Author Topic: York Rally 2011 (Read 30678 times)

Kim · « **Reply #200 on:** 24 June, 2011, 06:00:02 pm »

I am also on a train, somewhere in the vicinity of Leeds.

SlowCoach · « **Reply #201 on:** 24 June, 2011, 06:37:44 pm »

Arrived home after setting off at 4:30 this morning for a small car trip: Durham - Cambridge - Durham. Just about to head for the station with bike. See you sometime this evening

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #202 on:** 24 June, 2011, 07:48:16 pm »

Seen at rally:

Charlotte, Julian, Tony, Kim, Sue.

Regulator · « **Reply #203 on:** 24 June, 2011, 08:08:34 pm »

Finally made it after 5 3/4 hours on road. I'm on pitch # 750.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #204 on:** 24 June, 2011, 08:21:17 pm »

cool. might see you tomorrow then

Kim · « **Reply #205 on:** 24 June, 2011, 10:13:05 pm »

What happened to the weather? Hiding in my tent way before bedtime...

Arch · « **Reply #206 on:** 24 June, 2011, 10:20:56 pm »

Just back at the flat after a very entertaining evening hosted at the Cakeavan. We squeaked home in the gloaming without rear lights - the batteries in mine died when I switched it on, and MFWHTBAB discovered that the Hungarian engineering in his recent n+1's dynamo set seems to have mislaid the connection to the rear. For goodness sake, he paid nearly £14 for that bike, somefing oughta be dun abah' it.

Looking forward to tomorrow. I think the number of people I know at the rally this year has increased by about 100%.

On the other hand, I've been introduced to Marj's jammy flapjack, so everything else in life will seem a little flat and joyless in comparison...

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #207 on:** 24 June, 2011, 10:28:37 pm »

Quote from: Kim on 24 June, 2011, 10:13:05 pm

What happened to the weather? Hiding in my tent way before bedtime...

Drizzle in the morning tomorrow, cloudy with sunshine in the arvo. 22C

Chin up, chuck, it'll be good tomorrow.

David Martin · « **Reply #208 on:** 24 June, 2011, 10:39:26 pm »

**Waves** and wishes he could make it down there too.. 400km from Dundee.

..d

Arellcat · « **Reply #209 on:** 24 June, 2011, 11:53:03 pm »

I'm going to poke my nose in on Sunday, in case some of y'all are going to be around.

Kim · « **Reply #210 on:** 25 June, 2011, 12:03:02 am »

Quote from: mrcharly on 24 June, 2011, 10:28:37 pm

Quote from: Kim on 24 June, 2011, 10:13:05 pm
What happened to the weather? Hiding in my tent way before bedtime...

Drizzle in the morning tomorrow, cloudy with sunshine in the arvo. 22C

Chin up, chuck, it'll be good tomorrow.

I can handle anything except giant hairy spiders and having to go to bed early.

tiermat · « **Reply #211 on:** 25 June, 2011, 07:32:09 am »

I am aiming to get through there for between 11 and 12, hopeflly I will be able to catch up with some of you.

interzen · « **Reply #212 on:** 25 June, 2011, 10:09:37 am »

I'll probably pedal over at some point later on.
If people are so inclined, and not off doing other things, how about meeting outside the steward's tent at around midday and then go and grab a bite to eat?

[this is my token attempt to be sociable

]

EDIT: Scratch that ... Something Else has arisen which needs my rather more immediate attention, plus my brain has obviously decided that it's not in the mood for meeting people today.

CrinklyLion · « **Reply #213 on:** 25 June, 2011, 10:12:56 am »

I need to make my boys put some clothes on, then we'll head over for lunchtime-ish.

(They are worse faffers than me!)

Deano · « **Reply #214 on:** 25 June, 2011, 11:56:37 am »

Train is really busy. Loads of luggage in the bike space. So i've just hoyed my bike on top.

It is a pity I haven't got round to cleaning it since the Border Raid

CrinklyLion · « **Reply #215 on:** 25 June, 2011, 06:24:09 pm »

M'boys and me saw:

Deano, Kim, Tourist Tony, Tiermat, Butterfly, Clarion, TGL, Charlotte, Julian, Canardly, Jethro, "Slow"coach, jogler, marj, TheCentreOfTheUniverse, Arch, Arch's FWHTBAB, Regulator and Luke.

