Thetford aftermath thread

As has been already said, what an awesome day! A 360 mile round trip :shock: seemed a bit daunting but I got a cheap room on the Friday night so it worked out ok.

Nice for people to recognise me when I got there - it was also great to have our own car park!! Lots of confused people driving in not expecting that area to be full:

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There was some odd goings on in the car park.

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But as the Guvnor was here with his dodgy back wheel (which several people commented on as "it didn't rumble" ;-) ) everything would be in order.

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LGF was there on the shiniest Zaskar I've ever seen.

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"Forks of the ride" prize must be given to these Lawwill leaders, just beautiful

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The back end was nice as well!

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I am really loving the Diamond Backs at the moment so got a pic of this one. They look so clean and simple.

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I also thought this Ibis was really nice

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Bike of the ride - GT Karakoram - Spencer - how to make a big frame look good. Mind you I did have a conversation with him when he told me how much he didn't like riding it!! I'm sure he didn't mean it .....

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In the forest pics next. :)
 
So, off into the woods....

There was lots of stopping to wait for folk, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered on this lovely day.

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More waiting around....... but it was beautiful in the forest....

There was concern over adder attacks, with strict instructions "not to stick anything in a hole".

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Lunchtime was soon upon us. Bikes were checked for adders.

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The Fat Chance SAB drew a crowd, it was very nice...

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Chatting and eating in the sun - what a great venue. I didn't have any of the food myself but it looked gorgeous.

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ParkPre Sledgehammer - one of my bikes of the ride, it was just perfection, so much NOS and the blue colour was so deep and rich. Changed my mind about Parkpre now!

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Classic steel - both so different but both excellent looking and (probably) riding bikes..

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Some nice alloy stuff too.....

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Bikes pretty much surrounded the cafe....

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But the Rocky Mountains were sulking in a corner.... ;-)

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So, off again.... I didn't know the afternoon was a lot longer and the pace a lot higher but I managed to keep up quite well. Not bad considering how unfit I have been - it was nice not to be last on every ride - and to all who are in the same position I was last year - you can do it!! Lost 30lbs and counting (yes I know I did go on a bit about that on the day, sorry....)

I only took pics when we stopped so I didn't get much of the action, I am not sure why we stopped here... ;-)

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Check out the afternoon sun at the road crossing, just lovely....

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Prize giving at the end...... I wasn't going to post this pic but I love the sun in the lens, shows it was actually there....

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Thanks to the organisers and guides - did a great job

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Shorts and short sleeves in March - awesome!!

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Have alook at this Youtube video I posted up before - should be in HD (let me know what it looks like as I can't view it at work). You should be on it - I think I included all the riders in one shot.... :D :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9MdsV8XMuM


Thanks all for a great day, worth the long drive and riding somewhere I haven;t before was a real treat. Thankfully I sold loads of stuff so went home with a slightly emptier car (phew) and it paid for the diesel and room for the night.
 
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What a cracking couple of days riding, well worth the 0330 alarm... :shock:

Big thanks to all involved and especially Chris, Neil and Dan for shepherding us (almost successfully) around for a second day! :LOL: Some great twistyturny riding to be had and hard work when you realise you're giving more on the descents than the climbs! :LOL:

Really enjoyed the social on this one too - pub was superb, cheers for the recommendation. By the time I got in about half ten last night it felt like I'd been away for a month...

Thanks to paul & Charlie for keeping me awake and (mostly) pointed in the right direction.

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I do have a suspicion that Thetford is only a quarter mile square though and we just spiraled around and around... :?
 
It was a fantastic weekend and we were lucky to have perfect weather for it.

Thankfully we didn't take too many wrong turns on the unmarked trails in the morning, but with a bit of looping back on ourselves it shouldn't have been that obvious!
 
neil__j":7mxqfjb6 said:
It was a fantastic weekend and we were lucky to have perfect weather for it.

Thankfully we didn't take too many wrong turns on the unmarked trails in the morning, but with a bit of looping back on ourselves it shouldn't have been that obvious!

No worries - once we had established our identities to the Latvian border guards all was well agin.
 
Wow! What a weekend!

Big thanks to all those who came along, good to see some old friends and meet some new ones. Holding these events is a nerve jangling experience. Will anyone turn up? What if too many turn up? Will the pre-ordered food work out ok? What if someone gets bitten by an Adder? What if we loose someone? (Ahem, Charlieboys extra loop of the black route on Sunday was intentional). Fortunately everything worked out great.

Special mention to Dan and Neil, the guys at the front, for guiding us round and keeping order.
 
A little late to the aftermath thread.

Another great ride, many thanks to all the organisers from the Anglia region. I won't namecheck them because you know who you are. Plus I'll forget someone.

Highlights include

*Another great turnout.
*The organisation. Super slick and well guided. Nice work chaps :cool:
*Seeing old and new faces plus finally getting to meet a few long serving members whom I'd not met before.
*Friendly and good natured chat & banter throughout.
*The bikes. More or less all retro and representing a little bit of everything. Just like the site itself. Nice work :cool:
*The trails. Thetford maybe flat compared to the Peaks but it is good fun. Endless pedally singletrack - what is better for retro!
*Lunch. Order taken before the ride and waiting when we pulled back in at the vistors centre. Happy days! Chapeau to whoever it was who ordered up the mixed grill.
*The apres ride swap meet. Just like when I was back in Compton.
*The weather! Who can forget the weather. I've taken a mental picture if the March dust for when I'm axle deep in mud at mayhem.
*The disk drive didn't collapse.
*Thanks also to Bikefood for their excellent support as ever. Hope Pedro got the volvo home in double quick time having chugged two neat bottles of the energy gel.

Think that's about it. Not sure if the young lady on the GT Palomar will dare venture into the woods again after Cannondale King's smooth lines...
 
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