Post Weekender 2009 - Feedback Thread

[J.P]

Good idea to have the rally points.
I was looking at the map of the Banbury Road we travelled on on the Sunday and remembered there was a large parking bay along it somewhere. That sort of thing is a good idea just to get people back together. Similar sort of thing to the stop at Fish Hill on the Saturday or the tea break everyone else had when us four were lost.

[bigredduke]

One solution, although it would involve prior organisation/activity the day before, would be to place small UKMOC pointers on sticks at the side of the road at junctions. Ideally on fluorescent card or plastic. If they look 'official' enough, they should be ok & not get disturbed.

[Yorkie]

BRD,

Very good idea mate, tac sign the route, simple as!

A few swift riders could go out in the morning at place them out and then join in the ride out!!

Yorkie

As my plans were scuppered by the accident I didn't get to do any of the rideouts (the offers were of course there for pillion and Jo kindly gave me a lift to Saturday lunch).
Maybe some options for the walking wounded for the Saturday, not that I didn't enjoy drinking in the sun, chatting and watching dribs and drabs of the late comers turning up.
Can we invite along a physio / sweedish masseuse (I heard there were pole dancers) for an afternoon pamper or something. this is a slightly tongue in cheek suggestion but you never know

With regards to the pre-rideout chats I couldn't really hear what was being said (could just be my hearing on it's way out). However, maybe have those in the courtyard by the bar where the wind doesn't quite carry the words away.

I'm still glad I managed to get there anyway, even if I did go home dead jealous

The food was excellent at The Mill.

[rollo22]

I live and work in the area driving around the Cotswolds
Perhaps Pedro myself and a few others could use local knowledge to help plan 2010.

£3.50 for a pint of beer.....................!

This is my two pence worth:

Meals and rideout meals
No much to comment on this issue, meals were excellent and organization was good too, I appreciate that we’re not trying to run a MotoGP hospitality, so a bit of involvement and spirit of initiative should be present from everyone, as the organizers are there to have fun too.

Rideouts:
Maps should be provided and marshal set up. The turn up was excellent and is easy to get the groups split in such a large assembly. Marshals should be able to communicate between them( I’m sure I’m not the only one with radios and I’m more than happy to lend them for next year).
Some cardboard arrows on critical junctions would be an easy way to mark the path.
A support vehicle could be organized with few basic tools and spares, would have saved Mand afternoon on Saturday.

Bike competition
Perhaps people should elect their bike for one of the categories (Best paint, best mechanical modification, best esthetical modification, best naughty corner) I’ve seen this done with good results, by dividing bikes in areas and have people vote. After all you know what your bike strong points are and it may help narrow things down. On the other hand Bike of the Show should be an open, popular vote class as is currently.
Not sure that best naughty corner should get silverware(sorry Dave, even thought you should get one on fun factor alone), maybe a minor prize but not the whistle and bells.
Maybe an extra category should be awarded to the person that came furthest away for the weekend and a shine and show prize.

Time together
I’ve found the time spent with people most enjoyable and appreciate that everyone made an effort to introduce themself and chat. Badges were a good idea but a horseshoe table set-up (maybe only on Saturday)would have contributed to the spirit and helped the Mill logistic quite a bit (obviously this is something they need to look into).
I personally would have liked the chance to get back to the Mill in time for the MotoGp but hey, sun was out and tarmac was sticky!

Corporate participation
Ducati should have been there, no bones about it as Ducati and Monster owners are very loyal(and with some riders with other bikes they can get people over the bright side). We all know it wasn’t any of the organizers fault. Some other companies should be drawn into the experience, Red Bull would probably be quite happy, and maybe some of the mags.

All in all it was awesome, well done to all the people involved! I really enjoyed myself and will be back for more next year!

OK so I wasn't there but there seem to be some really clear messages for next year - especially with regard to the ride out. I witnessed a really horrible off at a roundabout in the week with a group of riders trying to stop traffic and some idiot riding round and round apparently waiting for his mates - he ended up losing a considerable amount of skin as he gracefully dropped the bike at about 35 mph...

Meanwhile just remember that fluorescent bibs might not be the chosen fashion accessory of the decade but they don't really affect your sexuality (look at me and I've never worn one!!!) and they would help in the visibility and organisation stakes of the ride...

SO - all being well here's to another happy and safe weekender with great monster hospitality in 2010.

Originally Posted by gary tompkins

While on the subject of Sunday mass ride out..

How about splitting the ride into smaller groups, with a dedicated leader/tailender for each plus a few outrider/marshalls? These could even be segregated in terms of ability or weekender experience - novice/inter/expert as for track days. I could see it being far easier to keep a group of 20 bikes together for the duration. It would also avoid newbies feeling pressurised to chase faster riders to keep up with group, and prevent the convoy getting split by the slower riders within it.

Leaders must IMO stick to speed limits, and preferably stay slightly below them to avoid group getting strung out. If the leader is doing a constant 5-10mph over the limit, the tail enders will have to drive at mental speeds to keep up. I strongly beleive it's the leader, marshals and tail-enders ultimate responsibility to keep the group as a unit - not the riders within the group, most of which will not have a clue as to the planned route, or where they may be along it.

I was forced to ride at silly speeds for some of 2nd half of Sundays run, just to keep the tail end of the pack in front in sight, and that's just not acceptable. For a less experienced newbie on a slower monster that would have been a nightmare, and not a very enjoyable introduction to the weekender at all.

I agree something needs to be done, but as I said above - surely the point of the National Rideout is that we all rideout together??? - two or three groups (doing different things) is basically what we did on the Saturday afternoon - the Sunday main meet is meant to be different?

