Cotswolds & Oxon Loop

First topic message reminder :

We've been discussing this for a while, but time has come to announce the details of the inaugural ride through the Cotswolds.



Basing ourselves at the Holt Hotel on the crossroads of the B4030 and the A4260 near Steeple Aston. There are other accommodation options available, B&B's from about a mile away and a  camp-site about 4 miles away.
Meet at The Holt from Friday evening for those staying over, those close by who would like to join for the day's ride-out are most welcome and can join us in the hotel car park Saturday morning. Conveniently there is a petrol station opposite the hotel.


The price of the hotel (per person per night)
RO: £35
BB: £40
DBB: £65

bookings please either via this thread or a PM to Ondurin (Raymond). The ride-out is in the planning stages, however getting an idea of how many will be able to make the ride-out will help with the catering choices.


If you could put your names down here, the master list will updated. Questions and discussions are welcome in this thread.

bobh wrote:Timings for Saturday (if all goes to plan, which it rarely does):

09:00 - Meet up at the Holt Hotel for a briefing from Steve and Bob
09:30 - Depart on the first leg, taking in the Charlbury TT and the mini ford at Broadwell
10:50 - Mid-morning stop for coffee etc. near Stow-on-the-Wold
11:20 - Second leg some typical Cotswold villages, and an ascent of Edge Hill
12:40 - Lunch stop near Great Rollright
13:40 - Third leg, with an ascent of Fish Hill (to get rid of your chicken strips), brief stop at Broadway Tower with view west to the Brecon Beacons (weather permitting), then past lavender fields and onto some flowing open roads
15:40 - Afternoon stop near Cirencester
16:10 - Final leg, returning via touristy Bibury and the Charlbury TT in the reverse direction to the morning
17:30 - Arrive back at the Holt Hotel
19:30 (t.b.c.) - Dinner is served!

Thanks for this Bob,

I'll give this to my team at the Hotel so they can listen out for people
For the people staying on the Friday night, I will hopefully have an area set out just for the bikes, will be good if they are all lined up

I also have my Action Camera ready for the ride, although mine is mounted on the back of the bike facing backwards to scare off all them tailgating car drivers (It works wonders btw).

I will be at the Holt on Friday to greet people etc, you'll also see my Tcat in the parking area.

Edit: Just so people are aware. breakfast on weekends is from 0800 - 1000, so people that are arriving on the Saturday morning could come in for breakfast (£7.50 pp) for a full buffet breakfast. For the people that are staying this is included with the room price

Raymond.

Ondurin wrote:
I'll give this to my team at the Hotel so they can listen out for people

I hope they won't rush to barricade all windows and doors

Ondurin wrote:For the people staying on the Friday night, I will hopefully have an area set out just for the bikes, will be good if they are all lined up

Will try and do a straight line-up There's 3 bikes 'staying' over Friday. As it's rare to see so 'many' Thundercats together these days, we ought to do a T'cat photo line-up in the morning before we head off.

Looks like the weather is going to play ball too - should be a good ride (although be prepared for tourists!). I'm coming over Saturday morning so might well do the brekkie thing, let's see what time I get up.

PS happy to do a turn as tail-end Charlie as I'll be on home turf.

Thanks Paul, see you Saturday morning.

Will touch on the agricultural hazards on Saturday, but won't bore with an experience I had last week in my stomping ground. Had cleared a long line of vehicles which were following a tractor with trailer loaded with a couple of hay bales. Indicates he's turning right and was right up against the center line. I stop and have a look see going down the left, moved a about a yard and spotted bales stacked on the left hand side of the road so stopped, something didn't seem right. Next thing the tractor swings sharply left, bounces up the dirt road with his right indicator happily flashing away - bit of back to front wiring!

Oh poo, is this on Saturday? I bloody forgot!

Yep this Saturday. I've been looking forward to this, too much fixing and not enough riding lately

Due to my memory lapse I can't bloody make it now, sorry folks. I seem to be cursed for the group rides this year

Don't worry about dropping out, you've let us know so all is good!

And on a happier note, new baby is here, and he is called Logan.

Here he is being fed by his older brother Dante (3years old)
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See you all on the weekend

ps: I changed my oil and filter when I had a spare 30 mins

Raymond

Congratulations Raymond, I would say he's a beaut but all I can see is a black X, I think my computers playing up again.

Not your computer, there is no pic displayed.

Raymond, you'll need to upload it to a photo site and link it to your message, the site doesn't accept pictures directly. The first icon in the 5th block when in the editor is Host an Image. If that's googldy gook, then drop me a PM and I'll give you my email address.

Urgh, I'll fix that later, busy with the boy's now xD

Congratulations Raymond.

Looking forward to it.
See you all at the weekend.

Cheers
Rosco

Congratulations Raymond!

Have a great weekend folks. We are just getting the car packed to head to Edinburgh for the weekend to watch the Tattoo.

Ride safely
Linz and Rob x

Yeah, have a cracking weekend folks. And hope you Rob and Ewan enjoy the tattoo too Linz.

