Latest / JUSTRIDE Podcast / One Crash Changed Everything | The Story of ABR Festival - Alun Davies | JUSTRIDE Podcast Ep.11
Transcript
- Main: So Alan Davies from Adventure Bike Magazine and the ABR Festival, welcome to Just Ride. Alun: Welcome, gents. Main: I cannot believe it's been a year since the last ABR Festival. I mean we were there, it was probably the hands down the best thing that we've ever been to in terms of a motorcycle festival. mean, oh, wow, you guys can knock a few pints back on that. Alun: Well, thank you very much for saying that. Do you want to paint story about the fast-boiled kickoff with? Main: We will come on to that. will get you talking about Bynes and the festival. But I know our first experience last year, unfortunately Andy couldn't be there last year because he was, poorly weren't you? Yeah. But I'm coming this year and that's the important point. I'm coming this year. Yeah. Alun: We'll look after you, Indy. Main: 2026. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. We are wearing the new merch people. So you'll be able to buy these next week at the festival. Yeah. Amazing. They're a really nice fit these Alan. They really are. I love the material. We like our T-shirts. We also look like there was like Tetris thing going on with the green things. Alun: They make you look like Greek gods, Main: But no, so ABR next week, we are so excited. We'll talk about why we're coming to ABR next week. But obviously tonight, that's not about it. yeah, having been there last year, what a phenomenal event. I think tonight, We want the viewers to get to know a bit more about who is Alan, how's Alan Davies, what's his background, what stories does he have? ⁓ We Alun: ⁓ the early days born in the Rhondda Valley in Wales, when they still had coal mines, you could ride a bike anywhere back in those days. And I think around about 12 year old, ⁓ I had my first bike ride and that was on one of the old coal tips down there. And, it's just hooked from the word go absolutely hooked on riding a bike. And as soon as I could buy one. I bought one at the age of 15, 16, something like that. And it was my escape out of the valley over into the next valley where my girlfriend lived at the time. was my independence. First time I ever felt like a grownup was when I could get on that bike and just ride over to the next valley. And it was, yeah, it's from that point on. I've never been bike-less and never thought about anything else other than bikes, you know. Main: Mm-hmm. you remember what bike it was? Alun: I can. It was a lime green, same color as the t-shirts you were wearing there. CZ 175 Trail. it's all my other mates were working down. You was to Main: ⁓ Thank you. ⁓ camsacky. Was it camsack? Yeah. Alun: all my mates were working down the pit and they were making reasonable money and they were all buying Suzuki ⁓ T-HELX. on all the trail bikes, know, the dual purpose bikes. But I wasn't working on the pit because I had I've only got one eye. All right. So never overtake, never overtake on this side because I have no peripheral vision. All right. And ⁓ so I couldn't I failed medical for the pit. Then I went to join the army because the only things he'd done in South Wales back then was worked on the pit go into the army. And of course, I failed. Main: Okay Ha ha. Alun: medical for the army. So my mates were earning good money buying Suzuki's and Yamahas and Hondas and the only thing I could afford was a TZ, the CZ 175. That's how I ended up with that but I loved it. Absolutely loved it. Something would fall off every time I went out on it but geez I loved it and it was for anybody that's of a certain age remembering back to that the kickstart was also the gear lever. Main: Ha ha ha ha ha. ⁓ yes. ⁓ wow. OK. Alun: You turn it one way to kick it and then bring it back over and it was the gear lever. Main: don't look old enough. ⁓ Alun: Uh, well, thank you again. I'm 67 in three months time. Main: ⁓ wow. Alun: So I am older than ever. anyway, so, um, so at this CZ and it was, like I say, it gave me my freedom. Uh, and then we sort of, you know, me and the lads would go off riding over to West Wales and riding to West Wales back in those days was like going to Mongolia today sort of thing. You know, it was. Main: Hmm. Thank Alun: Anywhere past Swansea was the Mongolian steppe for us back in the 70s. Main: Yeah, yeah. I think we've ridden there. We've done a lot of wheels, Alan. We've got a Welshman sat here right next to us, Scotty, who's... So I'm from Ebbwville, Originally. Old steelworks for us. Well, wasn't for me, I joined the RAF, but yeah, it steelworks for my family and my dad. Yeah. Alun: ⁓ Well, you'd note on a rebel, Scotty. Yeah? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Well, we supplied the coal for the steelworks from the run there. Main: Yeah, it's a small world, small world Alan. So we've toured a lot of over the last few years. Absolutely love it. love Wales. I mean, normally doing what 250, 260 miles in a day. Not intentional, just because we just keep going. It's because we keep getting lost. He says he knows Wales. I do very well. It's a beautiful part of it, isn't it? It's really, really nice. And I think Alun: Yeah. Alright. ⁓ Main: For us when we're doing that sort of mileage in Wales, we're doing that on road miles. What we really want to do Alan is have a go on those adventure trails around Wales. That's what we really want to have a go at. So that's the next stage for all of us. Alun: Well, before you do the adventure trails in Wales, make sure you get on the adventure trail at the ABR next week because there's 60 kilometers of trails there. ⁓ Main: ⁓ yes. we've. We're wanting to go and see the bog of doom. Alun: Well, you can drive through the Boggedoom or ride through the Boggedoom if you want. But this year we're having this huge screen up in the main arena and it's massive. This is a huge screen and we're live streaming the Boggedoom on there. We want to see how many people drown in there this year because you are more likely to drown in there than bring a leg or something. So that'll be good fun. Main: No. ⁓ fantastic. Hey! We've got someone... Alun: You can sit there, have a beer, watch the big screen of people entertaining you going through the bog of doom. Main: Excellent. Sounds good. Well, brilliant. We have got somebody who's wanting to be challenged with the the bugger doomed, obviously the dog of doom. I'm going to get that. That's only because we walked past a dog earlier on and it nearly went for me. And that's why I've got this thing with the dog. But we got Robbie Wallace, haven't we? So, so yeah, we're going to, we're going to bring Robbie with us. Hopefully everything's going to go well next week and Robbie's be able to come with us. Alun: We've got them there as well, don't worry. Main: But Robbie was finished at Dakar this year. He was the first British rider to finish the Dakar this year. So Robbie's going to come with us. And Robbie's really up for giving a go at the Boggedoom. And if we can organize a couple of different bikes for Robbie as well, he'll go through more than once. If we can obviously book in those spaces. Because I know that those allocations get booked. Everybody wants to do the Boggedoom and the other trails are there. So it's just if there's availability and getting booked in to do all of that. Alun: Brilliant. Ha ha ha. Yeah. Main: But he'd love to have a go. His favourite habitat is actually boggy the better. He was on the show. Yeah, exactly. Alun: Really? Well, tell him we're still digging people out of the bog of doom now. It's a year on and we're still finding people in there, you know? Main: I saw on your social some weeks ago, Alan, about the Bogged Inn because many people say they would love to go and stand and watch people going through. But I think for our insurance purposes, think that's why the big screen is going to be brilliant this year, isn't it, at the ABR? So people can sit with the beer. Yeah. Alun: It's the only way we can do it. You mentioned the word, it takes probably up 50 % of my time with the festival these days, and that's insurance. Once you get to the size that we are, there'll be 20,000 people out this year. For the motorbike industry, we are now the ABR in the top 20 festivals in the UK, full stop. Main: Thank you much. Yeah. ⁓ well. Hmm. contest. Alun: For a special interest like motorbikes to get into the top 20 festivals in the UK, I just think it is wonderful for the motorbike industry to be represented there. The car industry hasn't got one in there. Main: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. It is great. Yeah, well done. Well done. it is a great festival. We loved it last year. It was our first experience last year and we loved it. But we'll come on to the festival a bit more in a moment. Why we're coming next week and we've got something we're going to be launching at the New York Festival as well, which we're dead excited about. But so just going back then, Alan, I mean, you know, there's there's a lot of interviews with you online and I'm sure you get asked loads of questions about your background. Alun: you Main: You originally started a magazine so you could climb mountains and call it work. Do you want to tell us a bit about that? Alun: Yeah. Well, it was, you know, a lot of this comes down to the, one I think, because I was told at a young age, ⁓ that don't play rugby, don't ride motorbikes and don't do extreme sports. So I guess if you want to sum me up, don't tell me what I shouldn't do because my life, my life has been rugby, motorbikes and mountaineering. Main: Bye. So you did all of that. Brilliant. Alun: And I thought, you if I'm going to create my own job, what's it going to be? And I thought, let's do one of the things I love. you know, the internet wasn't around or anything like that. We talked about 35 years ago and I was seriously into my mountaineering as well at the time. And I thought it'd be wonderful if I could get a job, travel the world, climb mountains and people would sort of lavish money on me for doing it. But the openings were... Main: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Alun: very few and far between. In fact, there wasn't any. So I just sort of thought, the adventure travel industry didn't exist back then. It's mainstream now, the adventure travel industry, but it didn't exist. And so I thought, a magazine called Adventure Travel, let's start that. That sounds as if it's the right way in. And so no publishing experience or anything. Main: Yeah. Alun: And this is before desktop publishing and the internet and so on. But I started this magazine Adventure Travel and it's still going now, 35 years on. It's still going. And it allowed me for a good 15 years before AVR came along, it allowed me to travel the world, climb mountains, have the most amazing experiences, everything from swimming with a walker. Main: Hmm. Well, well. Thank Alun: in Norway, in a Fjerdin Norway to climb, putting up new routes in the Himalayas. I walked across Iceland. Jesus, just so much, so many things. And it was just a wonderful, wonderful life. And then so I was doing that 15 years. You couldn't even call it a business. It was a vocation because I produced the magazine, sell the advertising, get on a plane. Main: Wow. breaking. Amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Alun: and go and climb something or cross something, come back and do it all again. And then I would take my son with me, Bryn, you know, as soon as he was old enough to come on my daughters. Little story about Bryn. On Mountaineering terms, one of the hardest mountains in the world is the Aiger in the Alps. Well, me and Bryn climbed the Aiger when Bryn was 15. And at the time when he climbed it, Main: Wow. Hmm. out. Alun: He was all the sort of Swiss guides around there, didn't know anybody any younger. So Bryn, when he claimed it at the age of 15, was the youngest person to climb the Eiger. And then we went on, you know, so Bryn rides motorbikes and he's, you you probably come across him in the business as well. So he's a, you know, as they say, a chip off the old block, I guess. Main: Yeah. I'm gonna say the chip off the old block is learned from the best. Is that where is that where your passion for adventure motorcycling kind of started then you know you talked about obviously in the valleys and stuff and then you went and did the mountaineering where did that whole Alun: Yeah. So. Well, yeah. Well, again, I was doing adventure motorcycling before the term really existed because I was going to the Himalayas, just getting a bike there and off I went. The motorcycling part of it, in retrospect, was the easy part. The motorcycle just allowed me to get closer to where you couldn't ride anymore. Then you had to start climbing. So similarly in Morocco, I was going to Morocco climbing. Main: Mm. Right. Yeah. Yeah? Yeah. Hmm. Alun: in the Atlas Mountains and just riding a bike to the nearest village to where I want to go climbing. So I was doing this, but I just loved motorbikes so much, loved travel and was into the extreme end of mountaineering and so on that I never really thought that I was adventure motorcycling. I was just using a motorcycle to get to the bottom of the mountain or to get to the cave system. Main: Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Do you think you actually invented adventure motorcycling then? Do think you could have that as your claim of fame? Sounds like it. Alun: No, I wouldn't go that far because there was quite a few before me. my first experience of going overseas back in the 70s again, when the CZ, when there was nothing else left to fall off the CZ, it ⁓ was like one of these, you know, the night in Monty Python where he hasn't got legs and arms, I'll bite you to death or whatever. Main: Mm. That's a one. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Brilliant film. ⁓ Alun: Well, the CZ ended up like that. There was nothing left on it because it all fall off. my, and mine's dad had a Norton Commando 850. And he said, so Main: Nice fight. Alun: I went from the CZ on this Norton Commando and he said, what do you think of that? I said, that was, oh, you know, that torque and that power having been on a 175. And he said, well, you know, if you want to give me. Main: Yeah. Ha ha. Alun: 100 pound now, 100 pounds in whatever it was, 60 days time and another. So I bought it for 300 pounds. And the first weekend I had it, I rode to Brighton and back. This was it. Now, you know, I was on this wonderful bike that could go quite fast. It wouldn't take me three weeks to get to Brighton, which it would do with the CZ. And then I thought, right, I'm off down to Morocco in night. Main: All right. Ha Alun: 1978, I believe it was the year the message in the bottle by the police was out because I could I can remember a message in the bottle coming straight at number one. And if any of you guys have a certain age, you can Main: All right, yeah. Alun: remember, ⁓ cassettes and cassette players. Well, I love message in the bottle and I can remember recording that and then sticking the cassette player on the cassette in my Adidas kit bag, which was strapped to the back seat. ⁓ Main: Yes, yes, yes, yes. Alun: put in on my denim jacket, my denim jeans, and I can't remember what shoes I had, but they were more to my choose. And I thought, right, Morocco, here I come. But the Northern Commando 850 had every, on a regular basis, the lay shaft bearing would go. And when I say a regular basis, thousand miles perhaps. So I took three. Main: Ha ha ha ha. awesome Alun: lay shaft bearings with me and I could strip the gearbox as well on the Norton to get to the whole thing. So I could strip a Norton gearbox at the side of the road in the dark in about an hour back then. Now I don't touch spanners or anything. ⁓ So I got south of Paris, I think about 200 miles south of Paris and it went for the second time so I had one left and I thought I just Main: Thank You No. Alun: You know, I've got to turn back. So, but that was my first. But the thing was the adversity just became a great adventure as well because a young lady stopped in a car because it was at night. It was raining. I was by the side of the road in the middle of the countryside. And she said something to me in French and I said something back to her in English. And anyway, it ended up with she'd lived down the road and she said, come down my house. And that was it. Main: Yeah. Alun: So it was wonderful. as it happened, her parents came along, because she'd phoned up her parents and said, I got this strange Welsh guy in the house or something, you know? And her parents turned up and her mother had a rugby shirt off Barry John. It was the most extraordinary thing. So I was sitting in this French house in the middle of nowhere. Main: See Well, we're all strange. ⁓ No way. ⁓ Alun: They couldn't speak English, I couldn't speak French. And she was just standing there with this T-shirt and battery jar. And they made me loads of food and everything. And it was just wonderful. that, that to me, that's one of the most wonderful things about, it is the most wonderful thing about traveling. And it's other people. It's the other people you meet on your travels that you just, wow, the world is a wonderful place. Main: ⁓ that's great. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Alun: It's a magnificent place and it's the people that make it. Main: Yeah. Have you kept in touch with the people you've met over there? Like the French family, you ever kept in touch? Alun: We did for a couple of years, but you've got to remember, this is back in the 70s where the way you're keeping in touch was you had to get a piece of paper out and a pen, write on it, fold it up, it in an envelope, walk down to the letter box. So yes, I did send them a few letters ⁓ with some photographs when I got back to show them what the Rhondda Valley was like and so on. ⁓ Main: and Yeah. No social media. I you were going to say pigeon then. Yeah. Fantastic. Alun: But yeah, it's just a wonderful experience, and I got back. So the one last thing coming back. Main: Bye. Yeah, well, that was was looking in with one one bearing left but when you went to the Himalayas then what did you ride in the Himalayas? Alun: I can't remember to be honest with you. It probably would have been... Let me think. They were... I really can't remember but they were all very small bikes. 50cc's, 125 maximum. you you'd only get from Kathmandu to Pokhara on it. Anything north of Kathmandu or Pokhara. You wouldn't be going anywhere on anything back in those days. Main: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Alright. Yeah, yeah. We say that because ⁓ Raj and Manish from Royal Bikers who are going to be there next week as well, they've been, we've agreed to go and do the Himalayas and Ladek and that. We can't do it this year, but we're looking to go next year. And we're trying to find people that have been there and give us some advice. Apparently we need altitude training. We need off road training. We're thinking, maybe not this year, but we'll have to do it next year. So I am fascinated by it. Alun: You You go into a little deck. You'll find on a bike, altitude sickness will get you when you're exerting effort. If you're sitting on a bike, you're going up fast, too fast really, but you're not exerting any effort. And the thing about a bike is as well, and I have adult disease sickness, comes with the territory. It's debilitating when you get it. Main: Yeah, let's go from there. we're Yeah. Yeah. Alun: and but you've only got to go down a little say two three hundred meters gone and it goes as fast as it comes. That's a problem when you're walking. It's a problem when you're walking because it might take you a day to walk down to 300 meters and that can cause big problems. But a little tip for you if you're worried about altitude sickness is there's medication called Diamox which is Main: Yeah. Right. Alun: If you take it, you're highly unlikely to get altitude sickness. increases the red blood count. People use it if they've got some sort of eye problem. Edgar Davids, the Dutch footballer, he had glaucoma. He had glaucoma and he would take it. But it sorts out altitude sickness. So if you're worried about that, take it and you'll be okay. Main: Right. All right. Yeah. We will be. Yeah. Much as we can, Alan, to make sure we can. mean, the off road training we've got to do as well. We've, you know, we've been thinking about that as well. We're going to go somewhere in over in Clitherow in Northern England, where there's I think it's Inch Cape. Not Inch Perfect, it? Inch Perfect. There's a whole, yes, we're going to go and do that, I think, sometime this year, because Alun: Hahaha Stop. Main: I think we've agreed to go with Maya Kenny, who's, know she's talking with Laura next week at the ABR Festival. She was on recently. She's been testing our arms to go to Portugal with her later in the year. she didn't need to twist very hard. My arm didn't even move. We just looked at him and went, yes, we're going. So we're being road riders predominantly and the only time I've been off road is by accident. Alun: Right, okay. Okay. Ha Yeah. Main: is that I think we need to go and do some proper off-road training otherwise. But you know what I love is that we... Alun: Gentlemen, next week you've got every off-road school in the UK at the ABR Festival including Inch Perfect. They're all there and you can have a free lesson with them all if you want. Main: doing it. We have we have. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just don't be Yeah, just don't film us because we'll be on our backs most of the time. You can film me Alan, I don't mind. I know falling off is part of the territory so I'll fall off. That's fine. Need some bloopers. So Alan, you, really exciting sort of start your life there. So did you have a plan for the rest of your life or what's happened since? Alun: Ha That's a very good question. I have a plan for the rest of my life because I don't think I ever thought past the point. If I could earn a living with adventure travel, you know, it wasn't a business. It really was a vocation. You know, I wasn't sitting there plotting. How can I take over the world with adventure travel or anything? ⁓ It genuinely was. This is one of my passions and I can share this with my children. And I did, you know, I was taking Main: Hmm. Alun: Like I say, Bryn and my daughters as well. so the plan really was I'm going to earn a living out of doing this and hopefully keep fit enough to do it until I retire. And then the sort of what happened then was, was Honda, this is before ABR, this is before Adventure Bike Rider magazine, because the people in the marketing department of Honda, Main: you Thank Right? Yeah. Alun: looked at adventure travel and thought the people who would read adventure travel could be likely to buy motorbikes because they're into adventure. They're into the, you know, there's the whole thing there. So Honda invited me out to Spain and you know, then we just had an invitation off Honda to go there. You know, nobody knew me in the motorbike industry or anything. And I thought it was very inventive and brave of Honda to invite me out. And anyway, so Main: Hmm. Alun: It was to be out there for a week off road riding and I was to meet them at Stensted Airport. So I turned up at Stensted Airport and I didn't know anybody from Honda or anything like that. And there was two little guys walking around with helmets and they had, you know, sort of all motorbike gear on. So I thought, I'll go and ask these of they with Honda. And anyway, one of them was Cal Crutchlow and the other one was Lane Heslam. Right. So I said, are you guys with Honda? And they said, Main: Hmm. Thank Yes. Alun: Yeah, yeah. so I was hanging out with them then. And then a couple of other people turned up. There was Steve Brogan, Mick Extons and James Ellison. So the minimum we had there was BSB riders. know, and so anyway, we went over to to Spain off road riding for a week and it was from the word go. These guys. Main: Okay. ⁓ Alun: You know, if they were filling up a swimming pool, it would become competitive. You know, they couldn't do anything. Sort of just, ⁓ let's cheer. It was everybody had to win at something. And it was like that from the word go. And I'd survived four or five days of riding with this caliber of riders. There was nobody else. It just me and these guys, these superstars. Main: laughter Yeah. ⁓ Hey. Alun: And on the last day we were coming back down to the the wrench We're riding into the sun loads of dust and bang. I didn't even see it Massive rock had come off the side in the middle of the trail. We were on over the top ⁓ smashed my arm up and my leg and back back then I was I was like serious condition for mountaineering and so on and ⁓ I couldn't do anything for six months So I thought I couldn't train. I couldn't do anything. So I thought, I know let's start that motorbike magazine. I've always thought about it. So ABR Adventure Bike Rider magazine started out of me having a smash on a hill in Spain because it gave me the time. And so that's where I done when I was laid up. I thought let's start Adventure Bike Rider magazine. And I thought Main: You Alun: Check it out. Main: There's a bit of a theme actually, the number of people we've spoken to who an accident has caused a change of direction and something really big has come off the back of an accident. yeah, sorry Alan, I was just thinking that. Alun: No, it's okay. I was just going to say, I was experiencing publishing now because I'd been doing a magazine for 15 years. And whereas people will walk in at Kilimount Jarl or climbing in the Alps, I thought I'm to do exactly the same magazine, but they're going to be riding to Kilimount Jarl. ⁓ So instead of it being 100 % focused on bikes, it was focused more on the people. Main: Yeah. Yeah. Alun: riding the bikes and their journey and why and so on. you know, the motorbike market, media market back then was very competitive, massively competitive. And, you know, so the competition was there and very strong. If you look at Bauer as a media group back then, they were so strong. But, and I can always remember my first meeting, I thought, I've got to get BMW to anger this. Main: I was going to say, the flagship. ⁓ Alun: Because without BMW and the GS, I'm going nowhere. But if I get BMW in with the GS, Honda will come in. Yamaha will come You know, everybody will come in after it. And I can remember that first meeting done with BMW. And I knew what people were going to say. People were going to say, love the idea, show us issue number one, and we'll advertise an issue number two. Right? That was, that's what I'd say. And I'm sure that's what any logical person would say. Main: Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Alun: And I can remember that meeting and I said, this is what I'm going to do. And I could show them adventure travel magazine so I can do it. We can be successful in doing it. And they, and they said, yeah, we'll probably come in an issue number two, show us issue number one. And I said, everybody's going to say that. And if I, and if I accept that there will not be an issue number one. So I'm just going to ask you to take a leap of faith with me. And they said, Main: Hmm. Brilliant. Alun: Okay, we'll take that leap of faith and BMW come in first advertiser and then, know, now 15, 16 years on the magazine is 200 pages. There's nothing else like it in the UK. Now the established magazines which were around back then are down to 70, 80, 90 pages or something. We're at 200 pages. Adventure bikes are Main: Nice. you Yeah. Alun: the biggest selling sector of motorbikes and the most profitable sector. And, you know, so there we go. Main: Yeah. Did, did, the, I mean, it's fantastic. I mean, we've, we've, know, we're, we're looking forward to doing quite a lot with the venture bike magazine, ⁓ from, from certainly this month and beyond. ⁓ and yeah, it's, it's, it is an incredible, incredible magazine and something we're looking forward to being part of, obviously, but this, this crash that you had then, did, did, did that change your sort of attitudes toward risk and biking then, or was it just, yeah. Alun: The crash in Spain? No, no, it's a lot of people have said to me, know, I've, I've, I've had my fair share. I'm 67. I've been riding bikes 50 years. I've had my fair share of crashes. Uh, but I think the, the one that affected me the most was when I was 16 and I had two mates pass, you know, on motorbike crashes passed away at the age of 16. And I think Main: Yeah. Right. Alun: they affected me more than anything. It's first time I ever come across that sort of thing. And, you know, I'm Main: Yeah. Alun: It happens if you've been in motorcycling for 50 years. It's just one of those. it didn't change my life. Accidents didn't change my life because I'd already accepted it as part of motorcycling. know, it's same as climbing. You know, I've I've I've fallen many, many times climbing, you know, fortunately, the protection I've put in has held. So but yes, you know, I've I've. Main: Hmm. Yeah. All right. Yeah. Alun: I've had a number of situations where, you know, split seconds and stuff like that, and it could have ended very badly. So. Main: I mean we've had our offs as well and it certainly didn't change our... Not the point where you go well I'm not going to do that again it was like well I'm going to learn from that and try not to do that again. It's just a bump in the road if they call it that. You just move on to the next part. Alun: Yes. Yeah. Main: So when ⁓ start Adventure magazine, ⁓ was the gap that you saw ⁓ the motorcycle world? Because I know you talk about the Bauer and they were quite dominant weren't there in terms of all the magazines, but ⁓ know ⁓ got BMW on board, but what was your kind of vision for it? What was the gap that you were looking to fill? Alun: Yes. Okay. All right. It's very easy. This very, very easy to explain me and all my mates riding adventure bikes. I had, I had a Triumph eight, eight, five, the old steamer, the first one. I think it was first one they brought out the, uh, the tiger, the first tight first modern type. Let's say I was writing that all my other mates were riding adventure bikes. And yet the established Main: Thank Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Alun: media in Britain was still sports bike this, sports bike that, sports bikes. We can't get enough sports bikes. everybody was, and it's still to a certain extent, the journalists in the motorcycle media, certainly in the established, still sports bike focused. Because that's what they do. That's what they were. I was never Main: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah Alun: into sports by I've had sports bikes but I was never into racing and motorcycle into me has always been my relaxation it's been my path it's been my hobby my passion my relaxation ⁓ you know I haven't I haven't been a motor gp event you know it's Main: Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Neither are we Alan, but he's on the cards. Alun: Yeah, you know, I will go one day, but you know, to be totally honest with you, I'd rather watch a good rugby match than say a MotoGP thing. And, but bike into me is what, when I get on my bike, it's, I mean, I'm in my beautiful place, you know? Main: Yeah. And I mean, to have a 200 page strong magazine in a digital world is absolutely incredible. And what do you think that you did differently that really made that work? Alun: I, a couple of things. Number one, it didn't matter what bike you rode. Number one, it didn't matter if you'd been to the, just the Tesco's or the Mongolian step, you know, and I've always said, you know, if you've lived in Birmingham all your life, go into Coventry as an adventure. You don't, you don't have to be, you know, you don't have to be the rough-dee-tough-dee sort of in deepest, darkest Africa. The adventure takes place up there, you know. Main: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Alun: And it's relative to your past experiences. you know, what I've done in my life, you know, I've got to be doing, I couldn't do the stuff I need to do now to call it an adventure because I've done some pretty extreme things, you know, but we totally appreciate it that you don't have to have, you know, the latest whatever bike to go on an adventure and you certainly don't have to go. Main: Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Alun: even outside of Britain to go on an adventure. It's whatever is relevant to you. So we spoke to people like that, but also reflected the fact that, you know, that a lot of people who started biking in the seventies, the big cohort in the seventies and the eighties were now starting to knock up, knock on a bit. And speaking personally, if I went on a, you know, a fire blade, if I wrote 30 minutes, I'd be wanting to go back home. Main: Yeah. Hmm. Alun: because I was too, you know, too cranked up on that. So, and yet these adventure bikes were, you were sitting up, you were comfortable, you were taking life a bit more quieter, you know, but if you wanted, if you wanted a hooligan, you could do it as well, you know. Main: I like that. That sounds ideal for me. Do know, we're looking at Andy and we're smiling at Andy and he's not, he's been very quiet at night because, and the are sixes and the sports and everything else. And he had a GS and we went all around wheels on it and he was telling us what height we're at and he would disappear up a mountain every now and then, you know, I just, I just love adventure bikes and I am sports bike mad. really am. And, ⁓ Alun: Ha Main: I've had a big birthday recently and I agree with what you said, Alan, regarding sports bikes and the media in a way in which that was everything. And I do love the road race inside of it as well. But that underlined I love adventure bikes. And I had the 1200 GS and it was it was just a wonderful thing to ride. It was exhilarating because it did everything. And I would go with these guys and we would go to Wales. and they were all on sports tours, if you like, and they would make a little bit of fun every now and then. they never left me. I ended up in the same place they ended up in every day. became very useful for carrying wine back to the chalets and things. I just think... But even, know, walking into other daily ships, know, walking into looking at the Africa twins, Alun: Yeah. Don't tell everybody the secret! Main: and ⁓ looking at the Tenere's, I love Tenere's. You know, just absolutely, they're just wonderful, wonderful bits of kit. And just going back to the question that Andrew asked you, I can see why the Adventure Bike Ride magazine was so successful and is so successful. It's because it just pours out of you, Alan. It's pretty evident. You're so passionate about the subject and you're so passionate about people just having fun. ⁓ It's my first opportunity to meet you this evening. And it's just, you know, just this short space of time. It's pretty evident why it became successful because of, you know, how passionate you are. Are you off for a free beer next week? I'm not off for a free beer, Rob. I'll buy Alan a beer any day, quite happily. We will be there on the Wednesday setting up Alan. So we look forward to. I don't. I'm going to find out. Alun: Well, you know what happens on the Thursday, don't you? On Super Thursday, there's seven and a half thousand people coming on Super Thursday, and I buy every one of them a pint. So I expect them back as well, remember? So that's seven and a half thousand. Main: Wow. well, they'll be reciprocating from my side anyway. No, it's fantastic. Do think people over complicate the idea of adventure riding then? Because I mean, it has exploded. It's apparently the fastest growing kind of market sector, but just did they over complicate it? Alun: It's f- I'll tell you what happens, right? You get it. Before you become a climber, you just go out and climb a rock, right? When you get a bit more experienced, you think, ⁓ I need that particular rucksack. I need those climbing boots. I've got to have this jacket. You know, and so the gear becomes part of it, right? Let's take that back to biking now. I said to you when I had my Norton Commando, first time I went overseas. Main: You Yeah. Mm. Alun: I had a Nadeedus kit bag strapped on the back and I was wearing a denim jacket, denim jeans and like, can't remember what boots, probably Chelsea boots or something like, might have been Dr. Martens, right? So, and then it was, I don't know, jumper and a t-shirt or something. And it genuinely was a bin liner for my wet weather gear. If it was going to rain, it was a bin liner over the top. Main: you Alun: And I might've had a spare bin liner in the Adidas kit bag. But that, you know, we've gone from that now. I have, I have sort of gear anxiety when I'm riding now because, you know, I have to look, I have to look at the, weather forecast for days. If I'm going over to Wales, I'm gonna stay in Wales. If I go over to Wales, I have to look at the weather forecast for days and advance and think, I need that jacket because it might rain. If it's going to be torrential, it's that jacket. Main: and. Yeah. you Yeah. Thank Alun: You know, are we overcomplicating it? Of course we are, but it's a bit of fun as well. It's also a bit of fun getting all the, it's as much part of buying the gear, whatever you do. If you're a fisherman, you buy fishing gear. If you're a rock climber, you buy rock gear. If you're an adventure biker, you buy everything else. And it's part of it. Main: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, like it's like you said, it's like you said, Alan, it's all part of the adventure and it's all all these little bits make up the adventure and the adventures in your head. So all these little tiny things going on, like when we went to Scotland, it was like mind blowing. Alun: course it is. Main: but it was the same thing. What do I take? And we went to Scotland when it was the hottest time in the world. And we didn't have any clothes that were cool enough. were so, full leather kit, right? I'm trying to, we were in Ooban, it was 27 degrees, wasn't it? And I'm trying to roll this down and it kept falling off me, you know? And I was like, I'm not prepared at all. We all wore waterproofs. I've never worn them yet. No. But just, you know, we went to, when we were in Wales, we went to Aberystwyth that day. Alun: Wait. ⁓ Main: And I just think there was two guys that rode into the car park when we were in Aberystwyth. And when you described earlier on, Alan, about the people and about the whole experience, these two guys had gone up to, they'd had a bit of a challenge. They both had 500 quid to spend and they had to go to John O'Groats and had to organize a bike at John O'Groats to then ride down. And we bumped into them in Aberystwyth. Alun: Right. Main: And with the 500 quid, one guy had bought a C90. Honda C90, and its maximum speed was like 35, 40 miles an hour on this C90. But it had a problem with its source of petrol. So strapped to the frame was just a jerry can, just a petrol can strapped to it. And we started chatting to him. And I was fascinated by the whole adventure, the route in which they'd taken. to come down to Aberystwyth. And the reasons why they were in Aberystwyth is because that's where they were from. So, but they weren't stopping there. They were then driving on into Europe. But he, I just remember standing there and he was having a cigarette and he was having a, and this jerry can was just there, you know, and it was leaking. And we were like standing back. And it was just fascinating listening to, you know, the adventure, the adventure that he and his mate had had on these two separate bikes. Alun: Ha Yeah. Yeah. Main: And it was just fascinating. And it was just the storytelling and just the people it bumped into was just really, really brilliant. Alun: Well, I've got some great news for you. You're gonna meet 20,000 of them next week. Main: We almost knew every one of them from last year, we look forward to seeing some familiar faces next week. So you've traveled all over the world. What's a moment that's stayed with you more than anywhere else? What's the standout moment for you, do think? Or is there probably loads, Alan? Alun: the standout moment without a doubt. It has got to be me and my son standing on the top of the Ikea without a doubt, you know, and because he was just amazing to be able to do that at his age. You know, I'd had loads of experience after that. Brunner had quite a bit of experience. You know, he was, he was a good... Main: Yeah, let's stay with you from from your adventures. Wow. Yeah. Alun: was a good rugby player as well. So he was fit. He was, you know, and he had natural balance and all that sort of stuff as well. But to climb that mountain at his age, you know, it's that was a serious undertaking and I couldn't have been more proud of anything than I was at that point in time. It was a wonderful experience to share with my son. Absolutely. Main: Yeah. Yeah. Brilliant. Right, so we're going to go to the other side then Alan. So what would be your trip you've done that's been the worst one you've done where everything has gone wrong or if anything has gone wrong? Alun: The worst trip. Wow, you know, it's, you know, I'm thinking there's cogs going round for worst trips. There's nothing automatically come into mind because, you know, out of adversity, you know, it's when things start going wrong, the things start going right as well. And the stories you can have, you know, the Hitchhiker one, the serial killer Hitchhiker. Main: I'm Mm. You've got to tell us that. You've got to tell us that. on then. Yeah, go on. ⁓ We can produce a total sordid in the edit. Be fine. ⁓ Alun: Do you want... This could go on for three hours. I will try and condense it. Okay. It was OK. I was walking the, what's it called? The Appalachian Trail in America, right? It's that 3000 mile trail from Georgia up to the Canadian border. And I was in just went to North Carolina. This is if you've ever seen the film Deliverance, I just I just crossed the river which they filmed deliverance in. Right. And anyway, so I was on this trail. ⁓ Main: Yeah, yes. That's it. Alun: There was bears, know, sort of you come across bears every night, the bears come around you and stuff like that, ⁓ looking for food, but they, you know, nothing happened. But I can't, anyway, I was about three days in on this section in North Carolina and there was this lean to shed, which I thought I'm going to sleep there tonight. But six other guys got there from ⁓ Nashville. They were out there, brought beer with them and everything like that. And we were sitting around a campfire drinking beer, eating food, having a great time. And out of the bush, not out of the trail, out of the bush, come this six foot five monster of a guy. And it was just, it was cold up then. He had just cut off shirt sleeves, shorts, baseball hat and a little backpack on. And he was enormous. I mean, Six foot five and let's say 22 stone that sort of size but no fat on him and he just sat there for about 30 minutes on a log didn't say anything or anything but you could feel I've got this saying some people have got a whiff of sulfur about them you just know by looking at them danger you know and anyway one of the guys from Nashville went over and sort of said would you like Main: Yeah. Alun: come over by the fire would you like a beer? No response, nothing. So we were all... Anyway, ten minutes later he came walking over and he said his name was Dusty. He'd walked there from Alaska. His wife had just died in a car accident about three days ago. ⁓ He was a rodeo rider, was a motorbiker, he was... And you could just say this guy is seriously unhinged. But he's 22 stone, he's six foot five and he's a lump. This guy's a lump. One of the guys from Nashville said there's a Rangers office about a mile down there. I'm going to go down this. This is, know, we were all sort of, there were six of us there, but this guy was really scary. I'll cut the story short here because I could go on forever. But that's to set the scene with this guy. Anyway, the Ranger come up. Main: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Alun: sort of interviewed him and it was a careful questioning sort of thing and then the rangers said yeah they're saying all right with this guy I'm gonna go back down to the thing now because there was no phone coverage and I'm gonna radio in anyway so off the Ranger went and then Dusty disappeared he just went then right so next morning we all woke up and we were all still alive right And we all said goodbye. The guys from Nashville, you know, they were just up there for a weekend. Me, it's nice that I'm carrying on up that way. So I walked all day up the Appalachian Trail, came to another lean to, and as I was walking up to it, there was an older guy and a younger girl sitting in sight. I could see them and I could just sense there was something wrong here, you know, because there was something not quite right with the posture and everything like that. So as I walked up to the doorway, who was sitting in there with them telling them that his wife had just died and so on was Dusty. And I just said to him, I just looked at him and you could see these people were terrified. I just looked at him and I said, Dusty, you need to leave from here now. The police are on their way. They know exactly what you've done. The police are on their way. And he said, which way they're coming. And I said, they're coming from where we were last night. So you need to move now. And off he went, right? Main: Yeah. Alun: This was a dad and a daughter, the dad and the daughter sort of broke down in tears. They said, he was going to kill us until you come along. I'll end the story. And this, found out this about two, three weeks later, Dusty had murdered three people and he was on the run. So this guy was an absolute psycho and... ⁓ Main: Wow. while. Wow. Alun: So that was my Appalachian Trail hitchhiker story there. Anyway, but... Main: I think that class is of somewhere that goes really, really badly wrong, but turns into an opportunity. Definitely an adventure in your head. Yeah. That's definitely an adventure in your head. Alun: ⁓ it was, it was, when I looked at that guy, sorry. Oh, it was, it was, it was. And then I got to ride a motorbike the next day. So there we go. This is the bike. Main: So, ABR has become more of a magazine, it's a full community, it's a brand and ⁓ now it's a festival. tell us all about how did that transition and how did the festival come about? Alun: ABR had a successful forum about 15 years ago when forums were, you know, before social media and there was quite a good gathering on there and, uh, the forum members sort of said, should we, uh, should we meet up? So we ended up meeting up in, uh, Kirby Lonsdale and a campsite in Kirby Lonsdale for, and I think there were, I dunno, it was about 50 of us, sorry thing. Main: Yeah. We know it well. ⁓ Alun: And then somebody else said, oh, I'm going to organize a meet up down, Cornwall and so on. So there was these little events going on. And then I thought, well, I've got to do one in the Midlands. It was too early for us to do something, but I thought I'll do one in the Midlands. And about 40 people used to, and we had this farm, local farmer who said, yeah, you can go in that field and, you know, pee in that edge and sleep in that ditch and so on. So we'd done that. There was about 40 of us there. Main: Mm. Yeah. Yeah. Alun: And that came up to about 80 people. then we had a one and only kid to recommend. And one year he decided he didn't turn up. So me and Bryn cooked burgers for everybody one year as well. And I'm thinking about that in relation to next week with 20,000. No, I'm not cooking everybody's burgers. Main: You Few more burgers, a few more burgers Alan. and we're not paying any driver. Alun: But that sort of 40, 50 people grew to 500. 500 is the magic figure when it comes to events. Under 500, you don't have to have the okay, you don't have to have an events license, you don't have to have specialist insurance or anything. Once you go over 500, it becomes serious. Main: Yeah. Alun: And I sort thought, if we're going to do this, let's do something I've always wanted to do. I've always thought that the motorbike community was undersold when it come to, because there were motorbike rallies and motorbike rallies were always down market. know, they were, you know, we were expected to buy 20,000, 25,000 bikes yet sleep in that ditch and pee in that edge and have a dodgy burger. You know? So I thought, Main: Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ Alun: let's give the industry a festival. And there's three things. One, let's have a grade A location. Let's have something where you come there and you just go, wow, wow. So Ragley Hall fitted that bill. Come up the drive in Ragley Hall, guests go, wow. I still do it. Every time I go there, I go, wow. So the second thing was we're going to have grade A services and you Main: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, wow, definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Thank Alun: I'll take you back to the 70s. At 1977, I went to the Redding Festival and I'm still emotionally scarred by my visit to the toilet now. So I thought, you know, let's give people grade A services. So we have posh toilets, we have these portacabin toilets, you know, and they cleaned throughout, through the 24 hour cycle. Main: you Yeah. ⁓ Alun: and we spend more on showers and toilets than any other festival in the UK, full stop. I don't even mind saying this because we spend a quarter of a million pounds on toilets and showers at the ABR Festival. Main: Yeah. Yeah. And they were top notch. we say it? We experienced that for the whole time we were there and having a warm shower on the morning or a night time whenever you needed a shower, it was absolutely fantastic. It was. And the toilets and so I completely agree with experience last year. Yeah. Alun: It's the basics. You've got to get it right. You know, I wouldn't go I wouldn't go to a festival where You you've got to fight your way through the sludge to get to the toilet now sort of thing So it's great a services and the third one Third one is this you can still get a pint at the ABR festival for three pout or under three pout So in other words when you come in through that gate, we're not gonna we're not gonna rip you off, you know Main: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Alun: You can't get a pint for three pound in any other festival in the world. You can at the IBR. So it's a grade A location, grade A services, and we're going to look after you. And that's the formula. Nothing more than that. Main: Yeah. Yeah. That's great. Yeah. So when you started at Ragley Hall, how many how many people were sort of that that first year of the when you went 2000. And that's grown to 20. Do you say 20,000 next week? Yeah, next week. Wow, that's incredible. I remember turning up last year and I've watched, you know, people on YouTube showing videos of their experience of a BR but Alun: 2000 2000 in the first year and I did. Yeah. Yeah. It's a fair few. It's. Main: when you're there yourself and you experience it is, it's out of this world. Alan, for somebody that's never been to the festival anymore, just tell us a little bit what goes on, what happens there. Alun: Well, I'll tell you what, I'll give you some stats here, We have the key to Ragley Hall a week before you guys come through the door, right? And in that week, it's a ground up build. This just feels, you've seen it, right? We have to put the water in, the electricity. We have to put, we have to build a town for 20,000 people. And within a week, that town becomes the fifth biggest town in Warwickshire. And we build it in a week. Main: Okay. Yeah. Is he? Is he? Yeah. Alun: right? So it's the fifth biggest town in Warwickshire when we're done. On top of that, all the manufacturers are there, as you know, every major manufacturer is there. There's going to be over 12,000 test rides on motorbikes at the ABR Festival. There's nothing like it in the world. There is no other event in the world that gets that amount of test rides. There, last year, we were Marston's Brewery's second biggest Main: Yeah. ⁓ Yeah. Alun: Marston's I think is the biggest brewery in the UK. We were the second biggest delivery. The first, the first was Glastonbury, because it's on the same weekend as us. Well, Glastonbury isn't on this year, so guess where the biggest delivery of booze in Britain's going to be? The ABR. We've got 20 bars, 200 bar staff, there's 200 security guards, there's 14 dog patrols around the perimeters. Main: Wow. ⁓ Extra points? Alun: The scale of it is huge. That scale now is phenomenal. Main: we did. Yeah, we got absolute obviously we experienced it all last year. I've got a picture from the bridge straw, the bridge stone tent. There was ⁓ obviously there was the dance thing going there's a picture of myself and y'all and yourself and behind us there's Harry from CF motorcycles with a wearing a cowboy hat. it's the most bizarre selfie I think we've got Jade behind us as well as being a it'd been a great afternoon and a great evening. Alun: you Was Crystal Rocks on was she? Was that? Well, you know, to set the scene then, because you said what can people expect? We've got six stages on the go at any point in time. During the day, they're predominantly speakers. And this year, I've, ⁓ new one for us this year and I brought it in, it's part of me and I thought, let's see how it goes, you know? We've got the new section is called the dome. Main: Yes, Crystal Glocks. Glocks. ⁓ my goodness, it was amazing. Right. Alun: And some of my old mates are coming there. There's a guy called Alan Inks who's from up your way, who was the first British person to climb the 14, 8,000 meter peaks. And when he done that, more people had stood on the moon than had stood on those 14, 8,000 meter peaks. We've got Kenton Cool. That's his real name, Kenton Cool. Right now, Kenton Cool is in the icefall at Everest. Main: I've met Alan. Wow. ⁓ You Alun: climbing it for the 20th time. The most, most the sense of Everest. He's going to be there. We got John Blashford Snell, first person to take a motorized vehicle across the Darien Gap. You know, we've got Andy Kirkpatrick who is the most psycho mountaineer ever. Stuff I would look at and think, no, Andy will come back and do it in winter. He is Main: And you've been there and done a lot. These are proper events. Alun: He is, and his book was psycho vertical and that sums him up. But he is a very funny guy and tells a great story. So the dome is all these adventurers and some of them ride motorbikes. Others don't, but they'll inspire you, you know, and that's what it. Main: Fantastic. I'll tell you what, I walked up Rosemary Topping the other week. Do I count? We're going up in the morning because my sister is to be doing the Calamari, you know, from Portugal, the Pilgrimage Tour. She's leaving on Sunday and she's doing that and she's walking that and we've been helping her, we've been going up. mean, producer Tom's done the three peaks, he's been up Ben Nevers, he's been up... ⁓ Alun: I know Rosemary Torpett. I know it. Wow. Yeah. Main: Snowdonia and the one in the lake. So we do quite a bit of walk and we don't do anything like that. That's the one. We don't do anything like that you and Bryn have done obviously, but we're going up Rosby Topping in the morning first thing, because it's the last kind of exercise before she flies off on Sunday. we're kind of very proud of what she's going to do. yeah, that dome sounds incredible. I hope we get the chance to... Alun: Scarfield Pike. Brilliant. Main: We all scaled that bank at both wells. It was a 12 % grading. We all scaled that. Yeah, we went down it all right. It was when we coming up, we couldn't breathe. Yeah, I mean, we were a lot. I mean, I think we with some beers had had been had. There was some beers at the end of that 12 % gradient walk. I mean, look, honestly, fantastic festival. We're dead excited to be there next week. But what would you say has been the hardest? Alun: Ha Main: The hardest part of building something like that over the 15 year. What are the challenges Alan that people probably know about? Alun: ⁓ it's, there's two different aspects to building a festival in my mind. One is delighting the ticket holders, you know, and you know that sort of thing. When people come into Ragley Hall, I want them going, wow, when they're coming up that drive and when they see the scale of it and all the facilities we got on, I want them, I want them coming back down the drive when the weekend's over going, wow, that was the best festival I've ever been to. That's it. Main: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We can agree, Alan, that was definitely what we did. It was wowing and wowing and then wowing and wowing on the way I was still wowing about. Our heads were hurting. Our heads were hurting a bit, but it was wow. Alun: You keep on going guys. But that's the good part. And that allows me to think, you know, we're going to bring an IB30 DJ to the ABR. People go, it's a motorbike festival Alan. You can't do that. And I said, you wait to see what happened. It was magnificent. And you know, we've got lots of different things that you would never associate with a motorbike festival. And it's all entertainment. Main: You can. Alun: experiences and so on. The other side of it is you've asked what the biggest challenge is. And I've isolated myself a bit on this because I've got a trim, you know, the staff at ABR are fantastic, absolutely magnificent. And the team down there, they are the guys that really work. I just point fingers now and say, let's have another DJ, you know, but they are the guys who make it work. But what I try and do is Main: Thank Alun: I try and be the buffer between them and the bureaucracy we have to go through now because the bureaucracy is the challenge because you you could end up focusing 90 % on the bureaucracy and only 10 % on the customer experience when you get to certain size. And that's the thing I am so mindful of all the time is I don't want my staff. I don't want Main: Yeah. Yeah. Alun: the staff, the team embedded in this bureaucracy. I'll take that. I'll take that because then they can concentrate on the customer experience because otherwise we'd all be tied up in red tape and forgetting what it's all about. Once you get to certain size, a lot of companies go through that. They go through that entrepreneurial growth stage, get to a point where Main: Yeah. Alun: they almost become civilized and the systems have to take over. And once you get to that point, you start losing, in my opinion, the wow. So, and I'm never gonna take my eye off that ball. And I've only got the one eye and it's fixed totally on that one ball. It's laser focused. It's all about giving customers, ticket holders and your good selves when you come. It's all about you. Main: Yeah. So it's even more focused than it would be normally. Yeah. Alun: It's all about having a great time. The hard part, the challenge is, it's like, sometimes I feel like Gulliver being pinned down on the floor, you know, with red tape and bureaucracy. And I'll give you a little sort of thing. When we were in the farmer's field, you know, if I want a gate open over there, open the bloody gate, right? We could do it like that. You know, it costs 10 grand to open a gate now. Main: Yeah. Yeah. Alun: Because we've got to have risk assessments, we've got to have security, we've got to have traffic. They've got to be undercover if it's raining or if it's sunny. They've got to be replaced every four hours with somebody else. So to open a gate is 10 grand. That's the biggest challenge now. But I love it. I can take that because to me, Main: Yeah. ⁓ Alan, can I? Alun: When those gates open and we just see so many people having a good time, that makes everything we have to do on the bureaucracy side, that makes it all worthwhile. Main: Yeah, absolutely. Alan, the newbies are going to be there for the very first time. So next week will be my very first experience of ABR and other people like me that will be coming this year. I know there's several different trails, isn't there, that people can maybe ride. I'm just curious to learn a little bit about how people can get to ride those trails. Have they got to book on those trails? they, you know, has it got to go via the manufacturers? How do they get to ride them? and how many different trails is there? Because not only is a newbie to the ABR, might also be a newbie to actually adventure bike riding. So probably a novice trail, et cetera. Alun: Okay. Okay, well the main trail, the 50 kilometer trail is the Bridgestone Trail. And we, it's nothing else like it in the UK where you can go 50 kilometers off road, run the grounds regularly. It's like being on safari in Warwickshire, right? I think from the furthest end point you can see Canada now. So that's what it's like. But. Main: Laughter as the bears as well. Alun: Yeah, but that that trail we designed that trail that if it's dry and you've just bought yourself a GS, you should be able to do that trail. There are tougher sections, but we sign them up, you know, as an expert part, but there's always an easy way around. So we don't want people coming and wrecking their bikes. We don't want people coming and wrecking themself. We want them coming and having a fantastic time and it's leisure riding. So the Bridgestone trail. 50 kilometers and it's designed for novices. You know, it's not an enduro trail. And one of the things we do in this year is we're having a zero tolerance on any antisocial riding on that trail. Zero tolerance. know, it's the ABR Festival is not an enduro race. You know, there's plenty of those elsewhere. And if people want to go and race an enduro, then they should go to an enduro race. The ABR is leisure riding. where you can take your GS and just have a fantastic experience. So that's one trail. Before you go on the Bridgestone trail, you might want to try the beginner's loop. We've got a ⁓ very, very easy flat beginner's loop, which you can just drive on grass, on a bit of dirt, just feel what happens to the bike underneath you when you come off tarmac. So we've got that. And once you're comfortable on that, you can go around the Bridgestone trail. If you... If you feel a bit more fruity, we've got the TRF trail. TRF trail is about five miles long and includes the Bog o' Doom and some technical parts as well. We allow enduro bikes on there. As long as they road legal, ⁓ enduro bikes can go on the TRF trail. But again, it's leisure riding. You know, it's not a race. It's a leisure riding. Just have some fun, chill out and just enjoy the beautiful scenery around there. Main: Bye. Alun: If you go on a test ride with a manufacturer, there is a manufacturer's off-road loop as well. So if you go on a test ride, I don't know, let's say with Ducati, Ducati will take you on the Desert X around this off-road trail. And there is one more option for off-road riding. The TRF are doing green lane ride outs from the Festival as well. There's not too many green lanes around Bradley, but there are some and they're okay. ⁓ But I would recommend to get on the trails, you've already have got to have bought a ticket. We released trail tickets. They sold out within a 24 hour period. So if you haven't got a trail ticket, the option to you is to get on a manufacturer's test ride and then you can do it on somebody else's bike, which is always a good idea the first time you go off road. Main: I think we'll be doing that. And you have to get up early, don't you, to book in for the manufacturers. Alun: You will. It's yes. If you on the Friday and Saturday morning, there's going to be big cubes that there's 20,000 of us there. There's always going to be more of us than there are of them sort of thing. But if you go there, you know, if you want to ride on a Sunday, you'll get a test ride on just about any bike you want on the Sunday. And if you know, it's knowing the ebbs and flows of the festival is a big thing to get the best out of it. Like if you want to go for a shower at 8 o'clock in the morning, join the queues. There's only one way you're not going to have a queue at 8 o'clock in the morning. That's if you've got your own hotel room. But if you go there at 11 o'clock in the morning or 1 o'clock in the afternoon, you can have five showers for yourself. You can have a party in the showers. So it's knowing the ebbs and flows of the festival. And same with the trail. If you've got a trail taking you Main: Yeah. ⁓ Yeah. ⁓ Alun: go on the Bridgestone Trail at nine o'clock in the morning when it opens, expect there to be quite a few thousand other people on there. But a couple of thousand people spread out over 50 kilometers, doesn't look that busy. But if you went on there three o'clock in the afternoon, it's going to be nice open ride in. So it's picking your time to do these things. And another thing you've asked about the trails. Main: Thank Alun: We've got four trauma units on site. We can deal with four serious traumas at any one point in time. We had three heart attacks at the ABR last year. None of them were riding. This happened in the campsites where, ⁓ you know, it could have happened anywhere. And so we've dealt with heart attacks at the ABR. I think we had about three broken legs, three dislocated shoulders last year. That's par for the course. You know, I could pretty much say We'll have three dislocated shoulders, three broken legs this year. Yeah. Yeah. So, and if we, you know, but we've got, and if we stop the writing there, it's because all our trauma units are currently busy. And if somebody did have an accident, then we wouldn't be able to do anything. So if all our trauma units are otherwise engaged, we will have what's called a cold red, and we just clear the trails. Main: I do remember the air ambulance coming in here last year. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you mentioned, Alan, you know, borrow a bike off somebody. So you had a spare bearing left for that Norton. I don't suppose you're taking that, but if you want to lend us your bike, more than happy to have a bit of a bit a. Alun: So. Yeah. Hahaha Well, I'll tell you what, you've touched on something. When you have a festival, somebody has to be the license holder for the 20,000 people that are coming there. And I'm named as the license holder. It's not a limited company that has a license. It's a person that has to have the license. So I'm the license holder. And as the license holder, the insurance. Main: Yeah. Alun: on the festival precludes me from riding. can do the, we have the parade on the mornings of the Thursday and Friday. I can do those. I've negotiated, I can ride in the parades. And there's one other thing I can ride this year, which is a new one. I'll tell you about it now. But otherwise my bike is, yeah, it's free, but I'm not letting anybody ride it off road. So, there you go. Yeah. Main: Yeah. you ⁓ So the answer is no. That was a very polite no, but thank you. Alun: I'll say the third one, no, we haven't officially announced this. We're going to have ⁓ Will, I think you know Will, you've spoken to Will on times, Will is the young fit guy there, Will does his breakfast runs. He goes trail running in the morning, round through the bog of doom and everything. He had about 60, 70 people come running with him in the morning. Main: ⁓ exclusive spoilers. Yeah, we know we'll be Alun: And there's yoga going on at seven or eight o'clock in the morning in ⁓ the Royal Enfield tent. You know, so I've thought, let's have a wakey-wakey ride out at seven thirty in the morning. The long title is wakey-wakey and we're to be back in time for eggs and bakey. We're going to be back for nine o'clock. So I'm to do a ride out on the Saturday morning at seven thirty. Main: you Great. Alun: And if you want to join me on it, I'm going to take people on my local Cotswold roads. It'll cost you a fiver, which will go into the air ambulance. We've looked after the ABR festival as well. you know, we're not going to drag money out of your pocket. I would expect you, if you're coming out with ride with me on the Saturday morning, to put a fiver in the tin. I will have a wakey wakey ride and we will be back. Main: Lovely. Nice. Yeah. And it's not a pigilist. Alun: in time for eggs and bakey as well. Main: I think even if we don't come on the ride, I think we're quite happy putting a five pound note in for the Rambolins. So just, just, just conscious of time as well, Alan, because you've been a fantastic guest tonight. Just looking back over everything you've built, what, are you most proud of? And that's probably again, probably very hard one for you to answer because you've done so much, but what is the one thing that you're really proud of? Alun: Cheers, gents. Thank you. It's, I think... I'll tell you where I really get what I'm... And it's me being proud of other people. It's on that Saturday night of the festival where I know the effort that the team have put in for 12 months, 18 months before, because we've already booked up things for 2027, by the way. So I know what the team does and I know how much effort they live, breathe, eat, sleep it. Main: Yeah. Alun: And on that Saturday night, when you see so many people having a great time and so on, I just feel so proud of the