I was very impressed with the organisation of the Ripley meeting, well done to Iain Harper, Sam Manicom, the team leaders and the many other volunteers.

The weather was a challenge. Thursday was sunny, hot (25C) and incredibly humid so a little bit of rain to cool things down seemed a good idea, but nature didn't understand the request for 'little' and dumped several million gallons of water on Ripley. Thursday night and most of Friday was wet with a lake developing in the upper camping field.



I think I might have won the record for the longest-ever presentation at Horizons with my Morocco double session on Friday night extending to 2 hours, 25 minutes. Apologies to all those who were crossing their legs by the end!

Quite a lot of sun on Saturday dried things up a bit and the trade stands did far more business. Lots of interesting stands, though not having brought my driving licence with me I wasn't able to take advantage of the test rides. HU could have done a roaring trade on HUBB t-shirts but for some reason there were hardly any of the higher-quality versions available.

The food served by Lumb Farm was brilliant quality and reasonably priced, and the staff friendly, so a nice atmosphere.

I needed to get back to London by Sunday lunchtime, I took the opportunity to strike camp during Saturday whilst it was dry and packed the bike up. I was giving a double session on GPS/Mapsource on Saturday night from 10pm to midnight, and after it finished I set off for London and arrived home just before 3am this morning, soaked through and rather cold.

I really enjoyed the event, despite the weather. Some really interesting sessions and demonstrations. The TRF organised ride outs. Many new faces amongst the regular attendees, a lot of younger people as well. Brilliant way to pick up travel and bike tips, great to touch base with so many people I've met in the past.

Tim

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)