Monday, July 23, 2007 - July update
Hello all!
As the Summer season goes from wet to wetter, we have not been deterred and the RAT PACK has been out anyway braving the elements!
We have made it to Pool Quay side, to the ACE and to the New Forest under the threat of torrential rain and lightning, but fortunately managed to get away with it!
The bowling night was a great success and everyone that decided to give it a go, had a nice time. We will do it again and hopefully more of you will have the chance to have a laugh and score a couple of strikes!!
As you are aware from my text on the 19th of July, we were kindly invited to the Triumph Owners Motorcycle Club annual barbecue. Myself and a couple of other RAT members accepted the invitation and spent a good evening with fellow Triumph Owners.
We discovered a GREAT place to meet, totally bike friendly and at the end of a very pleasant ride, with a dedicated car park to talk Bikes around the Bikes!!
So, next RAT PACK meeting on the 1st of August, will end up at the William IV, West Horsley. The shop will be opened a bit later then usual to welcome everyone and around 19:00 we will ride to the Pub.
If it suits you better, feel free to meet up there. The car park at the back is available just for bikes, just go around the building and you will see it.
The table bellow is a summary of the up coming events, but from my proposed program I am still missing two things, a Track Day and a Party!! So keep your ears open, because there will be developments soon.
It has been great to see all of you on the rides. Also I have to thank everyone for being so kind to me and helping me with my well know hopeless sense of direction!! You have been wonderful, never complaining with the U turns and always polite about the extra 8 miles around the beautiful English country side, that you really didn’t need to do;)))
Table of events to come in the near future:

1st August RAT PACK meeting Meet at shop and ride to William IV, West Horsley around 19:00 or go there directly and head for the car park at the back.

11th August Bike Safe day at the ACE Ride out with the Police team and learn to be safe while being fast, under the watchful eye of the Law;))

25th August- -28th August Travel to Germany for 3 days at the NurburgRing The train is secured for 15 bikes, but we are 12 at the moment. If any one is still keen, please let me know ASAP.

7th to 9th September Ace Reunion Weekend and Brighton Run; Full weekend of festivities at the ACE and Run to Brighton on the Sunday;

Last wknd October Charity Ride to Belgium TBA;

And for the time being, that’s all folks!!!
See you soon, keep the shine side up!
Sofia
XXX

Friday, June 22, 2007 - Bowling anyone?
Hello everyone!!

So here we all are, in great expectation waiting for Summer, that was due in yesterday, and...nothing!! Has anyone seen that very elusive entity?! Hum, I suspect it got delayed down in Portugal, which, I must say, is a great place to be!!!

And let me tell you how great the trip was to the North of Portugal!! A total of 2000 miles, the majority of which spent doing gorgeous mountain roads, with new tarmac and providing endless fun! Not forgetting the very typical Portuguese kamikaze drivers (and the odd cow!), cobbled roads unseen by the British participants and lots of museum pieces, still in full working use and part of everyday life. Quirky, charming and fantastic value for money, but above all the kindness of the people was very refreshing. We will go back next year for sure!

Le Mans was a great experience and only the rain (really buckets of it!) made things a bit uncomfortable, specially to those of us that were so confident it wouldn’t rain, they left the rain suit nice and dry sat at home ;-)

The race was electric and Le Mans has the best-organized race event possible, even more if you think there were 147,000 people and 100,000 bikes!!!

Another one to repeat and if anyone fancies a great stay on a traditional French Gite (owned by British, no need to speak francais!), give Anne Peters a call on +33233260368 or email laguepiniere@wanadoo.fr. Gorgeous place with lovely people.


In line with a lot of requests for a livelier monthly meeting, I have decided to take the Rat Pack bowling on the 4th July, 2007!! It should be a good night out!

For the 4th of July I have booked the:

Hollywood bowl Bracknell,
The Point, Skimped Hill Lane,
Bracknell, RG12 1EN
Tel: 01344 867 700

The meeting point will be the shop, from 17:00 onwards for those that can make it there early to browse and maybe buy something of the wish list with the usual discount. Bikes excluded, as we know ;-)

We will ride to the bowling ground from the shop at 18:30 and if you cant make it there, just meet up with the rest of the gang at the venue, here are the directions:

From the M4, exit at Junction 10 then join the A329(M) motorway signposted (Bracknell). Bear right onto the A329 and continue toward Bracknell.

At Twin Bridges roundabout turn left onto the A329 and turn left (signposted Town Centre) onto Skimped Hill Lane. At the roundabout turn right into the Peel Centre.

There is free parking for Hollywood bowl customers at the car park opposite The Point. Hollywood bowl is below the Odeon cinema.

You can find the map on this link:
http://www.multimap.com/maps/#t=l&map=51.41478,-0.75461|16|4&loc=GB:51.41478:-0.75461:16|RG12%201EN|RG12%201EN. I look forward to seeing you all there and may the best one win!!!

The next big trip of the RAT PACK is to the (in)famous NurburgRing. The final list of participants is almost complete, with several changes in between, but I now have 1 or 2 spaces left. If you do want to go, PLEASE let me know so I can guarantee your place. I am preparing a folder with various information for all of us going, will be finalized a couple of weeks before traveling.

Have a great time out there and keep the shine side up!

Kiss, Sofia

Thursday, April 19, 2007 - 2007 R.A.T. Pack
Dear Members!

