boboneleg Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 I hadn't done this rally since my last time with Fred which was 2017 (I think ??), anyway a mate of mine insisted that we should go so we put the word around and in the end six of us met up at Conwy YHA on the friday night before the rally and then went to the pub of course..... and then for a curry..... Now one thing you need to do in the week leading up to the Dragon Rally is to keep an eye on the weather forecast, when I tell you it wasn't looking good, it really wasn't . There was a storm coming in with 65-70 mph winds and torrential rain forecasted Saturday morning we assembled at the meeting point and were given the instructions as to where the site was this year (it's a different location every year), what a fine body of men ........ We got to the site and it didn't look good, it was just a farmers field up a track and at the top of a hill. I would much rather have been down in some sheltered valley out of the way of the worst of the weather. We picked a spot at the top of the field as it was obvious that by next morning anything down the bottom would just be a bog. It was a great laugh just trying to get to the top of the field as conditions were soft and it hadn't even started raining yet. We pitched our tents and then walked down to the marquee to collect our goody bags and have a nose at the other bikes 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboneleg Posted April 19, 2020 Author Share Posted April 19, 2020 By now the wind was really picking up and the rain was just begining so we decided the camp in front of the tv in the marquee, watch the rugby and get pissed...... By evening it was carnage outside , the place was just a mudpit and peoples tents were either flattened or blowing away. When I walked back to my tent at midnight I had no idea wether it would still be there or if it was would it even be inhabitable. As it was my seven year old Coleman tent survived the night and kept me dry though sleep was severely limited as it was whacking around the head all night where the wind was so strong. Some of my mates were not so lucky as there tents were fucked and they spent the night in the marquee with lots of others. I have no photos of the chaos the following morning as it was a mission just to get your stuff packed away and make your way out of the site, then the fun really started The winds were horrendous and the rainwas coming at you horizontally, we made our way back towards Capel Curig but after about 12 miles found the road blocked , trees down and telephone lines. The police told us that the wind speed had been recorded at 83mph and I didn't disbelieve them in the slightest as it was all you could do to keep the bike upright at times, it was the worst conditions i've ever ridden in. We back tracked and managed to get to Porthmadog and found a cafe open which was bloody ace. When we set off again it seemed even worse and you could hardly see out of your visor. Gaz came past me on the A470 and signalled to pull over as he couldn't see. We pulled into a layby and you hardly hold the bike upright, he got off of his Africa Twin and came over too speak to me and with that the wind blew his 200kg bike straight over. He was now hanging onto me and my bike to stop me going over and the wind was so loud we could hardly hear each other speak. We must have stood there for at least 15 mins trying to stay upright before there was a slight lull and we managed to lean my bike against the wall and eventually got his back upright. All the while there were some twats in a car just gawping at us and taking photos, fucking wankers Anyway, the further I got south the easier it got and I got home about 6.00pm in the dark and still in one piece. It was something I'll never forget and I know that I'll never camp knowingly in those sort of conditions again. It's a shame that there are no photos of the journey home but taking photos wouldhave been impossible. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboneleg Posted April 19, 2020 Author Share Posted April 19, 2020 Video inside my tent IMG_6205.mp4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTreme Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 Great stuff Bob! Would it surprise you if I said............Don't ever invite me to go to THAT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 That's some serious Blair Witch stuff going outside that tent, congrats for you guys enjoying camping in a muddy field in the middle of a storm! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 I have a nice comfy dry car for going places under those conditions. Comfort isn't a bad thing, otherwise we'd all be riding in shitty suspensionless chinese bikes. I do enjoy a passing rain storm while on a trip, but I wouldn't go on a trip in mid december when I would find is nasty weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Fallsalot Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 Glad you made it Bob i overdone the Friday night again and failed to get there had a lucky escape i think. Watch this from 1 minute on to get an idea of what it was like lol 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 Bloody hell, it's not worth going through that unless you're escaping war in search of a better life. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboneleg Posted April 19, 2020 Author Share Posted April 19, 2020 I'm glad me and Gaz are trail riders as it helped us get out without too much bother, the poor sods on road bikes had it bad. All that was feck all compared to the ride home, that was something on a whole other scale. You'll know Fred that a loaded CRF1000 is not a light bike and to watch it just get blown over like a feather was pretty eye opening . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Fallsalot Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 15 minutes ago, boboneleg said: I'm glad me and Gaz are trail riders as it helped us get out without too much bother, the poor sods on road bikes had it bad. All that was feck all compared to the ride home, that was something on a whole other scale. You'll know Fred that a loaded CRF1000 is not a light bike and to watch it just get blown over like a feather was pretty eye opening . Yup that's why mine stays tucked up in the garage through the winter. I think you are the problem here Bob the last time you went to the Dragon there was a tornado on the same weekend or was that the first time LOL 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboneleg Posted April 19, 2020 Author Share Posted April 19, 2020 You might be right Fred, apparently it was fine last year 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Fallsalot Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 1 hour ago, boboneleg said: You might be right Fred, apparently it was fine last year And the year before you were last there in 2016 lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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