Having a ball.

Only one bolt has fallen off so far.
It's as if someone pinched my gear lever pinch bolt.

enjoy the tattoo guys.

Cheers
Rosco

Keep on top of the maintenance with this new to you sikle Rosco, we don't want it to become bos 3 now do we!

Rosco wrote:Having a ball.

Only one bolt has fallen off so far.
It's as if someone pinched my gear lever pinch bolt.

enjoy the tattoo guys.

Cheers
Rosco

Pop in on your way home tomorrow Ross, we could get the fast cats together for a photo shoot!

More write-up to come, but Rosscat2 has picked up where the old one left off and has started falling apart mid ride-out. Plus the now-mandatory leaving open of the topbox.

Nothing major has happened and it's been a blast for me

What a great day, great bunch of guys and managed to witness first hand the the self disassembly of Ross' bike, home safe and sound. Will edit out the winkie shot then post links to the videos of today.

Look forward to seeing more words, pics and vids about the day. I did manage to sneak out for an hour locally on my Kwacker 550...I needed a 'fix'

Had a blast.

Thanks for accommodating and organising us (Raymond,Bob & Steve)

Twas like a well oiled machine.

Great to put faces to names and meet friends old and new.
Can't believe the new bike is up to the old tricks. I blame the owner.

Thanks again to Bob for supplying me with a lifetime supply of pinch bolts and Steve for providing a selection of bits.
I'll try not to use any more of them.

Cheers
Rosco

I'm glad everyone enjoyed them self's as I know I did.

If it's possible would people who stayed at the Hotel be able to give feedback via TripAdvisor? If you do please be honest about it, I prefer seeing constructive criticism on the reviews.

Also apparently my Action Camera died at the start of the ride and I didn't even notice :'( So no rear facing footage I'm afraid. I do have a few photo's that I'll post up though.

Raymond

Ondurin wrote: So no rear facing footage I'm afraid.

I didn't need to smile the whole way then after all

Introduction
Unlike some ride-outs, the inaugural Cotswold & Oxon Loop stayed almost entirely within the region of its title.  For those unfamiliar, the Cotswolds are a picturesque part of southern England covering the rolling hills where Oxfordshire & Gloucestershire meet, spilling over into Wiltshire, Somerset, Worcestershire and Warwicksire.  It is typified by market towns and villages built using the characteristic local “Cotswold Stone”, a limestone of varying colours from pale to rich golden colour, dependent on where you are.  These are set amongst a farming landscape of mostly arable, with some sheep farming and, in the summer, a healthy tourist herding industry.  As luck would have it, member Ondurin (Raymond) works in a hotel located right on the edge of this region and set us up with some rooms.

The prelude to this meet was the desire to get a lot of Thundercats together.  Sadly, in the end, the turnout was relatively low but there was a 57-66% Thundercat Majority Index, a record for any rideout in recent history.  Of the remaining bikes, approximately 100% were Yamahas.

• Raymond (Ondurin), 1996 blue/silver Thundercat.  Questionable suspension.  New baby at home.  World’s most understanding wife.
  
• Paul (The White One), confusingly on a yellow one.  Well, most of one – also contains YZF750 and R6.  No 2nd gear.
  
• Ross (Rosco), 1998 red/black/white one, almost showroom fresh.  Well, it was at the start of the weekend.
  
• Paul (weasley), 1997 black/grey.  Uncharacteristically clean.  Rider in leathers last seen several years ago.
  

Also-rans:

• Bob (Bobh), Yamaha MT-09, ride leader
  
• Steve (SteveCat) Yamaha Tracer, erstwhile tail-end Charlie.  Also brought Pam.
  
• Martin (Martinf), Yamaha XJ900 Diversion which is not a Honda CB750.
  

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The Ride
The day started overcast, which was a worry since nobody was prepared for rain.  Bob delivered a thorough briefing, outlining the route, the marker system and pointing out various potential dangers that we could encounter along the way, including a brief splash through a ford which wouldn’t be deep but needed careful navigation.  I had ridden part of this route before and added that not only should you ride carefully in the ford, but don’t gas it on the exit as you may spin up your rear wheel (ask me how I know!).  All fully-briefed we saddled up and set off!  After around 100 yards we made the first stop of the day for fuel (and not a single Ducati in the group either!).  Then we set off proper.

The opening miles were around roads known locally as “the Charlbury TT”.  Not quite the Isle of Man, but a good way to get the blood flowing… and the adrenaline if you are on a yellow Cat and misjudged a tightening corner.  No harm done though.  At times we got a little drizzle, which was definitely not in Bob’s briefing, but it wasn’t much and soon disappeared.

