MZ Riders Club

South of Scotland Section

Page updated : 27/12/2005

Site designed by Mike

Garrison Rally, Northern Ireland 2004

Aargh! They’ve bloody well been at it again! Why, oh why can’t people just leave things alone? My local watering hole has just replaced their excellent Murphy’s Stout  with it’s 'new and improved' quick-pouring cousin, and it’s bloody awful. But what makes me really mad is that I’m supposed to be grateful for the change. I’m supposed to be glad that I don’t have to wait for it to settle. It’s not a race. I don’t judge a pint on how quickly it can be poured for god’s sake.

Anyway, this new-fangled drink that I’m having foisted on me is all the product of the weasels in accounts and marketing. It’s not good enough to serve up something that has some taste and body, it has to be quick. The quicker it pours the more they can serve, and to hell with the taste. Stout-drinkers (stout drinkers?) up and down the land are to be seen crying into glasses of this synthetic p**s.

What am I going to do about it? Well, I’ve gone and booked ferry tickets for Northern Ireland at end of the month. I should be able to get a decent pint over there. If they tried this in Ireland you’d have riots and questions would be asked in Parliament, begorrah! So, I’m off to the MZ Garrison Rally (Isn’t this the most tenuous link you’ve ever come across?). Actually, I’ve been promising to go back over for one of the Irish events and here was the chance. Anyway, I booked over the internet and the trip from Troon to Belfast was fairly uneventful this year. I arrived in good fettle for the relatively short hop to Garrison. For this trip I had decided to travel on the little ETZ251 for a change, and once out of Belfast I got off the motorway and cruised through the countryside and the towns en-route. My, don’t things look different at 50mph instead of my usual cruising speed of 80mph on the Skorpion?

I was the first to arrive at the Lough Melvin Holiday Centre mid-afternoon on the Thursday, but was soon joined by a group from North Wales & Cheshire. The same crowd who were there last year and who were, truth be told, the ones who convinced me to make the effort to come to Garrison in the first place. I’m glad that I did. The site is a little peach and it is ideally set up for motorcycle rallies, with ample camping room and the offer of B&B as well. It serves tea and food all day long, and has a games room and a TV lounge area should the weather get a bit miserable.

The village of Garrison is quite small, boasting only a couple of shops and two pubs, and the only drawback I can think of is that they, like nearly every pub I’ve visited in Ireland, only serve Guinness and lager. I don't drink lager so was forced to drink lots of Guinness in an effort to blend in with the locals.

Over the course of the weekend the usual suspects appeared and set up camp. It was good to see some familiar faces from other trips. As they only have but the two events each year, this one in the north and Ballacolla in the south, each attracts the bulk of the Irish MZ riders, a good many of whom bring along their families.

As I was on holiday, eating, drinking and generally lazing about seemed to be the order of things. We did venture out for a trip to a local viewpoint on the Saturday, but mostly just sat around swapping tales and drinking endless cups of tea. I know, it sounds quite boring. Remember, though, that you’re on holiday. When else do you get time to relax?

All too soon it was time to head home. The little bike, mostly, behaved itself and I was surprised at how well it coped with the trip as it’s been a good few years since a wee two-stroke has transported me and a load of camping gear any sort of distance. The weather for the whole trip was, on the whole, ideal for motorcycling, although I did get caught in one torrential shower which had me scuttling for cover on the way over. It finally brightened up and the rest of the weekend proved to be warm and sunny. 

I’d happily recommend that you make the effort to attend Garrison at some point. I’m sure that you’ll enjoy it as much as I did this year. My thanks to John and his good lady Lorraine, as well as Big Jim and family for putting together a great little weekender.

However, I'm still not too sure about having been presented with the 'Garrison Golden Turkey' award. I didn't think that my little ETZ was that bad.