UK again 2007

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Wales and Cheshire in summer rain in 2007.

It was good to see all our family again and catch up on the news.

We bought an old Discovery and caravan so we could go to all the motor bike events during the summer.

Here Dot is starting riders at one of the special tests in a rally.

At Glynn Ceiriog on Easter Monday, the Lomax Trial.

where we met many old friends.

We spent two cold wet days at the time check at Strata Florida for the Welsh 2 day!

Some strange competitors.

Clerk of the course Elwyn Price and Kenny Williams listen to the suggestions-and take no notice!

( Kenny was to leave us in 2008 and will be missed by everyone)

The garden at our little hideaway in Wales was very overgrown and Dot began to prune and replant.

During the only hot spell we managed to get the new slates on the roof.

The grand kids enjoyed a few days holiday in Wales and entered Tantan in the local village show.

He won second prize in the most handsome dog class!

In October while the Rallyraid team went off to Morocco to test the cars for the 2008 Dakar we looked after the house.

We got rid of the caravan and bought a Transit van.

Then we took a break down in the New Forest.

The autumn colours were magnificent and we enjoyed cycling along the tracks in the sunshine.

Another visit to the National Motor Museum at Beaulie.

This beautiful Rolls Royce Sliver Ghost caught our attention.

Our first visit to two incredible monuments.

Stonehenge and Salisbury cathedral.

Dakar 2008 is cancelled so we escape from the cold!

After Christmas the Rallyraid team loaded up and set off for Lisbon for the start of the Dakar.

Beady and Milly were driving a Desert` Warrior, car number 462.

We wished them Bon Voyage.

We stayed at home with the girls and had fun!

Jim began to convert the Transit-in the freezing cold!

Then the team came home when the Dakar was cancelled.

So we packed everything into the van and set off to south to escape the snow.

First overnight stop was in France in the cold.

Then we enjoyed a picnic near to one of the many Chateaus.

After some cold nights in the Pyrenees we crossed into Portugal and the temperature began to rise

First stop was at Evora where the mountain bikes came in useful for getting to the shops and visiting the lovely Roman town.

Next stop was at sunny Serpa where the Municipal campsite was our home for many weeks.

We have visited this site many times-it is friendly and convenient for the shops when Jim ran of of screws, glue or other materials while working on the van.

The sliding door had to be covered in carpet-

so we took it off and glued the carpet before re-hanging the door-much to the amazement of other campers!

Shopping at IKEA in Lisbon and sunbathing at the coast.

As we had no windows in the van but Dot painted a picture for the rear wall!

What we needed was a folding table so took a trip to Lisbon.

Once again we got lost in the complex road system but did find IKEA and got a table.

Now it was time for a rest at the coast and we visited a few coastal campsites.

This is the faro at Aveiro.

These lovely painted wooden buildings at Costa Nova are delightful.

Back to Evora to finish the work and relax in the sunshine.

Now the Transit is looking more like a motor home.

We have called it K2-Kalbarri Bus two!

As we do not have room for the dirt bikes Jim fixed a rack on the back to carry the mountain bikes.

Then we prepared for the journey northwards.

World Enduro Championship in Portugal.

At Val de Cambra we squeezed into the WEC B paddock at the second round of the World Championship.

It was good to meet everyone again after our travels, swap tales around the BBQ and enjoy some good company.

The event was well organised and the extreme test in the town provided good entertainment for the local people.

But it was raining-not what we expected!

With Bob and Wendy we went out to do the fuel check for the MPS team and other Brits near the MX test.

There was plenty of support for all the competitors and we were pleased to see Tom Sagar, Si Wakely and all the other British riders doing well.

As everyone else headed for the next WEC round in Sitges, Spain we had to turn north and return to the UK.

Back to the UK on grandparent duty.

Beady and Milly were driving a Desert warrior in the Central European Rally-part of the new Dakar Series and got to the finish-well done!

The rally began in Budapest then went into the snow in the Romanian mountains.

With 8 cars to service Beady was kept busy during the rally.

The team got 7 cars to the finish- a fantastic result.

The girls made a lovely cake to welcome mum and dad back home after their success.

Grandson Alex has a Gas Gas trials bike and is enjoying his rides.

He won an award and we were so proud of him

Another good day out at the Thundersprint in Northwich organised by another old friend, Frank Melling.

Here we saw Agonstini, Phil Redmond and trials ace Sammy Miller.

Alex was in awe of the great man at the photo shoot.

Wales-mostly in the rain!

So it was back to Wales for some serious trail riding in our beloved Berwyn mountains.

Jim had bought a TM300 and was happy to be back on a two stroke again.

The scenery is great and we enjoyed some lovely rides.

Once again we stopped at the Memorial Plaque at the top of the Wayfarers track to sign the book.

How many times have we done this since the 1960's?

After all the hard work the garden in Wales was looking great-the plants had benefited from the severe pruning.

Dot was happy with the result.

