Friday is "Rally Day"

RAnd on the fifth day...

After four days on the road your 3 Beemer Amigos were ready for a relaxing day of tire kicking, embelished story telling, and prize winning at the 43rd Annual BMW Riders Association "Thrills in the Hills Rally" in Harrison, Arkansas.

But first we had to run the gauntlet of the hotel car park.

Posers and polishers

I was the first of our group to surface this morning so I grabed a coffee and headed outside. 

Sun's up, check. Sky's blue, check. Bike's still there, check. 

It's all good.

Oh, and did I mention that the car park is full of guys feverishly waxing and polishing their trusty steeds? 

Here's Ron, from Dallas, Texas. This is his 2nd R1150GS. His first one had over 200,000 MILES on the clock when it died.

Butch, from Arkansas, told me all about his 1966 R50/2.

It is 100% original (not restored), painted in German Army grey, and will turn over 11,000 miles today.

If you can't beat them...join them

So, I headed back to home base, only to find Ivan hard at work detailing his bike too. Now I feel like a bad owner.

There's nothing else for it but to roll up my sleeves and get to work.

It's not all "thrills in the hills"!

Once the wee window on the side of the engine was clean, eagle eyed Ivan noticed there was no sign of oil showing. Even I know this is not a good thing.

Funnily enough, when I was packing my tool kit (even if you're mechanically clueless it's a good idea to have one), I'd debated leaving a weird little plastic do-hicky at home. Luckily I brought it, which is a good thing as it turns out to be the thing you need to remove the plug so you can top up the oil. 

Some days, eh?

Here's me performing my first mechanical act. Marie-Anne rather drolly suggested that I should have been watching what I was doing rather than playing to the camera...but she knows even less about topping up oil than I do. I think she's just envious because I'm so photogenic!

Off to the rally

It made a pleasant change to shed our full biking gear and step up the sartorial elegance.

Ivan looked particularly sharp in his brand spanking new BMW Motorrad jacket.

And, even in repose, my Aerostitch was quite the conversation piece. 

Meanwhile, parked in an area that could have doubled as the start line for Paris-Dakkar, we came across two very familiar bikes:

And then we came across their owners, Ross and Jean Copas. 

Even the intrepid Jacques Day took a break today:

Pushing the boat out

Rallying is really hard work, and it's important to eat regular, nutritious meals.

Somewhere under all of the good stuff there was a real banana, honestly!

And the winner is...

After all these years (no need to specify exactly how many) I finally "broke my duck" and won a prize.

It's official, I am no longer the world's most unlucky ticket holder.

Well, admitedly, it's not the Lotto, but apparently it could be worth about US$500 'cos EPM sells really good (read "really expensive") stuff.

After the success of my oil top up today maybe I should change my own shocks. 

I mean, seriously, how hard can it be?

Hill Thrills

Tomorrow your 3 Beemer Amigos will be back in the saddle for a trip to the Ozarks. 

Everyone who was out riding today came back raving about the roads, the scenary, and the perfect weather. 

Please let the sun shine on Saturday.

Film at 11.