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Dear All,
The latest trend at our branch has
juxtaposed the phrase 'better red than dead'. Not so long ago
rides out used to consist of my Bonnie and a procession of red
Hinckleys, but it was noticeable on our run to Bettws yn Rhos
that blue is the new red, with only Frank and Bill not on trend.
Pete was back on form with a route comprising a succession of
narrow lanes culminating in a scary switchback ride down a 1 in
9 mountain ledge before thankfully the pub appeared.
Peter describes himself as 'runs dis-organiser' and lived up to
his reputation with his arrangements for the North Wales meet
which saw some people at Two Mills and some at St. David's with
Peter shuttling between the two and Philthy Phil, according to
angry postings on our forum, lurking at the wrong end of Two Mills
and eventually going home after meeting nobody. There were no
takers for Phil's trip to the Bol d'Or, but he went anyway and
had a good time. Same with Paul's MAG rallies. Paul Ashes has
said he might become rally secretary next year so I hope he gets
a bit more support than these fellas.
More fashion news -Stormin' the Castle is the new Elefant! Only
the bravest of the brave tackled this rally, with three out of
four Elefantmen thinking up excuses when they saw the weather
forecast. Jackie and myself rode up there with a motley bunch
of Jap-mounted riders, including Mike on a Yam and ex-chairman
Cliff, now reduced to riding a Bandit. Arriving soaked to the
skin, we struggled to erect the tent in what I believe was the
tail end of Hurricane Gustaf, filled it up with muddy gear and
damp sleeping bags breaking one of the poles in the process .
Even inside the marquees the ground was a quagmire - at one stage
Cliff found himself covered in mud from head to foot after a leaping
loon landed in the puddle next to him. Turning to chastise the
culprit, he was shocked to see a petite but potty lady disappearing
into the crowd. After an interminable time listening to Think
Floyd we moved to the main tent and saw Limehouse Lizzy, then
had a hog roast stottie and retired for a fitful night of soaking
wet sleep.
Lying in our collapsed tent listening to the hurricane ravaging
the site next morning didn't inspire an early start and it was
nearly midday by the time we staggered over to Holy Joe's for
a cuppa. The guys were getting ready to close and told us the
site had been declared unfit for purpose by the medics, who had
then disappeared leaving the committee no option but to close
the rally. Everyone was subdued at not being able to see the Levellers
but well done to the organisers for doing their best and the marshals
for helping get our bikes off the site - the Dunkirk spirit was
evident and I even shoved a plastic out the mudbath myself when
it sank right in front of me. There are some snaps on the website.
John tells me that four folk attended Peter's marathon ride to
Kinder Lodge, arriving just before closing time after Pete brought
a new small scale map with him and promptly got completely lost.
He'd borrowed a Bonnie off Woods (who are still trying to fix
his 955) and didn't like to sellotape the map to its tank, so
there were also numerous stops to check where they were, but he
was able to boast later that they had never had to turn back so
he must have gone the right way.
Frank and Ken have come up with a couple of ideas for the branch
to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Bonneville next year (in
addition to going to Gaydon); double trophy points for Bonnie
riders on runs out (I'll second that) and all the folk with a
dead Bonnie at the back of the garage to get the thing back on
the road next year or be named and shamed in the branch report.
You have been warned.
Dave Pearson
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It
is good to have Dave back as club scribe with his usual
monthly jibes at one or more of our stalwart crew.
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