2007 promises to be a busy year for our R.A.T pack!

A big thanks to all of you who took the time to reply to the questionnaire. We are especially grateful for all your ride out and social event ideas...I promise to get back to you so that we can take them further!

R.A.T MEETINGS
A large majority of members asked to meet somewhere else on the R.A.T night and, in line with your requests, we decided to make this a real social event for everyone and go to the PUB!! So, with the help (and some connections) of our own Reverend, we have been blesssed with a lovely pub in Staines, called The Bells (TW14 4YA) serving a good range of beers (mine's a pint of Bombardier if anyone's interested!?!) with a friendly landlord who, after a bit of friendly persuasion by fellow R.A.T members and "manager" of the VERY BIG HOUSE WITH A STEEPLE opposite, agreed to give us a room FREE OF CHARGE! Nice one David - Many thanks!

Meeting dates as always are the first Wednesday of the Month, starting from the 7th of February, 2007 from 1900hrs onwards.

EVENTS
After reading your replys and taking on board your comments, we have come up with a cunning plan that aims to satisfy all sorts of riders and preferences. Major rides and events have been organised in the Continent and in the UK. This will give you time to analyse 'if' or 'what' you would like to do. We would very much apppreciate it if you could give definitive answers on these at the next meeting, even if it is a 'sure' or 'maybe'...

There were also lots of requests for both Weekend and Summer evening ride outs, mainly 1 day long rides, and if the weather holds up there will be lots to see and do in a radius of 100 miles giving plenty of scope for fun - as if we need any encouragement!

I am aware that there is a large number of shift workers, so instead of trying to fit in everything and juggle tight schedules, weekend ride outs will be organised on a more immediate fashion. We feel that a more flexible approach is better and to achieve this we now haev mobile phone numbers that will work as a pivot point to communicate what's going to happen to all the members. Please bare with us as we try out this new apporach, hopefully you won't end up in Lands End whilst everyone else is basting in Brighton!! We are, as always, open to comments/suggestions.

We need YOUR help! Some of you have kindly offered to take other members out for the rides either Kevin or myself am unable to attend. Please let us know which days you are able to help us out on and we'll buy you a pint at the next meet!

Want to discover culture, live the adventure, or just plain relax? Then indulge yourself in Portugal! Yes, Jack Lilley R.A.T. pack has been invited to Portugal! Obviously it would be rude not to go so take this as confirmation of our touring trip!

Take a look at our Events section (beneath this article) for more details on Portugal and many other outings!

I want to take this opportunity to apologise, in advance, to all of you regarding my hopeless memory!! In my old age, not only have I become deaf but totally useless at remembering your names!! It is a terrible fault and as embarrassing as dropping your bike in front of your mates!!! I might have to find some badges for future meetings to help me and my failing memory out!!

A big thank-you to everyone for you support, time and patience with me. It's been a real pelasure to be a part of this group and I'm looking forward to spending more time with you all in 2007.

Sofia Durao.

Thursday, April 19, 2007 - 2007 R.A.T. Events
LE MANS MOTO GP: 18-20 MAY, 2007

Overnight ferry Portsmouth-Caen on the Friday. arriving Saturday at Le Mans. Stay at B&B or hotel. Rave, I mean race(!) on Sunday leaving on the 17:15 ferry, arriving back home at approx 21:15hrs.

PORTUGAL: 27 MAY - 8 JUNE, 2007

Catch the ferry from Plymouth-Santander on the Sunday, arrive Monday and ride to North Portugal, visiting the Douro Valley along some of the most beautiful roads as recommended by the Triumph Club in Portugal! We will be taken to some of the remotest places, needless to say the scenery will be fantastic. Along with the opportunity to taste some fantastic food and some wine tasting thrown in!

We head back on the ferry Thursday (7th June), arriving back in the UK on Friday. The whole trip is 12 days, but only 9 days actual holiday time. If you prefer to go another way, we would be happy to meet you at a later stage...

ASSEN MOTOGP: 29 JUNE - 1 JULY, 2007

I'm working on it!! Trying to find us the best deal at the moment...Watch this space!!

NURBURGRING, GERMANY: 25 AUGUST - 28 AUGUST, 2007

Taking the Ferry/Euro tunnel on the Saturday to Calais straight to Nurburg...along 250 miles of motorway followed by 60 miles of gorgeous Germany roads! All day at track on the Sunday. Tour the track area on the Monday until it opens at 17:15hrs where you can enjoy 2 solid hours of quiet laps. Retunring back home on the Tuesday.

NOTE: The above events are just a taster, there will be a more detailed programme available for all the major trips when I know exactly how many of you are joining us...

Thursday, April 19, 2007 - R.A.T. Pack Discount
"What about our R.A.T pack discount?" I hear you shout from the back (probably Bob!) New members may not be aware but on previous R.A.T pack nights, which were held in the shop, 15% discount was available on all clothing and accessories bought during the meeting. As we no longer hold the meetings in the shop, this won't be possible, but fear not for the health of your purse, wallet, coffee tin stuffed with pennies for a rainy day, I have a solution. From now onwards, at every monthly meeting Sofia and I will be handing out our JLRAT Discount Card. These will be valid for the entire month until the next months meeting and can be redeemed for your clothing/accessory purchases made at Jack Lillies in Ashford.