It was a fantastic run and John Barnes produced a route which is a very close
second to our long standing favourite the Eve Valley run.

Some 13 bikes pitched up despite the cold weather,
11 BMWs and 2 Triumphs ridden by 12 Daves and 2 Dave'esses.

With John leading and the Fat Controller with the Dark Angel pillion on the tail,
we rode to Stockbridge our first unofficial stop to adjust our radios.

This also gave Dominic, who came down from Bicester to join our ride,
the opporunity to attempt a visit to the WC. Chris promptly obliged
and ferried him pillion on his Triumph, there and back! 

On the way out towards Salisbury Panos decided that our observation skills 
needed sharpening and over the radio he asked how many tyres 
were hanging on the garage wall in Stockbridge,
and of course the make, the size as well as the tread pattern!

How boring, Panos was the only person to get all four right, 
clearly he must get out more! After some lovely sections of the A30 
we stopped at the Little Chef in Shaftesbury where Panos decided 
to pay for everybody's refreshments. I think he must have been feeling guilty
on account of his observation exercise.

The next section was the A350 to Blandford, one of RiDE magazine's 
best biking roads in the South, to finish at Swanage after some more lovely twisties. 
On the way to a suitable Cafe for lunch -far too healthy in my opinion - 
Panos provided the photo opportunity of the day.

He jumped on a model Harley for little kids in one of the amusement arcades 
and luckily did not break it! After lunch with radios in full form again 
we set off over the Purbeck Hills on some narrow roads
with spectacular scenery only to be spoiled by a number of 
"considerate" tailgating car drivers.

Well, it was Sunday and cars drivers do have more rights than bikes ~
when it comes to road use, haven't they?

After some strategy discussions over the radio, 
Chris duly rose to the occassion overtook one car
and opened up the gap to enable bikes to overtake. 
Next time this manouvre will become part of the initial pre-ride briefing.

Talk about "considerate" road use though, the award on the day went to a certain car driver
who decided to overtake 3 other cars over a right hand junction, it was classic stuff!
We discussed the notion of catching him up to present him with his award 
but he was clearly far too fast for the likes of us faddy daddies. 

After some brisk stretches from Blanford to Salisbury
we all arrived at the Hill Top Cafe, our final coffee stop, 
with very high spirits as this was a rather exeptional ride.

Dominic has now been awarded honorary "usual suspects" membership 
by popular demand and we all look forward to his next appearance. 
A huge thank you to John for a stonking route and some spirited and consistent leading. 
I hope to see you all on the next one ....

Neil on the red 1100S