Tents, Travel & Debauchtery

Friday was the start of a busy few days for me. This started with my brothers Stag Do (Bachelors Party), and finished with a long haul flight to American. I have always been into motorcycles since I was a kid. My dad used to ride bikes, taking me pillion, which lead to me riding bikes since I was a teenager. So it was only natural that my younger brother was into bikes too. However his passion for motorcycles far surpasses mine. He’s a real biker through and through. Part of his culture and passion involves being part of a motorcycle club, the Jugsters M.C.C. Many people may have negative perceptions of bikers/bike clubs, but as with anything in life its the minority that spoils it for the majority. The Jugsters are part of the majority. Every weekend of the year there is a bike rally somewhere in the UK. So it stood to reason that his stag do would be at one of the many rallies happening that weekend. The rally chosen for the weekend of frolicking and debauchtery was The Any Spare Change Rally at peterborough.

After a 3 hour drive from London to a friends house, I jumped on the back of his bike and we left to meet up with the rest of the club. The weather was nice for a ride out, it was just a shame that I was pillion this time and not on my own bike. After a nice ride over to the site (without getting lost) we pitched our tents ready for the weekend ahead. This was my first time camping in a while, certainly my first time since I found out I had Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). Followers of my previous posts will know that currently sleeping is something that I struggle with at present. Staying in the same position for periods of time is something that causing increased discomfort. So naturally sleeping in a confined space, on a half flat air bed was something that I was anxious about. Having been a while since I had a good boys night out, I was looking forward to the weekend away, so I was determined not to let this get in the way of giving my brother the send off to the end of his freedom he deserved. Obviously I am forbidden under unwritten laws that prevent me talking/publishing any details of the weekend. What I can tell you is that there was food, plenty of beer and live music. This is a recipe that has been proven to work time and time again, and this weekend was no exception. Needless to say sleeping in a tent was not that much fun. In previous years it had been, but these days the struggle takes away the fun from the pleasure of the outdoors. The airbed (although it had a slight leak) actually managed to hold up, which was a god send. It would be almost a sure bet that had I had slept on the bare floor I would have been in agony for days. Thankfully this was not the case. As I had mentioned before staying in the same position makes the discomfort and pain worse, causing that vicious cycle, leading to a sleepless night. This was not the case this weekend, mainly because it was so cold!!! I didn’t have chance to sleep solidly, tossing and turning, curling up to try and keep warm made that almost impossible. Not sure if that”s a positive or a negative? Jury’s out on that one. The beer did help a little though…….

After a 7am start, we packed our tents up, prodded the hungover members of the club and got on our bikes and rode back to where we departed. After a well earned cup of tea, I commenced my 3 hour Sunday afternoon drive drive back home.

Sunday afternoon was the start of my next adventure. The following day my wife and I were flying to the United States. So no longer as I was home, I/we started the packing, washing, cleaning and holiday preparation that we all have to endure before a 2 week break away. I’m still not 100% sure why we do it, but I’m told I have to, so I do as I’m told. The flight from Heathrow to Dulles International is around 8 hours, but that’s just half the trip. As anyone who has flew from Heathrow will know that its a pain to get to. With the arduous trip there, the 3 hour “hang out” at the airport and the drive from the airport to my in-laws house, all in all it was a nice 16 hour trip. So this blog post has gone on enough, so you don’t need me to moan about how uncomfortable the plane journey was, how stuffy the underground was, or how much stupid people at airports annoy me. I might save that for another day.

I am now safely in America. For the next two weeks I get to relax and calm down after the previous 4 days. I’ll keep you posted on this next 2 weeks adventures. Until next time…