Matlock Drifter Rally 2005
Well it all kicked off for us on Wednesday night, with the realisation that 'we' had more
work to do to get my bike ready than hours left before we were supposed to leave the next
day. I'll leave the studs and just finish the bags (started only the week before, god knows
why, just don't ask!) was my reply, but even that wasn't realistic, so Thursday morning
Paul came up with the brilliant idea to cancel the room we'd had booked long ago. We didn't
need to go up a day early, we could go up Friday and still have a good long weekend.
So room cancelled at no cost by high noon and the panic was off. So I got to stud the bags
and the only real problem was that we'd not really tested out the setup on my bike before
we left on Friday. Ever optimistic but more importantly having every faith in Paul's
engineering and welding capabilities, I proudly proclaimed that everything would be fine.
He'd had chance to test out the rack etc. with his bike fully loaded up a couple of days
earlier and after the results from the highly effective chewing gum test came in, he made
a last minute cautionary bracket extension to raise the rack another inch. He'd already cut
my brackets taller and also upped the anti on the shock a couple of turns, so it was a case
of the weekend being the true test....
Friday morning it was, nice and sunny, so we opted out of the heavier black jeans,
packing lightweight waterproofs just in case. With everything loaded, we were on our way.
Having made slow progress to start with as our county appears to be the country's capital
as far as road works and resurfacing is concerned (excellent management really, continual
road works and no motorway for the county that boasts the largest port in the UK!)
we finally got out of Suffolk and has a good cruise up to the M1. Not too worried about
the time and of course forgetting that it was Friday, we managed to catch up with all the
M1 queues and had plenty of practice as snail pace riding. Nevertheless we were undeterred
and stopped at Alfreton to see Custom Cruisers and down a couple of cups of chilled
water. We'd stopped in mainly with the idea of looking at some chrome crash bars for my
bike but they'd been sold on ebay just a few days earlier. So we left disappointed but
refreshed and found our way to the Plough at Two Dales, meeting up with the others who'd
already arrived.
The M1 traffic meant we just missed meeting up with Steve, who we'd only just met a few weeks
previous when Paul sold a Drifter to him, but I'm sure we'll be seeing him at next year's Rally.
If I remember right, we recognised Butch & Bev, Nigel & June and Phil who was there with
his brother Tim and put faces to Dave who'd organised and transported the T shirts up
for everyone with his mate Terry and sat round chatting for a while waiting for the pub
to open to get a cold beer before pitching our tent next to Dave. Butch & Bev
had done us all proud arranging everything with the pub landlord, setting up a bug proof
chill out tent in the shade and sorting out the plaques they'd arranged with Rex to be
presented as prizes the following day. We had our own secluded field to camp in behind
the pub and the sun was shining down. Great! We had a look at the T-shirts Dave (who
LOL reminded us all weekend I think, came from the posh side of Suffolk!) had got printed
for us all at short notice. They were perfect, like the plaques and I think it even
brought a bit of a lump to both our throats and we just started to realise fully what was
taking place..... our first UKDOG rally.
There must have been half a dozen or so Drifters there already and with the others we
knew said they'd come, we thought this is going to be a great first rally. As the Fast Show
phrase goes - it got 'even better than that'. You just kept
coming. I was up the field getting the tent sorted and blowing up the lilos (we're old ok
and needed a bit of comfort!) and I kept on hearing bikes arrive, next thing I knew there
was Alex standing outside the tent saying hi. The rest of Friday saw everyone just chilling
out getting to know each other, admiring and pouring over all the bikes. Having decided the
curry menu was a tad pricey, a few loyal food connoisseurs did a quick recon at a local
establishment, came back with a few menus and it wasn't long before we were all tucking
into pizza, burgers and kebabs delivered straight to the tables. We forgot the midges that
had plagued us while putting the tents up as we looked forward to the next day's rides
and aside from a few dedicated night dwellers all proclaiming to be Sparticus till the
wee hours of the morning, we all retired gracefully.
Apologies to anyone we may have woken about 4 in the morning when we discovered that you
can't really pump up an aid bed very quietly when the plug pops out and you find yourself
lying on what some proclaim as naturally therapeutic - a very hard floor!
We probably slept in till about 8 and already it was warm. One or two others arrived and
the 'softies' turned up from the local B&B. I won't embarrass you by naming, but it's
tent's next year ok (LOL). Either that or you let us know where the B&B's are! I think
some may have nipped out to breakfast, others indulged in the bacon & egg butties the
landlord provided along with the free cups of tea and coffee. John turned up on his Indian
which everyone took turns to admire and soon it was time for our first trip Butch had
organised to Bakewell. Adrian & Chris from the Butch's Black Aces club did the honours with
outriding and everyone arrived safely a few miles up the road.
