Chopperbuilder.co.uk "Bogsmasher Ball"
Chopperbuilder.co.uk
30th May - 1st June. 2008.
Hmm, the "Bogsmasher's Ball" eh, what's that all about then ? Some kind of a ball where folks go to destroy toilets maybe ? Or is it the kind of bog that you sink into and vanish without a trace ? To be fair, there was some kind of a boggy area, but you would hardly sink in it, and I didn't see anyone try to smash it - though I did hear rumour that someone may have fell into it. No - this Bogsmasher's Ball was a weekend of drinking and talking bollocks - mainly bollocks about motorcycles, and the building thereof, but bollocks non the less. Now if there's one thing I like doing, it's talking bollocks about bikes and the like. So by early Friday evening, DOT and the Dog Kennel had made the 40 odd mile journey up to Eccleshall and promptly overshot the entrance to the site. Now when towing, DOT has all the manoeuvrability of the average super-tanker, so I carried on for a good half a mile until I could turn around. As per normal, it didn't take long to set up camp and get myself fed. I had a quick wander around then had to escape for a while. One of our club members was having a stag night, for want of a better term, at a pub only a few miles down the road. Now seeing as I've known this chap for the best part of thirty years, I thought it only good and proper that I show my face, besides, it was a good excuse to ride the trike and have a drink. It wasn't all that late by the time I got back to the site, so I spent a pleasant few hours just putting the world to rights. As so very often happens at events like this, I spotted someone carrying a guitar, so I'm afraid I had to get my banjo out. If now't else, it passed an hour or so.
A fine crop of choppers.
The very nice man on the radio said the weather was going to be excellent, and he was right. Now as far as I'm concerned, the one thing I like doing when the sun is out is riding around. Once again, I reckoned the seaside was the place to go.
A fine open road.
In true fashion, my first thought was food, so my first stop was the Ponderosa cafe on the top of the Horseshoe Pass. OK, so it's where everyone stops, but I've never had a bad meal there, and I do like the roads in that part of the world. A few of the coastal towns were next on the agenda, and being British, I just had to have a walk on the beach - ice cream in hand. Having done the best part of two hundred miles, I got back to the site by late afternoon and took a closer look at some of the bikes.
As you can imagine, much talking bollocks ensued. I did get a bit concerned when I noticed Batman was wandering around and distributing Jaffa cakes to people. Thinking my medication must have worn off, I questioned the person next to me, and it seemed they could see him too. Luckily it was nothing to be worried about, only Borg doing what he does best.
Zap - Kerpow - Nibble - ah, Jaffa cakes.
The evening turned into night, and still folks were just milling about and discussing the merits of sprung seats and hardtails. We were entertained by an enthusiastic punk band by the name of "Too tall for Tommy" - not the best band in the world, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves, which to me is the best reason for playing. Nice one lads, you did a grand job. The ever intrepid DJ Gonad kept the music running, despite his amp setting fire - and even took the award for best unfinished project too. The raffle went down well, although carrying a pedestal drill back home on a bike may have proved a challenge. I did notice a rather large pig-shaped object being roasted, and from what everyone said, it was excellent. I wish I'd tried it now, but I'm one of those folks that always carry enough food for the weekend.
So ended the Bogsmasher's Ball. It was nice to put faces to some of the names on the forum. It was an excuse to ride around - look at bikes - eat and drink - talk bollocks - torment folks with my banjo - all in all, a grand weekend. To those who did all the work organising things - thanks - it ain't easy putting a rally on. I have a feeling I just might be at the next one.
^..^
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