2010 Beaver Rally - Heidelberg

For me the best part of any rally is the ride there; usually on a Friday afternoon as soon as I can get off work, and the ride home on a Sunday morning. Oh sure I enjoy the party on Friday night, I enjoy the fact that on Saturday I feel like shit and just want to sleep most of the day and I enjoy the feeling of just wanting to get the rest of the weekend over with and go home!

I really enjoy meeting old friends and making new ones and just interacting with the usual biker scum! I love being biker scum!

I managed to get finished and met Frank just after 1230, we actually got out on the road at 1250 and it was a lovely day for riding, slightly overcast with a 30 percent chance of rain - to me that is a 70 percent chance of no rain and I had my rain suit with me so I didn't care. I took the lead and set a fair pace at 140 - 150kmh, just enough to feel bloody great!

Our first stop was at Wolseley for Frank to have a smoke break and it had been good until there but the traffic was heavy, especially the big rigs avoiding the toll tunnel - really annoying! I seriously feel that any vehicle with more than six wheels should be restricted to the National roads; the N1, N2, N3 etc and should not be allowed to use any Regional roads until they are within 10 or 20kms of their destination, this would stop the incredible damage these behemoths are causing to our beloved regional roads which were not designed for such loads, and it would also leave them open for our enjoyment.

We spent a great afternoon riding through some wonderful countryside, we stopped for a break and a plate of slap tjips at Soprano's in Robertson which was very nice as we were both quite hungry by then and then continued on our way. It was pretty much around 17h00 by the time we arrived at Heidelberg, entered the rally at the Heidelberg Show grounds and found a site for our tents.

The wind was blowing quite strong by then so we cruised around looking for a sheltered site and this is what we found; a great spot inside some livestock pens, it wasn't long before we had our tents up and our mattresses inflated and by then it was time to go and investigate the rally.
Dinner was a meal of beef curry and rice with whisky and water, what a pleasure and by then we had met quite a lot of people.
This guy was Andrew from "Dawn Patrol" and he was there on his bachelor party, getting married the following weekend and here you see him getting some sympathy from Frank. We were all giving him advice and commiserations: "You can't stay happy all your life, you have to get married sometime." I told him that Janet and I were happily married for 37 years, she's happily and I'm married! I hope that we gave him some food for thought!
The bar was buzzing, doing a roaring trade, the band was playing some good Rock and Roll and the booze was cheap.
Here you see Frank in earnest conversation with Allan who that night declared himself to be a candidate for the next President of South Africa! What wonderful news this is, it presages a new beginning for our country and we assured him that he would have our vote, Come on folks - a biker for President! It can only be an improvement!
Our good friend Dalton arrived, if you have been reading this blog you will remember that he runs a very good restaurant at most rallies, here we was attending as a guest and a member of "The Posse" so he was in relaxed mode and determined to enjoy himself.

From then on Saturday night became a bit of a blur, I do remember the Cops arriving to kick us out and close the bar at about 04h00! I crawled into my tent and tried to sleep, balancing on top of the rugby ball that is my stupid mattress and woke up at about 08h30. I was surprised to find Frank up and about as well, we headed downtown to the Wimpy for a greasy breakfast. Here's me sitting outside my tent later in the day, I was definitely feeling a lot slower than I was on Friday! I took a ride around the town, had something to eat and then later returned to the site to see if Frank was up and about, he had gone back to bed after his breakfast!
We wandered around taking some photos of the camp site and then reluctantly headed back to the bar in the mid afternoon. There was quite a crowd assembled in front of the wide screen for the rugby game and gradually the crowd moved in as the time for the lucky draw drew nearer.
Dalton arrived in his "Speedo" because it was a hot day, you gotta admire him, he doesn't give a shit about what people think, he just does his own thing and the people love him.
Gradually the tables and chairs filled up, the noise level and the enjoyment increased.After the rugby the band took over and they were really good, playing all of the old rock classics which us older bikers really love. It was a great evening but I was wrecked, I was so tired that I could hardly keep my eyes open and at 22h30 after an ABF I said to Frank that I was going to bed and that I would be leaving early in the morning.

"Don't worry," said Frank, "I'm just going to finsh this last drink and I'll be along, trust me!"
Yeah, yeah!

I hit the sack, balanced on top of my rugby ball and tried really hard to sleep. It took about an hour and a half but I did eventually get to sleep and was awakened at about 04h00 by Frank muttering, cursing and burping as he got into his tent!

That was my sleeping over with, thanks very much Buddy! As the first light of dawn started brightening the tent I got up and packed all of my stuff. By 06h30 I was drinking a cup of coffee at the restaurant and by 06h45 I was riding out of the gate. Just me and my shadow. Head West young man, head west! (Not so much of the "Young"!) It was a fantastic, fast ride. I am pretty much a lone rider, I prefer it and I ride fast with few stops. By the time I got to Barrydale it was 07h30, too early for breakfast so I decided to press on. I really enjoyed the 62km ride along the fabulous R62 to Montagu and by the time I arrived in Robertson I was hungry, Breakfast at the Wimpy was great and just what I needed. Back on the road and 160 - 180kmh through to Worcester, mush less traffic this time and the big red machine was performing flawlessly, enjoying the demands that I was placing on him.
The early morning sun gradually removes the shadows as I carved my way through the pass, thoroughly enjoying myself. It was just before 11h00 that I arrived home and as I was putting the big red machine in the garage my phone rang, it was Frank; "Hi Pal how you doing, where are you?" I told him I was at home, "Oh are you? Bliksem!" (which is an Afrikaans swear word, difficult to translate!) "I am just about to pack my tent away and get on the road." Typical Frank!

It had been another good rally and it took me two days to fully recover, which is a sign of a good jol. Next is the annual charity Toy Run on 28th November and in the meantime I have booked my baby in for her 60,000km service next week Wednesday, the agents have a courtesy bike for me to use so I'll have a day in Capetown...........it's all good!