| International Jampot
Rally Ruczewo Poland,2008 |
 Bulb
Fields in Holland |
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 One of my cherished beliefs is that to travel hopefully is better than
to arrive as the expectation of an event is often much better than the much
anticipated event itself.
I suppose that there is an exception to every rule and I can confidently
state that the 26th International Jampot Rally in Puck, Poland was it!
Hotel Jan III Sobieski
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| Without going into vast amounts of detail I feel that some background is
relevant at this point. Two years ago (really) on the way back from the 24th IJR
in Denekamp in the Netherlands I was made aware that I was burning oil so I
sourced 40" thou oversize pistons and got a rebore and reassembled the G11.
I had only done 200+ miles when the 25th IJR in Germany rolled round.
During the Big Run round the Neckar valley while 2 up I did work the engine a
bit harder and on an already hot day I must have inadvertently nipped the engine
up and damaged the pistons and bores. So there I was smoking again, I then
spent most of the year honing, stripping down, rebuilds etc. until I accepted
the inevitable and had the bores re-sleeved back to standard with new old
stock (NOS) pistons etc and started all over again. If my life was at all
simple that would have been the end of my troubles but alas it was not to be.
After 150miles of ultra careful running in I blew both head gaskets within 5miles of
each other when 3miles from the nearest town and to fill my cup with joy
overflowing, my mobile had a flat battery! I was saved by a
classic bike admirer who stopped to talk and from whom I was able to
cadge a phone call, God Bless all Classic Bike admirers and that kind
gentleman in particular. What next - new gaskets on order - of
course, but ever impatient I fitted solid copper gaskets (already
rejected for some forgotten reason) I had hanging up on the garage wall.
The copper was well annealed and fitted - so problems over? well not
really as oil was pouring out everywhere( I now remember why they were
rejected previously, funny that). So, (I swear that now I only have to whistle and the heads jump off
as I have done this so often), back to fitting new club gaskets. There I am three weeks to the
rally running in new gaskets on short local runs of 20 or so miles so as
not to overheat and re-torquing the head after every run (boy does it move
ever so much) I really don't need this kind of stress. With 150 trouble
free miles I was able to look forward to the rally with a little confidence.
By the way the head nuts stopped moving after about 120 miles.
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My wife has been very supportive, all things
considered, but when it comes to going to going to a rally I often think that I
should unscrew the kitchen cupboards as well as taking the sink. This of course
is a pathetic attempt to shift blame and responsibility and justify loading the
G11 and my ever faithful B40 in the van along with enough tools to strip and
rebuild an aircraft carrier.
We took a meandering route through the Northern Netherlands and Germany with
nice campsites at Groenigen, Bremen and Wesengerg. When we travelled through the
old G.D.R. it was noticeable that things were not quite the same standard of
infrastructure as West Germany. The first impression of Poland is not so
good as
a very poor surfaced stretch of motorway leads from the border and is so rough
it could remove the fillings from your
teeth. I have to say that the scenery was very nice with the remarkable sight of
a deer
grazing by the roadside, however the standard of driving witnessed on that first
day was a bit of a culture shock e.g. being double overtaken on a blind bend.
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 Despite our worst fears about
the weather, well it was early May and can still be very cold, the weather was
absolutely glorious with not a cloud in the sky. Our first night in Poland
was at a campsite in a small resort called Rewal. Apart from
poorly cut thin and patchy grass the facilities were clean and the staff
although a bit casual were very friendly and had the great virtue of being quite cheap. We
travelled on to Ustka through some very scenic places Kolobrzeg and
Darlowo which had beautiful buildings and castles, however we did not have a lot
of time so we could not actually visit the sights. It is always a real
problem: do you scream through on fast roads and see nothing of the countryside
but have time at your destination or travel gently and enjoy life as it goes
by, Helen and I try to do both and it isn't really possible (sigh). |
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| At Ustka we found a good campsite clean & tidy and also open - early May is
out of season here and many places were still not open. Although the
site manager was surprised (she actually thought we were out of our minds) that
anyone would want to camp as it was still very cold at night.
Accommodation was no problem as we were the only campers on site and there were
plenty of pitches which meant in effect we had private shower facilities.
Unfortunately Dennis & Jan had mechanical problems with their van and had gone
direct to Puck and the other group the two Bills and Alf, aka team Curry
had also gone on straight to Puck. All I can say is that they did miss
out. Ustka was very nice with a coastal prom, beach and a bit of night
life, and I expect in season it might be very lively.
But, wait for it - I got the Bikes out, the
B40 I took for a spin round the town to find a supermarket and fetch
some supplies. This taste of the open road with a classic bike
just had to be indulged.
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| The state of the roads in Poland in this area was very variable
with some back
roads and lanes laid with 6ft by 20ft blocks of concrete which over time
have moved with respect to each other leaving 6-8" ridges and drops which give a
real bone jarring ride. Others have had tarmac scattered in apparently random
patterns, but the ones marked in yellow on my Michelin map were very good for the
most part however, as is the case even in the UK vigilance and care are always required. |
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| Now getting back to Ustka I decided to take the Matchless G11 and ride the
last 100 or so miles on a 'bike of the make' to the Rally site. I could
not have asked for a nicer day, the sun was shining and I was unencumbered by
four wheels. Ok, so its not really real rallying as Helen was
following in my own personal back up van. I say if its good enough for Ewan Mcgregor to travel like this its certainly good enough for me.
