My First Meet
 

I just want to share my gratitude as well ! I have picked up so much information during this meeting & met some new friends & wonderful people.

Taking a leaf out of Linzi's book, I will set off a lot earlier next year as I was like a dog off his lead and didn't get time to settle in before being subjected to info overload.

I wish each and everyone a safe trip to wherever they go and wherever they are.

Thank you HU !

Love & best wishes
Glen aka Zeb3dee

PS Didn't catch any fish in the lake but hey ho !

Yep, I also want to say a big thank you to all the organisers; Sam, Iain and everyone else involved.

It rained. We all got wet. But what a great weekend.

You guys should be very proud.

Just wanted to echo the enormous thanks to Iain and Sam and their teams of volunteers for doing a stellar job yet again, and especially with the absence of Grant & Susan this year - thanks guys!

From the Roadkill perspective I'd like to thank Mon and Lek for adding the Thai demonstration which was well received and I really don't know how you managed it in that rain! Big thanks also to Cindy whose work goes unseen by most, but whose kitchen smelled of spruce and honey in the name of the Roadkill as well as the errands and loading and unloading of the wood and countless other 'behind the scenes' help she provides each year.

Thanks also to all those who watched the demo despite the downpour - it's a shame we couldn't cook in the fire this year, but we'll be doing it all again at the Adventure Travel Film Festival, so if you missed it at Ripley come and see us there.

I seem to have misplaced a few hours sleep, so I'm off to look for those now :)

thanks
 

Just to say thanks to everyone who stuck it out for the cook out, to mon and lek who made the food taste great and for the great time around the fire. Sorry we couldnt do as much as planned due to the "little" shower at the weekend but hope you all enjoyed it anyway. A big thank you to all those who helped pack up especially Bram. A big thank you to Fil for all his help and keeping me sane.

If there are any complaints it was Fil!

Cindy says thanks to Fil for his praise

Thanks Guys, for a great first meet...
 

I just wanted to add my thanks to all involved. This was my first meet, it will not be the last!

Admittedly, next time I probably won't set off from Arbroath at half five in the morning and drive straight there on the thursday. I will have got another bike by then so I'll ride there instead!

Unfortunately I had to leave on Friday afternoon so I only got a taster but it was enough to confirm that I must do a long ride as soon as possible and I must return next year.

I found all the staff were great, the hotel staff were great, the speakers were brilliant (gutted at missing Austin Vince and Ted Simon though) and I learnt a great deal.

"Decide what you want, Act on it, See what happens, Adjust....." I remembered!

I would also like to praise the event in its entirety.

I have learned so much and made some great mates and met some of the best people. This was my first HU meeting and I cant wait to sign up for next years. I was buzzing by the time I got home, I have a little trip planned and just cant wait to get out there.

Thanks again to everyone who was involved with organising such an awesome event, see you there next year.

Conan x

Thumbs Up for Ripley
 

It sounds like you all had a fantastic time and I'm gutted I'm overseas and was unable to attend. Good to see rain didn't dampen spirits too much. Aren't we all supposed to be adventure travellers anyway...so what's a bit of rain to us?!
Hoping and planning to be in the UK for next year's Ripley.:scooter::palm:

Absolutely! I couldn't have put it better! Sorry for being slow jumping in here - didn't get back home until really late last night...

The thing for me that I enjoyed so much was the atmosphere that everyone created. It was everyone. Angela and the waiting staff, everyone who worked to make the event run and of course - you! Fantastic!

I really enjoyed meeting up with old friends and making new ones. Can't not mention the rain. Some people had really rugged rides to get to Lumb Farm - good effort methinks.

Funny how when something goes wrong it turns into something good so often. Anyway, thanks for coming, big time thumbs up for all the comments aimed at everyone who made the Meet happen. See you next year? Hope so :mchappy:

And a (MoR) Motorcycle Outreach thumbs up too. What an amazing amount to have raised. You all dug really deep. Phenomenal! The over £2,000 worth of prizes on the table gave us all a great selection to choose from eh. Thank you very much to everyone who contributed a prize/prizes, sold the tickets, bought the tickets and had a laugh when Pink Helen drew them.

I can't miss out comment about a certain Ed March's superb effort to raise funds - but you had to be there to realise the full value of that.

And finally, yeah I know, I write a lot doh but thank you also to those who arrived with a car and so happily stumped up the car park donation to MoR. Wonderful. OK, I'm going now - thanks everyone!:thumbup1:

....err has everyone gone home?


I'm still in my tent waiting for the rain to stop......

Oh, Bugger!

'thought it'd gone quiet'

Far too many names to mention so just a big thankyou to everyone , i was in two minds about going this year but it turned out to be my best ever.

Thanks everyone again

Hello Everyone!

Like a few others on here I am also new to the HUBB. I've never really been a fan of forums, but I just wanted to thank EVERYONE involved in making the Ripley HU meeting such an enjoyable event once again.

This was my third trip to Lumb Farm and despite the weather I enjoyed it just as much. It really is my highlight of the year and I always come away with lots of inspiration, new knowledge, new friends and a big smile on my face!

The only downside to this year for me and I'm sure for everyone else, was that Grant & Susan couldn't be there. We all really missed you both! But it was so nice to see you on the Web Cam Link on Saturday Night. I really do hope we can see you back in person at Lumb Farm next year.

A..men to that.

I couldn't make Ripley myself as it was too close to the Ireland meeting (working on more separation next year :-)) Was concerned for the organising team as the weather forecast was for a slightly damp weekend :-( Shouldn't have worried. Sam, Iain and the rest of the team had put together a fantastic line-up and all the folks who attended provided the final sprinkling of magic which makes each Horizons Unlimited meeting so uniquely special. What an amazing privilege to be part of such a supportive community of overlanders. Congratulations to all the organising and volunteer team for another great gathering...but I know that their response will be that you all made it happen...they just provided the framework.

Grant and Susan have inspired many with their quiet and genuinely idealistic philosophy and I, like many others, look forward to their inspirational company in 2013.

And to the many who have just experienced their first Horizons Unlimited meeting....you have just found and become involved with the most supportive community of genuine travellers and friends you will ever meet. Be assured that they will willingly provide you with all the inspiration and information you need to follow those dreams. Explore the Horizons Unlimited website and you will find that there are similarly like minded people all over the world. You have only opened the door!!

And do consider paying the voluntary annual subscription of £10 to support the the invaluable resource which is the Horizons Unlimited website.

Early Arrival.
 

Hi, for anyone who wants to go early to the Ripley meeting please contact Angela first with a request to do so. She can be contacted via Lumb Farm's website. The roads around there are great for touring or exploring. I saw how local regulars such as the squash fanatics and snooker players were greeted by first names and made to feel that this is their private country club. Personally I appreciated the latin dancers more though.

Lastly, I have really had a hard think about bike size and type after Ed March's and Nathan Millard's experiences on C90 and similar post bike. Even if someone has £20,000 to spend, the little Hondas make more sense off road and out of the EU. I saw how the C90 is master of slippery conditions, one handed and stable, uphill with grip. How, I still can't understand but I witnessed it. I asked Ed what tyres he'd used to ride up a ski slope. Nobblies in that size? He replied that if nobblies are needed then the bike's too heavy. Thought provoking. Lindsay.

Typical Ed - like it and, yes, it is true.

Glad to hear everyone had a great time. Alas I couldn't make it (for financial reasons, not the weather; never the weather!) and am gutted at missing Ted Simon and many of the other amazing speakers, not to mention all the friends I made last year.

Must make sure I'm on the ball and book early for next year's meet.

Keep the pics coming; it's like being there...except its not :)