OK, having waded through countless Gigabytes of pictures...here goes my attempt at a ride report for the recent Norn weekend.
With the last of an "Indian Summer" and Comberjohn keeping the weather mostly under control, the much anticipated weekend meet in Northern Ireland finally arrived.
Time off work, hotel and ferrys all booked. Fuelled up, tyres kicked, fluids checked, tour spares and tools packed, new toys (GPS) fitted and proven and Heidi given the final once over. Waypoints and route loaded. Raring to go.
Friday 19 September 2014: Home to Kilkeel, Northern Ireland![Irish Eccentrics Norn Iron September 2014 - Page 5 Day_1_10](https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/18/74/68/80/day_1_10.jpg)
I was up at the crack of dawn and ready for the 6 hour ride to Holyhead and the Stena Lines ferry to Dublin. It had been unseasonably warm during the week and this had brought thunder storms and heavy rain overnight. The forecast showed more rain, particularly over my route up through SW England and S Wales, but it promised to clear up later in the day. A little rain was not going to spoil my day though and at 05:45 I rolled Heidi out of the garage and was on my way.
It was very dark, the roads were still wet, but the rain mostly held off - the biggest problem was the dense fog patches which kept my speed down on the twisty country roads as I headed up towards Bristol. As this is my normal commute route, I know these roads very well, but the dark and the fog meant I was limited to dipped head light (full beam gave too much glare off the fog) and, as we all know, the standard K100 dipped headlight beam is not the brightest light out there and I didn't want to hit anything in the gloom - as it was, I frightened an assortment of pheasants, pigeons, partridges, a barn owl and a badger that were using the road as a place to while away the time.
It took just over an hour to get through Bristol; as usual the city and M4 westbound traffic was getting heavy as rush hour approached. As I came to the Severn crossing (one of the two suspension bridges between England and Wales), the rain was lashing down, but I had left most of the traffic behind so the going was good. It was getting lighter, but with the rain, the low cloud and the spray, there was not much of a view to be had as I rode into Wales.
![Irish Eccentrics Norn Iron September 2014 - Page 5 1_seve10](https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/18/74/68/80/1_seve10.jpg)
My route to Holyhead took me up through the centre of Wales through the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia National Park (the green bits on the map above). As with my previous trip to Ireland (Apr 14), I found that I had the road north virtually to myself. Perfect for riding, if not perfect riding weather. The rain soon stopped but visibility remained poor due to low cloud and spray - not good for taking pictures/video with the Garmin Virb camera attached to the fairing below the headlight, but I felt I had to include some pictures of the not so nice weather, otherwise, people will think that either the weather is always nice or that I only go out in nice weather!
![Irish Eccentrics Norn Iron September 2014 - Page 5 Day_1_11](https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/18/74/68/80/day_1_11.jpg)
As I headed north west, the road dried up, but the gloom remained and even at 09:40, it still felt dark.
![Irish Eccentrics Norn Iron September 2014 - Page 5 2_mid_10](https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/18/74/68/80/2_mid_10.jpg)
One quick fuel stop and stretch of the legs and I was passing though Snowdonia and into much better weather - a promise of blue sky and warm sunshine.
![Irish Eccentrics Norn Iron September 2014 - Page 5 Day_1_12](https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/18/74/68/80/day_1_12.jpg)
Making good progress, I was soon at the Holyhead ferry port, a little earlier than planned (you can always throw away time, but you can't get it back), arriving just as the ticket booth opened. Straight to the front of the queue and plenty of time for a well deserved coffee and sticky bun and a chance to relax (and catch up on the results of the Scottish vote).
![Irish Eccentrics Norn Iron September 2014 - Page 5 Img_7321](https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/18/74/68/80/img_7321.jpg)
Ferry was running on time, crossing looked like it was going to be smooth so sent a text to Olaf to let him know that I was looking good for getting to the rendezvous on time, then sat back and waiting until boarding time. Once on board, Heidi was tied down and left in the company of a few other bikes (including one K100 RS from Birmingham) for the 3 hour crossing
![Irish Eccentrics Norn Iron September 2014 - Page 5 Img_7322](https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/18/74/68/80/img_7322.jpg)
After an uneventful, but foggy crossing, we arrived in Dublin port just after 5pm and I disembarked onto wet roads and towards ominous looking rain clouds. In accordance with my instructions, I ignored the GPS and followed the signs and the trucks towards the Dublin tunnel (actually, the GPS was sending me the right way). Slightly begrudgingly, I coughed up the 10 euro toll fee and entered the tunnel (disappointingly, it really was a tunnel and not a bridge tunnel pipe thing, after all). Obviously, tunnels do have a negative effect on GPS signals and it becomes a bit erratic, as can be seen by the camera GPS speed read out below...whilst it would be nice to think that I could go that fast....honestly (officer) I was well within the 80km/hr speed limit!