And littly had a go on a cnoc 14, and can reach the ground, and pedalled. And the big'un had a go on a Luath 26 and it (just) fitted.

And I've got really sunburnt!

Not very impressed with being charged a fiver to get into the ground, especially given that pretty much everything in there (food and rides etc) was really expensive too. And it's only valid for today too, so if I want to go back and say hello to jogler and marj at the van I'm supposed to pay again!

pcolbeck · « **Reply #216 on:** 25 June, 2011, 06:34:13 pm »

It is a bit steep when they aren't really providing any entertainment as such. It's a fee to look at some stalls selling you stuff. A fee for camping I can see the point of but for day visitors its a lot.

CrinklyLion · « **Reply #217 on:** 25 June, 2011, 06:50:31 pm »

Well, it would probably have worked out cheaper to pay to camp than for us to visit two days in a row since kids camp for free, but get charged 2 quid to visit $:-\$

Entertainment included the stunt show (that we didn't watch) and a clown (who scared my children).

Worth a fiver, in our case, for a tryout on the islabikes and a very pleasant afternoon with a plenty of YACFers including a most pleasant visit to the cake-avan, but my sister saw a few people walk away when she was waiting to pay when they realised that it only got you entry for one day.

interzen · « **Reply #218 on:** 25 June, 2011, 06:51:55 pm »

Looks like the CTC's mission to soak the punters for all they're worth is still ongoing, then, meaning that I'll be finding something else to do tomorrow.

pcolbeck · « **Reply #219 on:** 25 June, 2011, 06:57:46 pm »

Haven't been for a couple of years but if I was a family of four and paid £20 to get in I would be very disappointed by what my £20 got me.
I think its a great event in a gathering of the clans way just that the "show" bit of it is rubbish for the general public. If the CTC are trying to attract people to cycling through the show then they need to try harder.

CrinklyLion · « **Reply #220 on:** 25 June, 2011, 06:59:13 pm »

Family of four would be a tenner - sorry, I probably made it sound worse than it was, the fiver was the price for me+EldestCub, littly was under 5 and therefore free.

ETA-and there was something about a family discount available. But there was nothing extra on offer compared with previous years, when they only charged for the trade show, and nothing extra compared with Mildenhall.

pcolbeck · « **Reply #221 on:** 25 June, 2011, 07:01:36 pm »

Ahh a bit more reasonable then.

interzen · « **Reply #222 on:** 25 June, 2011, 07:02:09 pm »

I have my own particular axe to grind with the CTC, which I won't air here¹, but ever since they got it into their heads that the attendees are obviously walking cash piles the event has been going steadily downhill and, for that reason, it's been 3-4 years since I last went and, to be perfectly honest, I'm not particularly inclined to go again.

Too much emphasis on the "show" aspect (and obviously the large wodges of cash that can be made therein) and less on the "gathering of the clans" aspect which was, I believe, the original raison d'etre for the Rally but obviously not as lucrative.

One of these years I'm actually going down to Mildenhall ...

Still, if people are having fun then more power to them.

¹ - or you could argue that I'm just bitter, twisted and generally miserable. Either works for me.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #223 on:** 25 June, 2011, 07:15:44 pm »

I was told at the entrance that the new system was to prevent thieves getting onto the site.

Well it works; the thieves are *at* the entrance!

Deano · « **Reply #224 on:** 26 June, 2011, 12:16:39 pm »

I really enjoyed my first time at the Rally yesterday. Met loads of people for the first time or for the first time in a long time, as well as a few more familiar faces

I also had a go on jogler's recumbent, and (just!) got myself past the posing stage on it - soon I was chugging around the site like a pro (ish) and making up random rubbish for the benefit of a family who wandered over and asked me about it. Shame I forgot about the pockets thing and nearly lost my phone, but some honest person had handed it in, and when I got home there was a message on my answering machine saying it had been left at the stewards' tent

By the way, I didn't pay to get in - not deliberately, I just went around the back of the grandstand out of habit, and the steward there was quite blasé about me lifting my bike over the railings and across the course. I got stung at the trade show entrance, though.