SEAX - July 2007 - Essex Crusaders

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Sherwood Shindig 2007 Page 6 The weekend always promised to be something of an adventure. As you may recall, the extensive flooding in the Sheffield area (20 miles north of the camp site) had not yet receded, and radio reports were awash with "severe weather warnings" for the weekend with the threat of more rain the way. The police & emergency services were warning us to avoid any unnecessary travel! Always looking for an adrenalin rush, a number of Essex Crusaders decided to go anyway, and so too did around 300 others! The camping field at Alfreton was tucked behind a building site, down a perilously muddy & slippery path with a steep incline, which was to see several bikes slip over and hit the dirt during the course of the weekend. As bikes were not allowed access to the camping field, after unloading, it was back up the hill to the public car park where the bikes were to be kept for the duration of the event. The camp site was on the side of a hill, so choosing a good spot and making sure that the tents faced the right way was only hampered by the taping-off of the "designated areas". Relying on common sense was not an option that the organisers thought us capable of! Having pitched our tents and renewed old acquaintances, someone produced a bottle of "Black Pig" (Vodka & Lickerish/Aniseed cocktail) – yum yum. There then followed bottles of Bourbon, Rum, Whisky, and about six more bottles of homebrew Vodka cocktails including (of all things) one called "Essex Girl"..! As the Rally venue was only a few hundred yards from the main road, a quick stroll to Tesco ensured that we were replete with the prerequisite provisions for the weekend. It also revealed that Alfreton was more than a one-pub town! It seemed that no one had warned the local Wetherspoon bar/restaurant that there would be several hundred bikers all looking for food & beer, so after waiting for over an hour, we sent "Upgrade" (Adrian) to negotiate a refund! – All credit to JD Wetherspoon, we not only got our money back but they also served up the food, and the beer was cheap too! Returning to the campsite where most of the rally goers had finally arrived, we went to the Sports Hall to check out the band. The aptly named "Jurassic" played their hearts out, but with the hopelessly oversize hall, expensive beer (over three pounds a pint) and a smoking ban in force, it was little wonder that many opted for the alfresco option and voted with their feet. At precisely 10pm, outside the sports hall and amidst much hugging and shaking of hands, a call went out for "Tosh" to take his heart pills. Pretty soon, the whole of the site erupted in a chorus of "TOSH – TAKE YOUR TABLETS"..! The rest of the evening was much of a blur (the Black-Pig effect). I can remember someone falling over (might have been Poly), and somehow making my way back to the tent, then shivering, and eventually getting into my sleeping bag… For some reason I couldn't face breakfast the next morning, and trying to avoid the planned ride-out, went for a walk to find the Custom Cruisers shop based a mile or so down the road in Somercotes. Mike Chadwick was there, and offered us hospitality with free coffee & biccies, whilst some of us bought more shiny bits for our bikes. The drizzling rain still persisted, but the walk had done us good. On the way back a few of us called into another local hostelry for a "hair of the dog" and a game of pool, but as the bar prices seemed to increase with each visit, we didn't stay there long! I went back to the camp site to find Paul & Sue struggling to put up their new tent, so offered a hand and prepared my barbecue lunch – yummy!
Page 7 Sporadic rain continued to spoil most of the day, but as the evening approached, we prepared ourselves for what was to be the main event of the Rally – an evening off-site at the local Tandoori Restaurant. With much "tutting" from the general public, and screaming kids who really didn't want to be there, we consumed the entire contents of their menu, and much of their beer cellar too! We waddled back to the sports hall in time to hear another failing band strut their stuff and, unable to hear what was being said during the presentations (must do something about that PA system), retired to the mud village (campsite) for a relatively early evening before the following day's ride home. An intrepid rally goer kitting up for the ride back up the track to civilisation. Taking about an hour longer than normal (due to the many trips back and forth to the bikes, through the mud, across the building site and public car park), the tents were eventually packed and the bikes fully loaded. Waving good bye to everyone as we went, and promising to return next time, we were told that Centre 9 were already planning to hold their next Rally at the same venue! As we left the site, the burning question on everyone's lips was… why Skynet. Response from Ed. One member’s view of an event dampened by the weather (sorry!). I wonder how much better things would have seemed in fine conditions Nonetheless, as always, it was the company that made for the good time that was had. Mind you, the track down to the site was more suitable for 80kg off-road bikes than 300kg rally-laden cruisers and you only found that out beyond the point of no return. Deep joy! We hope to learn from our experiences……. See p3!
Page 1 and 2: Page 1 The newsletter of the Essex
Page 3 and 4: Essex Rally 2008 Page 3 We now have
Page 5: Page 5 Important! Change in ride-ou
Page 9 and 10: Page 9 The ride out on the Friday t
Page 11 and 12: Page 11 On return from Copenhagen T
Page 13 and 14: Finland 2008. Page 13 Here-there Gr
Page 15 and 16: Wires of woe! Page 15 Now’s the t
Page 17 and 18: Page 17 8am arrived a little too so
Page 19 and 20: Page 19 Here’s the culprit! Gentl
Page 21: Centre 19 forthcoming dates - Diari

SEAX - July 2007 - Essex Crusaders

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