Hi all

Been a while since I came to an event. A long while.. and lots happened

I met a guy a work recently who mentioned the Hubb and I decided to have a look at the site again. Upon visiting (it looks great by the way), I see it's expanded out to 4x4's and bicycles (my latest mode of overland transport). Great stuff!

I have a Mitsubishi Delica these days (fitted with a snorkel to keep the dream alive), and two little children (one is nearly 3 and other is 10 months).

Question - would it be suitable for my wife and I to attend the Donnington event with Delica, 4 man tent and the two little ones? We would just lap up the atmosphere really as although I would love to go to the evening talks, I understand they wouldn't be allowed, which is fine of course as they'll be asleep. If not maybe we will come again another year

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Dave

Hi Spud, great to hear you’ll be back! Looking forward to catching up on your news.

Suitable? Absolutely! You’ll all be very welcome. HU loves the idea of starting overlanders young.

The real thing of course is you making sure that nowt happens to them. Bikes and Expedition vehicles, the fire drums etc H&S and all that means you have to take full responsibility, but you’ll be expecting that anyway. I’d be wrong if I didn’t point out that the event is aimed at adults and so there isn’t anything lined up for youngsters to do, but quite a few people have brought their kids over the years and we are told it works well for everyone – lots to see and around overlanders there’s always a great atmosphere eh.

See you in a month I hope!

The big marquee cinema will be set up next to the main Threshing Barn presentation room again this year. Courtesy of sponsors, Code Audio Visual, it'll be even better than last time with two screens instead of one so that both the presenters and their presentations can be streamed together.

We'll be screening two films this year... 'Somewhere Else Tomorrow' by Jupiter's Traveller Daniel Rintz and 'Aim for the Horizon' by main event sponsor Adventure-Spec.com - here's a trailer to whet your appetite....

We are bringing our daughter, she'll be 5 months

Sam has asked me to post a little taster of my presentations …

In 2010 I gave up my job to follow my dream and travel half way around the world. The HUBB, website and two Ripley meetings I went to gave me the confidence to do this trip so I am more than happy to share my thoughts and hopefully encourage others to do the same.

I spend a year travelling from Alaska to Panama and then South Africa to Nairobi. I started out on my own, my wife came out for part of the trip and in southern Africa I met up with some other bikers and we rode together.

Therefore I’m going to do a presentation on my experiences of riding solo, two–up and in a group. Each have their own benefits and challenges and I’ll be sharing my own, unique views with the aid of some photos and music.



Also…

Last summer I went to Norway and was blown away by this wonderful land. I only saw one other UK registered bike in 5 weeks. So I’ll also be doing a presentation on Norway encouraging more people to go there. If you like Scotland you’ll love Norway!

When I’m not doing this I’ll be in the ‘Authors tent’ book signing. When I came back from my trip I got frustrated by people asking my which part was the most dangerous or suggesting I was in some way 'brave' to do this alone. The world is NOT a scary place, people are friendly and helpful and travelling like this is the best thing I have ever done. I wanted to share this with people so I decided to write a book.

The Ted Simon Foundation helped me and ‘Gone Riding’ has been selling well since it was launched at the NEC in November. More importantly it’s been getting good reviews. So come along to grab a copy or just have a chat.

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I love the HUBB UK it is my favourite weekend in the year for so many reasons.
I also love to travel but as I guess is the case for most of us I do have restrictions. Welcome restrictions I must add like kids and a business to run.
And so after very naively asking if I could present at this years event I am now looking at selling the fact that you do not need to do something covering many continents with months or years in the saddle.
I had quite an adventure riding into the arctic circle at the beginning of winter, please come and have a look, I am on the list :confused1:

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Evening all!

Sam asked me to give a flavour of my talk: Adventure Blogging - Learn how to blog from the road.

So first a bit of background...

The first Hubb I attended was in 2003 after a trip around Morocco with my good friend Dave (Adventure Spec) where I gave my first talk:



At the time I was working as a website developer but the lure of adventure was too much so I filled a Citroen C15D with adventure sports gear and headed off around Europe for a year and a half that involved a ski season, mountaineering, off-road riding in Romania and a few s. This was the first time I kept a blog as I travelled, writing up my escapades as they happened.



Upon arriving back in the UK, I changed jobs to manage website development projects working for marketing agencies. A house purchase in 2007 took away the adventure opportunity for a while so at the 2008 HUBB, to get me back into the spirit, I did a video talk on "Building the Bionic Adventure Biker" with the great assistance of my friend Jim "The Camera":





After the house renovation dust settled, in 2011 for a few weeks, I could be found on a Honda step-through in Thailand:



So...the present...in 2014, I ride a Yamaha TRX 850, am saving for a GS to persuade my wife to get on the back of a bike and am just back from a honeymoon in Costa Rica with some nice 4x4 on their dirt roads.

.... THE TALK! ....

