Steve T
Well-Known Member
Saturday 26th September 2015 – Paddy Dakar Day
Nerves!
Needed a pee!
Not too sure which it was, but I was up before dawn, even after a fitful nights sleep due to the bikes coming and going. Got this shot of the moon going down over the tents and vans
The “Off” time was supposed to be 10:00hrs, but this being Ireland, it was going to be when it was going to be!
To use an oft heard saying from the weekend – “Sure and it’ll be grand”.
Here a selection of photographs of the bikes congregating in the halls car park (not all the bikes, just some)
Once another short briefing and a round of thank you’s had been delivered, the riders were called up two by two too the start ramp. The following pictures of John & I were taken by Rusty – cheers mucker
And we were off onto the highways and mudways of County Tipperary. We’d elected to collect as many locations / codes as we could by travelling in a clockwise direction around the map, for no other reason that we didn’t have a fecking clue where we were going anyway, so clockwise was as good as any direction. Travelled several miles without a U turn – possibly the longest correct bit of navigating I did all day without one, without encountering any other riders. Considering we were well down the list when it came to the start, I was a bit worried. I needn’t have been, cos when I finally stopped to confirm our location, did a whole heap of bikes not come hurling round a corner towards us. Either we are going the wrong way, or they have just come from where we are going. We carried on and found our first code. HURRAH. This set the pattern of the morning as we carried on, with various turns taking us onto gravel and mud and shale and other sh1te. Only actually took a few pictures during the day
Here we see John asking “Where the feck are we” to a local lad we’d struck up a friendship with the previous afternoon, who, it turns out, didn’t have a fecking clue either of where we were!
After we’d collected around 13 of the 20 locations / codes (some locations had no code cards present, so photo’s of the marker tape at the location were taken) we had to head for a hotel south of Tipperary for an enforced stop over to allow for some recuperation & re-hydration to take place.
At this juncture we handed in our morning score card and got out hands on the co-ordinates for the afternoons hunt. Over a slurp and a nibble we marked up the afternoons maps with the locations, and once our enforced hours rest was over, we headed out to find what we could find. The first two cards/codes were found fairly easily, but the following 4 or 5 we just couldn’t find. Many other riders were in the same boat, stumbling around trying to find the code cards (which were different from the mornings ones and not marked as obviously as the mornings ones either). At one stage I pumped the co-ordinates into my sat nav and got to within 5m of where the card should have been . . . . . in the middle of a frigging field with nothing around to tie anything too. Was it maybe tied to the arse end of a cow, and the begger had wandered off maybe?
We discussed what to do next, and John was all for heading for the points that were located in woods some 15 miles by road away. I was honest with him and said that not only was I a bit peaved at not be able to find the last 4 or 5 cards, I was actually feeling a bit knackered. The discussion went on for a bit, but in the end safety was the deciding factor, so we ended the competitive element of our 1st Paddy Dakar and headed back to Doon and a long cold one.
But not before we stupidly decided to have a final hack about some of the tracks we’d done in the morning, but this time there was little possibility of other riders coming the other way.
After such an enjoyable day, finding ourselves back at the tent lines came as a bit of an anti-climax, but being really too pooped to notice, we commenced the celebrations after we’d de-gunged ourselves.
The Hungarians had a friend join them on the camping field . . . and he brought along his parawingthingymajig! Here we see it soaring above the tent field
By 18:00hrs, the official rally end time, the community hall staff had just about got the BBQ sorted, so we wandered around chatting about the days events with the many folk we’d met.
John and I were under no illusion about how we’d done – in our own minds we were winners just because we’d turned up and taken part, and that, I think, is what the Paddy Dakar is all about – turning up, talking with friends you never knew you had, then going for a ride on yer bike whilst surrounded by like minded folk.
Eventually the crowds were gathered and with much Irish wit the winners of the Paddy Dakar were announced and called up to the ramp for the presentation. They were a pair of first timers – something that has happened a few times on this event, according to the organiser. Here we see them being presented with the winners trophy by last years winners
Last years winners opening line was a cracker :–
“If we managed to win it last year, the rest of you must have been really sh1te”
After the winners presentation, presentations were given in the hall by both Nicolas Boyer and Chris Cork about their Dakar experiences. Chris entered the real Dakar last year, but was medivaced out on day 4 after a serious off messed up his hand. Apparently, he has entered for the next event, financing it by selling his house.
And wasn’t the end of the day. The local high street, later that evening, was thronged by both riders and locals spilling out of the pubs, all intent on reminiscing on the days events and enjoying the last hours of a brilliant day in company that has had them smiling and laughing the whole time.
