Well I shall start it, and I am sure that when Wade gets home he shall add some bits as and when he gets time.. But where shall I start the yarn, well the end! where else..

So we pack up on Saturday morning, fold the tents, load the bikes, say all our good byes, and once again hit the open road, but although we are heading in the right direction, the ferry home can wait, for we are heading for Brugge, we are going for hand crafted Belgian Chocolate.

After a fairly spirited ride, we see the signs for Brugge, and enter the roads heading for the city centre, and almost imediatley the style of this great city shines through...







So after asking the local police where to park our bikes, we head off to see what Brugge has to offer..









Well it looks quite cosmopolitan at first glance, and further glances do little to dispel this theory, but the architecture is king in this town, and it reminds you of this fact at every turn..

Yes the look of the place is outstanding, every turn leads to another little enticing alley way, around every corner a great picture, just so much to see, and always the smell of freshly cooked food wafting on the breeze...











and just to prove that Wade really was there...



But it was hard to keep him still, we were in photographic heaven, and did I mention the smell of the food?



and even the hardware shops have style...

Ah yes now where was I? Brugge, that's right...



cool little Honda, there were a few like this, must be a trend?















of course, Brugge is not just little back streets, it is also a tourist mecca, with horse drawn buggies...



and impressive piatza's

But it had been a while since the last beer, and this horse told me it was time for another....





so as we continued in our quest for chocolate, the choices were bewildering...



and there is a real chance you could end up making a tit of yourself....



but at every turn the style shines through, and the lure of a back street bar is never far from your mind...







Hoorah, Beer!

But alas all good things come to an end, and it was time to race for the ferry, then it was time to head to Kent Shauns place for a beer and sleep, followed by waking up to a full english, and then a blast around London to the Ace cafe, where it just happened to be reunion day, and in amongst the miriad of bikes I spotted this....







Well that dear friends is the end of my tale, I left Shaun, Karl, and Wade, heading for Brighton, and some fish & chips. Now I shall work on sorting out the start of this fine yarn, watch this space.

Kev thats Fantastic lad.

Old PJ

Glad to know you back safe & sound Kevin

After a restorative nights sleep in Kent us is back home now as is Geoff & Sara, all of us tired and happy

What a week that was

Hi Kev, Pleased to learn you arrived home ok. Did you know that the residents of Brugge are not allowed to have TV aerials on their roof? Apparently the council made the rule in order to keep the city tidy. They have a novel way to stop the horses from fouling the roads of Brugge too!! Fabulous pics by the way.
I got home ok after a night bobbing up and down in the middle of the North Sea.
Beezageezauk.

Kev lad, bloody marvellous Can't wait to see the rest, and I only took two cos I KNOW youse pair will swamp this with a million brilliant photos, so I'll continue this end of Rally yarn with Grandpa's tale...

After our Kev left me Karlb and Grandpa hit the super slab, well we were on bikes that start with a push of a button! And after what seemed like an ice age, we made it to Brighton. Never seen so many Police cars & speed cameras Course the Numbties were out in force, there we were at every Red traffic light in town, with some R.Sole pulling wheelies, and making a fool of himself, giving ALL motorcyclists a bad name

Still we made it to the sea front OK, and after another ice age we FINALLY parked up. BLIMEY never seen so many bikes, course all that blasting down them super slabs is thirsty work, so the pub we all love was hunted down. The Hand in Hand it was, and jolly nice too, but it took some finding, must be an age thing? Cos we go to it EVERY year, when the Pioneer run is on!

Anyway, after a pint or two, fish & chips were the order of the day, then a mooch...



And to PROVE Grandpa made it to Brighton, here he be...



A fine time was had by all, think I did over 200 miles on the Purple Plunger? But I'm sorry to say, that Grandpa is NO American, yes I KNOW that's shocking news but I have the evidence. First thing, he didin't eat a full English this morning, he don't drink coffee, and he calls them Panniers not saddle bags. And he can't be American, cos they put a man on the Moon, the place he comes from, was most likely further away than the Moon. He's not from Earth that's for sure Here we are in the hight of a British summer, and the lad was dressed for the depths of winter, then he spotted a 'Tart' and I'm sure an American wouldn't spot one of them, no matter what she was wearing!

