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The rest of the weekend is now a bit of a blur, lots of washing and drying plastic glasses and jugs behind the bar, emptying rubbish bins, repairing shower doors and generally running round until the early hours. All this interspersed with a fair bit of heavy drinking, dancing, talking to friends old and new and generally having a blast. Friday was ride-out day, see separate report for my personal disaster story! Friday night was drinking night, along with the afore-mentioned washing up etc. The band for Friday, The Roadhogs, we have met before in a pub in Warwick. They were nervous, having never played to such a large audience, but they were great and we made them welcome as we always do, so at the end of the night they were very happy.

As part of the Northern working party, we were due on the rally site on Tuesday 21st July, ready to set up on Wednesday 22nd. Since Jo & Andy were trailering Jo’s bike and dropping Jake off in Wolverhampton, and Panther & Sue were also trailering their bike behind the camper, that left Pauline & me to meet Si & Lisa (Malteeza & Flip Flop) at Chester Services at 10:30 on Tuesday morning.

We arrived just after 10 and filled up with fuel before getting a coffee and cake while we waited for Si & Lisa. Since they were pulling a trailer and have GPS, we agreed to follow, allowing Si to set a pace suitable for the Nomad/trailer combination. The route was straightforward, M56, M53, A483, A40, but through some nice Welsh countryside, so the relatively slow pace was no hardship. We had several spells of heavy rain but managed to more or less dry off between them. We found a nice porta-cabin café about half-way where we stopped for home-made butties and tea.

After an uneventful ride we arrived at Carmarthen just after 3 O’Clock and found the rally site easily, which made a nice change! TIVRA and SEVRA work parties were already putting up their tents, so we said a quick hello and then found a spot with room for the Northern lot. Managed to get the tents up without getting too wet and then set off for Carmarthen again to find Tesco and The Rose & Crown, where Jon, Mandy, Bob, Jen, Paul, Julie, Hooey, Giggles & Frank were already settled in. Badges, Posh, Andy & Jo had not yet arrived. We had a drink and then a very pleasant evening meal before leaving the softies to there en-suite rooms and returning to the rally site for a bit of a session and bed.

We had a bit of a sit with the TIVRA and SEVRA contingents before heading to our tents fairly early (about 10:30 pm!), being a bit knackered from the early start and long ride. What a night! I don’t think I’ve been in a tent in such heavy rain before. The wind was howling, the rain crashing down and to top it off there were trains running past until the early hours of the morning. At 3 am we both put ear plugs in and tried to get to sleep. It was after 9 am when we finally emerged from the tent and the working parties were already in action, so after a quick drink I left Pauline in the main building helping out while I went to help with the site fencing.

After a couple of false starts we got a system going and, with SEVRA and the Northern crew working together, moved a large number of steel fence sections to form a site perimeter and entrance. The intention had been to also fence off the camping areas, but fortunately for us there was insufficient fencing or we would still be putting it out! We then set up the route onto and off the site, marking lanes with fence panels and cones. Meanwhile, TIVRA had put up marquees in the main building and Hooey had built most of the bar, so we helped out where we could, placing tables and chairs and putting up VRA flags etc.

Once most of the setting up was completed it was time to have a bit of a party and test the bar! Another stormy wet night put the tent to the test again, earplugs being put to use straight away this time.

Thursday morning it was still stormy, so the outside area we had planned to set up as a village green was put on hold. We did put up signs around the site and hung the biker and heads in the hanging tree! One or two people arrived a bit early, and we popped out to ride the bike in through the site entrance to test greeting arrangements. Of course as soon as we got on the bike the rain came down heavily again and we got soaked, but we picked up our Kawasaki bags, complete with mugs, T-shirts and badges etc.

From midday onwards it started to get busy with lots of foreign arrivals, all finding there way in through the correct route. Of course when the bulk of the Northern contingent arrived they all came in the wrong way, causing some chaos and confusion as usual! There was by now a fair bit of work to do again, and with the weather still very wet and windy Bob decided not to bother with the ride-out rehearsal, the consequences of which you can read about in my separate ride-out report!

VRA International Rally 2009

Nuke.

After about 50 miles we were all falling asleep on the bikes, so we pulled over for a break and a chat. 10 minutes or so to wake up and off we went again, stopping at Builth Wells for a late lunch in a Little Chef. A longish stop with a couple of coffees, then another 50 miles or so before we had to stop again in a lay-by to wake up. Next stop Chester Services for fuel and coffee before we said our goodbye’s and started the last leg of our trip, arriving home at about 9:45 pm, exhausted, but what a fantastic time we had!

Saturday highlights for me included unexpected (because I didn’t have my paper driving licence) test rides on a 2-litre and 900 Custom as well as meeting the lovely Helen and Joanne who were running two of the fairground stalls. Sadly I missed a lot of the silly games and the bike judging, as I had taken the opportunity to nip to Tesco for money and fuel, and on my return saw that the showers weren’t being heavily used, so I jumped in one quick. I didn’t drink much on Saturday night, which may not have been evident to those who were watching me dance!

Pauline spent Wednesday helping in various tasks in the main building, and then a large proportion of Thursday, Friday and Saturday selling Groats at the Bursars stall. She did get lots of cards, gifts and especially hugs on Friday night since it was her birthday. She also enjoyed meeting so many people during her time selling Groats.

All too soon it was Sunday morning and time to start packing up. I didn’t fancy a bacon or sausage bun (by now the stomach was just a little delicate!), so I had a banana and a cup of tea and started going around the rubbish bins again. Of course the heavens had opened again by now and everyone was getting very wet packing all their kit and tents, many bringing their tents and bikes into the main building to finish packing in the dry.

All the rubbish skips were full by now, so all we could do was collect all the rubbish into one place and leave it for the site staff to remove on Monday. The marquees were taken down and the bar dismantled, all the flags etc. were also taken down. By 2 pm there was a fairly sad little group in the hall surrounded by the remains of the rally. We had managed to pack the bike during a slight lull in the rain, and at about 2:30 pm we said our goodbye’s and set off with me leading this time, with again just Si & Lisa following.