Ah, but then you would not be taking into account the careful preparation and un-selfish sacrifice of our leader for the day, Sir Chris of “Why-haven’t-you-got-a-Triumph-then”. He likes to ensure his mates have a good time, and on this occasion he obviously put a lot of thought into how to make it a special day to remember.
I mean, how many other people would put on a show like he did. Carefully building-up the expectation of whether he would arrive. Throwing away his keys on the motorway. All just to create challenges for the team to solve. How to get the alarm fob working? Was he going to have to keep the engine running all day? How to find a ladder? Would a window need to be broken? Would a spare set of keys be found? The tension was unbearable but the morale was high.
By 10:30am, Chris has skillfully honed the team into an efficient fighting unit second to none. No challenge that day would be too much now, but still every ounce of the morning’s training was going to be needed by the enlisted men for the tasks ahead.
Overcoming bad-mouthed ignorant road-rage from a Basingstoke car driver (without rising to the bait). Refusing to doubt the leader’s sense of direction, no matter how much he tried to trick us into thinking he didn’t know any Macdonald sites in Wiltshire.
Even resisting the drip-drip torture of Bristol’s lesser-known back streets, with no appealing eye-candy to soften the view. Building to the finale of an unexpected road closure – amazing, just how did he co-ordinate the timing? (Let’s hope he didn’t also organise the broken pelvis of the biker half an hour ahead of us.)
Undaunted, the ride went on. Who needs a plan anyway? We had roads, bikes, sunshine. We even had a volunteer who selflessly took on the burden of marking most of the junctions single-handedly.
Of course it was inevitable that he would then have to get from the back of the ride up to the front again, in time for the next junction. Oh well, what a burden – clearly no truth in the rumour he might just be enjoying himself! No, his bike was simply the most visible, a nice bright sunny yellow – no-one could miss that one!
With a final lesson about pre-ride tyre-inspection from one recruit, we all descended on the tea-rooms in Stockbridge for a gentle civilised de-brief. So if you think a ride-out is just an excuse for a mad blast, think again. The planning, the sacrifice, the discipline, the adversity, the team-work, the trust, the good humour.
Tony, next time you’re bored, don’t bother invading Iraq. Just get yourself a bike and come along the next session. You might learn a thing or two, and even find a new hobby for when “you have more time to spend with the family”. It doesn’t even need much fuel! Thanks for an excellent day, Chris, and thanks to Clive for his patient back-marker duties.
- Tim Considine, dirty red 1100S.