Right that's enough from me, come on Kev lad get posting...

Calm down, calm down, you really have no idea how many pictures I can take in a week!

So the begining, or near enough anyway....

After finding my bike won't go on the morning of departure, and haveing to wave the spanners in anger, I finaly got loaded and heading for Kent around eleven, so knowing the Kent boys like I do, I knew the phones would be off, so I headed for the crypt, but as no one was home I then headed for the sea front, and the scenic harbour at Broadstairs.





here I wandered around like a lost soul, until the harbour master saw me, and knowing I had to be a friend of the Kent brigade, invited me in for a chat and a cup of tea, well this passed the time , and it wasn't long before a certain speedtwin owner turned up, and dragged me back to the crypt. And then it was time for a beer as Mr Ed was in the chair, and had his Friday night thirst fettled, and needed to try it out.



So after a few beers, we made a tactical withdrawal to Grahams house, where Indian, and Chinese food was duly ordered and consumed, along with beer and wine, before kipping down for the night, ready for an early start, and the run to the ferry.

As it happened the ferry was empty, just myself, Wade, and Geoff and Sarah, in their fabulous M21 combo, you will see it later, so don't fret.

On arriving at french France, and the port of Dunkirque, Wade and I went our own way, as the combo pair wanted to hit the baccy shop. Now this is where things went awry, first it was my Zumo playing up, and sending us 2km down a dead end street, this was due to a missing micro sd card, that had my supplied Europe maps on, I have no ide how it fell out of the Zumo, but I found it on the floor of my house when I returned today!
Luckily though, I asked Wade to bring his, so all was not lost.
It was while we were in the dead end street that I noticed that Wade had dissapeared from my mirror, so I turned around and went back, and there he was unloading his bike...



It turned out he had picked up a huge rivet in the ferry port, that had gone through the rear tyre and ruined a good tube, luckily though, MrEd who lent Wade the bike, had loaded a spare tube in the kit, so although we struggled a bit with the tyre, we were soon back on the road to the rally.



After an slow trip to the camp site, due to tyre pressure problems, and getting set up for the week, it was soon dark, and so we had a few beers with Keith of this very forum, and we also polished off a full bottle of Kentucky Bourbon, that I had bought with me..



so all we could do was sit around and admire the view...



I could easily have spent a few more days hanging out with this young woman, she was a lot of fun to be with, had a great personality, and was cool to talk to, I just wish I was a few years younger. Oh and she had a kicking A65 too.

Keep the photos coming Kev I will be relying on them as you know we forgot our camera, air pump (thanks Kent Shaun), valve spring compressor, spare exhaust valve and paste. All these Items except the camera were borrowed or given to us by BSA owners club members thanks to all who helped out. What a great time we had how a week goes so fast when you are in good company having a brilliant time.
Geoff and Sara

BLIMEY Geoff lad, that's a sign of getting old T'was my pleasure to help out, just pig sick I couldn't come with y'all, still not too worry there's always next time

Hope that 'Car' has space for me? I'd love to sit next to Sara while she takes it for a spint, don't forget to show us ALL the photos

All to soon, darkness was closing in, and the first day of our adventure was nearly over, but of course I grabbed a couple of shots before sleep mode set in...





But next morning dawned at dawn, bright and early as dawns have a want to do, and as the coffee brewed on the stove, I dropped by Geoff and Sarah's to say hello, and to get a better look at their fine M series combo...



So as the sun was now up and mooching, I thought I should too, and soon happened upon the "box" as belonging to Bryan and Maria...



Here you can see my tent and beemer, in the corner by the hedge, now this turned out to be the best camping spot on the site, as it was the crossroads of the whole site, so everybody had to pass by at some point during the day, and as such, Wade and I got to meet nearly all concerned over the course of the rally, perfect..



Of course there were bikes too, actually there were all sorts to look at..



Deiters Dark Star..

Wandering around..

While wandering around, I came across Wade and the local militia, actually it is the remains of the opening ceremony, which of course I missed, due to being in full wander with camera mode, but they looked colourful, and shots were fired (I think someone turned up on a Triumph) so it was officially rally season then.





