Surrey TRF at Sweet Lamb Rally Complex Nov 2016

[mudeevee]

I’d been fortunate enough to ride at Sweet Lamb previously at a TRF National conference earlier this year. The facilities available are near perfect for trail riding groups – accommodation/food/secure bike parking/wash down and of course the availability of riding terrain to suit all abilities.
When you add rider training and experienced guides/instructors to the mix, a weekend riding here can be as good as it gets!

Heading up the Academy is Mark Molineux (Moly). He has been riding the dirty stuff since Centurion was a rank and not a tank. As an ACU Off road coach Moly is a safe bet to improve your skill level. As there were to be 17 of us, Moly called in the help of Rob, Pat & Ben – all equally experienced in guiding and instructing. These helping hands ensured that we were guided/led/mentored the whole weekend and that the large group never felt too large.

Friday evening, for me, was a great relief – I’d been planning the weekend for 2 months, negotiating prices, getting people to commit (time and money), having people drop out and finding replacements – all takes its toll, so to have everyone on site on Friday evening gave me a good feeling. We met and ate together at the Blue Moon in Llangurig before heading in convoy to the Rally complex. Moly was onsite and had powered up the generator – so we had light & heat. Those boys who were staying in the bunkhouse rushed around finding a decent bed and getting themselves settled. The remainder parked their van palaces and settled down to some serious hydration exercises and banter practice. Turned out to be quite a late evening………..

Saturday arrived – as did the hail, wind and occasional snow! Clearly our riding gear was going to be tested today! Moly and the team prepared us well with a cooked breakfast, an essential safety brief and an outline of the weekend plan. Shortly after we were off around Sweet lamb. Moly and team rode us around for an hour or so, with occasional stops to explain and demonstrate a few techniques designed to improve our riding. Then back to the Rally complex for a cuppa and a warm.
We were then given a choice. Carry on and spend the rest of the day training around Sweet Lamb or go on a long slightly more technical trail ride.
I was surprised to find that only 2 people chose the trail riding option!
The 2 trail riders (Bobby & DaveKTMkid) were led off by Rob with strict instructions ‘these are 2 of our best riders and they want to be punished’. Sure enough, Rob gave them a cracking day of riding some of the more techie trails in the area – they also caught the worst of the weather atop one of the many exposed peaks. They arrived back much later and joined in with the rest of us………

The remaining group were taken out by Moly, Pat & Ben for more training. Interesting to note that, while all our guys were on smaller enduro machines (with the exception of a single Husqvarna 701), Moly and Ben were on much larger bikes.
As the weekend wore on we became aware of the ‘ever presence’ of Ben on his HP2.
Wherever we rode, regardless of terrain, he was always there lurking at the back – I was reminded of the Top Gear specials, where the Stig’s foreign cousin would follow behind in a VW beetle or similar, just waiting for a break down. The difference being that I was worried that Ben would simply crush any slackers with his tank like bike……… He did not, of course.
The day continued with training exercises – covering brake & clutch, weighting the pegs when cornering, feet position, correct body position when cornering………. Slow speed, with constant encouragement from instructors, quicker circuits practicing the same basic skills. Through the day everyone improved their bike handling skills. So much so that, during one exercise, Moly called a halt as he felt everyone was becoming too fast!
We finished the day with 3 or 4 complete circuits of Sweet lambs fantastic sweeping course over the mountain. I felt like a proper Rally rider – except much slower and knackered!
Spirits were boosted in the evening when Moly & Ben removed riding gear and donned chef’s aprons. A plentiful BBQ was wolfed down before more hydration exercises and stories of daring-do were shared.

Sunday arrived with fair weather (well it was cold, but no rain, sleet, hail or snow). There was even some blue sky. Could we still be in Wales? In November?
Following a quick cooked breakfast we were quickly away for a group trail ride.
Rob led the way with Pat & Ben bringing up the rear (in that eerie way)! The route had been thought through and the group flowed through some beautiful countryside on Byway and UCR. The route was suitable for big bikes and had a few techie bits to it – but nothing to trouble us newly trained riding gods!
There was plenty of opportunity for those that wanted a challenge – the odd hill climb or bog (or boggy hill climb), but generally, the really tricky stuff was avoided.
We all finished the trail ride safely at around 2:30. This gave everyone the opportunity to use the wash down facilities, pack kit and head off for their journey back to Surrey and beyond.

The feedback I have had from all riders has been great – all enjoyed the whole weekend – riding, banter, learning and of course fellowship.

The feedback I’ve had from Moly and the academy has been great as well – they think that you were a great bunch who took the lessons presented and rode with them – well done to all!

What do I think? I’d go back tomorrow with any of you!

17 people arrived on Friday evening. 17 people rode all weekend, 17 people arrived home safely on Sunday evening. One puncture, a couple of little offs and a squillion memories!

Thank you!

[GDAS]

excellent write-up Derek

[Stewie]

Top write up Derek, as everyone else says thanks for sorting, sounds like you all had a great time.

Has anyone got any footage?

[gavinskii]

Superb write up Derek.

Shame it clashed for me with a pre-booked LDT, another time though (in warmer weather) and I would be really keen.

[michaelmy]

Excellent write up, Derek

Moly & Ben are top blokes! (other than being fellow HP2 owners) Was that Pat Priestley as well?

I must go back