![Irish Eccentrics Norn Iron September 2014 - Page 5 Day_1_13](https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/18/74/68/80/day_1_13.jpg)
The tunnel was definitely a top tip, it was warm and dry and pretty quiet. Up on the surface, it was rush hour, blocked roads and torrential rain - 10 euros well spent!
Emerging from the tunnel into a light rain shower, I was soon approaching the Applegreen service station where I was supposed to meet up with the guys coming from the South and West. Only trouble was, I had been told it was the Applegreen services at Balbriggan - the first one I came to was said "Lusk" and the road signs said the next one wasn't for another 50km. I duly pulled off the M1 and looked for a bunch of K bikes waiting for me. I was a bit earlier than expected (aiming for a 6pm meet, but I arrived about 20 minutes earlier) and was a little concerned to find that I was the only one there! I was now convinced that I had pulled off at the wrong services. Rather than ride blindly on, I thought it best to send Olaf another text first, but immediately found that my phone was out of credit (stupidly, I had left data roaming on and, in a very short space of time, it had yaffled my credit). Doh! While I went though the slow process of adding more credit to the phone (after turning data roaming off!) so I could send the text, a black K100 RS rolled up next to me and I recognised Simon (Ringfad) from our meeting in Dublin earlier in the year. Boy, was I glad to see him! I was in the right place after all, but just had got there first rather than last as previously expected. A short while later, Stephen (Sgmayhew) turned up on his silver K100 LT and we waited.
We had a 1 hour 45 min ride ahead of us and a deadline for dinner and were supposed to be departing at 6:15pm, but there was still no sign of the rest of the group. Simon eventually managed to get through to one of them and it was clear that they had all be delayed by weather and traffic and were still some way from our rendezvous. As it was now after 6:30pm, selfishly, we decided to ride on ahead and meet them at the hotel (where they eventually caught up with us). The three of us duly set off, with Ringfad in the lead, and headed up the M1 towards the tolls (only a 1 euro toll).
![Irish Eccentrics Norn Iron September 2014 - Page 5 Day_1_14](https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/18/74/68/80/day_1_14.jpg)
As we went through the toll (my velcro'd coin holder worked a treat), we spotted a red K bike waiting on the hard shoulder. Ringfad and I pulled over to meet Reg on his K1100 RT (over from Galway).
![Irish Eccentrics Norn Iron September 2014 - Page 5 R__r10](https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/18/74/68/80/r__r10.jpg)
Meanwhile, it seems that Stephen had not noticed us pulling over and came out of the tolls like a greyhound out of the trap and went screaming off up the road trying to catch us up!! We set of in hot pursuit, but there was no catching him without risking life, limb and license. He must have thought we were right twats for leaving him behind!!
Crossing from Ireland into Northern Ireland was pretty uneventful - an unimpressive roadside sign and a change of road signs from european style to UK ones. Don't know what I was expecting - vehicle check points, sandbags and sangers?
![Irish Eccentrics Norn Iron September 2014 - Page 5 Ni_boa11](https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/18/74/68/80/ni_boa11.jpg)
The route was pretty straightforward, ride to Newry, hang a right onto the A2 and head to Kilkeel. Reg decided that it would be more entertaining to ignore that turn and we ended up taking a short tour of some other parts of Newry, but we eventually found our way through and headed down past Warren Point, where we came across Stephen waiting at the road side for us (I don't know when he decided that no matter how fast he went, he would only "catch up" with us by stopping and waiting), and so reunited, we rode on to Kilkeel.
The hotel was easy to find and, looming into view at 8pm, was a very welcome sight as the four of us rolled around the corner. We were greeted by Comberjohn, Dai and Squig who had all driven down to meet us for dinner and were probably wondering where we all were.
![Irish Eccentrics Norn Iron September 2014 - Page 5 Arriva10](https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/18/74/68/80/arriva10.jpg)
Whilst the original plan had been to camp, the groupon deal for the hotel had been just too good to miss and, after a long day (14 ¼ hours since leaving home and 341 miles ridden), I was not sorry to take the warm, comfortable option at all! I certainly was ready for dinner and several pints of black velvety Guinness.
The rest of the group eventually turned up, although not altogether. They had suffered some horrible weather and heavy traffic and the plans to meet up at various locations enroute had not worked out for one reason or another. Still, everyone made it safely and without incident and we had a really good sociable dinner and a good craic. It was great to put (real) names to faces and meet the flesh & blood behind the numerous forum posts and talk K bikes.
After a couple more Guinness, it was definitely time to get to bed. It had been a long day, but worth every minute and the forecast for the Saturday was looking perfect....
...to be continued.