On the Road Again!

The trip across to France was yesterday and in practice for the Ypres trip where there will be loads of us, I tested using POI66 for real. It worked a treat and when I got home I was able to edit the entries sent by SMS to make more sense. See it here . There she is...... , originally uploaded by Getzgirl .

We had loads of plans for Easter Saturday; always across in France, but instead of a weekend we have made it into a day trip. I also changed the Shuttle to go a bit later as the original crossing was based on going to Paris or further afield. Instead, we will confine ourselves to Nord-Pas-de-Calais and take a look at a couple of war graves from our families. Firstly after breakfast, we'll go and find Claire's Grannie's brother, Timothy O'Leary. We know where he is buried as her Uncle Michael told us. Otherwise it is a very common name! Not just the O'Leary bit, but initial T is common as well. However, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has him listed at http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=195250 . After that we will go across to Armentières to see a small cemetery behind a farm where my Granddad Charlie's cousin Charles Devall is buried. He is at http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=573221 . My la...

After a leisurely breakfast the plan was to go into the town for a look around, then to Vimy and Lille for lunch. As we were very leisurely things changed. Firstly as we left the parking the barrier came down so quick I got left behind as the others shot off. The guy in the control box opened it for me! In town there wasn't much to see on a Sunday morning, and after a walk around to look for a chocolate shop we had a coffee and changed the plan. Still Vimy Ridge but Cassel for lunch rather than Lille. So we set off on Plan B. Betsy was still playing up so it was me to lead again - b*llocks. Despite the criticism of the day before - okay, I did go through a red light, but in mitigation it was as I was on the outside of an old t*sser in a car and saw the pedestrian light go green and shot off. No one got hurt - I led us out of the town, via a petrol station and then on the direct route to the Canadian Monument. I don't accept the criticism that I don't give way at roundabouts...

After a leisurely breakfast the plan was to go into the town for a look around, then to Vimy and Lille for lunch. As we were very leisurely things changed. Firstly as we left the parking the barrier came down so quick I got left behind as the others shot off. The guy in the control box opened it for me! In town there wasn't much to see on a Sunday morning, and after a walk around to look for a chocolate shop we had a coffee and changed the plan. Still Vimy Ridge but Cassel for lunch rather than Lille. So we set off on Plan B. Betsy was still playing up so it was me to lead again - b*llocks. Despite the criticism of the day before - okay, I did go through a red light, but in mitigation it was as I was on the outside of an old t*sser in a car and saw the pedestrian light go green and shot off. No one got hurt - I led us out of the town, via a petrol station and then on the direct route to the Canadian Monument. I don't accept the criticism that I don't give way at roundabouts...

Probably, for the first time ever we arrived with plenty of time to spare at the Shuttle terminal at Cheriton! But, sadly, the recently introduced "self check-in" was defeating the hordes car drivers that were unable to stretch their arms far enough to reach the touch-screens and who had parked too close to get their doors open to get out and do it. It doesn't seem like rocket science to use the stats off the booking system to know the peaks and troughs of travel and to make sure that they have humans working at those times. In the end we made it around to the terminal building where Nigel & Jane (Triumph Sprint) and Simon & Denise (Blackbird) were waiting. For once we managed to avoid the security check and went straight through to the queues to get on the train. In the end, due to some problem that was never defined, the 0828 train was full despite around fifty cars and us with the right letter still waiting in the queue, so we got "priority" on the 08...

Probably, for the first time ever we arrived with plenty of time to spare at the Shuttle terminal at Cheriton! But, sadly, the recently introduced "self check-in" was defeating the hordes car drivers that were unable to stretch their arms far enough to reach the touch-screens and who had parked too close to get their doors open to get out and do it. It doesn't seem like rocket science to use the stats off the booking system to know the peaks and troughs of travel and to make sure that they have humans working at those times. In the end we made it around to the terminal building where Nigel & Jane (Triumph Sprint) and Simon & Denise (Blackbird) were waiting. For once we managed to avoid the security check and went straight through to the queues to get on the train. In the end, due to some problem that was never defined, the 0828 train was full despite around fifty cars and us with the right letter still waiting in the queue, so we got "priority" on the 08...

The Battle of the Somme began in the early hours of the 1st July 1916. "The Big Push" that would throw the German Army back towards Belgium from the line running across Picardy. The offensive started with a huge bombardment to drive the enemy back from his forward trenches and cut the miles and miles of barbed wire that lay across no mans land. A partly successful barrage left many of the brave men that climbed out of their trenches that morning with nowhere to go and they were mowed down before reaching their objective. At that time, the reserve and the next group of troops to move towards the line were still arriving. They moved by night so that air recon couldn't pin them down. My Uncle William was 26. Although born and bred in South London he found himself a private in the 7th Battalion Kings Shropshire Light Infantry. They arrived on the Ancre River near Corbié on the 12/13th July. On the 13th, they moved into the line and then were to assault Bazentin Ridge. Once ag...

