Hi everyone,

it seems lots of people are preparing trips to the Stans, Russia, Mongolia and beyond, next summer. I am preparing myself another trip across Russia. Happy to compare notes.

Any interest in meeting in London on a Sunday lunch time/afternoon?

I would suggest Sunday 14th of February.Changed now to 21st of Feb as 14th is Valentine day (see next post)!!!!

Venue to be decided soon. I have a couple of ideas.

Please respond if interested so I can have an idea of numbers.

Cheers.

__________________
Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

It has been brought to my attention that the 14th is Valentine day and hubbers being a bunch of romantics at heart, they will all be spending the weekend in Venice or something like that

So small change of date then. 21st of Feb ok for everyone?

Venue either the weatherspoon in Canary Wharf, like two years ago, or i will check out another weatherspoon in wimbledon see if it is suitably quite on a sunday afternoon.....

Wimbledon could be convenient as bikes can park for free on Streets reserved for Permit Holder only.
I can't paste the link to Merton council on this with my tablet but easy for you guys to google this.

__________________
Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

I've got that area in my sights so I'd be interested.

A good idea to move it to the 21st. And thanks for the reminder about the 14th My idea of a romantic trip away over that weekend was going to be the Altes Elephantentreffen in Germany. My wife, on the other hand, might have had other plans. I may have to rethink this

Wimbledon also sounds like a better venue - I've no problems with riding across the Sahara but crossing London to Canary Wharf, that's really close to the edge

Inserting the link to Merton council (that covers Wimbledon too!) showing the MC parking bays and parking rules for bikes:

Motorcycle parking - Merton Council

Motorcycles can park free of charge and without time limit in any motorcycle bays, permit holder bays, shared use bays and pay and display bays. Motorcycles should not be parked on the footway. In on-street bays motorcycles must be parked at right angles to the kerb, with the front or back wheel facing the kerb, to enable other motorists to use any available bays.

Let's settle for Feb 21st then, in Wimbledon. I will be checking out the Wibbas down Inn (Weatherspoon chain) near the station, this weekend and report back.

__________________
Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

All this hoo haa over parking and you wanna meet in a pub!

Xtorage, finding parking space in Wimbledon is hard. Most streeta are “permit holder only” and there are very few Motorcycle parking bays. So it is useful to know you can park in the street as well!
As for meeting in a pub, do you have a better idea? Richmond Park or Boxhill maybe? A bit cold this time of year. The Weatherspoon is ideal for cheap and decent food and I would trust anyone riding would have enough brain not to drink! Anyone drinking and driving would not last long as a traveller… try Samarkand on a quite morning!
Also based on my experience, quite a lot of people will come with their bikes. I have been organising HU pub meets in London since 2005 or 2006! I know what works.

Just to confirm the venue:

Wibbas Down at Wimbledon: https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/london/the-wibbas-down-inn-wimbledon



Date: Sunday 21st of February.

If you plan to come let me know here as I will try to book a spot if this is possible.

I will get there early anyway to ensure I can pick a big table. I aim for 11:30am, as it will fill up near 12. Hope few of you can join us for lunch.
Note that the place is absolutely huge. To find us you can see pictures of us on my website and blog (link below) and I will try to put a helmet on the table although we will come by train.

Cheers,

__________________
Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

Are those folk of a 4x4 persuasion allowed to attend? Wimbledon is just down the road for me!

Hi Danny, of course yes, the 4x4 crew as well as the cycling crew are all most welcome...

__________________
Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

We (x2) are up for that Maria. Thanks for organising. See you on the 21st.

That's me sorted then if it rains on the day

I'd be interested in coming down and having a chat with everyone- I'm heading east this year so it would be good to compare plans! See you there!

21st sounds great.. it's in my diary...
Looking forward to updates..

Bum! Fly to the US on 20th. Wishing everyone a great time.

__________________
Paul "Every county of England, every country of Europe and every (part of every inhabited) continent of the Earth" 94% done! What's left? Central America, East, Central and West Africa, Australia & New Zealand

Is an Ace Cafe meet not suitable?

Sunday 21st sounds great, I'm interested either way.


Sent from my MoJ mobile tagging device

Hi everyone,

Still on for Sunday. So, what's the plan?

I am aiming to arrive early enough (around 11:30) to secure a large table. It can get busy otherwise. Then the plan is to talk to people, hang out for a couple of hours, depending on how many people turn up, have a bite, then go home. Simple.

How to recognise us? I will be wearing my bright orange HU T-shirt and you can find how we look like in our website (link in the signature). We will not take the bikes, so no MC gear in full view. But anyway, we Hubbers always manage to find each other in these small pub meets.

As for the people asking why I do not organise this small pub meeting in the Midlands, Scotland or Wales, or Ace Cafe or why in a pub and not a muddy field, carpark etc....

1 - I am organising this, so I get to pick the venue that is easy to get to and convenient for me! If it is too far or not convenient for you, why don’t you organise something on your side of the woods....there are plenty of Hubbers everywhere in the UK!

2 - why I organise it: Because I have been receiving plenty of emails and questions and rather than spend my life writing the same stuff to different people, I thought, as most were local, that we could meet and talk. Much easier.

3 - If no one turn up we can have a drink at the pub and then move to our current favourite noodle bar nearby for some food. Win-win for me!

__________________
Maria

www.franglais-riders.com