MZ Riders Club

South of Scotland Section

Page updated : 27/12/2005

Site designed by Mike

Scottish Rally, Kilchoan 2004

 (by Keith)

My only previous experience of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula was when I had returned from Mull that way many years ago, and my only lasting memory was that it was very remote.  When the South of Scotland Section of the MZ Riders Club decided to hold their 2004 Rally at Kilchoan Carole instantly made a booking in the hotel and I booked in holidays for the Friday and Monday. This proved to be a blessing in disguise as I was working away from home and the long weekend provided a much-needed break.

As the time approached we finalised our plans. We would take the ETZ 251 in preference to the TS 250 as its more civilised engine is better suited to narrow winding roads where the continuous popping and banging of the TS on the overrun can be a bit tiring.  Choice of bike is really more a matter of the mood I am in at the time and I haven’t quite forgiven the TS for letting me down when the ignition coil failed recently.  It is not just that the coil failed but that it chose to do it 50 miles from home on one of the nicest days this spring. So it was that on the Friday morning we loaded up the ETZ and set off north on the A82 past Loch Lomond to Crianlarich and on to Tyndrum where, of course, we stopped at the Green Welly Shop for refreshment. As always the Green Welly was popular with bikers and we met up with some of our club members and a lot of other friendly travellers. The weather was good so we bought sandwiches and coffee and sat out in the sun to enjoy them.

The run up past Loch Lomond had been slow, but from Tyndrum on the traffic was much lighter and the journey more pleasant. After running out of petrol last year on the way to Applecross I was taking no chances this time and stopped at the petrol station after the Ballachulish Bridge. Then it was over on the Corran ferry and onward to Kilchoan. The journey was memorable for two things, the seemingly never-ending one-track road and taking a wrong turning when we saw a sign for the Mull ferry. It was the wrong ferry!  Fortunately we realised our mistake after about 7 miles and turned round, but it was worth the detour for the magnificent scenery.

The weekend was fantastic with a good turn out (I was told how many bikes but the drink addled my brain and I have forgotten) and wall to wall sunshine. It was nice to see a good turn out of two strokes (not that I am biased of course) including one rider from the Netherlands who came all that way on his ETZ250.

Naturally, we took the ETZ to the lighthouse just to say we had been to the furthest point west on the UK mainland and to look for whales, but none were to be seen. Perhaps the whales had been told it was an MZ rally and were keeping well away.  But for most of the weekend we just wandered about the countryside enjoying the views and watching the wildlife (seals and a buzzard mainly, although a few of our members might qualify as well). Of course we joined in the drinking, the raffle and still more drinking, but I won’t go into any detail about that.

It was a disappointment when Monday came round and it was time to pack up and head for home. This time we decided to take the alternative route round Moidart and along the A830 to Fort William. Again the scenery is breathtaking and we didn’t mind the one-track road being slow, especially when we had our first ever sighting, in the wild, of a Pine Martin. It was sat at the side of the road looking at us (probably marvelling at the quality of our steed) until we got a little closer and it took off into the undergrowth.

We made a food and fuel stop at Fort William, then battled into a strong head wind through Glencoe and over Rannoch Moor where we encountered the only rain of the weekend, a shower just as we approached Tyndrum. By the time we had eaten, in the Green Welly Shop again, the rain had stopped. The traffic down Loch Lomond side was ridiculously slow, but we finally made it home after a fantastic weekend.

Our thanks to all who contributed in the organising of the rally, raffle, etc, this is a definite must-do-again-next-year event.