East Londoner Tony Lynchs Buff Experience
Buffalo Rally 2006 – Mosselbay - Tony and Bev Lynch
What an experience! Bev, R1150 R and I on our first long trip and to a Rally …!!!!!
Started at 6h00 Friday 17th March in the rain and mist for most of the way to Colchester, not too bad, but not very pleasant for Bev, being her first ride.
Anyway, I would like to firstly thank the guys and dolls from Ulysses that spoke to us before the event and helped build up the excitement which then calmed the nerves to a degree. To Peet and Buckles who constantly asked Bev how she was doing and then to Derick, Elrose, Tommy and wife (sorry, bad with names), Shaun and “D” whom we accompanied most of the way from Colchester to Mosselbay, to Ronnie and his wife for taking Bev with them in their vehicle from Joubertina to George, it was a great ease on her nerves and made for a most enjoyable weekend.
The ride to Mosselbay was exciting and seeing all the people on the road was fantastic, Oh!…let me not forget to say we had our Baptism, I mean, rain…wind…sunshine and the odd Ar*&hole who had no concern for the motorcyclists…but we made it all the same.
Entering the Rally gates and going to register was a great achievement for Bev and I. Let me at the outset say, we were totally impressed by the organizers, Nomads MCC, thanks to them, it must have been a nightmare, but then again practice makes perfect and we were blasted away by how everything was handled as well as the friendliness, helpfulness and professionalism shown by all…..WELL DONE!!!! WE WILL BE BACK!!!!!
After registration, we looked at a few of the unusual sights and went to our B&B to freshen up and unwind before dinner. Needless to say after a wonderful evening with the crazy bunch we hit the sack and I must have died…Only woke at 5h00 on Saturday and immediately proceeded to wash the “Beamer”…..needed a clean machine for the Mass Ride you know…….after all, it is a Beamer and there were some Hardly Dangerous Bikes there as well……
All those bikes and people were awesome and doing the Mass Ride was an experience we will not easily forget…..Very Nice Peter!! After the ride we went into the camp site and looked at all the stands selling their wares, from which I had to buy a waistcoat, as I now earned my FIRST pin and I needed a place to put it…….we bought a few drinks and had a bite to eat, still taking in all the sights and chatting to people whom we did not know from Adam, everyone was so pleasant and the atmosphere was filled with fun…no worries, just enjoying themselves. A bonus for Bev was that she met up with her cousin whom she has not seen in about 14 years. Ahhhhhhhh………Lovely!!!
Guys with long beards, scruffy clothing, hilarious helmets, toothpicks stuck in the head etc etc was seen. It was just unreal. Can’t explain, you had to be there to experience it!
Saturday evening we accompanied the same bunch for dinner and met up with Peter Slater, his brother and their wives….. shared the days excitement and went off to the draw, which I incidentally did not win. After some hot chocolate at the Ocean Basket we parted ways to our places of abode for a good sleep after a most enjoyable day and to prepare for the ride on Sunday.
Woke up to a rainy day…..Oh No Not Again!!!!!!!! So there we were, just Bev and I and the long wet road ahead, stopped in George for a little breather then hit out to Stormsriver, on the way at a road stop, chatted with some chaps from PE, I can’t believe the comradeship of the bikers…Keep it up guys, I am impressed!!!! In Stormsriver we met another whole bunch of guys, and I could actually give some advice to some of them as they wanted to know why I clean my visor with a piece of potato ?….to let the rain water slide off easily and have good vision….”Old Trick”……
Anyway we eventually arrived in PE after having rain right through to Humansdorp. Stayed over in PE for the night and took a slow ride Monday afternoon, stopping in every town, on our way home to unwind….
In conclusion I would like to say I am absolutely proud of Bev and thank her for having the guts to ride the distance to Mosselbay and making the weekend a most enjoyable one!
