Barmouth

Got to Poplar nice and early to get pictures of the guys riding in, only to find Dave Rhodes, keen as mustard, already chilling out by his bike next to a unknown Goldwing. Must have been a coincidence we thought, but up pops Derek Hayward, ‘Panless’ and exuded about his new toy.

Next to arrive is Geoff on his Street Triple followed by Rob, Tommy, and Alec. A small group for today’s ride but although overcast, the roads were dry and most of us had full tanks to enjoy a great blast to Lake Vernwy and on to Barmouth.

No sooner had we left the services and despite being very thorough with the ride brief, I had completely forgotten to put the SatNav on the bike! Oh well! Using a bit of memory, we got past Whitchurch before we stopped to get my SatNav out. So far so good, and a good blast got us going.

Despite Rob making an unscheduled stop due to having too much tea in the morning, (I had to stop, every time I went around a bend, I got a wet shoulder!! - Rob), we progressed well, taking some interesting minor roads and popping out at Lake Vernwy on time for a welcome cup of tea, or ice cream in Geoff’s case.

A short break then saw us heading down the side of Lake Vernwy and up over the hill at the far end. Some spectacular views were taken in on the way down to Dolgellau, although one bike had to make an unscheduled stop due to running on fumes.

The sun started to come out on the way down to Barmouth making it a warm and welcome stop particularly for Rob who had his Burmuda shorts on under his trousers. We managed to park as planned and some damage was done to the local fish and chips stocks. Great ice creams also!

After a reasonable break it was back on the bikes and we went in search of fuel on the way north of Barmouth. Bikes suitably refreshed, we resumed the trip north and then east going over the top from Ffestiniog to Bala. Half-way on this leg, an unmarked Police Audi A3 had just pulled a couple of bikes for some misdemeanour, but of course the perfectly behaved MANHOC had no such worries. A great blast is this section of the route.

Once into Bala it was noted that the roads were wet and there were some dark clouds about. Sure enough, a few miles from the Rhuig Farm Shop, the rain started. We managed to get to the farm shop without suiting up, but we did note that David had gone walkabout and was no where to be seen. He was last seen suiting up while marking the last junction. Hope you made it back okay!

Too wet to sit outside, so tea in the restaurant was taken. Oh, and Geoff had a small slice of a tart! We took a 45 minute break to give the rain chance to cease and remarkably it did. We set off again in good spirits toward Ruthin, which was an enjoyable run and eventually onto the M56, where we had to perform several miles of filtering, and then home.

Thanks to all those that managed to get out today, a good run and good that some roads were new to a few of those in attendance. Look forward to the next run!

Regards,

Bob.

Bob's Report