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| Big Cheese Rally 2003 by Don Cutts |
| Ottawa Section CVMG |
The Rally in Crysler, Ontario organized by the Ottawa Chapter of the CVMG from July 4th to July 6th didn't
come about after problems were encountered with the insurance company for the township of Crysler.
Thanks to the owner of the St. Albert cheese factory down the road offering his fifteen acres of land to the
CVMG, the Rally took place in St. Albert. This is Big Cheese Country, by golly and they speak Cheese in
these parts. There are no mice on welfare in this county. Cheese sales hit an all time high on Saturday.
Vintage motorcycle specialist Barry Brown was caught staggering out of a cheese outlet with so many curds
that he was unable to mount his 1911 Humber V-twin but a kindly Triumph rider came to his aid and strained
his own suspension carrying the curds back to the field.
Tim Bryans, Glen MacIntosh, Earl Walsh, Avery Frail and Jeff Devries and others get special thanks for the
Herculean effort involved in putting this all together and doing the physical work required. The workers were
aided by a handful of volunteers such as Brian Given, donating their time. James Berndt trucked in large
tarpaulins to act as shelter and over a ton and a half of his motorcycle collection. Captain Ernie Olivo, leader
of the Old Bastards Section who rode in from Delta, stood duty at the gate and yet there were still some
slippery eels who managed to glide through without paying. Bob Guzzo, also instrumental in the early
arrangements, could not be present as he had a motorcycle accident on the way to Italian Day in early June.
Speeding Ferraris figure largely at this event. On the way there, Bob was daydreaming that he was driving a
Ferrari but alas, it was only his Moto-Morini and he went down.
Groups of riders came and went from time to time. For some, half the fun was riding there in the full bloom of
summer. There were incidents on the road, of course, in keeping with tradition. One group of daredevils led
by Jim Hunter from Osgoode had an unplanned stop at one point when BSA rider Earl Walsh made a side trip
off a curve in the road after hitting a patch of gravel. Happily, only his leather jacket was torn and he bruised
but not enough to make him quit. The BSA suffered a bent footpeg and some minor scrapes. Earl is an
aeroplane flier of some repute and well known for his daredevil tactics but there are few men who have
followed Jim Hunter into a fast curve and come out unscathed. On a more realistic note, Earl had worked like
a dog the whole day before at the rally and was long overdue for a rest. Beezer Doug Smith narrowly avoided
the dustup by a whisker. Michel Vigneault’s immaculate 1957 Army Triumph 500 TRW suffered a decided
loss of power on the run as a cylinder head stud became loosened down in the crankcase.
Our group had a spirited ride from Ottawa led by the feisty Frank Tetzlaff on a Suzuki Water Buffalo. This trip
was enough to finish off the Suzuki and it was unable to go out the next day. This is a problem that is coming
to the fore lately – the fact that at twenty five years of age, the Japanese machines are showing their age.
Many crucial parts are no longer in production or cost more than the machine. Brian Given with new
automatic advance mechanism and fibre gear installed on his Velocette at Friday midnight, discovered a
nasty flat spot in the carburetion as he was passing a car and was fortunate to get back into his own lane in
time.
The Shiny Bob Twins had their own setback when Shiny Bob's 1974 Police Harley coughed up a spark plug
from the rear cylinder even before they left town. Super Shiny Bob, 1975 Triumph Trident mounted, had no
problems as usual. A CAA truck was soon dispatched and the Harley carted home. Shiny Bob then hopped
on his BSA Thunderbolt and the bunch went on their way once again. The Shiny Bobs are noted for their
pristine machines and prodigious supply of polishing hankies. If they walk by your machine one day, you'll
see a lightning quick flash of white from the pocket hankies and bingo, there's no more dust!
A band of cool looking customers pulled into the grounds at one point, mounted on very throaty and brightly
painted Harley Davidson's. They let anyone within earshot understand that they could afford the fee after
appearing surprised that there was indeed a fee. These boys were even cooler than our own Harley dude,
Tim Conway, because they were sporting black leather skull caps. They paid their money and went in but
soon left muttering about the absence of Harley entrants. They should have been impressed by the red 1948
Indian Chief, completely restored and with locally hand tooled leather, bejeweled fender skirts. Tim, a
crackerjack investigator known as ‘The Warden’ in the insurance industry, should have looked their machines
over. He’s put more than a few away behind bars for theft and fraud. There was even a rumour going around
that two of our very own CVMG members had made a fuss about coughing up a few dollars!
