle an escape from work over those dates ( assuming I haven't been sacked beforehand) although I might have to jump on the Hornet as the Serow is still in pieces.

Belle:D

Hi Lois, Hopefully you will have a nice time in Belgium!

Laura and Belle, great to hear you want to come, you are both very welcome.

Debz and I will be on our way to the HU meeting in Ripley soon. We leave early in the week, so we can camp together in the Lake district; this means that we can't reply untill we are back home.
I am looking forwards to all this and maybe we see you at the HU!
Bye for now, Maya.

Hi there

Now that Ripley's past are there any other lovely ladies out there who have had their appetite for travel whetted? Maybe you missed the ladies session at Ripley and have unanswered questions? If yes, then come along to this mini meet - it'll be relaxed, informative and fun :clap:

Hope to see you there.

Debz

Well, as one of the guys, I was, along with the rest of us, naturally excluded from the 'Fair sex pow-wow' at the llast HU meet up in Germany-
No worries ...
until.....
from the safe distance of the farmhouse with a nice apple wine in hand...

I caught sight of all the girlies chatting...
and amongst them.....

Mr Jen Ruprecht :oops2: doh :confused1:
Go figure! :blushing::rofl:

Hello Ladies,


Some of you were asking about the program for this weekend, so here are some ideas;
*A (short) ride out plus pick nick; depend on the weather and our motivation; some might have done loads of miles on the day of arriving.
*A 'bike maintenance experience' to practice the basics (oil/tyre pressure/ changing a tyre).
*Bonfire; don't forget your family size pack of march mellows.
There should be lots of time to talk, relax and giggle.


Now the best bit; FOOD;
*Friday; spaghetti bolognese (typical travel food) and shepherds pie, plus a desert.
*Saturday; jacked potatoes with all kinds of things, so there will be something for everybody. Sweets of course.
*Breakfast on Sunday should be a big Scottish breakfast, so you can ride the bike all day long.
To cover the costs we would like to ask everybody to pay a nominal fee.


If you have suggestions, please let us know!
Debz and Maya.

I like the sound of some bike maintenance stuff - was once told I wasn't strong enough to change a tyre so I'm intrigued! Sadly, I missed Grant's presentation on the subject as I was in another meeting.
If there's time and interest from others, would someone show how to adjust a chain? I've previously owned shaft drive bikes & currently rely on the garage.

What is the cost of the event if it includes food?

Hello!

Yeah lets fight with some tyers and practice!! We have 2 mecanics that offered to help out with the bike maintenance stuff and showing how to adjust a chain; no problem.
We will split the group in 2 small groups; you can ask what you want and try things out.
The mecanics are male, but contain a high quantity of female support. They will be around during the weekend, but hide in the garage, only to come out when nessasery!

About the food (the menu is already written down in a previous post); I think we spend 15 a 20 pounds per person for the whole weekend (2 times breakfast, 2 times dinner, 1 lunch/picknik). It depends on how many people show up. If we have a little bit money left I can buy crisps, more mach mellows and make apple pie.
So ladies, there is no need to bring your own pots and panns.
We have 3 toilets and 2 showers, so there will no traffic-jam in the morning.
There is free camping on our land. Coffee and tea is free avalable all day.

I hope you will feel welcome.
Maya.

Hi

Still contemplating it, I might be able to do a half day on the friday, it would take 7-8 hours I reckon, so arrive in the evening, and leave mid afternoon on the sunday.

Whereabouts near Dumfries are you?

So how many peoples are still up for it?


:-)
xx

Hello Fern,

I am pleased to read you want to come all the way to this Mini Meet!
Our house is near Dunscore, 12 miles north of Dumfries. It's a peaceful place to be.

Next week I will send everybody a personal message with the address, GPS code etc.

So far 7 said that they come, another 5 want to come, but it depends if they can get off work.

You will be very welcome.

See you soon, Maya.

thanks a lot Maya, sounds excellent, just hope my worries do not come to fruition- I need the some luck on my side with: a) wrangling afternoon off work, b) my health being ok and c) not running out of money for fuel, d) maybe a new chain and sprocket set.

Fingers crossed!

Hey Maya,

I'm still planning on coming along but as I still can't ride I'll probably train it, but that also means I won't be able to ride during the day either. Will it be a problem if I end up having to stay put and just entertain the midges?

Belle

Belle, I don't have pillion insurance. Can you go pillion though? Is it worth you bringing your helmet? I could see if I can get the insurance changed if you want dare jump on the back of my bike?

Mini Meet
 

Hi all

Belle - if you do come up on the train, give me a shout because we can probably arrange to collect you from a station.

Maya - just to let you know that the other Debs (Clunie) is also coming along :thumbup1:

See you all soon

Debz

Hey everybody,

One great benefit of haveing a dodgy back is being able to enjoy the sunshine!

Many thanks for you offer Etherelda but I won't be able to ride at all until I've seen the back bloke again ( Sept 1st) and then only if things are sufficiently sorted. So many thanks for suggesting it, but I'll pass. I thing I might be difficult pillion anyway as I'll still be too stiff.

However Debz - thanks very much. I might well take you up on that but if it doesn't work out, I'll get a taxi.

See you all soon - hopefully!