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I plan to give practical guidance to help people blog from the road by using social media or setting up their own website. As head of digital for a marketing agency, I will certainly cover the technical aspects of setting up a website but want to go a bit further to help people get more from their blogging, thinking about their audience and content. A quick summary is given below:

>>>

1. How to get started
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Using Google+, Facebook, Twitter + do you really need a website?

2. The digital landscape
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Domains e.g. the new .bike domain (e.g. my Overland.bike is for sale! A great domain for adventure motorcyclists or businesses that sell to them!), website hosting, email-on-the-move (e.g. email > blog post), platforms - Wordpress, Joomla etc.

3. Tips and Tricks
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One-click-installs to keep maintenance to a minimum,

4. Content
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Thinking about your audience, keeping sponsors happy

>>>

Looking forward to it people!



Jasper Ditton

Mates we are chuffed to be able to let you know that this year at the HUBB UK there are going to be Ride Outs on the Friday and Saturday. Many thanks to Matt and the TRF guys for setting this up.

You’ll be on a Historic look at Leicestershire by Motorcycle. So. what’s happening? The attached sheet will give you an idea of where you’ll be riding but in brief, here’s the gen:

The purpose of the ride out is to take a gentle relaxed journey around a very pretty part of Leicestershire. The aim is to reflect upon the surroundings not scoot through them in race mode. Difficulty: Beginner /intermediate.

Rides happening at 10am on Friday and 10am on Saturday.

Distance is approx. 125km. Any bike that is dual sport fitted with block pattern tyres should have no problem navigating unsurfaced sections. Route can be adjusted on the day to cope with inclement weather. Run Length: depending on how often you all stop to admire the view, will be between 3-4 hours. But so long as the ride leaders are notified, you can head home if you decide not to do the whole route.

Each ride accommodates a group of approximately eight riders. To go on this you’ll need to be equipped with suitable safety wear for riding off road. First come, first on. Limited places – don’t miss out. Register to ride at the TRF stand in the Club area West Camping.

Departure meeting point the Gate Crew marquee at the entrance. Meet at 9.30am! Paperwork to review! Ride leaves 10am sharp!

For your peace of mind if you are new to green lanes etc, the route is a guide, each person is expected to ride within their ability and expertise no one will be encourage to ride outside of their comfort zone or travel at excessive speeds. Ahem, we do need to state this – The run is conducted on public highway and all riders need to respect other users and ride within the law at all times.

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Horizons Unlimited 2014 The Ride Out Route.pdf (391.3 KB, 218 views)

I just HAVE to share this post made by Graham Field. Have a look and you'll see why.

The HUBB UK? An explanation.

Great to Have Kaapstad Motorcycle Tours with us again. You’ll have seen Alex talking on the film from last year. For those of your who don’t know the company:

Established back in 2008 by keen biker and wildlife enthusiast Alex Jackson, Kaapstad Motorcycle Tours aim to introduce motorcyclists to the beauty of South Africa. With his local knowledge and training as a bush guide Alex is able to give his clients a real taste of this wonderful country. With new tour routes developed to suit client requirements Kaapstad is now able to offer the unique experience of “Game Rides” to those choosing the KUDU TOUR. This means clients can now ride through one of the best private game reserves in South Africa amongst the Rhino, Giraffe and Hippos under the watchful eye of Alex. Future plans include tours to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe via Namibia and Botswana. Details to be published on the website Kaapstad Motorcycle Adventure Tours in South Africa or by following on Twitter @KaapstadTours UK Office Phone 01525 377520.

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If you've been to the HUBB UK in past years then you'll already know Steve McGill. We've been lucky enough to have him play live for us on several occasions. We'll he's back with us this year - as a result of loads of requests.

You'll find him playing in the Orchard by the Fire Drums and the Roadkill Cookout on Friday night at 11pm. There's a link on the HUBB UK web page to him but just as another taster...

'Everything's Gone' - Steve McGill (from Ghost Of Valentine) - YouTube

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There've been loads of new registrations coming in this weekend, which is great to see.

The cut-off for booking event passes online (and getting the last of the discounted rates) is 9pm on 12th June. After that the full on-the-gate rates will apply.

Can i camp in the back of my work van if the tent is too small? I think i have grown in size and the tent might be a tad to small.If im lucky i might have this old Yamaha townmaster for company,,,,,,but life seems to be moving to fast to get things sorted.

Hi There,

I've heard of a Yammy Town Mate but what's a Townmaster?

Regards

Reggie

Hi oldsomeman,
Well, the rule is that vehicles on the camping field have to be expedition vehicles - be they bicycles, bikes or trucks, 4x4s, or vans. If your vehicle isn’t one of those then it’s the car park please.

Everyone coming in an ordinary car or van etc has to do that. However, get to the HUBB early enough and you’ll be able to snag a spot (not in but) right next door to the ‘No Talking Camping Field’.

Ask the guys on Registration for directions – there’ll also be a big map. No Talking? 11pm until 8am. The plan is that no one camping in that field will be woken up by late-getting-to-bed folks or early-risers.

Hope you do make it on your Townmaster!!! Looking forward to seeing it.