Ah yes,the 2013 Dragon Rally could have been named after at least a couple of bands....if not Wet,Wet,Wet then maybe MUD !!
But first,a trip back in time to October 2012 and I`m there,trying to relearn the near lost art of handwriting on paper with a pen in order to send my application for this year`s Dragon Rally....along with searching for and dusting off my possibly time expired chequebook to pay for the event.
Do you remember chequebooks ???
The last time mine was used was for the previous Dragon !
A month or so later I received confirmation that I 'was in' and the excitement started (sad I know but it`s kind of fun not knowing for sure if you`ll get a ticket).
A month or so after that,usually only a couple of weeks before the actual event,I received the directions for the Rally Control where my pre-rally ticket was to be validated and where the final directions to the site are normally given (although this year they announced in advance that it was the same site as last year).
Zooming nicely back to the present day......I ride every day so I`m no stranger to riding in the wet,and quite enjoy it,now that I`ve finally sussed a clothing system that actually keeps me dry throughout.....but it`s always nice and comforting to know that at the end of the ride there`s a warm house or hotel and a comfy dry bed at the end of it.
But it`s not so nice and enjoyable when you`ve got to unpack a tent and get set up in pouring rain then share your sleeping space with wet riding gear is it?
I don`t mind riding in the rain but I HATE camping in it.
So here I was,Saturday morning,looking out of my bedroom window at clouds down to ground level and a solid wall of heavy rain.
Any other rally than the Dragon and I`d have stayed at home but the allure of 'The Badge' and 'The Sticker' was too much......so I enjoyed a leisurely extended brekky then loaded up my trusty and beloved 650 Ural 'Skaya' which is now my famed 'Dragon Wagon'.
As the photo above shows,the great thing about going away on a combo is that you just stash all your gear in the sidecar and pull the cover over it.
Camping gear in the sidecar and cooking gear/food in the sidecar boot.
No faffing with luggage straps or bungees and no panic about waterproof bags,luggage weight or distribution and the like.
For the scenery buffs and route gazers,my route was mostly the same as last year`s ride report,and due to the weather there`s no en route photos.
The only route change was once over the bridge in Llanwrst and past the 'Fluffy Hotel' I picked up a single track forest road that goes right across to Capel Curig and apart from being a fantastic ride it avoids Betws y Coed and the loathesome A5.
Talking of en route,due to conditions like riding through a carwash,Skaya started popping and banging after only a couple of miles.
Urals act similar if there`s water in the carbs or if the HT leads are tracking,so it was time for 'WWID' (What Would Ivan Do) and to reach down to each HT cap in turn.....
A sledgehammer blow down my left arm revealed the left cap to be tracking so I stopped the engine,wiped the cap dry,gave it a load of WD40 and away we went.
A couple of miles later the same again....and again...I entered Willaston Village sounding like a Wild West cowboy posse firing all their guns and felt guilty as numerous old boy World War veterans ducked for cover.
This time,totally pissed off,I just reached into the sidecar for the can and sprayed WD40 all over the HT cap while keeping the engine running with my right hand.
BOOM !! A roaring fireball leaped up,then there was the sight of the whole left cylinder enveloped in flames which licked their way up the HT lead... towards the petrol tap.
I was so pissed off with the weather and this fecking about that I felt like pulling the fuel line off and ending it all there and then but sanity prevailed and I beat the flames out.
My train of thought must have frightened Skaya into behaving because she didn`t miss a beat after this!
I stopped halfway to the Rally Control for a mega cooked brekky in the Denbigh Morrissons...this also helped me come out of my mind funk about the wet and miserable weather and stop wondering if I could be arsed continuing.
As if by magic,just as the last drop of cappuccino was drained,the rain stopped and the clouds lifted...so I had a fantastic ride along my new found forest track to the Rally Control.
The famed decrepit Rally Control caravan is no more....finally condemned as unsafe to even be sat inside never mind to tow on the highway....so the Control point was a cafe building (selling 'Dragon Burgers'....makes a change from horse!).
The man with the sense of humour said to put a small Dragon sticker on my headlight but the rain had returned and nothing was going to stick to wet glass.
