Our rally starts early as we have a bit of a trek (about 430 miles from Pompey to Kelso) leaving on Thursday lunchtime.
The plan was for four of us to ride up individually, catching each other at fuel stops and other points along the way, and then meeting for an overnight stop at Carnforth near Lancaster.
For once, our plans actually worked out. We had a good evening, and after a hearty breakfast, we set off the next morning. The plan now was for all of us to ride the final 125 miles up the M6 and A7 to Kelso. All on 2-strokes, two TS1s, a Quattrini, and me, on the only Vespa. Again, everything went according to plan; I don’t know how, but it did!
Ocean Colour Scheme
The weather was beautiful, and the ride was lovely; in my mind, it was probably one of the most picturesque rides of the National Rallies. We arrived at Kelso at about 1.30, pitched our tents and headed into town for ‘a few drinks.’
I got back to the venue just in time to catch Friday’s band, Ocean Colour Scheme, no prizes for who this tribute band is honouring!
Man down
As I was suffering from a serious case of man flu, it was not long before I was back in my tent and asleep. Except sleep was disturbed by rain. It was on and off all night, though by the morning, it had eased off. The rest of the day was interspersed with occasional showers, with the sun breaking through between them.
A full Scottish
Awake and bored with my rally mates snoring from their tents, I went and grabbed a rather nice full Scottish breakfast and then had a wander around the parts fair. It’s nice to see a lot of vendors selling secondhand and spare parts. Don’t get me wrong, the clothes sellers have their place, but sometimes that one odd-shaped bolt in the 50p bin could be the difference between getting home on the scooter and ending up being recovered by the RAC.
Historic pubs
Once again, we headed into town. Kelso is a lovely town with a lot of history. It also has numerous pubs, all within easy walking distance of each other, making it a perfect rally spot!
What a let down
I got back to the rally site in the afternoon, and it was time for power naps; we’re all getting older, sadly, and naps are rapidly becoming an important part of the weekend for me!
John, one of our band of happy campers, has invested in an all-singing, all-dancing, self-erecting (oo-er missus!) tent. Proud of how fast he managed to put his tent up, we decided to see how fast we could take it down for him. Perhaps we should have waited until he was out of the tent first.
Staying on-site for the rest of the day, we wandered around, chatting and catching up with various other like-minded souls and making good use of the great on-site kitchen.
The Beat goes on
As afternoon rolled into evening, we settled down to watch The Beat featuring Ranking Jr. They’re great. They get the dance floor bouncing, and it’s a great set, including a touching song dedicated to Ranking Roger, Jr’s dad. It was a great way to finish the weekend.
Sunday rolls in, so it’s time to pack up, grab breakfast and head off for the long ride home.
Words and photos: Booga
Additional photos: Col
Thanks
Like all the National Rallies, Kelso is put on by a group of scooterists, in this case, ‘The Scottish Number Ones.’ Without them, we’d have no big events to look forward to, so a massive thank you to them and all rally organisers, stewards, and helpers. We appreciate your hard work and commitment.
Coming up next
Next up on the BSRA National Rally calendar (after their temporary move to Margate last year), Big 7 is back in Ardingly, Sussex at the South of England Showground and it promises to be a great weekend.
Live acts are as follows:
Heavy Sol, Sex Pissed Dolls, Kevin Iverson, Ska-per, Sharp Class and The Jam’d. Advance tickets are still available, and you can also pre-order your rally patch here.
