Thursday the 2nd to Sunday the 5th of July 26 saw Claire & Dave J meandering their way from home in Wilts, East along the A303 then north up the A34 /M42 to E Mids rally at Peak Gateway Caravan Park, Near Ashbourne in Derbyshire. Just over 165 miles from home. After another busy few days at work, Claire ably drove the motorhome with Dave once again co-piloting. Arriving at 4 PM in just over 4 hours, inclusive of a couple of comfort stops for our dogs, it was time to fill the motorhome’s water tank on entering the site.
Once we’d factored in the strong prevailing wind 💨 direction, checked the electric cable lead length & ‘jockeyed’ position for a level pitch, it was a case of quickly saying our ‘hellos’ as we shared a power point, hooked up the electric splitter lead & erected the dog 🐕 fence around the motorhome. Claire then rustled up a couple of welcome ‘ding’ dinners via the microwave.
After chatting & settling in, it was soon time to get some well earned beauty sleep 😴 💤 .
Friday morning was cloudy but warm & dry & saw more rally goers arriving. Not least, from Wilts, Chairman Marcus & Mary in ‘Herman’ their sizeable motorhome & Andrew & Katy Young 2 up on their ‘Hondelli’ bike.
Meanwhile, Graham, Julie, Becky, Dennis & the team from E Mids had worked like Trojans to complete the marquee, kitchen & games area. Dog walking, sunbathing, chatting & relaxing was the order of the day for the remainder.
American 🇺🇸 Independence Day, Saturday the 4th of July morning was again cloudy but relatively warm & dry with weather forecasts accurately indicating that the rest of the weekend would be overcast but muggy.😅
It was soon time to enjoy Graham & Denis’ cooked full English breakfast & socialise with other E Mids rally attendees.
The Saturday ride out saw Martyn Huddleston gamely stepping up at short notice & giving a brief to the 20 riders 🏍️ with only minor heckling from the cheap seats. Ie, E Mids’ HOC Chairman Graham: ‘moneybags’ Brown. 😁 Martyn then led the way round the 100 mile + route with 4 Bike & Brew Passport stops on route.
The Honorary President took the opportunity to nip out for a nice lunch, kindly organised in great secrecy by Jennie Judge to celebrate Sarah R & Julie G’s birthdays.
Wilts Sec stayed on site, drank tea, dog sat & socialised with several other members who’d chosen not to ride out. The late afternoon saw us heading off on a stroll with our dogs 🐕.
By all accounts, E Mids’ Saturday ride out was a success too, with everyone enjoying the route & riding their bikes from ☕️ & 🍰
stop on to the next comfort break before returning to site at 5PM after a thoroughly enjoyable ride out.
Late afternoon saw rally goers immersing several willing volunteers in the charity water dunk tank after a few well aimed balls had been thrown…. Thank you to the HOC Chairman, President, E Mid’s Sec & Chairman & not forgetting Chloe for volunteering to get cold & wet for a worthy cause!
Saturday evening was a very tasty BBQ cooked by the indefatigable Denis & Graham with fresh salad, & bread supplied & prepared by the hard working, E Mids support crew & a few more willing volunteers.
We then sprung a surprise on Julie G & Sarah R in the marquee by presenting them with signed cards. The kind offer of the bumps was not taken up…😁
Following this there was the fancy dress ‘back to school’ themed charity raffle with too many outrageous & brilliant outfits for one person to be deemed a worthy winner (see pics).
A ‘backwards raffle’ followed this with much scurrying around & grabbing of some dubious prizes…More socialising and rehydrating were the next events in & around the marquee until once again, it was time to hit the sack.
Sunday morning was a repeat of the previous day’s breakfast routine with another superb full English with bacon 🥓 baps & tea / coffee ☕️ aplenty. Oh go then, says Dave J, I’ll help Claire 👩 finish hers!😋🤪
One or two individuals (including us) departed the site in good time before the traffic built up too much. So we packed up & sadly, said our goodbyes for now.
As usual, It’s been a great few days relaxing, having a great laugh, catching up with old friends & meeting a few new ones.
Despite deciding not to bring our bikes again for this rally, we thoroughly enjoyed Graham & his team’s hospitality & relaxing in not so sunny 🌞 Derbyshire.
It’s safe to say that we’re already looking forward to the next rally. Standby Erica G & the Oxford HOC crew..! 🚐 🏍️🤓
By Dave Jolly