Jim decided to attempt the Welsh Two Day Enduro just once more.

So Mid June found us camped at the lakeside in Llandrindod Wells again.

Here he checks his pockets while waiting at the start.

Dot went out on Millie's TTR to give him moral support on the course.

Wendy and Bob came up to do his backup and fuel

Needless to say it rained very heavily and the event was to be the hardest for many years.

Roger Hammond arrived from his new home in Limoges, France to ride a Honda CRF230.

Jim and Roger and all the other old farts should know better.

The deep mud and ruts in the Abbey Cwm Hir forest would prove too much for Jim's dodgy knee and he was forced to retire. Roger got too cold and went home to France.

So on Friday we were all out in the van to see the top men ride and pick up some tips.

Despite the rain the Welsh is such a great social event and everyone arrives to meet and greet old friends.

We found Dick Sutton complete with a new hip and new wife Shirley!

The competition for the top places was fierce especially amongst the young welsh riders.

Here is the winner, Tom Sagar showing all his skill on the slippery special test.

So sadly Jim retired from his very last ride in the Welsh 2 Day-

just as he did form his very first in 1972!

RAF Cosford air show.

Once again we visited RAF Cosford for the annual Air Show.

The static and flying displays were excellent even though the cloud base was a little low.

Last year we had visited the air museum at Bournemouth and were amused by this trike fitted with an ejector seat!

Handy for traffic jams.

The Battle of Britain memorial flight flew overhead and we were delighted to see our Spitfire PS915.

Jim took photos of a Spitfire 19 used for meteorology flights when it landed at Speke airport in 1955.

This very aircraft is now in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight painted as " The last one".

The latest aircraft to join the RAF is the Typhoon and the display was awesome.

But as usual it was the Red Arrows display team who were the starts of the show!

It was great to see them flying again-much better than those Thunderbirds in the USA!

More mud at events in the rain!

Chris our eldest son had bought a small fleet of military vehicles.

So off we went to Liverpool for the Military show in Walton park.

The royal Signals display team, The White Helmets gave a great display.

They use Triumphs and a couple of Honda CRs and an ATV.

As our old home town of Liverpool is the European Capitol of Culture for 2008 we visited the Walker Art gallery.

North Staffs and Shropshire Landrover club held an event at Swynnerton.

In the RTV trial Sue drove the Disco with daughter Zoe as co-driver.

Chris and Sandra shared the Range Rover with Beady and Alex.

Plenty of family rivalry at every section.

Even though the Rangy got battered the teams all had a good time.

But the rain came on Sunday and we got bogged down and left early!

Needed a 4x4 motorhome!

Beady was on TV in Scrapheap Challenge. He was the expert with the team who built this buggy to climb a sand dune.

Spot on Beady!

Northwards to Pickering, Yorkshire to support Bob at the Rydale Rally and meet all our northern friends.

When it wasn't raining we enjoyed the views.

We felt sorry for all the marshals who stood out in the appalling weather.

James from TBM was glad to get a lift with his broken KTM-back to the start!

Bob had a great event and finished the two gruelling days despite the atrocious conditions!

Wendy says we should all change our hobby to indoor bowling! A good idea.

Then we enjoyed fresh local fish and chips at the nearby pub.

The portions were huge!

Time to say goodbye and get towed out of another very muddy field-again!

We turned north to visit the town of Whitby where Captain Cook learned his seamanship skills in the eighteen century.

World Championship comes to Wales.

The GBXC was held near Llanarmon and David Knight, the Worlds toughest enduro rider came home from the USA.

There were many rumours about his ride for next year but Jim was quick to shake hands on a deal to ride a Gori!

David won the event and was crowned the Champion.

Lots of spectators came to enjoy the sunshine and see Knighter ride.

We wish him luck in retaining his GNCC crown in the States.

Hafren Dirt Bike Club were hosts to the fifth round of the WEC at LLanidleos.

We camped at the rugby club amongst all the officials and we glad to have a new awning!

Far too busy to take many photos we were happy to great all our friends from around the world including Wolfgang with his Metzeller truck!

We were hidden in the Hafren forest for two days in the cold and rain on a secret passage check!

The event was one of the best and hardest Championship enduros ever.

Knighter showed all his skill with a fantastic second place on day one and third on day two!

Brian Higgins was the MC and he used to ride a Gori!

The most cheers from the crowd were for young Si Wakeley who brought his MPS Husky home in third place in the Juniors!

It must be all that lovely Yorkshire tea that Marnie serves at service!

We prepare to go off again on another adventure.

Beady and Milly drove a Desert Warrior in the Spanish Baja.

Third time lucky they had a fantastic event and finished in 28th place!

Well done to them and the support crew who endured the heat in Zaragossa.

With a window and roof lights fitted to K2 Jim had time to put some new graphics on the sides.

K2 is almost finished.

Dot had made lovely silk curtains, new seat covers and we got ready for a long journey to Greece for the ISDE in September.

--------Off to Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, France and Holland---------

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