Some people come prepared for the worst...





and some for the better, you take your choice...



but everywhere you looked there were nice old BSA's and people fettling....





even the odd Harley turned up..



candy around every corner...



even the local photographer rode a trike..

DUDE!
that little trike is like a small pick-up truck! ha ha...AND, at least that harley is an antique, and not one of the new ones!

lovin the dark star...and the other black bike that wade was standing beside, with the fattie front tyre...all the pix from brugge are great too...
keep 'em comin, Kevin, i KNOW you're putting more up as i type this?

And so the rally got into full swing, people turning up, old friends reacquainting themselves, new friends being made, and the common thread of motorcycling running like a babbling brook through all the cultures and languages.





and sprinkled about were faces to names I have only hear or read about, like this fine bunch with Wade...

Dancing Dave & Glyn are two, but ferry lag or old age has set in, and I forget the name of the third for now, beezergeezer?, sorry!



even the odd Triumph turned up too..



Nice rack (stop sniggering at the back) wonder where I could find one?



Some bikes though were just plain odd?





But then I found the only M33 at the rally, just like mine, and very nice too..

Kev sez:

"But then I found the only M33 at the rally, just like mine, and very nice too.."

Not exactly like yours....he rode the M33 to the rally

Not exactly like mine either, this one is shiny

He trailored it with a BSA sloper.. but he did ride it while there, nice bike though. I will be riding mine to Germany I hope, if I am still drawing breath..

Well - I am finally home in PA . My plane landed early and my brother picked me up late. Not to bad but I am now ready for bed BIG time! I did unpack the new spitfire tank just to be sure it survived the plane ride. All is well!!!!! Thanks Kev and everyone involved. It was a blast. An adventure every step of the way. I will need some time after I get back to NY to work and download my photos in between. But I will add to the yarn as soon as I can....

Shaun - Dont forget to tell Graham to unpack the tent as it was wet when we left the campsite . Thanks again mister Ed for the use of your lovely bike. It sure is a happy bike when both of it's tires are full of air....

Good night!!!

Kev, Lovely photos as usual and a good yarn!


Wade, Glad you got back to the States OK. We await your contribution to the yarn with eyes agog - you being also a whizz-kid photographer!

Pity you met the WORST scenario - a tyre puncture on a heavily loaded machine. It could have been even worse though if you had been winging along at 55 mph when it happened!!

Spider couldn't resist reviving this old cartoon to celebrate the event:

Sorry for the delay, been at work! now if someone at the rally site had asked me to stay for a couple more days, I wouldn't have thought twice abot it! I just wish they had but I am now back home, back in the rut, oh well.

So back to the yarn....

Cafe racers, there were one or two nice ones scattered about, all though had some nice touches..





and then there was beer and conversation...



followed by conversation and beer....



with the marquee being the hub of all things BSA





even Hants Ian was getting in the swing of things...



The next day was the line up day down in Mastricht, but as I was on my beemer, I declined this outing, so I will let the others fill you in on the proceedings here.
I on the other hand had a chill out day, well I was on holiday, so I adjourned to the bar, just me and my camera, for a beer or two...





The barmaid, now at college in London as I recall..

Americans Forbidien

Well that is the first and last word, but what it say inbetween I have no idea... Blimey we had only been here a couple of days, and Wade has already got us banned



actually these are just signs in the bar, but they add a bit of interest to my tale..



then later that evening, myself, Wade, Geoff and Sarah, Lee, and Keith, were invitied up to Bryan and Maria's place for pasta, very nice too. Of course the wine flowed, as did the conversation...







and so endeth another day..

Happy Birthday to me, Happy birthday to me... etc.

Yes folks todays photo's were taken on my birthday, so what should a boy do, but go play with trains...

woo-woo, choo choo ch-boogie!
i think i CAN...

great pix bro, i KNOW you have more? how many is too many? i don't know...

i had a bit of hang time with wade this morning, drove out to sit and chat about his month-long holiday, over a cuppa joe...
it MIGHT take him a while to sort his pix. from what i gather, he has a few thousand?
i see another CD of pix, with another AMAZING soundtrak in our future.

Sure had fun at the rally. Very friendly folks in the Netherlands. Thanks to everyone for all the kind hospitality.