Gravel Graham’s Peak Potter About (Treasure Hunt)
Well it’s finally took place, the first attempt was a washout. So this was going to be a nice warm dry ride out? Well it was eventually, the weather wasn’t the blistering sunshine of a few weeks ago (when it wasn’t pissing raining a lot); well it was with some trepidation that I set off from home wondering how many would turn up for something that the club, as far as I know, hadn’t done on a ride out.
I got to McDonalds for about 9.00; yes I was looking forward to the day (yeah right, I had a lot of paper to get rid off) and one by one the members turned up (sounds like a day at the cricket?) with Terry and Sue showing up first, poor bugger Terry looked really rough. He had been poorly with man flu, Sue insisted he came along as "you’ll feel better with the wind in your whiskers" or something along those lines. Steve and Mary Cooper; Dave and Ann with their friend Mark Smith, on a Ducati; John and Rachel Butler, Chris Wallis, Paul Phelps so that made a total of 8 bikes (and me).
As it was the first time I had planned a ride like this I was concerned that I had put the right amount of check points in and the routes of sufficient interest so that all abilities were able to enjoy the day. Still at least I had enough riders to make two groups; Terry, Steve and Dave suggested that we split into two groups; one cruiser's and the other sports bikes. I had thought of doing one route as a led ride but Dave was (credit to him) keen on getting to grips with the original format of the ride I had intended. Thank you Dave.
I intended to use the Yonderman Café as the base for the ride out and I would base myself there so that I could help anyone in need; though Terry suggested that I went with the cruiser group rather than stay in the café. I handed out the necessary maps and instructions and went into a bit of a brief (just like being back in the army) outlining what was expected and how to look out for the clues. Also, I took the opportunity to remind everyone of the typical hazards encountered around here. Still, that went well and someone suggested that they would like a bit of something to eat first; WRONG IDEA, I went to gather everyone up and was told “WE HAVEN’T BEEN FED YET!!!” well next time I won’t make the mistake of letting you out of my grip until it’s time to go… as this took up valuable riding time. Notes made in very secret diary for my eyes only.
Still the two groups sorted themselves out and set off; one group went left and the other group went… left; Well done leader, won’t mention any names to protect the GUILTY, still both groups went different ways (as intended) eventually. I went with the cruisers and just sat at the back watching out for any errors in map reading; ok so I spent more time at the front than at the back but hey, it’s supposed to be fun init? The route that this group took, can’t speak for the other group but I suspect something similar may have occurred; was totally different than the way I had gone and intended. This is not what I had imagined but, was totally just what should have happened as I had intended each group to find their way around the area. I let the group find the way to the next point without much help from me; though I mentioned to Terry, that the routes were not what I thought they would take. So this was a learning experience for me as well. It makes sense really as I know the area and the short/direct routes around here and the main reason for me deciding on this form of ride out was that each group would make their own routes and find places of interest for themselves; so this bit went as I had expected. Due to the lateness in setting off both groups didn’t finish the 15 checkpoints that I thought they would get to. In fairness I had rode the route over 4 days to make sure that there would be enough places for the groups to visit. There are in fact over 56 check points on the entire route.
Well, we all headed back to the Yonderman for 3pm and it was still open. I understood they were closed at 3pm, but that is only in the winter. I took the completed questionnaires from both teams and to my surprise they had covered exactly the same amount of places visited, though the
second group didn’t find the wild boars that I hoped they would find, still next time maybe? After checking the answers I found it was a winning score by the sports bike team of 6 and the cruisers got 6 as well. A dead heat? Well not quite; both teams took part with great enthusiasm and hopefully enjoyed the day out and it was hard to decide which team should take the coveted 1st prize home with them. I thought it only fair to award the trophy to the sports bike team who without any assistance managed the same points as the cruiser team.
With a great deal of curiosity I unveiled the prize, yes I really pushed the boat out with my choice of trophy; yep it was glorious, white glazed; brand new, and in pristine condition, with a delightful inscription on it; an EGG CUP. I thought it was a really wonderful prize (well I would,
wouldn’t I?) every one was chuffed to bits with the glorious prize (I hope). Every one had a great laugh at this wonderful nay, stupendous prize. The photo’s show this well; so I ain’t fibbing.
A very sincere Thank You, to all who took part in this ride. I was unsure how it would go and whether it would work; I think it did work and though it wasn’t as smooth as I had hoped; it did go down well with everyone. There is enough in the treasure hunt that I have put together for
it to give the club a Treasure hunt for the next 4 years with out any more additional work to do. What have I learnt?
It did take me some time to put together but the thanks I have received from those who took part
made it all worthwhile
THANK YOU VERY SINCERELY
GRAVEL GRAHAM XX