Thank you for all the balanced constructive replies. To be honest I was expecting worse. Special thanks for the offers of rides in the future. I was just giving my opinion as I saw it on the day and I'm genuinely pleased that everyone else had a great enjoyable day.
With hindsight I probably should have persevered and stuck it out. I was a bit under the weather both from alcohol intake the night before and not being well all week.
I still think there are improvements that could be made for others in the future. That was part of the reason for my post, if everyone thinks everything was perfect then there is no room for improvement.
Firstly, I still feel there should have been some sort of pre ride briefing if only to introduce the ride leader and back marker and give a rough overview of the type of terrain. As I wasn't feeling 100% I might have opted for the fords ride instead.
Secondly, I of course accept that my bike might get some damage off road. That's why I ride a scruffy old 1100 and not a new fancy 1200 Adv Some of the guys such as Spout, Trippy and Johnny Boxer have ridden off-road with me before and can hopefully confirm that I am not a novice off road when I'm in the best of health. However, I think there is a difference between accepting a general risk of dropping the bike (which I expect to do at least once on an all day off-road ride) and the severe conditions of the steep rocky downhill. It could be that my bike was the least suitable. It still has tired original suspension and probably the least ground clearance.
Thirdly, I was not aware of any drop off system in operation. If that had been the case there would have been less confusion and easier access through the gates etc.
From my limited experience of the days ride, I found it more suited to the light weight trail bikes than the large GSers. From what has been posted here and from the photos it appears that it got a lot easier as the day progressed. Obviously if I had been made aware of that I could have chosen to stay on.
Thanks again for the constructive comments. They really are appreciated.
Sid
With hindsight I probably should have persevered and stuck it out. I was a bit under the weather both from alcohol intake the night before and not being well all week.
I still think there are improvements that could be made for others in the future. That was part of the reason for my post, if everyone thinks everything was perfect then there is no room for improvement.
Firstly, I still feel there should have been some sort of pre ride briefing if only to introduce the ride leader and back marker and give a rough overview of the type of terrain. As I wasn't feeling 100% I might have opted for the fords ride instead.
Secondly, I of course accept that my bike might get some damage off road. That's why I ride a scruffy old 1100 and not a new fancy 1200 Adv Some of the guys such as Spout, Trippy and Johnny Boxer have ridden off-road with me before and can hopefully confirm that I am not a novice off road when I'm in the best of health. However, I think there is a difference between accepting a general risk of dropping the bike (which I expect to do at least once on an all day off-road ride) and the severe conditions of the steep rocky downhill. It could be that my bike was the least suitable. It still has tired original suspension and probably the least ground clearance.
Thirdly, I was not aware of any drop off system in operation. If that had been the case there would have been less confusion and easier access through the gates etc.
From my limited experience of the days ride, I found it more suited to the light weight trail bikes than the large GSers. From what has been posted here and from the photos it appears that it got a lot easier as the day progressed. Obviously if I had been made aware of that I could have chosen to stay on.
Thanks again for the constructive comments. They really are appreciated.
Sid