Cossacks in Rutland….

As you all already might have guessed… I followed my friend Charlie to the CossackOwnersClub.. and we went to attend their AGM… And why should I break my habits… I was the first one to set up my tent and me and Charlie was the first bikes to arrive att the CossackOwners AGM…

Well almost… At the campsite there was a tent,, and a bike… to our astonishment it was a Harley parked next to the first tent in the site of the rally???

Mind… this picture is taken later… but the Harley and the tent behind was there when me an Charlie went round the corner…. We had a brief conversation… Do we really want to set up our tents next to a Harley???? Well, as I remembered I said I can set up my tent next to HD… ( this since I dont believe that they are contagious..?? )

Later we learned that the Sportster belonged to a very nice man who we had a lot of things to be grateful to… He is one of the brave souls who keeps the Cossack Owners Club up and running…

And now to the part of my story that I so wish that had more pictures of… Like the man who parked between me and the Harley seen above.. But you see.. Alan… He is a man that in many ways make you believe,, As for me I all of a sudden believed that it was more important to talk to my next brother, having a good time and enjoying myself… Rather than taking pictures…

Well back to Alan… A biker that rides a Ural Classic,, with a sidecar.. not a stock one ,, but a more modern one with i smaller tire on the car.. But still.. He rides a Ural sidecaroutfit… A biker amongst bikers… Long hair..scruffy beard.. waxed cottons.. just a plain old school biker… ?? Well, his collar was a bit different… A man of the Clergy… And a bloody nice biker.. !!!

Then sun went down.. All my new friends gathered around the red tent… a small fire was lit.. (Doc.. if you reading this… Yes its possible to have a small bonfire..) And we sat down and had a few beers and a good talk… But all a sudden a small plastic bottle emerges.. I saw a few taking a sip.. faces looking a bit surprised … Since your writer is a good listener… I had picked up a few words earlier..

When it was my turn I had swig.. and yes,, It was Slivo.. and good Slivo.. So I said “Vhala Draga,,, Dobro Sliwowica..”.. And then there was a few raised eyebrows… Cant really blame them.. How should they know that I have spent a couple of years at the Balkans during the war…??

The Lady who provided the bottle have lived in England for many years but she was born in Slovenia.. So even if my accent was off and my words not that many she still could perfectly understand what I was saying…

So before I finish this post.. Let me get back to Kharma… Well as far I am concerned.. Kharma has been around the whole trip…

More to thell…

Fair Winds

Stefan

Wednesday… The journey continues….

Its now the 28 of August.. The sun is shining and I decided to move on.. A bit reluctant to leave The Prince of wales , The friendliest Pub in the Uk , but there is more to see in sunny old England..

So packed my gear and started Vlad, now the course was set towards F2 MotorCycles, a company who sells parts for all old bikes from the Soviet Union.. And since I have heard a lot of good things about David Angel and his shop it was an easy choice to do so…

On this entire trip I have used my phone mounted on my handlebars, And yes I know… I have always said that I´m and old fart that likes to get lost the analog way … But I have to admit… Using Google Maps made this trip a lot easier…

So my Samsung and Google took me and Vlad over the lovely English backroads and I rode trough som spectacular villages and had a great time on the road and all of a sudden I find myself being very close to F2 MotorCycles… In fact I shot past the place and then managed to turn my rig around in a neighbouring lumberyard and then i rolled back a short distance and there it was….

First thing I saw was a man who was an ancestor to the folks that made Hadrianus build the wall…

On the picture above we see Charlie McIntyre and David Angel.. David runs F2 MotorCycles and Charlie rides a Ural.. Charlie and I had a talk when we waited for David to attend to his customers … The phone was ringing off the hook and I must say thats a good thing… A company like F2 deserves all its customers and as a Dnepr rider I´m glad that we got men like David who keep the parts that I need in stock…

Me and my new friend Charlie come to the conclusion that we both needed to visit Halfords.. This because F2 was out of the type of oil that both me and Charlie wanted for our bikes.. But I did got some gaskets and clutchwire.. And thats something you don´t find at Halfords..

