Oddballs M.C.C.

Frozen Ballsup

23rd - 25th February. 2007

    It was back in 2001 when I last did a Frozen Ballsup, and I remember being under about two inches of snow.  This year looked like being exactly the opposite.  The weather all week had been mild.  Ok, so it had been a little damp, but it certainly hadn't been cold.  In true Sod's Law fashion I had been working up near the rally site for the last three days, so I was getting just a little bit fed up of travelling up the M6, along the M54 and down the A41.  Friday and I managed to finish work at a reasonable time, so I made good progress along the A41 only to be met with solid traffic for the last three miles of the M6.  Then, just to add insult to injury, it started to rain . . . and that is my excuse for not being there on Friday night.  From what I was told, certain members of our club were dancing on the table.  Maybe it was for the best that I wasn't there ;-)

    Saturday morning and the rain seems to have stopped.  First little job of the day was to take the Enfield for MOT - as per usual, it passed.  It was then back home, load up the dog kennel and make the 52 mile trip to the rally site.  As luck would have it, the rain kept off.  Well, it kept off until I pulled onto the field, whereupon it came down with a vengeance.   Being ever prepared, I had a pair of wellies to hand, or to foot, to be more precise.   Right, having set up camp and fed my face, the next thing was to take a wander around the site to look at the bikes and browse the various stalls.  Now call me a wimp, but it was still raining and I happen to have a full stomach and a nice warm, cosy, comfortable place to lie.  So I spent the next few hours sleeping, which seems to be a more popular exercise with me these days.  I did manage to wake up in time to head for the local town, where we soon found a pub selling decent beer.  By around half past eleven we were back at the rally site.  Most of the Moonshiners headed for the barn and the delights of the band.  I took one look in there and decided food was a wiser option.  Having fed, I once more opted for the more relaxed approach and promptly went to bed.

    Sunday morning and the rain has come back to join us.  I cooked a quick breakfast and then started to pack things away.  The one thing I didn't pack away was my coffee cup, which just happened to be left on top of the cooker in the dog kennel.  This wouldn't have been a problem if the cup wasn't full of coffee.  Ah well, I now have a nice coffee coloured floor.    If nothing else, the journey home gave my waterproofs a good testing, which they passed with flying colours.  There's a lot to be said for ex Dutch army Gore-Tex clothing.    although I didn't spend much ( any ) time in the barn, or around the stalls for that matter, I still enjoyed this rally, and so did the rest of the club from what they said.  Just to ensure my place in Biker's Heaven, I stopped for a couple who were on the hard shoulder of the M6, just this side of junction 9.   Seems they had lost a gear lever pivot pin - I took a 'spare' pin from out of the steering head of my trike ( a camera mounting bolt, so nothing important ) and gave it to 'em.  They had another eighty miles to go, I had only about three miles at the most.  It also transpired that these good folks had been to a rally this weekend . . . . . . . . The Frozen Ballsup.    I trust they made it back home.

Cheers

^..^

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2007