When travelling in the van there was two of us and a SatNav but, even so wrong turns were not
totally unknown. Now along with many others I have reached an age where I
cannot read maps etc without glasses so consulting a map would require a stop
and much faffing about. Instead I prefer to have a list of all the places
marked on the map transferred onto a a sheet of paper in large lettering and
placed in the tank bag. Well that's sorted then what could go wrong? you
ask. At the very first town
I encountered, Slupsh, I took a wrong
turning as none of the places shown on the signs match any of the places on my
tank bag! However on missing my turn I knew the road was going in the
wrong direction whereupon I U-turned and met up with the backup van at a roundabout,
re-oriented myself and we could now proceed onwards. The G11 was running well and
speeds of 45-55 mph were possible and achieved for very long stretches.
The road surface was generally very good but always ready to punish the unwary,
so no getting bored there then. |
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Passing through a lush mixture of massive fields cultivated to the horizon
with various crops including a lot of oil seed rape. alternating with light and
airy forest and occasional stretches of lake in all a delight to drive in the
warm spring sunshine. Quite spectacular were the stretches with water on both
sides with the Baltic on one side and massive lakes on the other.
The villages I passed through were never as neat and prosperous looking as the
other countries we passed through but generally did the appearance of being
cared for and on the way up. It was a bit disconcerting at first going
through these sleepy looking villages in the bright sunshine as almost everyone
stopped and watched as I drove through. I did check that I was OK and not
(please God not again) laying down a smoke screen. Well I expect that 50 year
old Matchlesses with fluorescent clad drivers are not a common sight. Eventually
all good things must end and I reached Puck - without my own personal back up
van. After waiting around for 15 minutes I gave up and asked for
directions at a Petrol station when on the second try a very nice chap gave me
simple but accurate directions and then I had finally arrived at the 26th IJR.
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Chris & Anna Rotta who organised the event have set a standard for
International rallies which I think will be very hard to equal let alone beat.
Where shall I start? The Kashubian brass band playing as we registered was
a really nice touch, the second was the castle (Jan Sobieski III hotel) a
splendidly restored historical building it had a wonderful menu at very
reasonable cost; prices which in the dear old UK would scarcely buy a pub lunch.
 The rituals of Rallying were scrupulously followed; the meeting of old
friends, catching up on who is missing and why, marvelling at those who had
travelled there on AMC machines - respect as - they say. The site had a
high degree of security, on arrival we were met with a paramilitary guard who
ensured only genuine rally goers gained admission. Then all the bikes were
parked in a secured area, constantly monitored. These measures were
gradually relaxed as the weekend progressed as no trouble was either experienced
or even hinted at.
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On the Saturday we boarded busses and were taken on a tour of Oliwa Cathederal
which included a brief organ recital from an organ built in 1793 which
was very impressive. A pleasant break in the sunshine complete with
sandwiches and refreshment before we were back on the coach to Gdansk. In
Gdansk and on the coach we had a guide who gave us as much information as you
could possibly want and a comprehensive tour of the old city. Then on to a
private motor transport museum with a nice display of motorcycles featuring
examples of some very rare and well restored machines. Then we were
again fed this time with Bigos a cabbage and sausage soup - a delicious
speciality of Poland and far better tasting than I can make it sound. In
the evening there was the Gala dinner and dance, I should mention that the Hotel
staff were struggling as the rally attendance was more that anticipated but, at
all times the staff did there best not to disappoint.
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 After that we come to the best bit - the big ride out. Chris had planned for
three groups but due to the numbers attending this was increased to four groups.
The Polish police have strict rules about about groups of motorcycles and all
groups larger than 10 require police permission and escort. Well didn't
they do well? we were escorted through main road junctions with all other
traffic held up to let us pass. We had our own group leaders & tail
gunners looking after us and not unsurprisingly everything went well and the
run went very smoothly. We had a stop by one of the lakes where we were
able to enjoy a museum of Kasubian life where we were fed BBQ'ed sausage, home
made bread and dripping with a brass band playing and a children's choir singing
folk songs all in the roasting sunshine.
After this very pleasant interval we moved on to a sightseeing tower which
gave a magnificent views over the countryside for miles or so I imagine as I
decided my feet were feeling to sore to make the climb in my boots. Then
further travelling trough the Polish countryside to the final stop at a
restaurant offering traditional Kasubian dishes where again we were treated to
the traditional brass band and had thick split pea soup with sausage.
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| I don't know how we could move let alone drive our motorbikes, but move we
did through a landscape of hills, forest, cultivated fields and great reed
fringed lakes. The driving experience was great but you need to have done
it to know what it was like as I cannot really begin to describe it. The
traditional fun & games were original and witty with a test of skill - hammering
a nail in a log. One of skill with a rope pulley on wobbly boards and
cross dressing paper cutting (no I am not kidding). |
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