VRA (UK)
Northern
Midlands Rally 2011
Having missed the season opener at Marlborough, I was itching to get on the bike
for the trip to Coventry. For a week beforehand, when I wasn’t actually at work,
I was sorting odds and ends to make sure everything would be ready for packing on
Friday morning. A phone call from Malteeza on Wednesday evening resulted in slightly
modified travel plans – we had decided to take the lazy way out and just use the
M6 all the way, but Malteeza was up for a more adventurous ride, so we agreed to
meet at Poplar truck services and then follow a non-
Bike and trailer packed, we set of on Friday morning with the threat of rain in the air, but arrived at Poplar dry and filled up with petrol before meeting Malteeza in the car park.
The satnav was great for the first part through Cheshire, but then we got on the A50 dual carriageway and after a while it was just as bad as the motorway! Leaving the A50, we tried to find a new route, but the A38 was just as bad and a detour through busy urban areas found us back on the A38 dual carriageway.
Pressing on, we soon arrived at the Ivor Preece rugby centre, where a quick scout around and a phone call found Wardy & Co hidden away down on the practice field with a few early arrivals and a gazebo set up for drinks.
We pitched the tent, with help from Stirrer, Stitches and Plod (thanks folks), had a quick chat and then walked to the nearest pub (The Cocked Hat) for a bite to eat. A couple of drinks to get us in the mood and then we bought a few essentials (milk, Sambuca, Eristof and nibbles!) in Morrisons before heading back to the rugby club bar for the evening.
The alcohol flowed and before long I, along with Stirrer and Malteeza, was knocking back JD & Coke followed by a few Jeiger Bombs. Suddenly everything was extremely funny! Bulldog kept us entertained, & then we all had to move tables and chairs to make room for the band. Queenie & co put on a great show for us until around midnight, then the drinking and talking bollox continued until we retired to our tent at around 1am, a little tipsy!
Saturday dawned a little grey and cloudy, with occasional bursts of rain that meant we sat in the tent for a while chatting until we decided to go for a ride. At this point we found out that there was a rideout just about to leave, heading for a nearby Kawasaki dealer and then (we were told) Jacks Hill Café. As we weren’t quite ready, we got the post code for the café to programme Malteezas satnav and set off a few minutes after the rest. After a relatively short ride (around 30 miles), passing through a number of places where it had obviously been raining hard just before we got there, we arrived at Jacks Hill Café, where we had a nice breakfast and watched the rain until it stopped.
As the main rideout group had still not arrived, we set off for the nearby garage to try to get a phone charger for Malteeza and some cash for us. We were unsuccessful in both respects! While getting ready to set off again, we saw the rideout group pass and stop at the roundabout just above us. We set of in the same direction, expecting to see the group parked in Jacks Hill Café car park, but they had not stopped there.
Some time later we caught the group and followed for a few miles until they stopped at a diner. We stopped briefly, but as we had already eaten we decided to press on back to the rally site, arriving there a few minutes later. We had managed to stay dry for the whole ride despite seeing heavy rain all around us.
Meeting Stirrer and Stitches, we again sat in the tent and set about reducing alcohol stocks! The shot glasses were duly filled, with Sambuca & Baileys, and we had a couple of shots each, then adjourned to the Cocked Hat for a meal and a drink before returning to the tent for more shots. Sambuca & Baileys was followed by Sambuca & Eristof, and cheese straws & Pringles were passed around. Eventually the Sambuca was almost all gone and we had made quite a dent in the Baileys & Eristof stocks, so we decided it was time to join those who were already in the rugby club bar.
There was no band or disco for Saturday night, so there was plenty of time for conversation and a drink or two. Friday night Stirrer had foolishly agreed with the barmaid, Maria, that we would finish a bottle of Tequila if she bought it, so she had been out and bought two, which she then demanded we drink! Enlisting the help of Caroline and Zulu, we made a valiant attempt despite Stirrer backing out! By the end of the night we had finished one bottle and depleted the second to some degree, as well as having more Jeiger Bombs and various other drinks. Honour was satisfied and hangovers expected in the morning!
Again the celebrations continued until the bar was closed at around 1am and we returned to the tents.
Sunday morning was a little overcast, but there were patches of blue and the tents dried out before we struck camp and packed for the journey home. It took some time to do the rounds saying farewell, and then Malteeza led us and Swalla for the return trip. At Swallas suggestion we followed the M6 and M54 to the A41 and then to Whitchurch and the A49. This proved to be a better route through lovely countryside, with a stop for petrol at around 50 miles and a lunch stop at the Raven Truck stop at Whitchurch. Although a truck stop, the Raven is also now a very popular bikers venue and family Sunday carvery venue, well worth a visit if you are nearby. Well organised to deal with large numbers, the food was very good and not expensive.
After the lunch stop, we continued on the A49 to the M56 near Warrington, parting company with Swalla and Malteeza when we turned off onto the M6. Again we managed to avoid the rain and arrived home at 4pm, tired but having had another fantastic weekend with the VRA.
Thanks to Wardy and the Midlands crew for another excellent rally. Thanks to friends old and new who made it so good, see you at the next one! I was too busy having fun to take any pictures, so if anyone has any I would love to be able to add some to the web site.
Nuke