Red Knights Ireland 1
Red Knights European Meeting.
Sumiswald, Switzerland.
11th - 13th September 2015
On the 9th of September four members of Ireland 1 set off from Cork to travel 1400 km to the Red Knights European Meeting in Sumiswald, Switzerland.
Ger Barriscale, Alan Roberts, Rory Kelly and Barry O Mahony.
The first leg of the journey was the 200km ride from Cork to Rosslare to catch the ferry to Roscoff in France. We sailed with Irish Ferries on board the Oscar Wilde, which was an overnight crossing, arriving in Roscoff at 10.30am after 18 hours. We made the most of the facilities on board, we ate, drank and were merry.
We had our breakfast on board and were ready to travel to our overnight stop in Orleans, France, when we docked.The weather was dry and bright for the journey and we arrived in Orlean's at 7pm.
Barry and Rory having some liquid refreshment in Orleans A short walk over the bridge into Orleans for dinner.
After dinner we checked out the local Irish Bar. The bridge seemed a little longer on the way back.
Once again we were fortunate to have good weather the following day and after breakfast we set out for the 600km ride from Orleans to Sumiswald in Switzerland.
Getting ready to leave Orleans.
After a long days riding with several pit stops for fuel, food, toilet breaks and some mayhem at the tolls, we arrived at the venue in Sumiswald early on Friday evening.
We parked up the bikes and were just in time for the barbecue and beers, precision timing at its best. We met up with some old friends and made some new during the festivities and of course had to spend some time with our old buddy Looping Louie.
On Saturday morning we had breakfast on the balcony, in the sun, over looking the beautiful Swiss countryside. We then fueled up and got into line for the group ride out. There were over 150 bikes in the ride out, which looked very impressive snaking its way through the villages and countryside, as we made our way to the fire station at Willsau for refreshments.
After the ride out arrived back at Sumiswald, there were some speeches and presentations to be made, before the evening meal and nights entertainment began. Vice President, Barry O Mahony presented Grösu, Vice President of Switzerland 2 with a token of our appreciation for hosting the event. After enjoying a lovely meal, a live band and DJ played until the early hours.
Sunday morning was a relaxed start with everybody enjoying breakfast before getting ready for the journey home. We said our goodbyes to all and thanked our hosts before leaving for our overnight stop in Sens, France on our way to Cherbourg, to get the ferry back to Ireland on Monday evening.The ride to Sens remained dry and we stayed off the motorway and found some great roads and villages along the way. Sens on a Sunday night was quiet but we made the most of it with a nice meal and some drinks before bedtime.
The Square, Sens ,France. Sunset over a quiet square, time for a pint.
The next morning we got on the road early....didn't want to miss the ferry(JJ, Alan, Rory and Christy). We travelled south of Paris and through the Versailles Tunnel, not sure if we were allowed to do that, and veered North West towards Cherbourg. The weather which had been so kind all throughout the trip had a sting in its tail with very high winds and rain as we got closer to Cherbourg. I am glad to report we made it to the ferry on time none the less. The sailing back to Rosslare was a rough crossing so we had to hold onto our pints. Because it was such a rough crossing the boat was two hours late docking, a total of 22 hours aboard. It was however a very nice day in Ireland and the ride home was easy. We had a great trip and really enjoyed seeing everyone again and meeting new friends. Next year is Belgium...looking forward to it already.
