Hartside
One of the great joys of riding bikes is that you can
choose to ride alone or with others. It was this very
basic concept and some fantastic roads in Cumbria
that spawned the idea to have a bit of weekend out!
Nothing fancy and nothing commercial, just some
mates, some bikes, some roads and spot of beer
around an open fire.
There was only one place for me in Cumbria and
that was Haggsbank Bunkhouse. Danny Taylor runs
the place and if you have ever been to an Horizons
Unlimited event in the UK then you may have been
lucky enough to see the Danny’s Road Kill Cook Out.
We opted for a BBQ with meat bought in a shop on
this occasion, but I think it may be fun for next
year... we’ll have to ask the guys on that one.
I had a nightmare getting there, not due to weather
or roadworks, no. I could not get there as I didn’t
have a damn bike! I was getting a KTM 1050
Adventure from KTM Silverstone but due to crashes
on the M6 I did not get the bike delivered until 1am
Saturday morning. I jumped on the bike in the dark
with no more gear than I would have for a 10 min
joy ride and hit the M6 in the pissing down rain. I
was getting to the event no matter what and I was
going to be there in the morning for one of Danny’s
famous breakfast burgers if nothing else. Plus the
fact that I put on the event and was not there, rather
like a Stag Do and the Groom to be never bothered
to show! Just not cricket.
The morning brought better weather and my gear
was nice and dry in the bunkhouse drying area, in
fact it was toasty warm and Danny had the breakfast
on the go. Great to catch up with some old faces and
to meet some new ones over several layers of pig in
a bun.
There is something special about rally events no
matter the size and being in the company of like-
minded folk always brings a relaxed smile. It was so
good to see that some had come on their own and
never met before and we had a married couple
complete with the family dog (Jasper) who rode in a
converted top box!