The Battle of the Somme began in the early hours of the 1st July 1916. "The Big Push" that would throw the German Army back towards Belgium from the line running across Picardy. The offensive started with a huge bombardment to drive the enemy back from his forward trenches and cut the miles and miles of barbed wire that lay across no mans land. A partly successful barrage left many of the brave men that climbed out of their trenches that morning with nowhere to go and they were mowed down before reaching their objective. At that time, the reserve and the next group of troops to move towards the line were still arriving. They moved by night so that air recon couldn't pin them down. My Uncle William was 26. Although born and bred in South London he found himself a private in the 7th Battalion Kings Shropshire Light Infantry. They arrived on the Ancre River near Corbié on the 12/13th July. On the 13th, they moved into the line and then were to assault Bazentin Ridge. Once ag...

Here goes.... an attempt at a ride report.... Choosing the dates of the MiniTour® for July 1st was a slight miscalculation, or a lack of forethought – 90th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme? But, in the end the ladies of the party didn’t want to do any “war” things on this trip and so we avoided the wars of the 20th Century. Instead of 20th century wars we opted for the earlier conflicts in the 14th and 15th centuries, namely Crécy and Agincourt. Crécy was our Saturday stop en route for the hotel in Abbeville. The group consisted of 8 people on 4 bikes. Two of the riders had never ridden abroad despite years of riding experience and came equipped with a Pan European (Ian & Amanda) and a Blackbird (Simon & Debbie), with Claire and me on the GS. The fourth was Nigel with wife Jane on a Suzuki GSX600. Doris (my Quest) ably navigating us across the forest at Crécy to the badly signposted battlefield. Talk of underwhelming. Okay, so the French lost but thi...

Here goes.... an attempt at a ride report.... Choosing the dates of the MiniTour® for July 1st was a slight miscalculation, or a lack of forethought – 90th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme? But, in the end the ladies of the party didn’t want to do any “war” things on this trip and so we avoided the wars of the 20th Century. Instead of 20th century wars we opted for the earlier conflicts in the 14th and 15th centuries, namely Crécy and Agincourt. Crécy was our Saturday stop en route for the hotel in Abbeville. The group consisted of 8 people on 4 bikes. Two of the riders had never ridden abroad despite years of riding experience and came equipped with a Pan European (Ian & Amanda) and a Blackbird (Simon & Debbie), with Claire and me on the GS. The fourth was Nigel with wife Jane on a Suzuki GSX600. Doris (my Quest) ably navigating us across the forest at Crécy to the badly signposted battlefield. Talk of underwhelming. Okay, so the French lost but this is quite appalling. ...

There were six of us on the Flanders Day trip. We went across country to Poperinge (twinned with Hythe where I live) and then Ypres. Nigel and Jane Jones, John Bentall and his wife Anne, and Claire and me. This was the trip that got us intereste din days and then weekends away on the bike as a small group, derawn from the IMTC and SOC locally. THe pics are from Talbot House in Poperinge and of the Menin Gate in Ypres

After the success of the first Blockhouse Run in October last year everyone I asked wanted to have another trip across. As most of the Centre regulars were available, I picked Easter Saturday. A £19 recce trip in February (booked through www.driveline.co.uk/postcard ) was to make sure I could lead the group, and hopefully a large group, to both the blockhouses and to the lunch venue without anyone getting lost! It worked. The day dawned foggy in Kent and I set off for the Shuttle expecting to meet a load of Suzuki owners. In fact in our group there was only one Suzuki, the B12 belonging to Centre Sec Paul Bratton. The rest of the group were: Garry & Marie Page on his new Blackbird, Bernie and his grandson Jay on a BMW K series, Bob and Barbara on a Guzzi, Simon on a BMW F650 and finally me on the GS. Frogside, the fog was thicker and our route to Ardres to meet the Sussex Centre was across country via Guines. In the end we only had one problem; Paul B's marvelous French that le...

After the success of the first Blockhouse Run in October last year everyone I asked wanted to have another trip across. As most of the Centre regulars were available, I picked Easter Saturday. A £19 recce trip in February (booked through www.driveline.co.uk/postcard ) was to make sure I could lead the group, and hopefully a large group, to both the blockhouses and to the lunch venue without anyone getting lost! It worked. The day dawned foggy in Kent and I set off for the Shuttle expecting to meet a load of Suzuki owners. In fact in our group there was only one Suzuki, the B12 belonging to Centre Sec Paul Bratton. The rest of the group were: Garry & Marie Page on his new Blackbird, Bernie and his grandson Jay on a BMW K series, Bob and Barbara on a Guzzi, Simon on a BMW F650 and finally me on the GS. Frogside, the fog was thicker and our route to Ardres to meet the Sussex Centre was across country via Guines. In the end we only had one problem; Paul B's marvelous French that le...