Having dispatched the TT course we wended our way across the north-eastern Cotswolds.  Here we saw much of the local way of life – farmland being harvested, fossilised drivers out for a trundle and horses out to pick a fight.  Along one narrow lane we came across two such horses who took exception to our group.  Despite going slowly and quietly they would not be pacified – Bob made it past but one particular beast was clearly not a motorcycle fan (not helped, I might add, by some poor riding by its rider).  We finally crawled past on the opposite verge and carried on, past various locations where Bob and I had previously pushed Martin’s terminal CB750 to life, past the spot where it finally died and thence to our first stop at the lovely Cotswold Food Store & Café.  Here was a warm welcome and a fabulous selection of cakes – I enjoyed the Bakewell tart and especially enjoyed Ross’s left-over tiffin.  Ross mentioned that the advice about not leaving the ford too quickly was probably worth heeding.  Ask him how he knows.

After tea and cake we lined the bikes up for a picture that the proprietor wanted to use on Facebook, then set off into the now-sunny countryside.

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Having all found our feet there was little to report on.  No persistent indicators, no incidents, surprisingly light traffic and a series of chocolate-box Cotswold villages separated by clear roads with no cameras or other enforcement.  The group had gelled with the marker system and Steve was doing his normal sterling service at the tail end.

Lunch was taken at Wyatts Farm Shop near Great Rollright (the area known locally for the Rollright Stones and also the excellent Hook Norton brewery).  Here we met Bob’s riding friend, and owner of the unreliable CB750, Martin.  Luckily today he had come on the bulletproof XJ900 Diversion which needed not even a light prod all day.  The café served another excellent array of delights, of which I can highly recommend the quiche lorraine.

Now fed and watered we set off again, with the weather being really rather perfect.  The route wended to the northern extremity of the Cotwolds at Broadway, where we took on the brief but entertaining Fish Hill – a series of tight bends on a fast road with two lanes at your disposal.  Knowing the area as I do, I hung back a bit and took a run at it, riding around the outside of Paul on one of the final bends.  Apparently “I have no second gear” is some kind of excuse on corners which are taken almost exclusively in second gear.  Uphill.  At the top of the hill is Broadway Tower where we briefly stopped to admire the view towards the Brecon Beacons in the distance.

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Ross charmed somebody into taking photos of us and then off we set to head for the scene of Ross’s first unscheduled stop.

There I was riding along enjoying the scenery with Bob up front and Ross behind me.  Next thing I know Bob is still up front but there is nobody behind me.  If you’ve ridden with Ross you’ll know that unscheduled stops are a thing.  Perhaps to take a picture, to join another ride-out, or to fix something.  Surely Ross’s crate-fresh bike wouldn’t be the problem, would it?  At the next turn Bob stopped and we agreed I would go back.  I found the group on the side of the road, all apparently OK and ready to go again, so I led them back to Bob where we all stopped.  There I learned that Ross’s minty-fresh bike had decided to pick up where the old one left off and start shedding parts.  Specifically the pinch-bolt that holds the gear selector linkage to the gear change shaft.  A suitable bolt had been sourced from elsewhere and Ross was up-and-running again.  It later transpires that Ross had had this linkage apart to fit a new chain and sprocket.  You couldn’t make this up.

We set off again and made the final cake stop at the Organic Farm Shop (lovely orange & polenta cake).  We made full use of the table, chairs, rope swings and vintage tractor.

By now it is getting on and we are heading for the end.  Just enough time for one more RossStop™.  I am following Paul, who is following Ross, who is following a Jaguar E-Type (with suspect valve stem seals I might add.  The E-type, not Ross.  Yet).  Ross makes the overtake and Paul follows him.  However, having made the overtake Ross immediately slows down to pull up on the left.  The E-Type now moves over to pass the stricken RossCat, with Paul still alongside to the right.  Paul had anticipated this and got past safely, but he thought I had followed him past and wondered if it had taken me out.  What had actually happened was that I saw Ross slow down and rather than get entangled in the E-Type sandwich, I pulled over to see what was up with Ross.  This time it was his jack-in-the-box topbox, which had sprung open and hit him on the back as he passed the Jag.  Luckily he didn’t lose anything and we quickly caught the group, who had pulled over with Paul’s concern for what might have happened.

Finally we tackled the Charlbury TT the other way and came safely back to the hotel.  195 miles done in good time.  Paul said his goodbyes and left and Bob measured up Ross’s pinch-bolt and left for home too, later returning to join us for dinner, bringing with him an array of bolts.

That evening the hotel served some excellent burgers, some compelling Olympics TV and a pool table with under-sized pockets (well, that’s my excuse for Ross’s 7-3 drubbing of me).  The next morning a full English kicked us off and we parted ways, with Ross joining on to the back of a passing ride-out before stopping off at Tony’s (Radar) en route to Scotland and Steve & Pam finding a flaming car to the south (I also saw the smoke from a distance).

It was a great day – good roads, light traffic, great weather, fantastic planning, good cakes and good humour.  I hope it happens again and I hope, after reading this, some of you are tempted to come along and see this bit of the country.

Fantastic write up Paul, I've got footage of the horse that nearly killed me lol. I believe I also have your overtake on film possibly, maybe whoops no sorry deleted it. Just editing the footage and swear words out and compiling a few shorts and I'll post up the finished articles.

Definitely have to meet up with you guys and do that run again soon. I want another shot at that Fish Hill, such a great road, they all were.