The motorcycles on display ranged on up from Barry's original 1911 Humber that had spent most of its life in
the Ford Museum and had last been licensed in 1913. It was only lacking the acetylene lighting equipment. A
Humber had won the 1911 Isle of Mann T.T. under Percy Evans. Barry's machine still had the original bone
handgrips and grease hole clamps and leather tool bags. There was a 1946 BSA B31 sitting near Glen
MacIntosh's 1955 BMW R25 single. Glen only lately succeeded in persuading the owner to part with it. It had
been suspended in the rafters of a barn for some years and Glen was forced to buy a seventies Triumph
along with it in order to clinch the deal. Glen also had his black BMW 500. A 1961 AJS 18CS competition
machine and a 1960 Matchless G80 CS were on display, courtesy of Mike Pottier from Sudbury. John Allport
brought his newly rebuilt blue 1939 OK Supreme GTS 350, a real race bike that came with 15:1 compression
and was raced in Ontario for some time. John is only the second owner, the first being Walter Scott, who
raced the bike up until 1952. James Berndt’s sparkling Ducati 860 was a standout. Brian Given’s 1967
Velocette and Doug Smith’s 1959 Golden Flash were in the lineup. A fifties’ Royal Enfield Bullet appeared on
the lineup. Greg Kricorissian rode in on his gleaming Enfield Interceptor. Ariel was also represented. Thirty
seven machines were on official display and more were just parked around the field. Prizes were awarded for
a variety of accomplishments and machines and Cheese Factory certificates were a big hit.
There was a steady business going on down at the Casse-Croute, the tiny restaurant where the women
behind the counter got a real hoot out of some of our antics. We believe that the town got a financial boost
from the rally. Our wilder members were on their best behaviour and there were no fights or drag races down
Main Street. Back in Crysler, Ernie’s restaurant did a roaring business and the gas station was pumping fuel
to beat the band as rallyists toured the countryside. Frank Forgues, one of the principals of the cheese
factory, helped out immensely with the bull work at the rally. Rejean Ouimet, the general manager, was quite
pleased with the orderly way things turned out.
They would like us to join in at the Curd Festival to be held on August 15th through 18th. Please see www.
fromage st-albert. This is rather good news for all.
Jim Hunter’s Annual Barbeque will be held on August 9th, in Osgoode.
CVMG members are invited to show their motorcycles at the Cobden Fair on August 19th.
Don Cutts.
come about after problems were encountered with the insurance company for the township of Crysler.
Thanks to the owner of the St. Albert cheese factory down the road offering his fifteen acres of land to the
CVMG, the Rally took place in St. Albert. This is Big Cheese Country, by golly and they speak Cheese in
these parts. There are no mice on welfare in this county. Cheese sales hit an all time high on Saturday.
Vintage motorcycle specialist Barry Brown was caught staggering out of a cheese outlet with so many curds
that he was unable to mount his 1911 Humber V-twin but a kindly Triumph rider came to his aid and strained
his own suspension carrying the curds back to the field.
Tim Bryans, Glen MacIntosh, Earl Walsh, Avery Frail and Jeff Devries and others get special thanks for the
Herculean effort involved in putting this all together and doing the physical work required. The workers were
aided by a handful of volunteers such as Brian Given, donating their time. James Berndt trucked in large
tarpaulins to act as shelter and over a ton and a half of his motorcycle collection. Captain Ernie Olivo, leader
of the Old Bastards Section who rode in from Delta, stood duty at the gate and yet there were still some
slippery eels who managed to glide through without paying. Bob Guzzo, also instrumental in the early
arrangements, could not be present as he had a motorcycle accident on the way to Italian Day in early June.
Speeding Ferraris figure largely at this event. On the way there, Bob was daydreaming that he was driving a
Ferrari but alas, it was only his Moto-Morini and he went down.
Groups of riders came and went from time to time. For some, half the fun was riding there in the full bloom of
summer. There were incidents on the road, of course, in keeping with tradition. One group of daredevils led
by Jim Hunter from Osgoode had an unplanned stop at one point when BSA rider Earl Walsh made a side trip
off a curve in the road after hitting a patch of gravel. Happily, only his leather jacket was torn and he bruised
but not enough to make him quit. The BSA suffered a bent footpeg and some minor scrapes. Earl is an
aeroplane flier of some repute and well known for his daredevil tactics but there are few men who have
followed Jim Hunter into a fast curve and come out unscathed. On a more realistic note, Earl had worked like
a dog the whole day before at the rally and was long overdue for a rest. Beezer Doug Smith narrowly avoided
the dustup by a whisker. Michel Vigneault’s immaculate 1957 Army Triumph 500 TRW suffered a decided
loss of power on the run as a cylinder head stud became loosened down in the crankcase.
