"Sort
of Xmas rally." Black Country MAG.
"Sort
of Xmas rally."
17th - 19th November. 2000.
This was to be the first rally
held by the Black Country MAG - they did hold a birthday bash
earlier in the year which went down well.
Tea time Friday saw me packing
the trike and "dog kennel" and setting off on the epic
20 or so mile journey to the Royal Oak, a 'biker friendly' pub at
Alveley.
The ride down was a total pain in the ass, due to
what I took to be the carb icing up on the trike. As soon
as I came off tickover, the engine would die and would only pick
up again when the accelerator pump kicked in. You can
imagine the fun I had trying to ride in traffic. Binary
throttle anyone ?
It didn't take long before I
was set up and heading for the control tent.
Luckily the pub is high enough
up not to be troubled by the nearby river Severn, which was
running well above level. The field at the rear of the pub
had suffered
*some* water logging, as a tractor driver found to
his dismay when his trailer sank up to its axles.
The pub was smaller inside than
I first thought, but we didn't exactly fill it to bursting - come
to think of it - we all fitted snugly in one half of it.
The rest of the evening passed quiet amiably, with the raffle, an
auction for a helmet ( Ooer Missus ) and some idiot waving a
guitar around. The bar closed around 1 a.m. so we wandered
outside to grab a bite to eat before heading for bed.
I set off back towards home on
Saturday afternoon, seeing as I had a 40th birthday party to 'show
my face' at. Most of the Moonshiners were at this party
rather than at the rally, but seeing as I had received the rally
invite before I had received the party invite, I chose to do both.
The trike was still running as though the carb was icing up, but
the weather was nowhere near cold enough to cause it. Soon
as I got the chance, I whipped the carb apart and found the pilot
jet totally blocked. Having cleaned the jet and refitted it,
the trike ran beautifully.
By 10 p.m. I was back at the
rally site, only to find the catering van had vanished and the
field had grown some deep ruts. It seems the caterers had
decided to head for a more profitable site, having only made
around £ 11 on the Friday. The ruts in the field were
caused by two tractors trying to remove the trailer that had got
bogged down earlier. Still - it all adds to the fun.
The pub owners decided that they could cook breakfasts for those
who wanted them.
Once again, the bar didn't
close until the wee small hours. Having been ejected from
the bar, we wandered over to the bonfire where a strange ritual
involving an inflatable sheep was taking place. Funny
people, these MAG members ;-)
Sunday saw us packing up and
fighting the mud. The field had been churned up good an
proper by the tractor driving fiasco earlier.
For a small turnout rally, it
was a damn good weekend. As far as I know, MAG didn't
actually loose any money on this rally, but I bet they didn't
make a great deal either. As with all rallies, a lot of
effort went into a "Sort of Xmas Rally", it seems a
pity that a few more bodies didn't turn up..........but that's
rallies for you !
Cheers.
^..^