I don't think anyone knew quite what to expect as we split into two groups to look round
the museum. There were a few choice bikes outside and after checking out the AA outfit in
the opened garage we walked round the side of the house to find an Aladdin's cave. How
anyone could have managed to fit so much variety and history into such a small room is
amazing in itself. There were loads of bikes and memorabilia, perfectly set out and for me
personally it was like being in a candy store. So much I'd never seen and never knew
existed, I stared almost in disbelief at the intricacies and utter beauty of all the
machines in there. I found it hard to imagine a similar situation in sixty or seventy
years with people gasping at a bunch of R1s and ZX6s etc. Don't get me wrong, any bike is
excellent it my book simply by the nature of what it is and I guess it will happen, but I
don't think it'll ever be quite the same. I also loved all the accessories (women just love
accessories!), from bottles and cans of oil to signs, models to maps, old helmets and
gloves, the lot. It must have taken a lot of thought, planning and time to fit it all in
and heck, just imagine the dusting. I reckon they must have trained mice that go round at
night with little feather dusters tied to their tails! Suffice to say, if ever you are up
there and you get the chance, it's a must see and thanks go to Phil and Peter for giving
us the opportunity to share in their passion of collecting, restoring and showing all the
wonderful machines.
The other part of the Bakwell trip had to be the obvious and extremely mouth-watering visit
to the oldest pie, or rather tart shop in town. We made do with a couple of Fat Rascals
having decided that we couldn't really decide what to try, others, mentioning no names! I
think were going for the full three-course meal in tarts and pastries. Well what the heck,
you don't get chance to try the real thing that often and you do need sustenance when
riding. We all met up back at the museum where I had another lovely surprise when Butch
produced a huge bunch of flowers that he'd arranged at Rex's request to present to me with
thanks for all my work on the web. My favourites too, carnations and chrysanthemums which
travelled well all the way home and provided a great reminder of the wonderful atmosphere
felt through the whole weekend.
We saddled up again for a trip to Matlock bath and a
formation cruise past all the rows of parked bikes and onlookers and a short hours stop.
Bev had carried my flowers back to the pub and she and Butch picked up a couple more
Drifters on the way, so there was yet another surprise when Johnny parked his blue/cream
two-tone next to mine in the car park.
We had enough time to grab some more refreshments and a quick look round some very
reasonably priced bike shops, selling a variety of in house made leather jackets etc at
half the price of what it'd cost in our next of the woods, before making our way back to
camp just in time (in our case - oops!) to start off on the afternoon ride lined up behind
John & Jan's gleaming Indian.
It was hot and as it was in Butch's back yard, he opted for a nice cool shower and left
the rest of us to meander round all the twisty roads up and down dale, marvelling as every
corner seemed to open out to an even more incredibly beautiful landscape, one of which I
believe is even known as little Italy. Alex and Andy took over as outriders and it seemed all
too quick when we turned up at the
Cat & Fiddle and lined up the bikes. It was an impressive sight and brought another lump to
the throat. Dave even managed to find a Drifter in the car park that wasn't part of our
group and persuaded him to join us for a photo shoot. We had 21 Drifters of all colours and
designs lined up and pics were taken after a bit of organising which seemed to involve poor
old Phil having to move his bike two or three times before the photographers were all happy
(LOL there's irony in there if you look for it). After we'd cooled down with a nice chilled
drink, shouts went out for whoever wanted to join John on the 'optional short ride'.
I'm not sure how many of us actually went but as John went off I followed and I remember
thinking heck how big is his bike, that thing goes! I certainly wasn't going to drop down
the queue and didn't want to hold anyone up, so I put my trust in John and his knowledge of
the roads and went for it. At one point we came up to a junction and I'm not sure if it was
screams of delight or panic at short breaking behind me, probably a mix of both I reckon.
Next thing I did the thing I've only managed to do a couple of times still on my bess,
grind my nuts on the road (floorboard nuts ok!). All too quick again and we were turning
back into the pub and we had the biggest Cheshire grins on our faces. The ride to the C&F
had been picturesque, but the 15-20 minute 'spirited' ride round the block had been like
the best ride at the fair and showed just what excellent bikes we had.
It was time to head back to the Plough, this time via a slightly more direct route ready
for voting. Gino had already had to head back to sunny Wales and Andy had to get packed up
and ready to head off that night but before he could escape we had to grab a photo of
everyone there. Unfortunately there were a few missing - apologies to Kevin, Teresa, Bob &
Di and anyone else if you didn't get in the frame that time. Thanks to Phil for getting us
lined up and Jimmy and Tim for taking the pics on everyone's cameras. Before Andy could
head back South West, Rab impressed us all with his presentation to him of a two handled
Friendship cup, so named because as you present it to someone with both hands on the
handles, you can't be holding a weapon. We all voted on the best 800 & 1500 and after a
couple of recounts as it really was genuinely close, Phil announced the results and Paul
proudly presented the trophies.
