2013 Welsh Rally
This year was my second Welsh Rally. Dawn was going to ride pillion on this one, but this time she would take the car down. However, John and I would be riding down together again, but this year he was also doing the Round Britain Rally so I didn't feel quite so bad about taking him out of the way. I managed to get the Three Nations Award last year, for completing the Welsh, National and Scottish rallies and was going to go for that again this year. Once again, since I'm coming all the way down to Wales, I was going for the Platinum Award, this time with Dawn as pillion. We’d just have to see if the mystery task at the end suited me any better than Shove Ha’penny did last year. The theme for the Dragon Award locations this year, was War Memorials.
John and I had leisurely ride down, picking off various locations from the Round Britain Rally, Two Wheel Poker and Grim Rides.
Although I’d already picked some up on my way to th South West, it was only fair to go again with John, especially since I’d already dragged him out of his way last year. As usual, we met at Moffat for a bacon roll before setting off down the M6.
Although I’d already picked some up on my way to th South West, it was only fair to go again with John, especially since I’d already dragged him out of his way last year. As usual, we met at Moffat for a bacon roll before setting off down the M6.
A: Home
B: Kirkstone Pass (Grim Ride – Mountain Passes)
C: Lake District (Grim Ride – National Parks)
D: Lakeland Museum (Grim Ride – Motorcycle Museums)
E: Iron Mad Wilkinson Obelisk (Round Britain)
F: Water Trough (Two Wheel Poker)
G: Jubilee Tower (Round Britain)
H: Wybunbury Tower (Round Britain)
I: Carved Owl (Round Britain)
J: Oswestry Premier Inn
B: Kirkstone Pass (Grim Ride – Mountain Passes)
C: Lake District (Grim Ride – National Parks)
D: Lakeland Museum (Grim Ride – Motorcycle Museums)
E: Iron Mad Wilkinson Obelisk (Round Britain)
F: Water Trough (Two Wheel Poker)
G: Jubilee Tower (Round Britain)
H: Wybunbury Tower (Round Britain)
I: Carved Owl (Round Britain)
J: Oswestry Premier Inn
Like last year, I had planned a couple of routes when I received my rally pack a couple of weeks ago, and had thought about going North this year, since I went South last year. Problem was that the time difference between the routes was about an hour, so I again went for the South Route. I really must try the North route one of these years.
I also managed to pick up a few other locations such as Statue of Welsh Mountain Cob (Round Britain), Pembrokeshire Coast (Grim Ride –National Parks) and the Black Bull Statue (Round Britain).
We got back quite late but still had the mystery task. This year, it involved rolling a tennis ball along a table, off a backboard and trying to stop it in a scoring zone on the table. I let Dawn try this one since I had failed miserably at last year’s and we ended up a respectable mid table. We had managed to get our Platinum and Dragon Awards, so another successful rally.
Again, John had decided to go his own route, as well as heading straight back up the road in the morning, but he had achieved a Silver Award.
Again, John had decided to go his own route, as well as heading straight back up the road in the morning, but he had achieved a Silver Award.
My return trip as pretty uneventful, picking up another batch of locations on the way home. Since Dawn was heading up in the car, we decided to meet up for lunch. Since I was heading there anyway, I thought that the Tan Hill Inn, the highest pub in the British Isles, would make for a more unusual stop. At an elevation of 528 metres (1,732 ft), and 11 miles from the nearest town, it's not exaclty handy, but I was going there anyway. There were two classic TV adverts filmed here in the 1980s: Vodafone's first mobile phone advert and Ted Moult dropping a feather down a casement to show how draught-proof Everest windows were.
A: Oswestry Premier Inn
B: Llangollen Harp (Grim Ride – Giants)
C: Llangollen Motor Museum (Grim Ride – Motorcycle Museums)
D: Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Monument (Round Britain)
E: Yorkshire Dales (Grim Ride – National Parks)
F: Tan Hill Inn (Grim Ride – Pub Crawl)
G: Killhope Wheel (Round Britain)
H: Vicar’s Pele (Round Britain)
I: Hadrian's Wall (Two Wheel Poker)
J: The Hizzy Cairn (Grim Ride – Motorcycle Legends)
K: Fletcher Statue (Round Britain)
L: Home
A: Oswestry Premier Inn
B: Llangollen Harp (Grim Ride – Giants)
C: Llangollen Motor Museum (Grim Ride – Motorcycle Museums)
D: Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Monument (Round Britain)
E: Yorkshire Dales (Grim Ride – National Parks)
F: Tan Hill Inn (Grim Ride – Pub Crawl)
G: Killhope Wheel (Round Britain)
H: Vicar’s Pele (Round Britain)
I: Hadrian's Wall (Two Wheel Poker)
J: The Hizzy Cairn (Grim Ride – Motorcycle Legends)
K: Fletcher Statue (Round Britain)
L: Home
Again, I really enjoyed the rally, and 2013 is looking to be as much fun on rallies, as 2012.