A short run through Capel Curig then turn left on the Beddgelert road...eight miles further and the site is down on your right.....Llyn Gwynant camp site.
I say camp site but the ground was closer to sloppy fudge than grass.
I`d hoped to camp in the same spot as last year, where I`d arranged to meet my friend Rod Young but due to my later than normal arrival and the scarcity of decent pitches this area was full.
I wheelspun and opposite locked around the site for a while then found a pretty good spot.
Then cue the art of wrestling with an eight foot diameter spider with rigor mortis (in the pissing rain) because my Khyam 'quick erect' knuckle jointed tent had somehow got various pole sections twisted inside each other.
A bit of assistance from a bemused onlooker and finally Chateau Tarka was established.
Then followed the contortionist trick of sorting out and installing my tent floor fleecy blankets,Thermarest and sleeping bag while wearing all my riding gear and kneeling in sloppy fudgey mud....in the pissing rain.
It may not have been snowing but it was time for SNOWBALLS !!!
You may mock but I thought it time to introduce some class and distinction to drinking times....in as much as drinking four of them from a tin Ural mug allows,of course.
A quick view from my front door before I did another contortionist trick of getting out of all my riding gear and 'slipping into something more comfortable'....I can`t stand spending the day and evening in my riding kit.
A yelled "YOU`RE LATE !!" revealed my friend Rod Young ('Agent Wayward')of Motopodd sidecar fame in full sartorial elegance.
It was great to see him again...we met many years ago about 8,000ft up the Stella Alpina pass while each dithering about how to tackle an awkward section,and we meet up at each Dragon Rally and several shows a year.
Talking of shows,as if it was needed,in the next photo Rod shows how lovely and appealing the ground was.
How we laughed at the thought of people voluntarily leaving a centrally heated house and spending £20 to ride through pissing rain to sleep on this...
Llyn Gwynant is in a beautiful location with stunning scenery....when you can see it,that is....some rally goers decided on following a distant track to take some elevated photos and didn`t realise until the cloud lifted a bit that there`s a blooming big mountain on one side.
STAY TUNED.....MORE IN A BIT......JUST OFF TO MAKE A BREW.
But first,a trip back in time to October 2012 and I`m there,trying to relearn the near lost art of handwriting on paper with a pen in order to send my application for this year`s Dragon Rally....along with searching for and dusting off my possibly time expired chequebook to pay for the event.
Do you remember chequebooks ???
The last time mine was used was for the previous Dragon !
A month or so later I received confirmation that I 'was in' and the excitement started (sad I know but it`s kind of fun not knowing for sure if you`ll get a ticket).
A month or so after that,usually only a couple of weeks before the actual event,I received the directions for the Rally Control where my pre-rally ticket was to be validated and where the final directions to the site are normally given (although this year they announced in advance that it was the same site as last year).
Zooming nicely back to the present day......I ride every day so I`m no stranger to riding in the wet,and quite enjoy it,now that I`ve finally sussed a clothing system that actually keeps me dry throughout.....but it`s always nice and comforting to know that at the end of the ride there`s a warm house or hotel and a comfy dry bed at the end of it.
But it`s not so nice and enjoyable when you`ve got to unpack a tent and get set up in pouring rain then share your sleeping space with wet riding gear is it?
I don`t mind riding in the rain but I HATE camping in it.
So here I was,Saturday morning,looking out of my bedroom window at clouds down to ground level and a solid wall of heavy rain.
Any other rally than the Dragon and I`d have stayed at home but the allure of 'The Badge' and 'The Sticker' was too much......so I enjoyed a leisurely extended brekky then loaded up my trusty and beloved 650 Ural 'Skaya' which is now my famed 'Dragon Wagon'.
As the photo above shows,the great thing about going away on a combo is that you just stash all your gear in the sidecar and pull the cover over it.
Camping gear in the sidecar and cooking gear/food in the sidecar boot.
No faffing with luggage straps or bungees and no panic about waterproof bags,luggage weight or distribution and the like.
For the scenery buffs and route gazers,my route was mostly the same as last year`s ride report,and due to the weather there`s no en route photos.