After getting what we wanted Charlie told me that he had found a nearby Pub that also had a campsite… Great news.. So I gladly followed Charlie to the Rose And Crown.. and Yes, they had room for two moore campers..

By this time me and Charlie had come to the conclusion that we where kindred souls who shared the same passion for old bikes.. and we both where more than a little surprised when we had a look at each others numberplates…..

What are the odds for this??? His bike from Scotland and mine from Sweden…!!

So we sat up our tents and made ourselfs comfortable

Thursday morning I slept late and when I got out of my tent I had come to the conclusion that my planned trip to London and the Ace Cafe wasnt a must anymore… Heavy traffic and me and Vlad on English roads doesnt mate very well so when Charlie said that he planned to stay another night I was quite happy doing the same….

Friday morning I got out of bed in a fairly normal time and then it was time for breakfast… and indeed this was a breakfast to remember….

After this meal I wasnt teally sure about my plans… I was thinking about riding back to Harwich and maybe get on a earlier ferry to Holland… I was booked on monday morning but was thinking of maybe do some tourist stuff in Holland…

But… as soon I was back at my bike and tent I met a smiling Charlie… ” Guess What.. The CossackOwnersClub… Their AGM starts today in Rutland, Its an hour and a half from here… You want to come along???”

Hmm??? Let me see??? Holland..?? Well.. Holland will still be there for a while but a Cossack Owners Rally that is only once a year?? So it was time to pack our gear and off we went….

More will follow…

Stay tuned and fair winds…. Stefan

Another update…

But now I´m a few days back in my story,, you see even if there is millions of Urals and Dneprs built during the years they are still kind of rare to be seen on the roads in our modern society…

So when you set out on a journey crossing a couple of countries you must be prepared to meet a lot of nice people who wants to ask a few questions about you somewhat odd bike…

And ever so often they will take a few pictures.. and sometimes the even take my card and then uses my information to send me an e-mail with som pictures..

So did a very nice man … Guenter from Hamburg..

Oh dear… I might admit the man in that black leather jacket is actually me… And I promise… I´m really a nice man… even if the picture gives you a totally different impression….

And here is another picture of me.. By the way i look I must say that I´m probably taking a good look at my bike and trying to see if something has fell off…..

And here is me and the bike from another view …

And all those pictures comes from Guenter from Hamburg…

Many Thanks… Its always nice to get some good pictures…

Fair Winds

Stefan

Trying to catch up…

The day after the AGM… Kickstarted Vlad and went up to my home away from home… That´s Trooper Spirits garage.. You see, the club is after this weekend my extended family.. And when I have a slight problem with a minor oil leak and my brother lives close by and got a fine workshop.. Then you ride home and sit down with your brother and try to solve things…

Simple and quite natural don´t you think`?

And that is just the way it is… Bikers.. Friends … Family…

So we kind of sorted my problems… at least on oil leak… but there was more.. as always when you are on a bike bult in the Soviet Union… I will get back to this later…

After that I had a very nice cup of coffee together with Trooper and family I went back to Stow Maries and the Prince Of Wales…

And then again… back to the Club… when everyone was packing and tidying after the AGM Asbo told me that he had talked to the landlord and I was welcome to stay with my tent as long as I wished… To me this is heartwarming … a BikerClub… a Club that have made a such good impression that the landlord is letting a far away guest stay as long as he want?

Off course I rode back… Mind you ,,it would have been a bit silly to do otherwise since I had left my tent and gear in the field..??

Never the less… Back … Parked Vlad and went in to the Pub… Not so many guests.. But a good Pub is never about numbers… ( nor is a bike club) A few known faces smiled at me and I soon got a lovely pint in front of me…

And then someone asked… What did you think about… The Show… John Otway.. ??? Well… a bit confused I said… What..???

So what to do? Found my phone… Googled John Otway… And Yes… this man was a musician and entertainer in my taste… Shame I missed him?? Or did I?

You see next to me was a lovely women.. sorry to say I cant remember here name… But I can assure you her tits will remember my eyes… ( she had a nice cleaveage) She said, If you have any questions about John Otway… Ask him… You are sitting next to him….