Mike won the best 800 and Alex the best 1500. One final plaque then went to Alex for the
best forum ramble.. something to do with a Drifter
lawnmower!! We all spruced up for the evening and donned our rally T-shirts for another
relaxing evening's entertainment. The pub laid on a 'cook your own' barbecue pack and
other menu items and we all sat round eating alfresco and reminiscing already on the day's
events so far before piling into the pub for more liquid refreshments and listening to
the band. Well I say band, it was actually a folk duo, not everyone's kind of music it
seemed but when Lonewolf started accompanying them on a banjo I'm sure the cheers and
applause doubled. It was a chance to get to know each other a bit more, laugh and just
chill out in great company. Robin and Sue hit the sack a bit earlier as they'd been up
since the small hours, but not before we'd had chance to arrange a ride out to Matlock
Bath again in the morning. It was a great day all told and what memories we'd just made,
something to think about during the long rides home and even the midges seemed to give us
a break that night. Butch insisted we all 'went to bed' after he'd turned in, so after a
few determined 'Sparticus' just to try and wind him up a bit, we turned in and that night
we didn't have to pump the beds up again which was nice.
In the morning it was sadly time to pack up camp. Some were heading straight home, others'
via Matlock, so we said our goodbyes with hugs and kisses as each party left. We thanked
Butch & Bev again for all their efforts and the landlord for his hospitality and we pootled
off to Matlock. It was already quite hot again, so we didn't stay around too long, enough
though to grab a group pic of Kevin, Teresa Bob & Di who we knew had missed the photo
shoot. We said goodbye to Johnny and Becka and as we left Phil, he wished he had a longer
journey home and in a way I could understand exactly what he meant. Alex, Rab, Mike, Paul
and myself set off to the M1and it was nice to still ride in a group as we headed home.
After one quick stop off we carried on and our junction came up so qiuckly. As we pulled
up beside Rab, Mike and Alex and waved goodbye I had the biggest lump in my throat of the
whole weekend. Ok I'm a girlie and a blonde, so I'm allowed to say this ok, I had a tear
also.
We'd made so many new friends and as Robin had put it as I found out later, it was
like meeting up with pen pals you'd known for four years. By the time we'd got home, we
were both thinking of next year. There'd been a few comments on same time same place, we
weren't sure what would happen next but one thing we did know for sure was that this was
just the first and there would be many more Dift-Ins in the future.
There were many highlights of the weekend, meeting everyone and putting faces to names had
to be at the top and the fact that so many of you came on such a variety of bikes made
the whole thing totally special. Butch & Bev's hard work, Dave's T-shirts, the roads, the
scenery, the pies, the museum, John's Indian, Rab's presentation, Dave's shower, Sparticus,
the trophies, the flowers, etc etc, I could go on and on. Many of you asked us how many we
had hoped would turn up and to be honest I think we secretly hoped we'd get at least ten of
us together. You doubled that and brought guests and it was great to meet everyone, so thanks
to you all -
Butch & Bev, Adrian, Chris, Nigel & June, Alex, Robin & Sue, Johnny & Becka and guest, Mike,
Dave & Terry, John & Jan, Phil & Tim, Dave (Bongo), Mark, Shane & Jimmy, Andy, Gino,
Edward, Steve, Rab & Graham, Lonewolf, Alan, Geof & his son, Kevin & Teresa, Bob & Di.
(If I've missed anyone then please let me know and I'll fix it.)
I have to end this with one special thanks to my better half who'll probably cringe when
he gets to read this bit, but credit where credit is due, plus I know I normally only put
on the web what he's already designed, but that also means I have access to publish a
little additional info without him even knowing.! Without you I wouldn't have been so
inspired after going to the first Drifter rally in the US, to buy my own drifter and been
able to ride it up to Matlock and meet such a great group of people living on my own
doorstep. Thanks for all the continual hard work and effort in keeping UKDOG going
and for being such a dedicated enthusiast for all things Drifter.
More Pics -
Us ready to leave
Drifting in at the Plough
Evening at the Plough
John's Indian
At the Plough
Getting ready for a ride
Parked at the museum
At the museum
Inside the museum
Receiving my flowers
Gino getting ready to leave
Cat & Fiddle
Cat & Fiddle
Cat & Fiddle
Cat & Fiddle
Andy with his award for furthest travelled
Andy getting ready to leave
Mike with his award for Best 800
Mike's 800
Alex with his award for Best 1500
Alex with his award for Best Ramble on the Forum
Missing from the group picture
Going home
Flowers home safely
