Summer!

First of all apologies for not managing a newsletter last month, my excuse is I was travelling back through France from the International Rally and when I did get back I couldn’t be bothered !

Anyway the trip to the International (via France, Barcelona, Ibiza and then the Picos) was fantastic, the weather was kind to us, matter of fact three and a half weeks and no rain!! Now I know the good people back in Scotland were dealing with floods and poor weather while we were away but too bad, you should all have gone to Spain!

We had a fantastic ride down through the middle of France via the Champagne region and the Milau bridge down to the Med, avoiding motorways most of the way was excelent both for the pocket (no tolls) and for the sanity. A couple of days in the South relaxing on the beach made it feel like a real holiday.

Barcelona was as expected, busy! Nice city though and well worth a look at some point if you haven’t been there before. We went to see the Sagrada Familia, Antoni Goudi’s unfinished masterpiece. First its worth a look but I didn’t realise I was single handedly paying for the job to be finished! I left feeling a bit ripped off despite the impressive Architecture on view. Now here’s a thing, I could liken it to the Norton Commando, the “old part” of the building is impressive, a real testament to the craftsmen that were involved and of course to Goudi’s vision. The newer part though I thought was a bit tacky, “modern” methods have been employed and I feel the whole concept has lost its way. If you compare the old with the new you can’t help but feel corners have been cut and it really is just a case of getting the project finished whilst fleecing the punters who come in through the door. Maybe that’s a bit unfair but what the hell its what I think anyway .

After Barcelona we found a ferry company that could rival the Isle of Man Steam packet company for poor customer service (although to be fair P&O from Hull were quite rubbish as well) We had an 8 hour wait for the Ferry and eventually arrived in Ibiza 4 hours late which wasn’t bad I suppose! Lolo (Loic Ansquar) was waiting for us on his Commando at the Port and we had a great week with him looking around the Island, the roads are worth watching if you ever go there, because of the heat and the fine sand that gets blown around the island the roads are treacherous. Lolo used to be a regular at the International Rallies but started racing again a few years ago so that has taken over his spare time and money (He’s a sidecar passenger and was just back from the TT where him and his pilot finished a very creditable16th in the first race)

Another late ferry saw us back in mainland Spain and a couple of days ride across to the rally, we had a good day riding across the Pyrenees in heat of 30 Deg C + before noticing the temperature dropping to around 22 – 25 as we neared Bilbao, after the previous week and a half this was feeling more like Scotland and not in a good way. We eventually arrived at the rally early Thursday afternoon after a fair bit of getting lost!

As always it was great to meet up with the regulars and see how they all are, one bit of bad news was that our good friend Franz Willemsen is suffering from a muscle wasting virus and he thinks his riding days are over, it was great to see Franz still there though and enjoying himself. Like many others Franz has been a regular on the International scene and I’ve always looked forward to seeing him and sharing a beer or two. When he is no longer able to attend these rallies then it will indeed be a sad day. Another reminder to us all to make the effort to enjoy life, chase your dreams and don’t anything off just because of minor “issues” in the way.

The Rally itself was very well organised and a credit to Martin Bernet for the hard work he and the Moto Piston club put into it. For me though the rally was spoiled by some idiots on the Thursday night behaving as only drunk Brits on tour can, fighting like football hooligans, these people have no place in the club or in the “real” bike scene. Luckily Friday was a great day and one that I will remember for a long time, mainly due to the excessive wine intake and a great day in the company of Benoit, his wife Marie, Geoff Scales and some more of the French team.

My opinion of the rally and the International rally in general (and its only MY opinion) is that we seem to be losing focus on whats important, lately the costs for International Rallies have soared mainly due to more and more extravagent events. This year marked a change in that there were formal “dinners” in the evening, all very posh if you like that kind of thing but I have to say despite being in exhalted company on the Saturday night (That’s you Wolf!) it never worked for me. I still think the Rally is about the people and meeting people, formal banquets do not help that process. Whats wrong with food (nice food served at a table if you want) then all getting drunk and talking rubbish while dancing or watching a band? The club has said something about getting away from the “standing in a muddy field” concept of a rally in an attempt to attract new members and new people on the scene. Guess what, young people LIKE standing in a muddy field getting drunk and enjoying themselves, I’d suggest they wouldn’t enjoy the bourgoise dinners that seem to now be on the agenda.

Rant over, like I said the rally was well organised but in my opinion it had no “focus” so if any of the EC read this then take note!

Sandy and Dave joined us for part of the run back, a great run back up through France, we parted Company in Saumur as we had two days there whilst Sandy and Dave headed back up to Ijmuiden for their ferry. Eventually we met the Flemish guys in Northern France for a great day riding the small roads and stopping for refreshments on the way then stopped with Geert Callens on the Friday (Thanks to the guys,Geert ,Tom, Peter, Eddie and Edward for a great time) before getting the ferry back to Hull.

The trip was around 3200 miles, the bike never missed a beat, used 1 litre of straight 50 oil and we had NO rain, perfect!

Forthcoming Events Begonia Rally 27 – 30 Aug, next week in fact but theres still time. Alex, David and myself are leaving from Hull next Thursday returning to Rosyth on the Tuesday. Tom Bradley from Glasgow is going both ways from Rosyth and I notice they have special fares on offer so its not to late!

Tay Valley Camping Weekend 10-12 Sept, Braemar, Scotland. What can I say get youself there and have a great time, all classic bikes (and classic people) welcome, there will be a SMALL cover charge to cover donations to the various bodies that are helping out. Camping is available and the town is full of B&B’s and Hotels, the event is based around the Moorfield house Hotel but I believe all rooms there are full now. Enquiries to George at george1045@hotmail.co.uk Be there or be square!!

The Small Print

The views and opinions contained within this publication are not necessarily those of the NOC or of the branch but are probably mine as I wrote it.

No one accepts any responsibility for anything, if you have a good time don't say I didn't warn you.

Gino Rondelli

August 2010