Oh Dear… But no worries… John turned out to be a fantastic and laid back bloke… In fact.. if he rode a bike he would be a prospect…

Now I would call it the night…

But there is moore…

Fair Winds

Stefan

AGM…

Yes, this is the one and only reason that I filled my old Dnepr with campingear.. Surströmming.. Bullens Pilsnerkorv.. Pölsa… Spareparts,, tools.. first aid kit moore tools.. Did I mention spareparts? Doesnt matter,, more spareparts…

As you all allready know I made it to the place for the occasion and I set up base in a field behind a Pub… woke up at around 8.. decided to sleep a bit moore… then woke up realizing that the English sunshine had turned my tent in to a sauna.. No problem… just open up the tent and put two thirds of my body outside the tent and then back to sleep…

So then you might understand that the first The Sprits did see of my was my hairy legs, my butt and after that I woke up my very puzzled face… ???

And thats a good start of a friendship isnt it? And indeed in this case it was… The Spirits is bikerclub… formed by bikers in 1963… Its a club that is a true bikersclub.. its all about motorbikes and having a good time.. So me sleeping with the major part of my body outside my tent/sauna was just a good laugh..

And now to the AGM… There is enough to be said about these three days to write a novell… But.. I´m not about to do that… In fact.. I wont tell you very much at all….. Why?? Because the Spirits are what they are,,, Bikers.. Bikers who gets together , Bikers who invites friends and family to have a good time… And If you would like to get know the club,, I´m more than happy to invite you to join me.. Just grab your tent and sleepingbag and get on your bike and I will show you the way…

You see thats the way this Club has been for so many years.. And they wont change,, and why should they? In a world where so many live their life in the virtual reality its a fresh breath to go to a good old analog bikerparty!!!

And I can tell you this much.. We had a good time..This August bank holiday is a memory that will be mentioned in coming books of history.. The weather for one… Going back home from the UK in august with a sun tan… So much for my joke about “Sunny Old England” And the party itself… I´m a little surprised that we didnt leave a mark on the richterscale… but I do belive we where pretty close of doing that…

There is a few things I do would like to tell you about the AGM… “Surströmming” Yes everyone was absolutely clear in their opinion… It smells, and it smells a lot,,, and it smells awful…. And serving this to true bikers at a party? Well,, they ate it… And I am still welcome to the next AGM… I think that goes for proof of what kind of bikers we ar talking about??

But my trip aint over yet… got moore to tell you… and I promise… I will… and I do belive I got some pictures as well….

Until then

Fair Winds

Stefan

And now back home… but not really home yet…

Strange words above.. What do they say? Well, I´m now in Sweden, but my journey is not over.. And it cant be over until I have told you all about it.. Thats the way I see it….

After that I had got trough all the roundabouts, dodged a few potholes, and had been overtaken by every motorist in the area( including one farm tractor) I arrived in Stow Maries and parked outside the Prince Of Wales.. Thats the Pub if you wonder?

Turned of the ignition and Vlad went silent…. And to be honest, so did I.. After that I had waited a little while for my heartbeats to come back to a normal pace I gave myself a pat on the shoulder… Congrats.. I made it… From Sweden to England on a bike built in the Soviet Union.. Not bad at all….

When I felt that my legs where likely to obey me I tried to get of my bike… And yes, my legs performed as well as I hoped so I made my way inside the Pub.. And as I now are in England no one things anything about a biker from Sweden arriving late on a Thursday evening…

Just a friendly smile and “Hi ya, what can I help you with?” So I told who I was and why… hmm? Not sure how those words came out? To be honest I´m not always sure who I am and most certainly not why I am???

Never mind… I introduced myself and explained that I had arrived one day early to attend the AGM that was about to take place in a field close to the Pub.. And off course, I was so welcome, they explained how I would find my way in to the field and then I got served a very fine pint of the best Ale I have had in many years….

After about an hour I climbed back on board Vlad and drove in to the field… I found a nice flat space and then I set up my tent and got my gear sorted for the night……

And now its good night… will be with you all soon…

Fair Winds

Stefan