Personally I think all it needs is a bit more (or just 'some') organisation. The route pre-reccied so there aren't any chenges en route, and marshalls every 10 bikes or so who have the route in their GPS/a map, and can lead their little group if the pack starts to split up.

As I said in my post above, originally the (mass) National Rideout only used to be about 20 minutes/half an hour, on local roads, and the enjoyment of riding en mass... after the lunch (or coffee) stop, we split into three groups (CK, Phoenix and Denis as I recall) and route seperate groups/routes back to the Mill.

I would suggest a similar format is re-adopted for next year - a short (ie. 30 minute-ish) mass rideout to a coffee stop. Then the option for everyone to split into smaller groups for the ride back to the Mill for lunch.

I agree with Gary (and Pedro - although as you do seem to keep getting lost, maybe ride a bit closer up the front next year, eh? xx) - that having the leader wizzing off at anything like the speed limit or over is going to create problems for the tail-enders, and as I suggested in my post above (I feel like Aribella Weir - "can anyone hear me?"), perhaps Denis is forgetting the size of the group, and not allowing for it?

I know there is a huge difference between 30 and 60 bikes, but Saz kept it together very well on the Saturday run, so it is possible - especially if there are marshalls every 10 bikes or so who can take over as leader if the pack splits?

Fundamantally though, I believe the National Rideout should remain as one group, and certainly the same route.

xxx

Originally Posted by Pomp1

(sorry Dave, even thought you should get one on fun factor alone)

No problem, Max. Glad you enjoyed it!

Right, weekender feedback

Beer too expensive! Even those south of Watford winced at the news.

Too many egos playing too much "Top Trumps - Weekender Edition": "Mine's got more torque than yours!" "Ah yes but you have bigger chicken strips..." Yawn yawn fecking yawn!

Café Stop Heroes - Thats actually a good thing 'cos I buzz my tits off listening to it

Fish Hill: Hugely overrated and disappointing.

Certain company at our dinner table on Saturday night was unbearable and some others and I had to retire early to the bar.

Naughty corner award very much deserved thank you, though there was alot of sour grapes from people I would not have expected. That in itself was the most disappointing thing Although it did occur to me that I was the only eligible person for the award due to the fact that I was there with my Monster owning partner, so those people with sour grapes can just watch what they fecking say in future, okay!?

All in all it was okay. Met a few great people, put some more names to faces.

Won't be back next year.

Dave

Originally Posted by Mr Cake

Too many egos playing too much "Top Trumps - Weekender Edition": "Mine's got more torque than yours!" "Ah yes but you have bigger chicken strips..." Yawn yawn fecking yawn!...


...Fish Hill: Hugely overrated and disappointing.

Hypocrisy, non?!

xxx

My ha'pennies worth as a Sunday Day Tripper.
I like the national rideout in the morning but would have preferred a shorter run after riding in that morning.

The run was a bit too fast

I had no real idea where i was going and sometimes felt that i was riding faster than i would have preferred on unknown roads to keep up to avoid getting lost - a map of the route or more marshals would help.

The cafe stop was great, nice to socialise.

I would have liked to be able to order food before the rideout so it was ready when we returned, however we ordered two baskets of chips after the run and when they arrived they would have fed about 8 people so no complaints there.

Regarding the bike competition, I do not really know enough by looking at a bike to know what has been done to judge which one is the best - some things are more obvious than others like paint jobs and extra wheels - but someone may have spent a lot of time and effort on their bike in ways that are not immediately obvious to the mechanically inept. These are hard for me to judge as they all look great bikes anyway.

I did wonder (as a suggestion only) whether it could be organised so that people could pre enter their bikes into a category before the weekender. They could enter a few details including name, registration and the category into a form and email it beforehand to the Forum. This info could be collated onto a voting slip for each category and then after the rideout those who have entered their bikes could park in their chosen category area to be judged. This might also make the onerous task of judging easier and quicker on the day as the bikes to be judged may be fewer and the information easier to tally.

I hope these comments are taken in the spirit they are meant, as I really appreciate the work and effort that goes into making the weekender a success and thank you all for it.

Originally Posted by Drucilla

I did wonder (as a suggestion only) whether it could be organised so that people could pre enter their bikes into a category before the weekender. They could enter a few details including name, registration and the category into a form and email it beforehand to the Forum. This info could be collated onto a voting slip for each category and then after the rideout those who have entered their bikes could park in their chosen category area to be judged. This might also make the onerous task of judging easier and quicker on the day as the bikes to be judged may be fewer and the information easier to tally.

That is actually a pretty good idea there Nat! Certainly I can see how grouping the bikes together (in various categories) when we park up for the competition would make sense - the only problem is if a bike is obviously appropriate for more than one category? And that if you are only allowed to enter one catagory, then the winner in each group is likely to be fairly obvious?

Actually, thinking about it - perhaps we could do it the way the Bristol Bike Show does - that is, you say which category/s you would like to be considered for beforehand (some wag will probably list all of them of course), and put a label on your bike as you suggest - that should speed up the voting/counting process as you say...

Hmmmmmm... food for thought? (with huge portions of chips!)

xxx

Originally Posted by JMo

Hypocrisy, non?!

xxx

Don't quite know which part of the quote you meant by that, Jenny... But if you meant the Top Trumps bit, I was merely trying to fight my corner as the constant drawl of Jap bike bashing was growing wearisome. So the answer to your question would have to be "non".

Or do you mean that I am hugely overrated and disappointing...? Hmmm interesting... Not to the people that matter, no

<Sigh> I thought those grapes would have ripened by now

Oh I forgot to mention the lovely brisk-ish ride out with Ped after the all-too-brief and rabbit strewn run up Fish Hill on the Saturday. Cheers mate

And of course, walking around and spending time with my lovely lady