The assembly point for the run was at a holiday camp named (I do not make this up)"SANDY BALLS"(see picture) about an hour away from the beach at Bournemouth. Nearly 600 riders met for the MS fundraiser and were escorted by the local police(riding rice rockets) on a cruise through the West English countryside, traveling on small twisty country roads,driving on the wrong side, passing through picturesque villages, and eventually arriving at the seaside in Bournemouth. All along the route, conflicting traffic was shut off by the advance police units until the herd passed by. Great crowds of spectators turned out all along the way to wave encouragement, and once in Bournemouth the bikes streamed into the public square by the beach to the cranked up strains of Thin Lizzie's "THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN". Thousands of locals joined in the fun including the mayor who arrived in full regalia in a Rolls Royce to welcome the bikers and kick the party off. If you think England's all damp and cold, think again. On this day it was 80 degrees, palm trees(really!!!), blue skies, babes, cold beer, and buffalo wings at "Rick's American Surf Bar" overlooking the ocean.
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