F V M C C
Forth Valley Motorcycle Club
Thistle 2002
The 2002 Thistle Rally was held
on the weekend of 22-24/February at the Crook Inn Hotel in the Scottish Border country.
This year we celebrated the 34th Thistle.
Why do we persevere with a winter rally?.
Stephen "Chuck" Jackson R.I.P 19**-2000
Special menion must go to the Bridgeroad MCC and the
Clyde Valley MCC who turned out in equal numbers.
We would also like to say a big thankyou to Susan Bell of the Crook Inn for having us. Susan also had the stone
circle in the field laid out and laid on a big pile of sticks for our camp fire.
Why do we persevere with a winter rally?.
I dont know. But I cant wait till next February.
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The snows started lightly as we went to pick up our hire van at 9:00 in the morning.
After loading up the van and getting on the bike I rode about three miles
when I was faced with 60mph crosswinds and white out conditions. I rode round a roundabout three times
thinking will I continue or go back and fetch the cage. What the f*&^ its only 45 miles and I can see
a clear spot in the clouds to the South. A snap decision was all it took and I was on my way through the
worst biking conditions I've ever seen. It was one of those moments when riding you just feel the urge to do it.
As I got to the site the van had already arrived as had some of the club members
who had rode round by Edinburgh and down the A701.< align="left">Most of the way down to the rally site I could squeeze a maximum speed of 35 mph, then when
I got a clearing and could speed up the snow would fly of the screen and whack me in the face.
Fat chance of keeping the visor clear then.I suppose my journey to the 34th Thistle was one of the easier ones.
Ah well at least there was enough of us there to build the marquee. Even George Dryburgh dropped in
on his way home from work. Surprisingly despite the winds we managed to erect the marquee fairly easily.
This was probably due to the fact that both Dave Newman and Craig knew what they were doing. So this year we
didnt need the local coalman and the Comet MCC to lend us a hand.
Among the first to arrive as usual were the lads from the Comet MCC. Never ones to miss a trick
the first question was who had the van and could it be used as a ferry to Moffat on Saturday.
Nice one Ian and I hope you all enjoyed the trips in and out. The Black Widows MCC arrived in force and
some of the Bridgeroad MCC blokes
arrived on Friday afternoon.
As Friday evening drew on the snows still fell and bikers still arrived with tales of dare, which is why I think I had it easy.
Reports were in that the M6 motorway had been closed just South of Carlisle so we didnt expect a big turn out.
Puker, famous for getting where hes going, made it all the way from Heathrow to within 16 miles of the rally and had
to find a bed in Moffat for the night. As he had parked up his bike and walked to his digs a bike passed two up. Puker called out and
was delt the muffled reply "Theres no f*&^ing way I'm stopping". John with Lesley on the back and two feet on the ground knew
forward motion was all. He'd came all the way from Lancashire and was determined to get through. A further mile up the road
after a half dozen low speed spills John was eventualy forced back to Moffat.
When asked by the police if he would like them to give Lesley a lift in their motor, John explained
he needed Lesley to help pick the bike up when he dropped it again. John, Lesley and Puker got through the last 16 miles
on Saturday morning.
Saturday
Saturday dawned and the winds had stopped. Mary was busy as usual from half past six in the morning
making tea and coffee in the marquee. So if you were up that early Mary's the one to thank for feeding you.
We still had some snow to add to the 5 inches already
on the ground but the nice council men had kindly cleared the roads and
sprayed them with a nice covering of very corrosive salt. Just what we like on our bikes.
Through out the day more and more bikes arrived. So despite our pesimism our turn out was actualy up on last year. The van was sent out to
rescue Eddie Nelsons bike wich had made it from Stoke
to within a mile of the hotel before breaking down. Dave also did a roaring trade as bus driver running between Moffat and back
to give the early partiers a head start with a pub crawl in the town. We must all thank Dave for his Sterling efforts in doing so.
He used his own time to make our punters feel more welcome. The Marquee was kept busy serving hot rolls and cups of tea.
At half past eight we closed the marquee so all could go and watch our visiting band The Rhythm Rouges perform
three excellent sessions.
In the middle of their stints we presented our awards (The Thistle Spanners) to
the very deserved winners.
The youngest rallyist was young Shannon aged six who was attending her second Thistle.
The trophy for oldest rallyist went to Frank Steel age unknown and to drunk to argue.
Longest distance female went to Sharron Walker.
Sharron rode up on her Buel from Crewe.
Jane O'Sullivan rode up from Wolverhampton but unfortunately signed in after we checked the register. A special mention must go to Jane as she
in fact rode a longer distance. Never mind Jane well sort a special trophy for you to collect
at the next Thistle.
Longest distance Male went to Puker. Coming from Heathrow I think he should consider the Spanners
as a medal instead of a trophy.
The Grot bike award went to Eddie Nelson. Not because Eddies bike was the absolute worst ( it was difficult to
decide a winner as all the bikes looked grotty covered in salt and road grime) but because we figured having covered the distance and broke down a mile from the hotel it warranted a prize.
"Hope it got you home again Eddie".
The best bike of the rally was Rab Spittals minted 1200 Bandit dripping with trick bits and immaculately turned out.
"Bet it took ages to get clean again though after the ride home"
A special award was presented this year. The Mark Ord Trophy for Endevour in getting to the rally.
We presented this to young Lesley for her grueling ride on the back of dad John's Beemer
on Friday niight.
Also this year we presented the Stephen "Chuck" Jackson memorial
trophy. The marvelous trophy was donated to the club by Chucks
sister Aileen. Chuck was a long time Thistle rallyist and good
freind of the FVMCC and in particular Coby.
On the 1st September 2000, whilst on his way to Assen for the World Superbikes Chuck crashed his Fazer
(Frazer) and was fatally injured.
The trophy was won by the Black Widows RC by mileage aggregate.
This was their first visit to a Thistle Rally and hopefully
they'll be back again next year to reclaim the award.
The sheild will be held in our club HQ and will be awarded every year for the next 20 years.
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The Rhythm Rogues returned to do another two sessions. They
played so long they ran out of numbers
and had to double up a number for an encore.
We'd like to say a big thanks to Alex Stenhouse and the Rhythm
Rogues for an excellent gig. Cheers lads!
This year we were all to drunk to re-open the tent after the bar closed so we must apologies to the few
insomniacs who were disapointed.
Sunday
I cant write much about Sunday morning as I dont seem to remember too much about it.
I can vaguely remeber helping to dismantle the marquee and pack everything away. I also remeber
being almost last to pack up our own tent and clean up the rally site. I say almost last
as nobody can outlast Puker at a rally site. Even Mary Robertson of the Leicester Pheonix MCC couldnt wait long enough.
After a sobering coffee in the early afternoon it was back on the bike
to be escorted up to Edinburgh by the Clyde Valley MCC. The roads were still damp most of the way but still made for a good ride up the A702.
The club would like to say a massive thanks to all who arrived. Those of you who are
regulars and those who aint. Hopefullly we made the 34th Thistle as enjoyable for you as it was for us
and we hope to see you all next year.
See y'all there.
