I’d like to start by saying a very big thank you to a few members of the Moos, Gaz ‘Chris Reeve’ Williams, Chris ‘Stunt’ Watkins, Nick ‘Bernaard’ Berni and former Captain Gordon ‘Bernard Scripps’ Thornton ECG, who all stepped into the breach and treated us to their own personal observations of the Moos and relayed them via ‘The Odes’, although in the case of Chrissy, his Odes were just like his riding prowess, starts off strongly with plenty of promise, but soon tails off into a damp squib!!!!

I’d also like to extend a warm welcome to our ‘Ex-Pat Moo’ Geoff ‘OBE’ Davies, who has returned to the fold after his 2 year stay in New Zealand, and has already re-established himself as a regular riding member.

Children back in school, Wales losing an international, the new registrations for cars, just a few events that always happen in the first week of September, but the most important event has got to be the Miggly Moos summer trip. With everyone looking forward to the trip for months, it was with a lot of excitement that we gathered in the Fwrrwmm car park for our departure to Aberystwyth. It wasn’t the full crew going on the Friday night just the fortunate members who are not persecuted and hen pecked by their partners and wives, or in Dez’s case his mother!!!!!

After a two and a half hour journey, a quick settle down in our 20 person dormitory, wash and change, it was off into the metropolis that is Aber!! Although it was Friday the 2nd, it could well have been Friday 13th for the first pub we entered we encountered a strange apparition, a somewhat ghoulish fuzzy figure that bore an uncanny resemblance to a certain member of the Moos, Gaz actually tried to take a photograph of the ‘Phantom’ but so far he hasn’t been able to reproduce these images. With a few more watering holes visited, we ended the night on Aberystwyth Pier in the aptly named Pier Pressure nightclub to conclude the first class preparation and training for the next days ride!!

With the Phantom still in tow, it was back to the digs and some more fun except that is for Chrissy who was pining away and sobbing into his pillow because Bernaard was not there to hold his hand!!

As dawn broke there was the inevitable dash to use the facilities, and this is where we finally managed to exorcise the Phantom and send him home, because one sight of Dez staggering hung-over and naked from the toilet was too much for our resident apparition and he was not to be seen for the rest of the weekend!! After a hearty breakfast we had to wait for the rest of the Moos to arrive before we could meet our guide for the ride.

But it wasn’t long before we heard the convoy arrive, and with that the mad rush to bag themselves a bunk bed. But it was all too much for one Moo who on entering the dormitory was overcome with emotion, because for Scrippsy his mind immediately digressed to when he was an upstanding youth team leader and sharing a dormitory with 16 other boys was common place. Just thinking back to these halcyon days was enough to bring out beads of perspiration on his forehead, and he began to shake with excitement. Fair play to Crock who is never slow in coming forward when it comes to advising our elder statesman, decided that it would be best to whisk Scrippsy off and to book him into a bed and breakfast so that the excitement wouldn’t become too much and start interfering with his pacemaker!!!

With the addition of the ‘Porlock Boys’ John and Rich, we were ready to set out for the ride. After a half an hour drive we met our hosts for the day Martin and his girlfriend Helen. Because of the after effects of my broken arm I was the only non rider, although I did think that I would be joined by Scrippsy at one point, as he was complaining that his shoulder was still very stiff after falling off last week, but in the end he decided to courageously push through the pain barrier!!

So after a photo opportunity off they went leaving me to look after the vehicles (cheers boys)!! After what seemed an eternity I could see the familiar blue and white livery of the Moos jerseys heading towards me, as they got closer the red perspiring faces deceived the Moos who had been ‘in training’ the evening before, and it was the first time that some of them had been lost for words, although in Dez’s case being lost for words is a regular occurrence considering his limited vocabulary!!!!

But the most important thing was that everyone made it back in one piece including the ‘injured’ Scrippsy who had decided to take it easy and ride at the back, tucking in just behind Helen, although he did complain of it being stiffer when he got back!!!!

So on behalf of the Captain and the Moos we would like to extend our gratitude to both Martin and Helen for treating us to a wonderful ride.

This ode will be continued after the Captain decides to submit his report on the ride…………….