Hi Belle,

well at least the facilities at the Derby hospital were superb, as were the staff and the ambulance crew.

The only positive things that came out of the incident were;

1, you could have been in Mongolia when it happened.

2, Gord n myself had the chance to have a few s and talked about you!

If anyone wants to see my images from the event then please pop over to;

http://www.xt225.com/forums/ubbthrea...3869#Post83869

Regards

Reggie

+1 on the excellent meet! I should have done more to help at the end to help clear up (I said I would and didn't help much) - sorry about that.

It gave me serious food for thought on a number of issues - the shopping list has grown! Very inspiring - thanks to everyone. All the people there were very inassuming, willing to talk / help - excellent!

I agree with Riti somewhat. Being Vegan, I obviously didn't go to the roadkill cookout - BUT, each to their own. Whilst I have strong beliefs about eating / using animals when I don't need to (and we don't), I am aware that other people choose to / don't really think about it. I knew I would be offended / feel sick / angry by this 'talk', so didn't go. Makes sense really. I had an excellent time elsewhere, thankyouverymuch.

wow - what an absolutely fabulous weekend. Had such a blast and it was so much fun putting faces to handles, and even better, names to handles ;-)

The talks were fantastic - in particular I loved Ed March's talk about the run out to Germany to the elephant rally on a... C90... the guy is nuts - but in a good way.

I think particular thanks needs to go to Danny, Fil and all the volunteers who made the bonfire and the cookout so much fun and such a welcoming place. It's not easy to be the life a soul of the party when you have to sleep right next door to it - but these guys are the best. As is the homemade 'cordial'.

Whilst I was there - on the last day - I did get around to filming a quick cooking video - Bacon Curry (with optional bacon for our vegetarian friends) - I'll not post it in this thread but you can see it over at my blog if you're so inclined.

@riti - I need to let you know that the 'squirrel stunner' posters were me - not Danny. I'm afraid it was a bit of a joke I was having with Danny after he carried out a practical joke on me at the Adventure Travel Film Festival. It was my little get-back. I'm sorry if it offended you in any way - I can see why you may have taken it as offensive - it was intended as tongue in cheek.

It is worth pointing out that Danny & Fil are amongst the most kind-hearted and warmest people I have ever met. I know for a fact that they treat the animals they prepare with the respect and love they deserve. I keep chickens for meat and eggs as well as cows so whilst we may not see eye to eye on the meat eating front please don't take anything out on the guys who were there because of the posters.

I'm not sure this thread is the place to have a debate about having the cook out at the event - but I'm sure if you were to start a new thread there would be lots of people who would like to put their views across - both for and against - although given the popularity of the cookout I fear you may be in a minority.

Can't wait for the next meet - I may even get around to seeing the presentations I missed last time or finally getting my act together to do a cooking demo with Danny! (Danny, Fil... that's a hint).

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http://thelondonbiker.com/blog

Watch some of my camp cooking videos

AIM: mattcashmore
SKYPE: matthewcashmore
MSN: matthew@matthewcashmore.com

Many thanks Iain, Maya, Reg and Mick . I'm getting there.

Belle

I had a great time, being my first also, the 3 people all first timer's as well,
everybody there where very willing and helpful lots of different options, the talks I went to where great, the only let down for me was the loud music I had a 8 hour ride home & kept awake till 3 is not fun! may be the party should be on the Friday night.

Have added a few photos as most of the photos I took where of the bikes & Lois ;-)

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We are the Pilgrims, Master, we shall go Always a little further: it may be beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow, Across that angry or that glimmering sea.

Looks like it was a good one !! Did it rain though ??

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Thanks reggie great posting and excellent photographs.

Warning though going to Ripley can affect you bank account.This was my second year and of a cause it was excellent but it left me with a yearning to get an Adventure type bike.
Result of which the Blackbird was part exed today for a Varadeo.Yes the difference in power is clearly obvious but do you know what because of the fear of getting nicked or injurying myself I had not used that power for ages and instead I can get my thrills at a more moderate speed now.
As you can imagine I have not stopped grinning all day and now if I ever do get down to Morocco it will be on a bike that may even let me do a little bit of off roading.

See you all in 2012.

Hi HondaTed,

welcome to the darkside!

Regards

Reggie

Another big thank you to Grant, Susan et al for a brilliant meeting.

Really good to be met on the gate by Sam Manicom, looking fit and healthy..! Great to see you back again Sam after last years trials.

The presenters were excellent, volunteers amazing and Angela and the staff as accommodating as ever. As a long time member of the vege 'minority' I, personally, don't have a problem with the cookout. It's not my sort of thing, obviously, so I don't go. I would have a problem if I thought it was done purely for entertainment but the views expressed by Fil make it clear they care about what they do and treat the animals with respect. Fair enough. +1 on more vege options next year..!

Thanks also to Bram, my campsite neighbour, for supplying the glue to repair my sleeping mat, hope you found a throttle body for your bike.

Another inspiring, entertaining & enlightening meeting, here's to next year..!

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Beware the dark, mechanical bird.

Thanks to all involved once more for a fun event.

Sorry if this qualifies as a shameless plug but some people asked for the presentations, so here they are:

Information Security on the road
The presentation: http://apapadop.files.wordpress.com/...n-the-road.pdf

People asked about free antivirus software - please see http://thinkingspaces.org/2011/01/14...e-for-windows/ for a list.

Some attendees were also intrigued by Stuxnet, a software malware that seems to have come out of a spy story. Wired just published a good writeup on how Stuxnet attacked the Iranian nuclear plant and how it was captured and dissected. Fascinating stuff: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...hered-stuxnet/

The UK2India trip
Presentation: http://apapadop.files.wordpress.com/...esentation.pdf

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2011-2012: 5 months in Chile
2009-2010: 5 months in Turkey-Iran-Pakistan-India

Hello All;

We attended from Canada, via Rome 6000km on the rental!
Really enjoyed the chance to catch up with our friends from the community, and spend a lot of quality time with so many great people, both Tracey and I remarked how tired our brains were from trying to take it all in. We look forward to being there next year too.

Come on out to Canada for ours! Lots of great roads and people as well.

Thanks to all the presenters who shared their experiences and knowledge and thanks to all the non-presenters who did the same thing, just on a smaller scale.

We are definitely enrichened by the experience.

Cheers!
Miles and Tracey

Heading off to South America Sept 17, on our Ural.

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www.smilesandmiles.com

Hi Touring Ted,

yeah it rained a bit but nothing too nasty and we just retired to my big tent for a few minutes!

Regards

Reggie