Rumble in the Mumbles, 11-13 Sep 2015
After a gap of 4 years, Hogsback Chapter returned to shake the Gower with Harley thunder on what turned out to be a glorious three days - with a little nifty shower dodging on the Saturday. 17 bikes left the dealership on Friday following an early store opening (thanks Toby), joined later by two more bikes along the way. We thundered off westwards via the old A4, ate lunch in the shadow of Caerphilly Castle, and then rode a fabulous scenic route up the Rhondda and down the Afan valleys, through the hairpins between the two, finally descending into Swansea and on past the Mumbles to the far end of the Gower, where the bar and dining rooms of the hotel overlook the amazing three mile sands of Rhossili Beach in their entirety - easily one of the most majestic vistas in the UK. On Saturday we took a series of easy steps biking around the sights of the Gower and the Brecons, with an entertaining tour the Penderyn Whisky Distillery, lunch in a country pub, and a shopping trip to Swansea Harley-Davidson, where we were warmly welcomed by the Black Mountains Chapter bearing gifts of coffees, teas and plates of freshly made Welsh Cakes. The day was rounded off with ice cream in the late afternoon sunshine overlooking the Mumbles themselves. Sunday was a lovely progressive ride home in Autumn sunshine and on dry roads - half motorway and half the wonderfully empty A4 with a nice little lunch stop in elegant Marlborough. Dik and Hillary had a fabulous time leading this ride of 33 members, including back markers Gary Morss, Paul Andrews and Paul Taylor who provided solid and highly effective assistance - many thanks to them. Thanks also to Gary and Chris Morss who helped with the recce. And special thanks to Ken Hall who organised a wonderful memento of the ride - thank you to him and all who participated in an excellent weekend. We had a blast!
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