Late
Sunshine
Well the
last week has been a revelation, warm and almost summer like in fact perfect
motorcycling weather. Some of us are off to the Notts
Branch camping weekend on Friday, its being held at National Water Sports Centre Campsite
National Water Sports Centre
Holme Pierrepont
Nottingham
NG12 2LU
This is a change from the originally published meeting so
take note if you are heading there!
Begonia
The 27th
Begonia Rally was held in Vifwegen on the last weekend
of August, once again a wonderful weekend well organised by Marc, Miki, Guy and
the very enthusiastic helpers. We had an excellent time at the meeting, still
one of the best laid back friendly rallies on the Calendar, get yourself along next year to experience the camaraderie and
fun. It was especially good to see Richard there on the Saturday evening for a
while, now making progress on his recovery. I did notice that by the time he
left to go back to the hospital he was piloting his wheelchair like he pilots
his bike, the couple of beers must have helped
recovery! Looking forward to next year already! We had a run around Holland the week following the Rally, just
to chill out and it was very good. Thanks to Hessel
& Sylvia for their hospitality and apologies to Bouke
and Pamela for not making it to Amsterdam (maybe next time if we’re still
welcome) Once again the Commando’s ran well with no issues, so far so good this year!
Stopped outside a porn shop in Hilversum (by accident)
International Rally Austria
(continued
from last month)
Thursday
there was an organised Steam train tour which according to all reports was
excellent but with the mercury over 35 degrees C The Tay Valley contingent decided to have
an easy day wandering around the very nice town of Steyr. Although it has an industrial side
(Tractors, cars and bikes are made here) it retains its heritage and it really
is a picture postcard type place. It was so hot we rode the 15km into town in T
shirts and shorts, to put leathers on in that heat would have been an act of sado masochism!
The great
thing about the International rally is that it really is like a big Norton
family, its great to see friends from all over Europe again and swap stories and have the
occasional alcoholic beverage, although it has to be said that mostly the
occasional should be swapped for frequent. This year we were all treated to
“Danish John” for the first time at an International, a crazy guy who did
nothing to make himself likeable for the first couple of days but by the time
the meeting was over and he understood “some of” the rules he came over as a
likeable and knowledgeable guy. Hopefully we see him again sometime. I picked
Fiona up from Linz airport on the Friday night and unfortunately missed
the closed road meeting for the Nortons in the middle of Steyr but all accounts
were that it was a great evening. Roland and his team had done a great job
again and over the course of the week had several famous Norton people
attending to provide interest.
Saturday
and there was a closed road mountain race which was meant to be a regularity
run but I suspect most treated it as a race. Hessel
our good Dutch friend won a prize and I’m sure that wasn’t for keeping to the
speed limit. We spent most of the day in the pub as it was raining (well that’s
our excuse) It was good to see Bouke recovered from
his spill in Scotland last year although he was with Pamela and the kids in the
car as he was just passing through on a family holiday. Wolf and Arno were on form over the weekend although I can’t
remember if Arno has fixed the Manx following his breakdown en route to Scotland last year. We got through two
bottles of whisky on the Saturday night so I can’t remember much about the
prizes other than Franz picked up best branch turnout for the Nederland NOC.
Also a big contingent from France was in evidence.
Sunday morning saw the official
close to the rally with
a typical Austrian Ooompah band
playing, a superb finish to a first class weekend. We set off having said our
goodbye’s and had lunch in Steyr before dropping Fiona at Linz airport. Alex and I then headed
alongside the river Donau for a while before camping
just before the German border at Passau.
Monday a blast along the Autobahn to Frankfurt for almost 300
miles (and a chance meeting with a couple of the Dutch guys outside Frankfurt) and an enjoyable
night stopping with Andrea followed by Tuesday and another couple of hundred
miles and a stop in Hilversum in Holland. A very nice place and well worth a
visit.
Thursday
back to Ijmiuden and waiting for the ferry we met Davie and Brian from Edinburgh, it transpired Davie had fallen asleep in the road works
in Wurzburg and woke up as he hit the central
barrier. Luckily the bike was still rideable and more
importantly no serious injuries to Davie. We had an enjoyable evening on the
ferry before a pleasant but windy ride back into Scotland.
At the risk
of repeating myself, thanks to the organisers for putting so much effort into
the meeting, it was great to see the whole community getting involved and
taking an interest. Richard Beynen from Belgium was seriously hurt in the run out
on Wednesday but I’m glad to report he’s on the mend and back in Antwerp. David Templeman exploded Smokey
Joe just outside Munich when a con rod came out for some
air. He continued by piloting Anne’s Ducati back. Smokey is now back in Argyll and David is looking for an 850 motor (or
suggestions) to get the bike back on the road. For Alex and I, 1800 miles with no problems (apart
from the fouled plug in the first five minutes), proving once again that the
Norton is a superb long distance tourer. I averaged
just over 50 miles to the gallon with Alex consistently getting 56 -58 MPG. The
only differences are that my gearing is a bit higher and Alex fitted a screen
before going. In these days of high petrol prices its worth investigating why
there is a discrepancy. This was the optimum length of trip without an oil
change I think, 2000 miles or more and the long distance Commando rider should
in my opinion be looking to do an oil change somewhere along the route. Next
year Spain, I’m planning it already!
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
