Doug of VJMC fame volunteered to lead a midweek ride to F2 Motorcycles open day and BBQ in deepest Cambridgeshire.
It seems all went well and Matt has sent in a report of the rideout for us all to enjoy. Clearly concerned Matt has also sent in some further information about Andy and his famous sense of direction.
Well those who forecast we would have another drowning were I am pleased to say WRONG!.
The magnificent seven met up at Ansell's motorcycles at 10am although something quite unheard of our illustrious route finder Doug on his British ....yes BRITISH steed the Ariel actually didn't roar off at the strike of the hour as it seems he had indicated to Andy that the start was later than circulated, and as everybody knows just getting Andy out of bed before mid- afternoon is an achievement in itself. So the instant he arrived and we were off.
Doug led us on a glorious 57 mile route avoiding all but a couple of miles of main road and on arrival the BBQ's were already in full swing, several kind people even bringing extra beef burgers and sausages for the poor hard up pensioners of the East Northants Classic Bike Club to scoff........and boy did they go down well, in fact a certain person in addition to several burgers of his own managed to oblige the owner of spare king size burgers and ensured they did not go to waste. Our journey paled into insignificance when we met a chap that had ridden direct from Somerset and of course there was Frank Westworth who rode up from Bude in Cornwall yesterday........acceptable as he was riding home tonight. I reckon he must have a well-padded seat as he even found time to do a test ride on F2's 400cc twin exhaust single "Dash" - his verdict on return was the bike was pure "Crack" ( I will have to get a new dictionary).
After our break for food and drink the first of our number to depart was Andy on his Jubilee, please see separate message and photo's. Our numbers were further depleted for the return leg home as Lawrence ( also of Heart of Shires Fame) decided he was also going to have a test ride on the "Dash" and thus the Magnificent Seven became the "Famous Five", Doug, Rod, Trevor, Short Legs and myself. A quick discussion with Doug and off we sped on a slightly different return route arriving home around 3.30pm just catching the tail end of a couple of rain bursts but effectively still dry - Hurrah!
Our thanks certainly go to Doug for taking the day off work to lead this ride and I am pleased to say he was more than happy to do so and is even hinting and arranging another mid-week adventure when hopefully a few more of you will accompany us!
Matt.
PS: Where is Andy now?
From earlier report on today’s ride you will have noted that Andy Greenwood decided, having driven home from Hunstanton last night, that he would set off before everyone else as he knew the way back!
Those that know Andy’s sense of direction will understand that this caused a few raised eyebrows, firstly of course we had to ensure that he actually found the bike he had ridden to F2 on - believe me that took a bit of doing and then Doug and I carefully gave him directions and showed him maps until he was certain that he could find the main road which was only about four or five miles away. Further briefings and study of the map.......why Andy needed to stand on his head to rationalise Left and Right turns was beyond me …..anyway mounted on his own bike and with Lawrence positioned at the end of the driveway just in case, Andy was ready for the off - of course by now everyone at F2 motorcycles were waving him goodbye as if he was setting off for the five continents ride!
The serious part of this message is summed up by the title of the last photo. So folks if you come across him on your travels please return to a responsible member of either the East Northants Classic MCC or the VJMCC as we really do need him back in time for the Donnington Park event
Matt
PPS: Lawrence has written on his Hearts of Oak, AJS/Matchless Club website about todays run.
See it here: http://heartofengland.weebly.com/2015-hoe-happenings.html
See Matts photos on gallery 2 of this website.
It seems all went well and Matt has sent in a report of the rideout for us all to enjoy. Clearly concerned Matt has also sent in some further information about Andy and his famous sense of direction.
Well those who forecast we would have another drowning were I am pleased to say WRONG!.
The magnificent seven met up at Ansell's motorcycles at 10am although something quite unheard of our illustrious route finder Doug on his British ....yes BRITISH steed the Ariel actually didn't roar off at the strike of the hour as it seems he had indicated to Andy that the start was later than circulated, and as everybody knows just getting Andy out of bed before mid- afternoon is an achievement in itself. So the instant he arrived and we were off.
Doug led us on a glorious 57 mile route avoiding all but a couple of miles of main road and on arrival the BBQ's were already in full swing, several kind people even bringing extra beef burgers and sausages for the poor hard up pensioners of the East Northants Classic Bike Club to scoff........and boy did they go down well, in fact a certain person in addition to several burgers of his own managed to oblige the owner of spare king size burgers and ensured they did not go to waste. Our journey paled into insignificance when we met a chap that had ridden direct from Somerset and of course there was Frank Westworth who rode up from Bude in Cornwall yesterday........acceptable as he was riding home tonight. I reckon he must have a well-padded seat as he even found time to do a test ride on F2's 400cc twin exhaust single "Dash" - his verdict on return was the bike was pure "Crack" ( I will have to get a new dictionary).
After our break for food and drink the first of our number to depart was Andy on his Jubilee, please see separate message and photo's. Our numbers were further depleted for the return leg home as Lawrence ( also of Heart of Shires Fame) decided he was also going to have a test ride on the "Dash" and thus the Magnificent Seven became the "Famous Five", Doug, Rod, Trevor, Short Legs and myself. A quick discussion with Doug and off we sped on a slightly different return route arriving home around 3.30pm just catching the tail end of a couple of rain bursts but effectively still dry - Hurrah!
Our thanks certainly go to Doug for taking the day off work to lead this ride and I am pleased to say he was more than happy to do so and is even hinting and arranging another mid-week adventure when hopefully a few more of you will accompany us!
Matt.
PS: Where is Andy now?
From earlier report on today’s ride you will have noted that Andy Greenwood decided, having driven home from Hunstanton last night, that he would set off before everyone else as he knew the way back!
Those that know Andy’s sense of direction will understand that this caused a few raised eyebrows, firstly of course we had to ensure that he actually found the bike he had ridden to F2 on - believe me that took a bit of doing and then Doug and I carefully gave him directions and showed him maps until he was certain that he could find the main road which was only about four or five miles away. Further briefings and study of the map.......why Andy needed to stand on his head to rationalise Left and Right turns was beyond me …..anyway mounted on his own bike and with Lawrence positioned at the end of the driveway just in case, Andy was ready for the off - of course by now everyone at F2 motorcycles were waving him goodbye as if he was setting off for the five continents ride!
The serious part of this message is summed up by the title of the last photo. So folks if you come across him on your travels please return to a responsible member of either the East Northants Classic MCC or the VJMCC as we really do need him back in time for the Donnington Park event
Matt
PPS: Lawrence has written on his Hearts of Oak, AJS/Matchless Club website about todays run.
See it here: http://heartofengland.weebly.com/2015-hoe-happenings.html
See Matts photos on gallery 2 of this website.
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