On Wednesday Matt decided a club ride out would be in order for the next day. He circulated an email including a route map and destination. Never have we experienced this level of organisation in the annals of encmcc mid week rides. I was a little concerned that this was raising the bar too high and I wouldn't be able to do this when I lead a ride.
Thursday came and five of us gathered at Matts were we learned we were now going to an entirely different destination. So things were back to normal on the organisational front. It was only later that we learnt that naively Trevor believing the circulated instructions but unable to make the start time, spent a pleasant morning at the original destination as the sole motorcyclist present mixing with a large group of cyclists.
Meanwhile Matt explained our new destination was to be The OK Diner on A1 near Stamford. Today a meeting of Real Classic magazine readers was to take place at the OK Diner. This was to be one of several meetings around the country taking place throughout the year and was also to be a competition were you collect points by attending. What do points mean? I haven't got a clue. A further highlight was that Frank Westworth the hairy editor was going to be in attendance to bless those present.
We had a lovely ride in warm sunshine through some beautiful countryside gradually winding our way towards our destination. All went well until almost at our destination we discovered we were lost or rather the OK Diner was lost as it wasn't were it was supposed to be. After a pause and a bit of guesswork we found the back entrance of the cafe which was located on the A1 going North from Stamford.
About twenty bikes were there but it seems most people were inside the cafe.
The OK Diner turned out to be based on some ones idea of an American style diner. It was a long narrow building in the style of a railway carriage with various items of Americana decorating the walls. The shape of the place prevented people forming into a cohesive group and wasn't really an ideal venue for this reason.
The food was a bit on the expensive side of normal so dissapointed that no pasties were available most of us opted for one of the cheaper items, a sandwich made with egg sausage and hash browns, which came adorned with two small US flags in case you hadn't realised it was an American theme. Tea and coffee were extra but imagine Rods delight when he found out you got free coffee refills.
Outside again it was apparent that the hairy RC editor hadn't turned up. It later transpired that his Norton Rotary had expired with real classic style electrical problems.
We spent a little while looking at the assembled bikes with those new retro classic Triumph Bonnevilles predominating amid a few older machines.
We headed back after Mark took advantage of the garage next door to the cafe. This garage actually had no queue for either pasties or fuel despite the governments best attempts to create panic about fuel shortages. However it was very expensive in line with the tax mans policy of bleeding us dry..
We headed back home as a group only separating off as we got near home.
We had a nice time and thanks to Matt from us all with the possible exception of Trev, for leading a nice warm sunny run for a change.
See photos in gallery two of the website.
Thursday came and five of us gathered at Matts were we learned we were now going to an entirely different destination. So things were back to normal on the organisational front. It was only later that we learnt that naively Trevor believing the circulated instructions but unable to make the start time, spent a pleasant morning at the original destination as the sole motorcyclist present mixing with a large group of cyclists.
Meanwhile Matt explained our new destination was to be The OK Diner on A1 near Stamford. Today a meeting of Real Classic magazine readers was to take place at the OK Diner. This was to be one of several meetings around the country taking place throughout the year and was also to be a competition were you collect points by attending. What do points mean? I haven't got a clue. A further highlight was that Frank Westworth the hairy editor was going to be in attendance to bless those present.
We had a lovely ride in warm sunshine through some beautiful countryside gradually winding our way towards our destination. All went well until almost at our destination we discovered we were lost or rather the OK Diner was lost as it wasn't were it was supposed to be. After a pause and a bit of guesswork we found the back entrance of the cafe which was located on the A1 going North from Stamford.
About twenty bikes were there but it seems most people were inside the cafe.
The OK Diner turned out to be based on some ones idea of an American style diner. It was a long narrow building in the style of a railway carriage with various items of Americana decorating the walls. The shape of the place prevented people forming into a cohesive group and wasn't really an ideal venue for this reason.
The food was a bit on the expensive side of normal so dissapointed that no pasties were available most of us opted for one of the cheaper items, a sandwich made with egg sausage and hash browns, which came adorned with two small US flags in case you hadn't realised it was an American theme. Tea and coffee were extra but imagine Rods delight when he found out you got free coffee refills.
Outside again it was apparent that the hairy RC editor hadn't turned up. It later transpired that his Norton Rotary had expired with real classic style electrical problems.
We spent a little while looking at the assembled bikes with those new retro classic Triumph Bonnevilles predominating amid a few older machines.
We headed back after Mark took advantage of the garage next door to the cafe. This garage actually had no queue for either pasties or fuel despite the governments best attempts to create panic about fuel shortages. However it was very expensive in line with the tax mans policy of bleeding us dry..
We headed back home as a group only separating off as we got near home.
We had a nice time and thanks to Matt from us all with the possible exception of Trev, for leading a nice warm sunny run for a change.
See photos in gallery two of the website.
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