Pilgrims
Mayflower MCC, 28th Pilgrims Rally, August 2003
On Friday morning, August 1st, the following participants met for the England tour: Wolfgang Daun with his son Felix, 15 years old (Suzuki GSX750F), Hans Mondorf (BMW K100RS), Walter Trappe (Yamaha XV535 Virago), Detlef and Sylvia Groß (Suzuki GSX 1100S).
The usual journey to Calais, crossing by ferry. From Dover the journey went on to The Star Pub, in Steeple, Essex. Like the two years before, a marquee was set up on a meadow behind the pub, but this time in Steeple.
(page 1) Mayflower MCC Presents 28th Pilgrims Rally 2003 Welcome! (page 2) Pilgrims Rally 2003 Welcome to this, our 28th Pilgrims Rally. We hope you had a pleasant and trouble free ride on your way here and we hope that your stay with us will be enjoyable. For your pleasure, we have 'DJ Caveman', playing 50's Rock 'n' Roll on Friday night and Tim Aves and the Rockin' Armadillos, that went down so well last year, for Saturday night. Martin and Jenny of The Star are offering a choice of Chilli and Curry in the marquee for this weekend, if this does not suit your tastes evening meals are available in the pub, but you will have to book a table and take your chance. Lunchtime sandwiches will be available from the pub. We will be supplying free toast and spread on Saturday and Sunday mornings from the marquee and free tea and coffee is also available. There is another pub a short walk away from the Star, the Sun and Anchor, but it is not known what sort of food is available, if any. There are wash basins in the Ladies and Gents toilets for your use, sorry but we couldn't manage showers this year. There will be two portaloos available overnight for any emergencies as the pub will be shut. Pub toilets will be open from 08:00. Victoria Tongs has, once again, produced a brainteaser for you all to try. There will be a small, probably alcoholic, prize for the most correct answers. If you fancy a ride out, the very pretty seaside town of Burnham on Crouch, with lots of pubs and restaurants, is approx. seven miles away. Maldon with it's interesting town centre, riverside walk and Thames sailing barges, not to mention a Jaguar Museum, is only 10 miles away. There are numerous pretty roads in the area if you fancy an amble through the countryside. If you fancy going a bit further Finchingfield with it's 'Lovejoy' scenery is approx. 35 miles. That's really all we have to say, on the next page in this programme you will find an approximation of the hours for food and drink and even what beers may be available! Any problems please go to the Control, the Committee are all in contact via mobile phones this weekend so we should be able to respond fairly quickly to any situation. Thanks, The Committee (page 3) Programme of Events Bar Opening Times At the time of going to print the pub is officially open all day from 11:00 to 23:00. Beer may be ... Crouch Vale IPA Burntwood IPA Oscar Wilde Mild Crouch Vale Golden Food in the Marquee Friday Chilli & Curry 17:30 to 20:00 Bacon Butties 22:30 to 23:00 Saturday Chilli & Curry 17:30 to 20:00 Bacon Butties 22:30 to 23:00 Free toast, margarine and marmalade/jam from 08:00 to 10:00 Free coffee and tea all weekend in the marquee. Music Friday 21:00 'til late DJ Caveman 50's Rock 'n' Roll Saturday 21:30 to 23:30 (ish) Tim Aves & the Rockin' Armadillos (All times are approximate) Raffle & Awards Sunday 10:00 in the marquee Enjoy (page 4) Mayflower Motor Cycle Club 28th Pilgrims' Rally 2003 Mayflower MCC Committee Members : Chairman Graham Butler Secretary Paula Fidge Treasurer David (Radar) Day General Member Heather MacGregor John Flitney Jill Livermore Alan Giddens Goodbye, and thanks for coming, Ride Home Safe!
We spent Friday evening again in a relaxed atmosphere in the marquee.
Saturday morning after breakfast, like last year, we set out for London on the motorbikes. Here we tried to do a city tour of the tourist attractions with our motorbikes. That was harder for us than we thought. We have passed through the same tunnel under the Thames several times. Detlef with his Suzuki GSX1100S “accidentally” had some misfires in the tunnel, which ended with a loud bang. I still feel sorry for the couple in an open car that drove in the lane next to us. I guess they thought there was going to be another war. We kept getting lost and kept coming back to the financial district. Finally, we still saw Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, and Hyde Park.
After returning to Steeple we refreshed ourselves with water on the outside and beer on the inside.
The second evening in the marquee also went harmoniously and comfortably.
On Sunday morning, after the usual raffle and the award ceremony, we said goodbye and set off on our return journey. Our motorcycle friend Walter Trappe received the award for the "Long Distance Continental". To do this, he used a ruse. He was the last of us to enter the list and stated 1km more than the rest of the group.
Also, this year we went to the pub "The Castle" at Bodiam Castle. Here we took an extended lunch break and watched the Formula 1 race on TV. It was the time when our favorite Michael Schumacher was driving for the world championship title.
From Bodiam Castle to Rye on the small car park on the River Brede, which can only be reached by motorbike, to enjoy an ice cream. From here along the coast to Marton Mill to Hawthorn Farm Campsite & Holiday Park. The usual last night for dinner and a few pints at the nearby pub.
Monday morning we drove to the ferry and had breakfast in the food court during the crossing. Walter's tire had lost air pressure at a construction site on the motorway in Belgium. We stopped at the cordoned-off construction site and removed the rear wheel. We moved the luggage onto my motorcycle and Walter rode pillion with me. The rear wheel was pinched between my back and Walter's stomach. From the motorway, we drove to the next town. There was a large tire shop. However, it was designed for cars and trucks. They didn't have a tube for the rear wheel. So, we drove further through the villages until we found a gas station that sold us a spray bottle with sealing foam. We filled it in and filled the wheel with 3 bar air pressure. Back to Motorway, we installed the rear wheel as quickly as possible and continued our journey.
From then on, however, we had to go to every gas station to refill the air because the tire kept losing a little air. With about 1 bar we drove to the gas stations and with 3 bar we continued. This worked fine until we got home. When we stopped to check the air, Detlef's Suzuki smelled like rotten eggs. The regulator of the alternator was probably defective and caused the battery to boil. But it worked until we got home.
- Hans Mondorf