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I'm just back from the last rally of the season and what a great time I had! I was camping in a lovely wood with some of my closest friends and we partied Friday and chilled out Saturday. A fun weekend was had by all, but it was very cold indeed ...
the sun sets over the rally field on saturday night ... beer tent here we come!
It's amazing how quickly you can pack your bike once you've done it a few times. I was working on Friday so didn't start getting my kit together until around five o'clock that afternoon, but by the time Taz arrived at my house Mr Cruzy was on the driveway, fully loaded and ready to go.
Like the BTW Grassus rally from August, GPO 2009 was at Pineham, Milton Keynes so it was only a short hop for us across the city. We arrived at the rally site and signed in at the control tent, then headed over to the Willow wood to setup our camp. Far enough from the beer tent so as not to keep us awake with late night revelry, but close enough to stagger home easily in the dark. At Grassus, I'd regretted not camping in the shade of the Willows, and the sound of the mature trees moving gently in the breeze was simply beautiful. I was really going to enjoy hanging out in my tent over the weekend.
Although our friend Leigh wasn't coming to this rally due to other commitments this weekend, he did drop his 'significant other' Christine off at the rally, and we set about getting her tent set up then wandered over to the food tent to get our free coffee and check out what the rally had to offer.
The Barrel Bikers have been running the GPO rally for over twenty five years and there was an air of quiet efficiency about it all. Similarly laid out to the Grassus rally, but with a much bigger food tent serving everything from chilli to burger and chips ... I really loved the food they had on offer and made sure I kept warm throughout the weekend with plenty of coffee and breakfast on both mornings.
Time really flies when you're at a rally, and after spending the afternoon saying hello to lots of friends, drinking coffee and just hanging out by the tents, it was no time at all before we were wandering into the beer tent to start the evening's festivities.
There were a lot of people in here already and Taz, Christine and I started the evening with a slug of JD and Coke then hit the bar ordering Stella and Dragon Slayer. By now Julie and her daughter Leigh had arrived, as had Chrissy and Paula ... so the sisters were all in the house ... and we got on and partied! It was great fun and an excellent start to the evening.
You know how it goes ... drink, chat, drink, chat, drink, laugh, drink, giggle a lot, drink, wobble around a bit, then drink some more. It's what memorable evenings are made of at rallies which is why we all make so many friends in the beer tent. Is it binge drinking? Well for me I guess it is because I don't normally drink more than a glass of wine back in the real world, but rallies are all about cutting loose and doing what makes you happy ... and for at least one night of each rally ... this is what I like to do.
By about nine o'clock I found my hips moving in time to the rhythms of the rally band and knew I was in my green room (my happy drunken place) so gravitated to the front of the stage and started dancing. Everyone else in our happy little troupe followed and we all just got down and boogied the night away ... Awesome! After staggering back to camp we sat around my tent for what seemed like hours then said our goodbyes and snuggled down to sleep.
If the night had been memorable, then thankfully, my hangover wasn't. Yeah ok, I had the general malaise that we all get on Saturday morning, but I didn't feel to bad at all ... unlike Taz who had emptied his bottle of JD the night before and, with a very funky head, simply couldn't remember anything that happened. Well done Mr! The collapse through your tent door was truly epic! Makes a change from me feeling crap ...
The wind was really blowing now and I'd woken to a loud rushing of white noise as the Willows creaked in the blustery winds that were making the clouds scuttle across the sky. We'd had a few tents blown down during the night and even the food tent had succumbed with one of the canopies taking flight. Even the beer tent had it's problems later on that day.
Christine and I went for breakfast then still feeling tired, I went back to bed for a few hours and snuggled down in my super warm sleeping bag. Today was really cold and I knew that hanging around chilling all day meant exactly that in October ... chilling! I vowed to stay in my sleeping bag for as long as possible and spent the day either napping, snacking at the food tent or reading my book whilst the rally continued around me ... Saturdays are lush when you're away from the stresses of the world ... just relax and do whatever comes naturally ...
I think it was the same for most people as all of my friends kept drifting into camp with yawns and sleepy faces, then I wouldn't see them again for hours. I know that Paula and Chrissy had a few naps and both Julie and Leigh ended up going home for a while to warm up.
The one thing the GPO rally had that Grassus didn't was a massive campfire, so after making an appearance in the beer tent on Saturday evening we decided to go sit by the fire and socialise there instead. We did end up back in the beer tent for a while later on when we had a heavy rain shower, but once the Thrash Metal covers band got started I legged it outside, grabbed a coffee and some chips and planted my butt firmly in front of the fire and resolved not to leave until it was time for bed.
Friday was my beer monster night, but Saturday night ended up being an evening of great conversation. As it was so cold, the fire was very popular and it was difficult to find a seat sometimes, with us having to invoke the two second rule as soon as someone got up! It made for an interesting mix in the group and randomising our seating plan from time to time meant that the conversation was never dull.
And of course we talked about everything and anything and it went on for hours and hours. We have this running joke in the group about me inventing Anti-gravity and Cold Fusion and giving it to the world for free ... everyone would be so grateful that they'd make me Empress of the Earth ... yeah, ok, completely surreal and utter rubbish ... but doesn't a roaring campfire bring that out in everyone?
An evening of giggling with my girl friends saw me heading for bed at a reasonable time to make sure that I was feeling able to return to normality on Sunday morning. I actually got a great nights sleep, but I really didn't want to get up in the morning ... the appeal of a warm and snuggly sleeping bag was far to strong!
click on any thumbnail to see the larger image
After a final trip to the food tent for a breakfast sandwich stacked high with yummy stuff which is simply not good for you, our camp became a hive of industry as we broke down the tents and loaded the bikes ready for the short trip home. We ended up back at Leigh's house drinking tea and regaling him with stories from the weekend then I headed home and chilled out for the rest of the day. It was good to be warm again!
The Barrel Bikers had put on a stonking rally and even though I'd really enjoyed myself a small part of me was sad that some of my good friends had missed it. GPO 2009 was the last rally of the season for me and it had been a brilliant round off to an epic summer of bikes, buddies and beer.
So a big thank you goes to the Barrel Bikers for the rally, a huge hug to all my friends for such a great time ... and to rally bikers everywhere ... I'll see you next year!
Until next time ...
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