Post by harveydales on Mar 14, 2016 6:50:54 GMT -1
I should have realized things wouldn't go to plan when I got Harvey in yesterday morning with a tree attached to his tail. He didn't seem bothered by it but wouldn't have been able to lie down and from the few poos I picked that morning, he couldn't have eaten much either.
We got to the venue for 10 and passed the pre-ride vetting along with Sheila/Jaycee and Sue/Eric. So we set off on our 15km ride which the organizers had measured wrong and was actually 18.3 Km - a big difference for the likes of me and Harvey! It is a very scenic ride with some extremely long, steep climbs up onto the wolds and some slippery, steep drops down. Also beautiful stretches through woods. But also some rather scary road crossings with traffic whizzing along despite warning signs and some long stretches of very deep going across ploughed fields made 10 times worse by the recent rain. In parts it was downright dangerous and we were glad to be on sensible rufty tufties.
Then came the really scary bit where I decided to try out my new hi-viz air jacket! One particular diversion took us through a rough wooded area where I somehow managed to get my map case hooked up on a tree branch. I was stuck fast!
The strap was rising up to my throat and I couldn't extricate myself. I had visions of Harvey setting off and me being strangled. But Harvey was good, if somewhat confused and when he turned to see what was going on, I slipped off. The air jacket went off with a loud bang which all 3 ponies ignored. They all stood quietly while I picked myself up, waited to deflate and then found a suitable log to remount from. Clambering on board took me ages but finally we were on our way again. Thank goodness for sane, black hairies!
We finished the ride in a remarkably slow time but at least we got back safe and sound and passed the vetting.
A couple of pics of us at teh end of the ride. Harvey on the right, Jaycee on the left and Eric, a rose between 2 thorns:
We got to the venue for 10 and passed the pre-ride vetting along with Sheila/Jaycee and Sue/Eric. So we set off on our 15km ride which the organizers had measured wrong and was actually 18.3 Km - a big difference for the likes of me and Harvey! It is a very scenic ride with some extremely long, steep climbs up onto the wolds and some slippery, steep drops down. Also beautiful stretches through woods. But also some rather scary road crossings with traffic whizzing along despite warning signs and some long stretches of very deep going across ploughed fields made 10 times worse by the recent rain. In parts it was downright dangerous and we were glad to be on sensible rufty tufties.
Then came the really scary bit where I decided to try out my new hi-viz air jacket! One particular diversion took us through a rough wooded area where I somehow managed to get my map case hooked up on a tree branch. I was stuck fast!
The strap was rising up to my throat and I couldn't extricate myself. I had visions of Harvey setting off and me being strangled. But Harvey was good, if somewhat confused and when he turned to see what was going on, I slipped off. The air jacket went off with a loud bang which all 3 ponies ignored. They all stood quietly while I picked myself up, waited to deflate and then found a suitable log to remount from. Clambering on board took me ages but finally we were on our way again. Thank goodness for sane, black hairies! We finished the ride in a remarkably slow time but at least we got back safe and sound and passed the vetting.
A couple of pics of us at teh end of the ride. Harvey on the right, Jaycee on the left and Eric, a rose between 2 thorns:
