Antler Rally

1975

Myself and a mate had a weeks holiday prior to the rally. I was on a Triumph 500 Daytona and he was on a Norton Commando. We had a good holiday riding to the top of Scotland and then arrived at the rally on Friday.

                   

- John

From then on, it went downhill rapidly on the Friday evening.

Late on (about 11.00pm) whilst messing around on the car park next to the village hall, I only went and broke my right leg in two places. (NO Tommy Cooper jokes please!)

Unfortunately, no was willing to drive along that road to Fort William hospital at that time of the night and so I had to sleep in my tent.

Next morning, I was taken to the district nurse's house where she put my leg in a splint and arranged for an ambulance to meet us at the doctors house in Strontian. She also asked the van driver if he wouldn't mind taking a local girl in the van to meet the ambulance. She had been suffering from epileptic fits and needed to go to Inverness hospital for treatment. I was put on an airbed in the back of a van and the girl sat in the front passenger seat with a couple of mates on board as well.

Anyway, a few miles out of Kilchoan, where there is a downhill section with a steep drop to the right, the girl had another epileptic fit and grabbed the steering wheel. After much panic (and terrified screaming from all the occupants!) the driver regained control of the van.

No further problems were encountered and I was dropped off at Fort William hospital and the ambulance proceeded to Inverness with the girl (another 80 miles!).

I managed to get home by train from Inverness to Crewe the following Thursday. Friends managed to get the bike home as, luckily, one of the passengers was a qualified biker.

I still attend the Antler on a regular basis, but I can't remember much about the 1975 rally!

- John Scotcher