Belle

Hello all,

I have just send everybody a private message with address, gps codes etc.. Please read this and contact me if needed.
We are looking forwards to see you, Maya.

thanks for the good directions

I was wondering what the approach road may be like (tarmac or gravel) as I'm deciding on which bike to ride (DR or CBF) - never ridden that far in 1 day on the DR - the seat is painful after 50 miles!

So I had a look on Google - amazing how much you can see via Street View even in remote places!

Will anyone be riding from or going through the Yorkshire region and happy to go with a slow bike?

Hi Elaine,

The dead end road is tarmac with a little bit of gravel, the path to our house is 100
meters long and covered with a bit of gras.

See you soon, Maya.

Scrub that - she has something else planned for Saturday

fuel and confermations
 

Hi all,

At the moment we have 9 confermations and 4 cancellations....

It's important to get fuel in Dumfries on the day you travel up to our place, there is no fuel station where we are.

Hope to see you soon, Maya.

And I have had my shifts changed due to just coming back off the sick, so am now on duty that weekend. I won't finish until 6.00pm on the Saturday evening, so suspect it would be a little too late if I arrived on the Sunday :(

I'm so sorry Maya, this was going to make up for me not getting to Ripley due to illness, and I can't even make the Autumn Meet near Bristol cos I am on shift that weekend too :(

Hi everyone,

Finally have a bit of an idea what I'm doing this weekend... I'm hoping to do a course on Saturday in Fife, which ends at 5.30. If I go there on a loaded-up bike, I should be with you 8.30-9ish.

Haven't heard back yet if there's a space for me on the course though, so if there isn't I'll be there the whole weekend. If that makes it a hassle for food planning etc then assume I won't be there till Saturday, and I can easily sort myself out if I'm there earlier.

See you at the weekend!

Laura

Hi Laura,

If you arrive late on Saturday night there will be a bed for you (bring only a sleeping bag) and there will be more than enough food and apple pie, no worries about that.
But if you can come all weekend that will be interesting; it's a nice area and we have 2 mecanics and can practice some bike maintenance!

See you soon and ride safe, Maya.

Hi Maya,

Just had confirmation of my course, so I'll be arriving Saturday evening. A bed would be great - I'm heading off scrambling as soon as I get back on Sunday so being able to have the car already packed with the camping stuff will make life much easier!

See you on Saturday

Laura

Oh bummer, had a little off last night, but I think I can still come this weekend

Lowside on a wet greasy roundabout..

Really lucky, only going about 10-20 mph, me fine, not even a scuff, bike: All of the following are scuffed from zero speed drops, but: exhaust fairly dented, indicator totally gone, cracked fairing, snapped brake lever (immediatly replaced as have one in my tool kit, in the hope I could get it going again), and a fuse has gone- neutral light not coming on?

Very very lucky, nothing following behind me, and the flat bed transit in front saw me go down, stopped and carted me and bike home on the transit. Turns out he has bikes galore. There are nice people out there, and his karma will bode him well.
Luckily, only a broken indicator, and a very dented exhaust- its up at an angle, so not sure if I can take my panniers, but can still pack enough luggage in my top box, tank bag and over seat bag.

Was planning on baking cakes last night, but ended up mending my bike and having a beer.

I'm leaving at lunch time tomorrow, so should be with you mid evening I hope!

Glad to hear you're alright!

Looking forward to seeing you all over the weekend.

Ride safe.

Debz

Hi - Just confirming that I'll be there this weekend.

I'll be coming up on my roadbike but doing the tourist route (that means an ice cream stop, or two).

All things considered, I should arrive early evening. :scooter:

Debs

Also confirming that I'll be arriving on my road bike via the twisty route.

looking forward to it :)

ah, three hours of work then i'm on the road again.

Here I go again on my own, Going down the only road I've ever known,Like a drifter, I was born to walk alone, And I've made up my mind,I ain't wasting no more time

sorry cheesy whitesnake moment in my head out loud.

I'm on my way from misery to happiness today (uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh)

thank you Maya et al for an inspirational weekend & to the boys for sharing knowledge :thumbup1:

Hello

just a quick BIG THANK YOU for this weekend, Maya and Andy thanks for sharing your beautiful home as a perfect venue, and your fantastic hospitality- my bike trousers are now a little tight!, and to all the ladies who I met, all amazing and inspiring, really hope I keep in touch! and to Ian and Andy, for their wise words and advice in the workshops.

Brilliant weekend thank you thank you thank you! :D:D:D

Hi all
Yes, a big thanks to Andy and Maya for hosting us all last weekend. It was a great weekend with good food, good company, good info and beautiful location. Some pics:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1...2/IMG_2967.JPG


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-B...0/IMG_2968.JPGhttps://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-U...E/s640/029.JPG

Some more:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-J...0/IMG_2995.JPGhttps://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-C...0/IMG_2999.JPGhttps://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-J...0/IMG_3001.JPGhttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C...o/s640/009.JPGhttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8...Y/s640/010.JPG

Not sure what I've done to make them all go side by side :oops2:but anyway, a few more, including the only pink thing of the weekend:innocent::
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7...U/s640/021.JPGhttps://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-N...Y/s640/027.JPGhttps://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-K...0/IMG_3026.JPGhttps://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Y...E/s640/011.JPG

ah ha! The pink cream! :rofl: