Get the diaries out!!

The third Horizons Unlimited Ireland meeting will take place in Enniskillen on the weekend of

29 June-1 July 2012.

The meeting will be at the same location as the last two years with excellent camping, food and craic guaranteed.

Keep an eye out on this thread for more information as plans unfold and we gather together our list of speakers. It is early days for speakers to firmly commit but at this stage the list includes:

Grant and Susan Johnston world travellers and founders of Horizons Unlimited

Jim mcCausland back by popular demand for his excellent and practical “personal safety for motorbike travellers” demonstration.

Norman and Margaret Magowan. check out their website at Adventures in Yellow by Norman Magowan : Motorcycle Journey on the Pan American Highway Come along and chat with these well travelled adventurers from Belfast.

Hana Ptackova website www.adventours.com Hana has travelled extensively in Spain and Morocco and will be able to tell you everything you want to know about that area. For those who were at last year's meeting she was the lady who donated the fantastic prize to our charity raffle.

Roddy Warriner Roddy is the transport manager at James Cargo in London and knows everything there is to know about transporting bikes round the world. He takes care of all the freighting arrangements for Globebusters and other motorbike adventure companies. Come along armed with lots of questions.

Stephen Baker. An expert on motorbike travelling and Apricot Yoghurt!

Brian Byrne Brian has agreed to do a First Aid course aimed particularly at motorcyclists. What you learn at this course could one day make all the difference.

Les Madge website Traveldri Plus Les will give us the benefit of his vast knowledge of the best travel kit to take with you on your adventure. He is also hoping to bring a selection of quality kit with him.

Declan McEvoy Declan has recently returned from an Eastern Europe trip. His chosen talk title is "Back home to Belarus" Interesting!

Gerry Christie Gerry will give the lowdown on his foray into central Africa 1n 2011.

There are others in the wings but more of that at a later time!

We have already received confirmed registrations from Australia, England and Ireland. So what are you waiting for? If you are planning to be there (and if not why not!?) get registered now at

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/meetings/Ireland2012

The Team

A few more presentations to add to the list and motivate you into registering for HUI 2012!

Some of you may have met Manuela Beis at previous HU meetings in England. For those who haven't, check out Ela's website at

Pumpernickel on Tour

Great pictures and an inspiring journey. A must hear presentation.

Dave Flooks gave talks in previous years on trips to Japan and Vietnam. This time round he has been cajoled into giving a "no holds barred" talk on a forthcoming trip to West Coast USA. As some people known to you all will be on that trip you may find the exaggerated tales of derring-do interesting!!

Watch this space for more details to come.

Please note that numbers attending will be limited to 150. That is one very good reason to register now at

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/mee...p#registration

Could I also suggest that you consider adding a Horizons Unlimited membership fee to your registration? The Horizons Unlimited website is freely available no matter where you are in the world. These membership fees, together with any surplus from the weekend help to maintain this invaluable free "bible" for all motorcycle travellers. In other words...us!

The Team!

Almost the end of April, the Invasion of Wexford over (and much enjoyed by those attending) the first Irish road race of the year this weekend (Cookstown) and the sun is shining (at the minute!)

Summer must be just around the corner and planning for of the Horizons Unlimited Ireland meeting in Enniskillen on weekend of 29 June/1 July is continuing apace.

Here are a few more speakers we have lined up to tempt you into registering now for this great annual event.

Frank McNellis was caught in an unguarded moment during the "Invasion of Wexford" and after a few pints agreed to give a wee talk on the subject

"Alaska to Argentina..a way to ride the Americas with limited time and money"

You don't have to take a year off work (who wouldn't if given the chance!) and spend a fortune to travel on a motorbike. There are other ways to fulfil that dream. Come along and hear how Frank managed it.

David Kyle many of you will know from previous years. He is the guy who works tirelessly at each meeting keeping the Audio/Visual equipment running!

David will give a talk entitled

"So you wanna be a Tour Guide"

David has considerable experience helping to lead recent Globebusters Transamericas and Eidelweiss/Globebusters "Discover our Earth" expeditions.

Come along and learn what got him interested, how he applied, what they were looking for and what happened next...........

Stephen Clarke's talk is entitled

"But I only have two weeks.........How can I get the most out of a two week trip without it turning into an "Iron Butt" ride"

An interesting subject which could give us all pause for thought.

Feargal O'Neill is also hoping to be available to give an update on plans for the "Carl Stearns Clancy centenary run" in October this year. If you missed Feargal and "The Celt" 's talk last year or want to learn more about this amazing adventurer check out

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...2-2013-a-59581

Now what are you waiting for? Remember that numbers will be limited to 150 and registration is on a "first come first served" basis. You can register now at

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/mee...reland2012.php

OK so here's the deal.

You haven't registered for the meeting yet because:

It might rain that weekend

It might be too sunny for your fair complexion

You're worried that the bar will run dry

You have been there, done it and don't want a t-shirt

You prefer registering at the last minute and causing chaos for the organisers

Perhaps the following list of presentations and happenings might just change your mind!

(did I forget to mention that you can register here !!)

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/mee...reland2012.php



Personal Safety on the road Jim McCausland

Bikeless in Bamako Gerry Christie

Adventures in Yellow Norman and Margaret Magowan

Morocco on two wheels Hana Ptackova

Motorbike airfreight and shipping Roddy Warriner

Wrong Amazon avoiding apricot yoghurt Stephen Baker

First Aid course Brian Byrne

Back Home to Belarus Declan McEvoy

South America on a DRZ Manuela Beis

California dreamin' Dave Flooks

The Americas with limited time/money Frank McNellis

So you wanna be a tour guide? David Kyle

"But I only have two weeks" Stephen Clarke

Incidents on a crap bike......... Paddy Tyson



And a few others who are definite possibles

Solo travels in Europe Claudia Riedel

Carl Stearns Clancy Anniversary run Feargal O'Neill

Alpine passes Nich Brown


Also lined up for the weekend is David Rynhart of Overlanders.ie and Paddy Tyson will have copies of his books and Issue 3 the excellent "Overland" magazine for sale. Drew Miller has also put together an orienteering course for those who want to see a wee bit more of the beautiful Fermanagh countryside...more information to follow.

Three weeks to go and you never know....a few more surprise guests are always possible.....

Names noticeable by their absence from the list are that of Grant and Susan Johnston, originators of the Horizons Unlimited website. Those of you who subscribe to the HU site (and if not,why not!!) will already know that Grant was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer several months ago and is currently undergoing a course of chemotherepy in Canada. Regretfully they have had to cancel their attendance at all European HU meetings this year. I know I speak for all who have enjoyed their company at previous meetings in sending Grant our best wishes for a speedy and full recovery and we look forward to welcoming them back again next year.

Now are you convinced that Enniskillen is the place to be on the weekend of 29 June - 1 July? To save you scrolling back to the top of this post again (all heart I am ) get at this link and get yer name down asap!!

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/mee...reland2012.php

In 2010 the first person who turned up at the inaugural Horizons Unlimited Ireland meeting was Margaret all the way from Tasmania!!

Last year those who attended had the opportunity to meet up and chat with Peter and Kay Forwood from Australia on their much travelled Harley.

This year....?

In pole position at the moment is Rupert and Fang-yi Utley who are on route on KTMs from Capetown to Shanghai and who just happen to be passing through Ireland at the end of the month.

Fang-yi is a former professional volleyball player (in team that won China championships) and is captain of the Shanghai Gaelic football team which recently won the China national championship (honest!) She has also been a championship winning boxer in her time!!

Rupert is a former Royal Hong Kong police officer and founder of the Hong Kong Paragliding Association.

They have agreed to give a wee talk on their trip. I am sure that they will receive the traditional Irish welcome (Guinness has been mentioned !!)

If you want to know more check out Rupert and Fang-yi's website at

Rupert & Fanny's Big Bike Trip | South Africa and the world on KTM 990 Adventures

Have you registered yet?

Here are a few late additions to the galaxy of presenters.

Liam McCabe will enthrall us on Friday night (7.30pm Room B) with more stories of his amazing adventures. If you have caught Liam's talks at previous meetings you will not want to miss this opportunity to hear more. If you haven't heard Liam before, don't even think of missing this!

Kev Emans and Gary O'Keefe will be running a "puncture repair and wheel changing " workshop on Saturday. If they are not experts now they will be when they return from their trip on "the Road of Bones"

David Kyle will run workshops on Saturday on "All you want to know about GPS" and "Stoves, fuel and cooking"



This is the last weekend before registrations close. Registered yet?

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/mee...reland2012.php

I just want to say a huge "Thank You" to Liam and the team for organising what was a most enjoyable and informative weekend. A lot of work went into it and it is much appreciated - like a good wine it keeps getting better!

I want to apologise to the guys doing the tyre change demo for suggesting to Mandy? that she should ask them to change her tyre on the pegaso... what a pita... the tyre not Mandy!

If they'd used Krav Maga on the damn thing, it may have come off easier!

The things blokes will do for an attractive woman.

__________________
www.unchainedworld.com

www.roughguidesintouch.com/lamble

http://ttt.unchainedworld.com

Liam received the following comments by e-mail, so I'm sharing them here!


"I know your work isn't over yet and don't want to load your inbox with trash but just wanted to thank you and your crew for a memorably rewarding weekend - full credit to you, your team, the presenters and the participants."

"I learnt so much, met some truly inspirational people and enjoyed an insight in to the world of biking - still sticking with four wheels for now but wow : tempting!"


"Thanks a million on two fronts, firstly thanks for a brilliant weekend - I really enjoyed it. Huge credit due to you and the team for making it happen. It takes a lot of work and careful preparation to make an event like that work so smoothly. I was delighted that I was on the programme first thing on Sat morning - it meant I could relax then and savour all the other presentations"

"the w/end was immense from start to finish, thanks to all your hard work.
Put me down for next year, I'll take few others as well."

"I’d like to thank you very much for having me there and for a fantastic weekend. It was a great event and very well organised. I look forward to being there again next year."

"The weekend was very enjoyable thank you, it was interesting to hear and meet people with great stories and experiences. It was great luck to win such a fantastic prize and Just wanted to say thank you for organising a great weekend. Allie and I really enjoyed ourselves, especially with the dancing :-)"

"Hope everybody went their ways happy and contented, never mind the weather Conor tells me there was a great atmosphere over the whole weekend."

"Before you forget last weekend and start planning the next one I want to say thank you! As always it was wonderful, the people I met, the talks, the chats, the people who work in the centre and the food - so much of it!!! Everything! I can only imagine the amount of work it takes because you make it look effortless but I doubt it is. I hope you will continue to have the energy, enthusiasm and courage to do it again next year."


"Well it comes rather late, as we are just back from the Outer Hebrides. Just wanted to pass on our sincere thanks for a truly fantastic weekend at HU. Norman and Maggie"

"I had a fantastic time in Ireland both at the meeting and taking the long way home. I ended up camping at great site, ended up chatting with the owners and other campers, having the crack I believe it is called. You say if one person is inspired to get out there, well I am, so it is a great success."

"Thanks for organising the meeting... and giving me a nudge to come over, I was buzzing when I got home, like a school boy on Christmas Day and some".

"It was a pleasure to present and to get an opportunity to hang around with such great people – yourself included! I think your yardstick for success has been achieved – after listening to that fab young lady from Germany, 3 of us are in the dreaming stages for a trip to South America – and like all trips they usually start with a dream of doing it!"

"You and your team did a fantastic job organising the weekend and it was one of the best meetings I have ever been to!"

__________________________________________________ _______

And our huge thanks to Liam, Naomi, Jochen, David and Drew for making this happen, even though we couldn't be there except in spirit. Amazingly, they have actually volunteered to do it again in 2013.

We're changing the date to mid-July, which we're gambling will be the week that Ireland gets summer next year ;-)

Ireland 2013 meeting registration is open now!
Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers' Meeting, Ireland 2013

Cheers,
Grant & Susan

__________________
Susan Johnson

Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com