Our group had a spirited ride from Ottawa led by the feisty Frank Tetzlaff on a Suzuki Water Buffalo. This trip
was enough to finish off the Suzuki and it was unable to go out the next day. This is a problem that is coming
to the fore lately – the fact that at twenty five years of age, the Japanese machines are showing their age.
Many crucial parts are no longer in production or cost more than the machine. Brian Given with new
automatic advance mechanism and fibre gear installed on his Velocette at Friday midnight, discovered a
nasty flat spot in the carburetion as he was passing a car and was fortunate to get back into his own lane in
time.
The Shiny Bob Twins had their own setback when Shiny Bob's 1974 Police Harley coughed up a spark plug
from the rear cylinder even before they left town. Super Shiny Bob, 1975 Triumph Trident mounted, had no
problems as usual. A CAA truck was soon dispatched and the Harley carted home. Shiny Bob then hopped
on his BSA Thunderbolt and the bunch went on their way once again. The Shiny Bobs are noted for their
pristine machines and prodigious supply of polishing hankies. If they walk by your machine one day, you'll
see a lightning quick flash of white from the pocket hankies and bingo, there's no more dust!
A band of cool looking customers pulled into the grounds at one point, mounted on very throaty and brightly
painted Harley Davidson's. They let anyone within earshot understand that they could afford the fee after
appearing surprised that there was indeed a fee. These boys were even cooler than our own Harley dude,
Tim Conway, because they were sporting black leather skull caps. They paid their money and went in but
soon left muttering about the absence of Harley entrants. They should have been impressed by the red 1948
Indian Chief, completely restored and with locally hand tooled leather, bejeweled fender skirts. Tim, a
crackerjack investigator known as ‘The Warden’ in the insurance industry, should have looked their machines
over. He’s put more than a few away behind bars for theft and fraud. There was even a rumour going around
that two of our very own CVMG members had made a fuss about coughing up a few dollars!
The motorcycles on display ranged on up from Barry's original 1911 Humber that had spent most of its life in
the Ford Museum and had last been licensed in 1913. It was only lacking the acetylene lighting equipment. A
Humber had won the 1911 Isle of Mann T.T. under Percy Evans. Barry's machine still had the original bone
handgrips and grease hole clamps and leather tool bags. There was a 1946 BSA B31 sitting near Glen
MacIntosh's 1955 BMW R25 single. Glen only lately succeeded in persuading the owner to part with it. It had
been suspended in the rafters of a barn for some years and Glen was forced to buy a seventies Triumph
along with it in order to clinch the deal. Glen also had his black BMW 500. A 1961 AJS 18CS competition
machine and a 1960 Matchless G80 CS were on display, courtesy of Mike Pottier from Sudbury. John Allport
brought his newly rebuilt blue 1939 OK Supreme GTS 350, a real race bike that came with 15:1 compression
and was raced in Ontario for some time. John is only the second owner, the first being Walter Scott, who
raced the bike up until 1952. James Berndt’s sparkling Ducati 860 was a standout. Brian Given’s 1967
Velocette and Doug Smith’s 1959 Golden Flash were in the lineup. A fifties’ Royal Enfield Bullet appeared on
the lineup. Greg Kricorissian rode in on his gleaming Enfield Interceptor. Ariel was also represented. Thirty
seven machines were on official display and more were just parked around the field. Prizes were awarded for
a variety of accomplishments and machines and Cheese Factory certificates were a big hit.
There was a steady business going on down at the Casse-Croute, the tiny restaurant where the women
behind the counter got a real hoot out of some of our antics. We believe that the town got a financial boost
from the rally. Our wilder members were on their best behaviour and there were no fights or drag races down
Main Street. Back in Crysler, Ernie’s restaurant did a roaring business and the gas station was pumping fuel
to beat the band as rallyists toured the countryside. Frank Forgues, one of the principals of the cheese
factory, helped out immensely with the bull work at the rally. Rejean Ouimet, the general manager, was quite
pleased with the orderly way things turned out.
They would like us to join in at the Curd Festival to be held on August 15th through 18th. Please see www.
fromage st-albert. This is rather good news for all.
Jim Hunter’s Annual Barbeque will be held on August 9th, in Osgoode.
CVMG members are invited to show their motorcycles at the Cobden Fair on August 19th.
Don Cutts.