the trf at the abr festival

BELATEDBirthday

The ABR Festival 2021 played host to the TRF’ s 50th Anniversary celebrations. Teesside and North Yorkshire stalwart Gill Mitchell was determined to have a good time

hursday dawned bright and sunny with a few clouds. Having done a Google maps search for Ragley Hall, the venue for this year ’ s ABR festival, I packed my bike and headed off. Although I was sure I wouldn ’t need them – it’ s warmer down south, right? – I packed my warm gloves in my top box as insurance. Traffic was heavy, and it soon became apparent the Google maps believed I was in a helicopter! I stopped at Woodall Services on the M1 for a coffee and was promptly accosted by an Irish gentleman demanding money as he ’d lost his wallet. Yeah, yeah. I politely declined his request at which point he became very abusive. It’ s not often that I feel vulnerable travelling alone, but this was one time I could’ ve done with a tall male companion.

Coffee duly drunk, I headed off towards the M42 by which time the weather had changed and it was drizzling and cold. After a stop at Tamworth Services for more coffee, and to add layers/put on said winter gloves, I set off once more. Apart from the fact it was by now rush hour, and I was filtering through heavy traffic, the rest of the journey was pretty uneventful until I got to within spitting distance of Ragley Hall. All the bikes laden with tents etc. and clearly heading for the ABR Festival were going in the opposite direction. Finally I found my destination after a few U turns and headed off in search of Team TRF. “You can ’t get lost, ” said stand manager and TRF legend Garret Felton,

Thursday

“it’ s a straight road”! I love a challenge and once through a gate found myself in the middle of an open field. This couldn ’t be right, surely? Time to ring for help. Under Steve Neville ’ s excellent guidance, I found our encampment just as it started to rain. Doug Cartwright had very kindly transported my tent and camping gear down to the festival in his van and, top bloke that he is, had put my tent up for me.

Thursday night was VIP night. After I had unloaded my bike, we all headed off for the food and beer (included in the tickets), both of which were very much needed. And then after a few more beers and lots of banter we all retired to bed.

Friday dawned bright and early. I had agreed to meet Garret at 7.00am to set up the stand ready for the first day of ABR proper. This was my first time at the ABR Festival and my first time working on the TRF stand at that venue; although I have worked on the TRF stand at the NEC many times, and this was not dissimilar, it was a steep learning curve under the watchful eye of Garret. It quickly became clear that an awful lot of work goes into setting up and running a stand at the ABR and that it ran smoothly was testament to ▲

Garret and his team ’ s meticulous planning and foresight. So firstly, a big shout out to him.

I’ m not going to detail the show itself, as that has been covered amply on other forums, but there was lots to see and do. Security on site was pretty visible at all times and my experience of the loos/showers was that they were plentiful, with regular cleaning very much in evidence throughout the four days I was there. There were coffee bars and food stalls to cater for all tastes (and often long queues, too) but there weren ’t many stands selling gear, which was a shame. I was after a pair of gloves and couldn ’t give my money away. Hopefully, with the Covid situation easing, more retailers will be in attendance next year. I managed to throw my leg over a few bikes, all of which were way too tall and resulted in much mirth from sales staff, who told me on one stand that I looked like a toddler on her dad’ s bike!

The TRF stand was what is known as a stretch tent – open on all sides and with a wavy top. In one of the outer corners there was a sofa and table, well used by volunteers and visitors alike. It gave the stand a very welcoming and relaxed feel. Around the edges were flat-screen TVs and various trail bikes for people to look at, including a Zero DS and a KTM E-Ride. These proved very popular as talking points and certainly drew in the visitors. For those of us there all day the hot water urn and fridge were invaluable, as it meant we could make ourselves tea/ coffee on the stand, and having sandwiches provided was an added bonus. They were delicious. As were the TRF sweets. And the TRF neck tube was popular with all.

The stand officially opened for business at 8.30am each morning, although visitors started arriving from 6.30am – when Garret and I arrived to start setting up – eager to sign up for the taster sessions and to find out what the TRF is all about. It was interesting to find out how few adventure bikers have ever heard of us and what we do. Due to the open nature of the stand, it was necessary to pack everything away at the end of each day for security reasons, and this became a challenge as the stand never really closed, with interested visitors turning up pretty much all through the day until we left. Friday was a long day and Garret and I didn ’t get away until 9.00pm! We were a bit slicker about the packing up on the Saturday and got away at 7.30pm for a muchneeded curry and a glass or two of wine.

Head of Marketing Graeme Collins and Gavin Seiler set up and ran a very informative and comprehensive GRM presentation, which generated a lot of positive interest both from existing and prospective TRF members. The general consensus from all was that it is a very

useful tool and is to be much celebrated.

Steve Neville, TRF veteran and thoroughly good egg, gave a heritage talk each day and I learned a lot about the history of trail riding and the TRF. However, we were a bit out of the way, so these were not as well attended as they might have been. Main arena for Steve next year, methinks.

The big draw of the stand was the trail riding taster sessions, which went out every half hour from 10.00am until 4.30pm with a break for lunch. These consisted of a Run Leader and TEC, who took out groups of riders who wanted to find out more about trail riding on three local lanes. The weather was not kind to us with a lot of rain on the Thursday and Friday nights, resulting in the first lane of three becoming quite muddy and wet. This proved a challenge for some of the riders with a few unscheduled lie-downs but with the help of their peers these were soon rectified and there were no major mishaps! Despite the weather the feedback was extremely positive with participants reporting that they had very much enjoyed their experience and praising the run leaders/TECs. Big thanks to all the volunteers who led rides and to the TECs. It couldn ’t have happened without you.

The taster sessions predictably proved very popular, and all rides were filled an hour after sign-in opened. People started queuing at 8.00am on the Saturday and many had to be turned away, which was disappointing, but this seemed to be the case with all the other stands too. The Sunday rides were not as well attended, probably due to the inclement weather, and many of the visitors packed up and left while it was still dry. Something to look at for next year in terms of logistics and what we can try and offer. I know Garret and his team are already beavering away in a darkened room planning it!

As this was also a belated celebration of the TRF’ s 50th Anniversary, which had been planned for last year and which had to be cancelled due to Covid, the 4.00pm Friday and Saturday Celebratory Cake and Beer Tea Parties were very well attended. The format was a quick speech by TRF Chair Doug Cartwright, during which Doug informed attendees that Dave Carling, TRF Director, was very poorly and asked that we send him our best wishes, followed a ceremonial cake-cutting which proved very popular. The cakes, which were provided by Garret’ s wife Hanka, were delicious and did not last long once they were cut! Huge thanks to Hanka for her amazing cake baking and cake decorating skills. To say they were spectacular doesn ’t do them justice.

So, in essence, was the stand of benefit to the TRF? Most definitely yes. Having a ▲

presence at the ABR raises the profile of the TRF in the adventure sector and puts us firmly on the map in terms of being part of this growing and very popular genre of motorcycling. Interest in the TRF and the number of people wanting to join was pleasingly high, with the stand being busy all day. Lots of existing TRF members came along to say hello and it was lovely to catch up with old friends not seen since the start of the pandemic, and provided an opportunity to put faces to names and make new friends. That’ s what the Fellowship is all about and it was very much in evidence.

It will be interesting to see how many join-ups we get as a direct result of our presence here. For next year it would be good to be able to sign up new members on the stand and/or find a way to check how many people joined up as a result of chatting to us at the ABR. Was it value for money? That’ s way above my pay grade. Did I have fun? Yesss!!! My place at the ABR Festival is already booked for next year. ■