21st to 24th June
As we're all aware by now foot & mouth is causing havock
with the rally schedule, in this case the R&B had to be moved
from it's usual site to Donnington Park and to a different date -
the traditional Farmyard date. By good arrangement the Farmyard
was postponed to the end of July - the usual Rock and Blues date.
Good that's that cleared up then.
Jo with her new bike
Andy wonders if the 'Blade would look good in pink.
Although the show starts on Thursday night, and it worth going if you can make it, we set off Friday afternoon. The we in this case consisted of myself (Tiger), Lindsey (Sprint ST), Andy (Fireblade),(still), and Jo on her every so pretty GSF400. That's a Suzuki Bandit, the original 400cc one with the gorgeous looking frame, now in a rather fetching purple thanks to Andy's quite amazing painting skills. Altough I think it looks a kind of sexy pink in some lights. But this doesn't please Andy who is a rufty tufty biker and would never paint anything pink. No siree. He'd rather ride about with a four ft orange teddy bear on the back for his wide and muscular 'Blade.
Where was I?
Happy. party, people. And plane coming into land behind them all making a right good racket.
The ride down from Darlington to Thirsk was on the backroads
and a jolly time was had by all. Howling past cars and scratchin'
through corners, I'm in prime position at the back to assess
everyone elses cornering technique. Andy and Lindsey are well
known masters of this art, but Jo is transformed from her
previous incarnation on the EL250, much faster, obiously, but
smooth and agressive. This is gonna be fun.
The fun has to stop eventually and shortly past Thirsk we on the
piece of tarmaced hell that is the A1. This leads us to the
slightly more interesting M18 (well there is a roundabout between
the two) and then to the M1 and a break at the services. Along
the way we have to deal with manic car drivers and attempting to
keep the convoy together - why do people go for gaps between 2
bikes when they would never do that to cars that close?
Chillin' out, drinking some beer and catching some rays
It's hard work at these rally things you know.
Donnington is surprisingly well organised although you don't get a choice as to where you camp, so if you want to be with your friends ride down with then. Tents pitched and out with the vodka and redbull to chill out, admire Jo's bike and wonder why bloody huge airliners keep buzzing us ....
Eventually we meet up with assorted Dav's, Sue's, Shags, Miky
J's etc from the Darlington contingent and head off to the
showground to see the bands and the stalls. And it's about this
point Donnington started to show it's true nature. No, you can't
take drinks (booze or soft) into the arena and then the bands
finish at 11:00pm, we're just in time to hear Hawkwinds last song
(it's an ill wind that blows no good etc).
We later find out that the early finish is due to noise
complaints from the locals. For fucks sake people it's a bloody
race track. With an airport next door. Why live there if your
audiophobic.
OK, I admit it, I just made that word up. Does it exist? If not
it should do. Along with "fretlock", there should
definitely be a fretlock!
Someone here has a wicked sense of humour
Point to point possibly the fastest thing on the road.
Saturday dawns hot and sunny and we're all woken to more big iron birds playing noisy buggers overhead. Still it's going to be a lovely day so we're determined to make the most of it. Breakfast is followed by a wander about and bumping to various Marks, Bevs and others. A plan is hatched over coffee and breakfasts in the arena, we shall go for a ride to a nearby pub for lunch and then go scratchin' about.
This plan works perfectly, the pub is brilliant and the food
excellant, an incredibly cute cat which had a taste for roast
beef is present and entertainment is laid on by two old guys. The
first in his 80's reminises with us about Ariel Square Four's and
leaves wondering which of the new bikes he'd have if his
offspring would let him go. The second, mobile to the extent of
spry'ness, pissed, one eyed and apparently a local character,
talks all sorts of bollocks, scrounges baccy, chats up the girls
and then starts displaying his ankle, he got the right one on the
second attempt, which he broke several years ago, pissed in this
very beergarden.
Slightly stunned by all this we decided it might be time to leave.
The ride was fun, I'm still not sure where we went or how we got there. But it was most pleasant, big grins all round and then back to site for the inevitable party. Yet again vodka is mixed with redbull and off we went..
It's still hot and sunny come Sunday so we decide on the
longer but fun route back that leads via Goole, Wetwang, Helmsley
and Stokesley. The ride is back is brilliant, at one stage
Lindsey takes off on some of her known roads and leaves us all
behind, curving past a line of cars she sets about showing how
well the ST handles on 90degree fenland roads. But none of the
bikes are particularly slow and we're all riding well so this is
only briefly till she slows down. Traffic is quite heavy and
fustratingly lined up at the far end of the straights to spoil
the cornering fun, more of an occupational hazard in this part of
the country, especially for me playing tail end charley.
The excessive amount of luggage on the bike slows down the
handling quite a lot on these roads taking quite a bit of effort
to change direction but the tyres, T66X's, continue to do their
stuff and happily cope with everything I sling at them. The roads
around Wetwang are old friends of mine so I take the lead and
soon manage to leave the others behind. This be Tiger country.
Lindsey and I leave Jo and Andy at Darlington and take some more back roads before joining the motorway for the final few miles home. Hot, sweaty and knackered is sit outside looking at the bikes and having a coffee before tackling the necessary post rally abolutions. Triumph has indeed hit it right on the head with both of these bikes, both scratch and tour with equal ability, and in the Tigers case, corners far better than you would believe.
Snore, snore whistle etc. B has a little sleep.
Denzel carried her around like this all weekend.
Allegedly.
Tasty trike No1.
Tasty trike No2.