Info on biker meeting places such as Box Hill,Poole Quay, etc. Please start each post with the county followed by the place in the subject box i.e. Warwickshire - The Waterman. It'll make things a lot easier to follow.
bond_yzf wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 8:32 am
This smells of old mans piss and sour grapes in all honesty
Theres no sour grapes or piss involved young man , the fact is the earlier ABR rallies were a completely different event and some of us preferred the smaller more personal events
ok .. so you waz `railing against the machine`, the commercialisation of .. er, Everything ... just look at Sport, the cricket Hundreds, Olympics even, Mass Markets, the internet, Social Media, internet buying and selling, loss of the high street, Streaming media, technologising of everything, instant world contacts, Then theres the mass use of drugs, alcohol, and violence, violent movies, National Autocracy, Mass lockdowns of peoples rights etc etc etc ... the world has turned upside down, sometimes for the good, where markets are dictating our supply modes.....
Same with Adventure Riding ... there is a huge market for it ... Sales tell us this ... and Prices, ... (though developing countries have a more utilitarian commuting emphasis) ... The market has to be there, obviously, for any success ... and a key element of course is Marketing ...
.. Honestly, would people have turned up at Ragly if it was advertised as ... `a cold wet shit hole full of rats with make-do facilities, find-your own-bush toilets, limited poor quality food, no-one to give talks on their travels, no manufacturers, mo display bikes, no rideouts or bike try-outs, no bands, no music, limited drink? ... just sit in your own little group and talk amongst yourselves ??????
Chris, you may be moaning about that, and most of us dislike many things that have changed in the world ... but dont call yourself a moaner, as in fact, you are an inspiration to many on here, an exemplar of how to enjoy riding on two wheels, no matter what bike, an adventurer of your own making, with fantastic pics and vids, and fabulous accounts of adventures near and far (digital payments accepted lol )
as some here know i have been running small rallies for 10yrs or more ,
the Malvern hills rally ,,yule tide rally and up until the last couple of years the ecky thump rally (now run by Mario)
over the first few years we advertised these gathering as ABR events ,, but i have now dropped that due to lack ofABR members attending ,
but i will still post them on here ,
the reason i drop the ABR from the name was in the last few years we have had around 2000 hits on the web but less than 10 turn up to the Ecky thump and the yule tide ,,, may be October and December is to cold for the ABR riders ,,who knows ,
we now have a dedicated group of hardy riders than seem to enjoy are winter gatherings.
i must admit seeing the massive turn out at Raggland and we can only just get into double figures at a fraction of the cost , sad in my eyes ,
I am not really a Rallyist, mainly a Soloist so my opinion is less relevant perhaps, riding is my prime motivation and the festival ticks that box be it at a large cost now, I have bought a 22 ticket it was a boderline decision for me mainly a value for money question. I enjoyed both Ragley do's as I enjoyed the one pre cursor Midland event I went to good riding at both, went to the Welland do and that just was'nt my thing. Was Ragley a good festival and a crap rally perhaps? I arrived at Ragley 21 solo, hooked up with some buddies to camp by mixed it it with stranger's and "knowns" in equal measure unsure what is tangibly different other than the "atmosphere". The little intimate events are still there are they not , West Wales will be on barring Covid issues I'll be there if I can, as a helper I find that more interesting personally. I get what you say the event was kinda ruled by the antics of "celebs" if you look at the promo stuff in actuall fact the only celebs I saw were the 2 boss's who I spoke to briefly and the blonde bird on a bike. I did find it a little annoying that it was difficult to arrange mini meets with mates/people you rarely see due to sheer numbers of people and phone signal etc. I enjoyed the Festival will it continue to offer value for money thats a different question. there will only be one Ragley thingy and long may the other little events continue. Probably- wether they be big or small adventure's do not really sit well with corporate crap. Opinions stated in an adult way are interesting to me especially from the genuine enthusiasts who often comment on here, no apology required. Good to hear you Russ.