NOC Branche FranÃ?aise International Rally

Alright Hans,

I too was at the Int. rally and also the Austrian rally.

Despite the wet weather, I (and I think everyone else at the Austrian rally) had a fantastic time. Roland, Robert and Monica, members of the Austrian branch and their friends and family could not have done any more to make us welcome and comfortable. Thank you. If there is an Austrian rally next year I will be there.

I too had a good time at the Int. and thanks to everyone who made it what it was. One or two odd moments though.

1) On arrival receiving a blank, silent stare from an official at the rally reception despite my greeting of 'Bonsoir Monsieur', being approx. 9.00pm. I think it was Geoff Scales who welcomed me as soon as he got off the phone.

2) Trying to gain entry to the marquee at 10.15pm on Friday to socialise and enjoy a drink only to be told to come back at 11.00pm because food was still being served. I had opted for self catering.

Neither of these moments spoiled my rally, I found them quite amusing really.

I did hear reports from other members from several countries inc. the UK about things they were understandably not happy with. People have a right to complain when services fall short of expectations.

Had a great trip all in. 2,640 miles over two weeks. The Commando ran well. Only problems were exhaust roses coming loose, an alternator wire shorting to earth resulting in a flat battery and a broken battery strap. Problems easily fixed with a little help from my friends.

And losing your passport, you managed not to get locked up at Cherbourg then Simon?

One of our Shropshire brethren managed to loose his wallet, only to have it pointed out to him hooked over his brake pedal after having ridden 10 miles, money and cards intact. How lucky was that?

A mere detail, Dave. Seriously though, Brittany Ferries staff and French police at Cherbourg were very helpful as was U.K immigration over the 'phone and at Poole.

Pas de probleme! Can't wait to do it all again, just take better care of my documents next time.

Have we identified Friday evening's root vegetable yet ?

Many carnivores don't seem to realise the offal (intestines, organs, brain, lips, eyes, ears, nose and throat etc) of an animal is the more nutritious part. Just dosen't look (or sound) that appetising served whole.

You know what you're getting, most of the time, with veg- and the occasional fish. The whole trout at the Forellenhof, Laussa was great. Frisch Fisch schmeckt gut! Enjoy your sausages.

Thanks Chris, I was struggling with the plant ID. It must've lost something in the embalming process. The meat was listed on the menu - it was either duck or brought to the site in an aircraft with a tailplane at the front...

I recognised the andouillette for what it was. I think they were probably testing us. Definitely an acquired taste.

It's a shame that full participation in the rally was dependent upon such a challenging culinary experience.

Rather a belated comment, as I have only just returned to Spain. In my opinion, anyone who feels the French rally to be "something to aspire to" has very low aspirations. The food was extremely expensive, and equally as poor. On two occasions, "breakfast" consisted of 1 small bread roll, black coffee or tea ( My wife was told "We don't have milk").

On the Monday morning breakfast was not served until 08.30 too late for anyone having to dash up to Dunkirk. All in, the rally cost 480 euros for my wife and myself (and she took no part in the event). The "runs" were chaotic. Riders, from different groups, got completely mixed up at the stops, and many just tagged along with whoever seemed to be going the right way (I, personally, had an interesting tour following a group who were lost!). Out of 10, Location 10, Organization 6, Value for money 4, Food 2.

Roll on the Begonia Rally, an event worthy of aspiration!

Previously Chris Grimmett wrote:

I have it on reasonable authority that it was salsify. Michel seemed quite definite about it. Our table was not sure where in the animal kingdom the meat came from. Suggestions included chicken, turkey and even goat but in the end we concluded it was duck.

I have also been researching andouillette and boudin, finding out all sorts of things I'd rather not know about the former.

Hello everyone, just got back from England and the 1000 bikes at Malory.

"Salsifis", which my Robert&Collins translates as "salsify" or "oyster-plant" (?) is a vegetable that looks like a carrot, but is white. It is widely available in France, has a distinctive taste, which I personally like, and is usually served boiled, then baked in gravy.

Andouillette is a tripe sausage. I personally don't like tripe, and so didn't have any. I did warn you about it Chris! Many people are fond of it in this country, where tripe dishes are common:" tripes à la mode de Caen", "tripoux d'Auvergne" are two popular examples. Funnily enough, after the rally, I went to visit a friend at Mont�limar, and guess what I got for dinner! I politely ate it, but still don't like it! I remember being served tripe and onion once in Lancashire, and managing to eat half of it! Didn't like it either...

Apart from "andouillette", there were also "merguez", a very popular North African spicy beef sausage, usually served with "couscous", and a pure pork sausage. That's what I had, and I loved it.

"Boudin" is black pudding, made with blood and fat, and little else, the rest being flavouring: onion, apple, chestnut... in this case, it was onion. It had been very freshly made, was quite fat, and could have done with frying to melt some of that fat. But I enjoyed a few slices at apÃ?ritif.

On the whole, I found the caterer did a pretty good job. But then I'm French, and used to this food. I'd like to point out that I'm not a member of the French branch, just an "overseas non-branch" NOC member, and not part of the organizing team, but I think they made a pretty good job of it all, despite some problems, unavoidable when you organize such a big rally and are not professionals. One problem was the language barrier, and I did try to help whenever I could.

You can't compare the 400 people attending and having dinner at the marquee with the Austrian rally, where about twenty people had dinner at the Forellenhof. An inn can hardly cater for 400 people!

See you next year in Germany.