And that was the Caledonian Shufflebums Paddy Dakar 2015
Steve T
Nerves!
Needed a pee!
Not too sure which it was, but I was up before dawn, even after a fitful nights sleep due to the bikes coming and going. Got this shot of the moon going down over the tents and vans
The “Off” time was supposed to be 10:00hrs, but this being Ireland, it was going to be when it was going to be!
To use an oft heard saying from the weekend – “Sure and it’ll be grand”.
Here a selection of photographs of the bikes congregating in the halls car park (not all the bikes, just some)
Once another short briefing and a round of thank you’s had been delivered, the riders were called up two by two too the start ramp. The following pictures of John & I were taken by Rusty – cheers mucker
And we were off onto the highways and mudways of County Tipperary. We’d elected to collect as many locations / codes as we could by travelling in a clockwise direction around the map, for no other reason that we didn’t have a fecking clue where we were going anyway, so clockwise was as good as any direction. Travelled several miles without a U turn – possibly the longest correct bit of navigating I did all day without one, without encountering any other riders. Considering we were well down the list when it came to the start, I was a bit worried. I needn’t have been, cos when I finally stopped to confirm our location, did a whole heap of bikes not come hurling round a corner towards us. Either we are going the wrong way, or they have just come from where we are going. We carried on and found our first code. HURRAH. This set the pattern of the morning as we carried on, with various turns taking us onto gravel and mud and shale and other sh1te. Only actually took a few pictures during the day
Here we see John asking “Where the feck are we” to a local lad we’d struck up a friendship with the previous afternoon, who, it turns out, didn’t have a fecking clue either of where we were!
After we’d collected around 13 of the 20 locations / codes (some locations had no code cards present, so photo’s of the marker tape at the location were taken) we had to head for a hotel south of Tipperary for an enforced stop over to allow for some recuperation & re-hydration to take place.
At this juncture we handed in our morning score card and got out hands on the co-ordinates for the afternoons hunt. Over a slurp and a nibble we marked up the afternoons maps with the locations, and once our enforced hours rest was over, we headed out to find what we could find. The first two cards/codes were found fairly easily, but the following 4 or 5 we just couldn’t find. Many other riders were in the same boat, stumbling around trying to find the code cards (which were different from the mornings ones and not marked as obviously as the mornings ones either). At one stage I pumped the co-ordinates into my sat nav and got to within 5m of where the card should have been . . . . . in the middle of a frigging field with nothing around to tie anything too. Was it maybe tied to the arse end of a cow, and the begger had wandered off maybe?
We discussed what to do next, and John was all for heading for the points that were located in woods some 15 miles by road away. I was honest with him and said that not only was I a bit peaved at not be able to find the last 4 or 5 cards, I was actually feeling a bit knackered. The discussion went on for a bit, but in the end safety was the deciding factor, so we ended the competitive element of our 1st Paddy Dakar and headed back to Doon and a long cold one.
But not before we stupidly decided to have a final hack about some of the tracks we’d done in the morning, but this time there was little possibility of other riders coming the other way.
After such an enjoyable day, finding ourselves back at the tent lines came as a bit of an anti-climax, but being really too pooped to notice, we commenced the celebrations after we’d de-gunged ourselves.
The Hungarians had a friend join them on the camping field . . . and he brought along his parawingthingymajig! Here we see it soaring above the tent field
By 18:00hrs, the official rally end time, the community hall staff had just about got the BBQ sorted, so we wandered around chatting about the days events with the many folk we’d met.
John and I were under no illusion about how we’d done – in our own minds we were winners just because we’d turned up and taken part, and that, I think, is what the Paddy Dakar is all about – turning up, talking with friends you never knew you had, then going for a ride on yer bike whilst surrounded by like minded folk.
Eventually the crowds were gathered and with much Irish wit the winners of the Paddy Dakar were announced and called up to the ramp for the presentation. They were a pair of first timers – something that has happened a few times on this event, according to the organiser. Here we see them being presented with the winners trophy by last years winners
Last years winners opening line was a cracker :–
“If we managed to win it last year, the rest of you must have been really sh1te”
After the winners presentation, presentations were given in the hall by both Nicolas Boyer and Chris Cork about their Dakar experiences. Chris entered the real Dakar last year, but was medivaced out on day 4 after a serious off messed up his hand. Apparently, he has entered for the next event, financing it by selling his house.
And wasn’t the end of the day. The local high street, later that evening, was thronged by both riders and locals spilling out of the pubs, all intent on reminiscing on the days events and enjoying the last hours of a brilliant day in company that has had them smiling and laughing the whole time.
And that was the Caledonian Shufflebums Paddy Dakar 2015
Steve T