team and all the effort they've put in because the stuff that goes on in the background to build the fifth biggest town in Warwickshire for 20,000 people is enormous. And I feel proud of the team of what they've done. So yeah, that's... Main: Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Fantastic. Yeah. Alun: That's what makes me feel proud of these is that. Main: Brilliant. That's lovely to hear. I mean, we're so excited and we've chosen ABR to launch something quite special. So we're ABR at your festival. Sorry, launching, we're launching just right at the ABR festival and we're going to have a big stand there around Moscow Motor and Peter Zine and I think obviously Oxford. So we're very excited to be there and to pick your amazing event to. Alun: Hahaha. Main: Not lot people know about what Just Ride is, but it'll come out over the next week, but they'll run up to the event as well. We're very proud of what we've built. to team as well. And a shout out to Jay, Will and the team who have been working effortlessly with us to really pull that together. We're going to be doing some amazing things in the magazine over the next year. Just because of what we experienced last year, what we learned from the people we spoke to, we're very excited to put everything into the ABR Festival and enjoy it because we enjoyed it last year. He's not going to know what's in him. really isn't. So we're dead excited and very privileged to be part of the event next week. Alun: Ha Well, and thank you for all the kind words you said there. That's wonderful to you. And I wish you all wish you success with Just Right. And I'll definitely come along to the stand at the the ABR. Main: Yeah Yeah. Yeah. Come along. We're doing some really fantastic things and we've got some big partners working with us as well in terms of what you can do with the the Just Ride platform. So it's a lot of safety, a lot of navigation, a lot of route discovery, bringing together something to make everybody's motorcycle adventure the best it can be and the safest it can be as well. I'm probably telling you too much now anyway, but people can come and see us talk to us and we're to be doing, Robbie's going to be on the stand with his Dakar bike. And, know, we're going to, we're going to be doing some, we're going to be finding out what, where people want to go and where their favorite routes are and their adventures are. we want to kind of probably film that and, bring, bring some of that into the podcast. it's good for us. It's going to be a great experience to talk to people, tell them, we're at look, we're all riders. We're passionate about bringing some technology to market that really makes things. Alun: Hahaha Main: just that bit easier and just does what you need it to do. And as I said, we've chosen ABR to be able to do that. So you're going to ask Alan some of the questions, aren't you, before we let him go? Yeah, I think I'm going to share a few out this evening. And I'm going to change one of the questions as well. So I'm going to get Mart in the start off, but we have a series of quick fire questions. They're never quick fire Alan, because we always go, ⁓ isn't that, I'd love that. Alun: I just... we just ramble off somewhere, right? Main: Yeah, so I think Martin's going to kick us off. Yeah. So Alan, if money was no object, what bike would you buy? Alun: I'm very happy with the one I've got. I bought one of the last 1250 GSEs before the 1300 came out. And I am so happy with that. ⁓ I genuinely, I'm sitting here thinking, you've asked the question, I've given you the answer. I'd keep the money in my pocket and spend it on Guinness next week at the ABR, right? Main: What is your current bike? Okay, So Alan, the next question then is who is your motorcycling hero? Alun: Ha Probably, probably my dad because my dad had a Norton and yeah, he was, he really liked his bikes and yes, he was, was, my first contact with a motorbike was my dad and yes, he'd have to be my motorcycle hero. Main: Nice. That's lovely to hear. So you've got your GS 1250, the last of the those before the 1300 came out. What is your favorite place to ride the GS? Alun: Yeah. My favorite place in the world outside of Wales, right, is Main: ⁓ man, Alan just made me happy. Alun: Outside of Abuville, right? My favorite place is the Dolomites in Italy. is the most, you know, I've been mountain ranges all over the world. You will not find a more spectacular mountain range than the Dolomites. And in my younger days, I spent three years, three summer seasons climbing in the Dolomites, living out in the back of the van, climbing in the Dolomites. and I wrote the original guidebook to the Via Ferrata claiming routes in the Dolomites. So I just love it there. It's just amazing. Main: Wow. Sounds amazing. So, Every guest that comes on, right, we've got a massive list of stuff that we're to have to buy, we're going have to go, we're going to, I mean, we're going to be really, really busy, aren't we? We're going to see our wives. I think my wife, come on the adventures. Yeah, mine well as well. Mine will come on the adventures. So, I'm going to ask you two questions, Alan, if I may. Alun: Genmudd, go there. Go there if you haven't been. Main: So normally to finish off this section, I always ask people you've got a you know, a B has been a very successful Event next week and you've got a couple of quid sitting around in your pocket What would you buy with that money as it would be an accessory would it be a helmet boots? Whatever and now I'm going to add this supplementary question to the end of that But if you want to give that one a go first Alun: ⁓ Are we talking like motorbike? of, or whatever. Accessory for my motorbike, I, right, it's gonna be tanker petrol and a ferry ticket. And I'm off to the Dolomites. Main: Yes. Not Guinness. ⁓ I love it. That's a great answer. just as we've been talking, I was thinking about what sort of a question I could ask. And I sense has been a very proud Welshman that you're very proud of your national sport as well. So my question to you is, you've got which would you prefer? So would you prefer to go off on the GS and go somewhere for a couple of weeks on the on the bike? Or would you prefer to see your Welsh national team smash one of your biggest rivals in Cardiff or even in their own backyard, which would you prefer? ⁓ Alun: Well, that is one of those questions where. You The good thing is with modern technology, I can do both now, can't I? Because I could be sitting by the side of the road on my bike with my phone with a sky connection or whatever doing both. I, and, but no, you want an answer. What would I do? I think if it came down to it, if it came down to it, it would be the bike trip. Main: You Good company great answer Yeah. Alun: It's paper thin, but it would be the bike trip. It's my wonderful place on the bike. Main: Yes. Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you. Fantastic. So just in terms of so maybe our next week, what is the advice you give to people about they're going to come to the show? I mean, we know they're going to have an absolutely amazing time and we're going to be there and come and hang out with us. And but what's your kind of one piece of advice for people coming to ABR for the first time next week? What was the kind of thing that you would say to them? One thing. Alun: It's you're with friends. You you will come into an event where there is going to be 20,000 friends. If you're coming on your own, you're going to make friends in the first five minutes. And one of the reasons is you can't get any phone coverage there. So people are not sitting there on their phones. People are having to talk to everybody around them. And that creates a bit of an atmosphere as well. You you go into the bar. Main: Yeah. Alun: You go to a bar now and people are sitting there on their phone. They're not at the ABR. You have to talk. what? So I'm going to say you're going to have a great advice, great, great festival. We are going to look after you. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you have a fantastic time. And there is so much going on there. You're never going to get around to see everything. You know, don't don't think you're going to see everything this year. There's always next year. Come back and see and see what you missed this year. Main: Yeah. Yeah. just come to the just ride stand. We are definitely going to enjoy it and we hope to see you in the Bridgestone tent again for another selfie but with lots of us this time. yeah, no, so I know. Oh, what a teaser. Alun: Just enjoy it. Have a great time. know, accept. I am, I will be there, but you haven't heard what the dome is changing into at night yet. And I'm going to leave that as a surprise for you. Right? Ha ha ha. Main: That's a cliffhanger isn't it from a mountain climber. That's a cliffhanger. ⁓ fantastic. We've got our invitation there, we've got it official, you've all heard that. It's going to be a Guinness, it's going to be Guinness isn't it? A swimming pool of Guinness, what? Alun: So I'll see you at the Dome, 7 o'clock, Friday night, for the big unveiling, right? Main: So honestly Alan we've had an absolute blast with you tonight and to learn all about you you've done some incredible things you didn't write a book by the way you probably have but it's been absolutely our pleasure and look we look forward to seeing you next week if you're watching this please subscribe and like I always forget to do that Alan and ⁓ leave us a comment yeah and if got any share please yeah yeah if you've got any comments for Alan just drop them in there as well I'm sure he'll jump on and answer them but Can I just give Alan a massive round of applause from the Just Right team? Thank you very much, Alan. And we'll see you next week. Alun: Thank you gents and thank you for coming next week. I'll give you a round of applause for coming as well. Cheers. Main: Yeah. Brilliant. Thank you. Okay, and we're