Bargains galore!

So we made it to the BMF show with only the most minor of issues, or so I thought, but I'll explain that later; first, we must discuss bargains :-)

Before we set off for the show, I described the BMF show as "TK Maxx for bikers" and, as usual, it wasn't wrong.  There were people barging past, people trying stuff on and then just dumping it where they found it - even people taking things off rails, finding they were the wrong size, and dumping them without trying them on, before moving on to the next item!  You'd have thought that biker courtesy should extend to shopping, also, wouldn't you?

Anyway, amongst all the mayhem, both myself and the lovely Jo managed to find Hein Gericke Devon II pants in our respective sizes for a measly £40 a pair (£109.99 new), and I coughed up £150 for a Hein Gericke Voyage GTX jacket (£450 new!) so I'd like to thank the friendly, helpful staff from Hein Gericke for their help and bargains, namely Chunk, from Welwyn branch, the unknown chap from Peterborough branch and the lovely young lady from Norwich branch who let us stash our stuff behind the counter to save me carrying it around, whilst braving the shopping maelstrom;  sorry I didn't get your names.

OK, so that's Hein Gericke sorted, thankfully the rest of the show was much more placid.  We took a leisurely stroll around, stopping randomly to look at interesting stalls, watch the "White Helmets" motorcycle display team, talk to the Royal British Legion Riders Branch members (membership form coming after pay day), stop for a chat with my friend, the awesome Paddy Tyson (national campaigns co-ordinator for MAG, advisor to the Ted Simon Foundation, editor of Overland Magazine and author of "The hunt for puerto del Faglioli") and of course, have a beer.  Somewhere amongst all this enjoyment, we also managed to find a lid, jacket and gloves for Jo, and a new pair of boots for me, all for less than £100!

The verdict?  After consultation with the weary Jo, she said she had enjoyed the day, overall, but the walking was getting a little tiring; so we set of for home.