The only route change was once over the bridge in Llanwrst and past the 'Fluffy Hotel' I picked up a single track forest road that goes right across to Capel Curig and apart from being a fantastic ride it avoids Betws y Coed and the loathesome A5.
Talking of en route,due to conditions like riding through a carwash,Skaya started popping and banging after only a couple of miles.
Urals act similar if there`s water in the carbs or if the HT leads are tracking,so it was time for 'WWID' (What Would Ivan Do) and to reach down to each HT cap in turn.....
A sledgehammer blow down my left arm revealed the left cap to be tracking so I stopped the engine,wiped the cap dry,gave it a load of WD40 and away we went.
A couple of miles later the same again....and again...I entered Willaston Village sounding like a Wild West cowboy posse firing all their guns and felt guilty as numerous old boy World War veterans ducked for cover.
This time,totally pissed off,I just reached into the sidecar for the can and sprayed WD40 all over the HT cap while keeping the engine running with my right hand.
BOOM !! A roaring fireball leaped up,then there was the sight of the whole left cylinder enveloped in flames which licked their way up the HT lead... towards the petrol tap.
I was so pissed off with the weather and this fecking about that I felt like pulling the fuel line off and ending it all there and then but sanity prevailed and I beat the flames out.
My train of thought must have frightened Skaya into behaving because she didn`t miss a beat after this!
I stopped halfway to the Rally Control for a mega cooked brekky in the Denbigh Morrissons...this also helped me come out of my mind funk about the wet and miserable weather and stop wondering if I could be arsed continuing.
As if by magic,just as the last drop of cappuccino was drained,the rain stopped and the clouds lifted...so I had a fantastic ride along my new found forest track to the Rally Control.
The famed decrepit Rally Control caravan is no more....finally condemned as unsafe to even be sat inside never mind to tow on the highway....so the Control point was a cafe building (selling 'Dragon Burgers'....makes a change from horse!).
The man with the sense of humour said to put a small Dragon sticker on my headlight but the rain had returned and nothing was going to stick to wet glass.
A short run through Capel Curig then turn left on the Beddgelert road...eight miles further and the site is down on your right.....Llyn Gwynant camp site.
I say camp site but the ground was closer to sloppy fudge than grass.
I`d hoped to camp in the same spot as last year, where I`d arranged to meet my friend Rod Young but due to my later than normal arrival and the scarcity of decent pitches this area was full.
I wheelspun and opposite locked around the site for a while then found a pretty good spot.
Then cue the art of wrestling with an eight foot diameter spider with rigor mortis (in the pissing rain) because my Khyam 'quick erect' knuckle jointed tent had somehow got various pole sections twisted inside each other.
A bit of assistance from a bemused onlooker and finally Chateau Tarka was established.
Then followed the contortionist trick of sorting out and installing my tent floor fleecy blankets,Thermarest and sleeping bag while wearing all my riding gear and kneeling in sloppy fudgey mud....in the pissing rain.
It may not have been snowing but it was time for SNOWBALLS !!!
You may mock but I thought it time to introduce some class and distinction to drinking times....in as much as drinking four of them from a tin Ural mug allows,of course.
A quick view from my front door before I did another contortionist trick of getting out of all my riding gear and 'slipping into something more comfortable'....I can`t stand spending the day and evening in my riding kit.
A yelled "YOU`RE LATE !!" revealed my friend Rod Young ('Agent Wayward')of Motopodd sidecar fame in full sartorial elegance.
It was great to see him again...we met many years ago about 8,000ft up the Stella Alpina pass while each dithering about how to tackle an awkward section,and we meet up at each Dragon Rally and several shows a year.
Talking of shows,as if it was needed,in the next photo Rod shows how lovely and appealing the ground was.
How we laughed at the thought of people voluntarily leaving a centrally heated house and spending £20 to ride through pissing rain to sleep on this...
Llyn Gwynant is in a beautiful location with stunning scenery....when you can see it,that is....some rally goers decided on following a distant track to take some elevated photos and didn`t realise until the cloud lifted a bit that there`s a blooming big mountain on one side.
STAY TUNED.....MORE IN A BIT......JUST OFF TO MAKE A BREW.