Brian and l arrived at around 10:20 and Steve had arrived earlier on his combo as well as Ian, Frank and Keith. Other Steve arrived on his cherished BSA. The weather was very misty, cold and dank. It took us ages to warm up. Steve and Karen arrived soon after followed by Vinnie and George.
Brian, Vinnie and I decided to go to the indoor cafe for a bit of warmth and a well needed hot drinks. As we walked out of the café we saw an old bus waiting so asked the driver and he said hope on for a ride around Knebworth estate. This was a quick ride whilst on our way back we saw Keith arriving on his bike just in front of our bus.
There was still not let up on the weather front so we started to wonder around the stalls. There were very few stalls spread out and not too many cars or bikes had turned up this year. We were all very disappointed with the show and especially when the entry ticket cost £9 50p.
Another visit back to the indoor café which was the best place to be to warm up. More hot drinks and a chat hoping for the sun to show up for the rest of the afternoon. Not much hope as it was 1:30 pm already. On the way back from the cafe we bumped into Harry who was still shell shocked for paying out £9.50 to get in. He is always complaining that he is really hard-up poor old plumber. If you can believe that story.
It was now coming on to 3 pm and most of the gang had decided to head for home. Unfortunately the weather was getting much warmer but too late to enjoy it. By this time the live band had also gone and lots of other cars were off. After saying our goodbyes Brian and l decided to leave. We had a very pleasant ride home.
Guess what! We ended up sitting in our garden around 4:30 with the sun shining drinking tea and enjoying some of this late sunshine. This felt like a very expensive day out for what little was on offer and very high entry fee in addition to cost of teas and coffees at £2 a cup. We discussed at great length whilst sitting in the café of bring our own hot drinks making equipment.
Never the less it was still a good day out meeting other members for a chat and a banter and certainly better than staying indoors I guess. Shame about the weather you cannot win all the time we have been lucky over most of our runs so far. Happy biking every one!
Pat
10 bikes in all met up at Denham meeting point which must have been a great turn out for a very long time. Len even brought Fred along! Welcome back Fred! The roll call was as follows:- Steve was on his Combo, Ron, Ian, Ray, Big Dave, Bill, Brian and I.
This was looking to be a great day for riding as the sun was out however it was still tad bit cold which we all knew would burn out. We arrived at our destination which was the Black Horse pub just before lunch. This did not stop some of the lads to have breakfast or call it an early lunch also known in some other circles as “Brunch”. This generally consisted of ham or sausages, eggs and chips.
This year the landlord of the Black Horse pub decided not to have BBQ instead opting to make food to order which suited us just fine. Colin and Max turned up a little bit later as the time went by more and more bikes started filling up the car park. Some of the classics were very impressive as well as modern bikes. Couldn’t help to notice that the numbers were lower than last year which is becoming a norm everywhere we go now a days.
After more cups of tea and coffee and plenty of catching up and banter with old friends as well as acquaintances. Brian and I decided to pay a visit to the Cellar which was the site of a very well-known café back in the sixties as many of you know.
The rest of the gang decided to head back to avoid the congestion due to Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations. Steve decided not to join us as he was on his combo which could have paused difficulties in tackling the barriers by the river bank and so we said our goodbyes. As it happened there was no more than usual Sunday traffic in the town centre.
There was only couple of bikes there such a cry as back then it would have been over 100 bikes. Brian and I made our way to the café on the front where we used congregate all those years ago. We sat in the warm sunshine enjoying our ice cream. We got chatting to the lads on the scooters and reminiscing of the old days. It seemed very odd that rockers have been overtaken by mods as there must have been around 20 scooter and only one bike which was ours.
Brian pointed out to them that had it been the sixties some of their scooters would have ended up in the river. After a stroll by the bank we returned back to our bike where Keith and other biker were sitting in the sun enjoying the peace and quiet. We said bye to them and headed home. The traffic was very light and we arrived home in very good time. Very enjoyable day out with a great day’s ride!
Pat & Brian
The usual gang gathered at Denham ready for the annual jaunt to the Lion’s club of Fleet show. I arrived to be greeted by several members reminding me of my eventful ride of the previous year. Just because I lost half my exhaust and suffered poor running due to a blocked tank vent! Luckily this year’s run turned out to be un-eventful.
I took up my usual position towards the rear with Steve and Ian to keep an eye on me. We take the same route every year so it’s no trouble if you do get detached from the main party. The road works on the short stretch of M3 that we use were a bit tedious but the 50mph average speed suited me fine. We had been advised that the meeting point had been altered for this year but it was sign-posted so we all met up O.K.
Those of us who had pre-entered, signed on and got our entry number, route card and enamel badge. Time for an egg and bacon roll and cup of coffee.
The riders for the run in the country start to depart about 11.30 .The organisers like to stagger the bikes leaving so that we do not form a big mass on the road. The weather was still set fair and the first half run of about 30 miles to the lunch stop was very enjoyable. We soon all met up at the pub for lunch and liquid refreshment. The weather forecast had been for rain from the West at about 4.00 p.m. so I thought it prudent to start back to Fleet a bit earlier than usual.
I had a bit of concern as the sign- posted route deviated from previous years and took us into Hartley Witney. I began to imagine some practical joker had been along and messed around with the signs! Luckily all was O.K. and we got back to the start.
I had a quick check to see how many raffle prizes I had won ( guess) and said farewell to the others explaining I was hoping to dodge the forecast rain.
Un-eventful run back beating the short shower by about half an hour.
Good day out with the gang.
Laurie.
