It was a prompt start from Otterspool way at 9am. Vinnie, Sam, Chris, Johnny, Brian and l set off for Jacks Hill Cafe. Steve had left very early as he always helps with marshalling the bikes into the car park. The weather was good so it was a very pleasant ride up the M1 then on to A5 all the way to the Café.
It was already buzzing with bikes when we arrived and the car park was full front and back. After a sit down with a drink we had a wonder around the stalls and a good look at large amount of really fantastic looking bikes. Then we had a spot of lunch. Chester was busy selling his books .Dave was doing the DJ this year.
George, Maxi and old Bob turned up a little later, meanwhile it started to rain a bit so George, Chris and l ended up in a comfortable sitting area just inside near the bar. They were also serving teas and coffee in this section of the café. We could hear the live band playing and the group was called The Diamonds. They played 50s and 60s music which was great to listen to. As with each year Brian was asked to judge the bikes at the show. Max won Best of British, Bob won Best in Show (sorry we didn’t get your surname) with his AJS, Best in show was a Cafe Racer. It was immaculate and shiny cafe racer (again no name), A Honda won Best Custom Bike.
We were told that Silver Stone racing was on the same day and that the roads would get congested so decided to leave earlier than usual. The weather was great again going home and we missed all the traffic. We spent rest of the day in the garden enjoying the last of the sun for the day.
We enjoy this advent every year and today was no exception. What a brilliant day! Pat
Pat and I arrived at Denham and met up with Bob Norman and Sam. We had a very leisurely ride up the M25 till junction11 and then onwards to Brooklands.
We always enjoy this event as there is always so much going on plus so many exhibits to see in various outbuildings and hangers. So you never get tired of seeing them each year. Our first stop on arrival is obviously to the restaurant for a cuppa! After a quick stop we started walking around the museum.
We had arrived quite early as usual to avoid the crowds and soon we noticed that the whole place was buzzing with people and bikes. We bumped into old Bob and his son who had arrived by car this year. His son was very impressed and at the same time surprised by the atmosphere of day’s events. The museum carries so many vintage cars and motorcycles as well as other mods of transport such as buses and aircrafts.
We also met Emu who had entered his bike for the Hill Climb but unfortunately his bike had broken down. Apparently he had spent best part of the day repairing his bike. In the afternoon Pat fancied an ice cream, as everyone from the Busy Bee Club knows very well of her fondness for the 99. After queuing up for thirty minutes in very hot sun and costing £2.00 for a thumb size ice cream which she demolished in less then a minute. She even got time to moan over the whole experience.
All in all it was another lovely day and the ride home was also very pleasant.
As there was no club run for coming Sunday and so we turned to the section on Busy Bee’s website under “What’s On”. Here was Marsworth Event listed and it just happened to be the event we had visited last year. It was decided at the club night to meet in the car park of Halfords in Hemel Hampstead for 9:30.
Danny text me on Saturday to find out if there was a run planned for Sunday and I informed him that it was to Marsworth. He said that he had just come back from his Holiday in Cyprus and that even though he was tied due to the fact that his plane was delayed by 8 hours. He was still determined to get out on his bike as he is a true biker. Sam also text to find out of any club runs and I also informed him of Marsworth. I called Chris to ask him to meet us at Otterspool Way as none of us were sure where Halfords was. I met Danny at the usual place and then made our way to Otterspool Way where Sam and Chris were already waiting. As it was only 9am we were not in a hurry to get to Hamel Hampstead and therefore Chris took the slow route.
When we got there, Steve, Karen, Pat, Brian, Laurie, Frank, Mick were already assembled in the car park. Steve. V arrived very shortly on his combo and now we were a force of 12 Bee’s on variety of machines from classics to modern and even a combo. Steve and Karen had come in their MG and so he led the way to Marsworth very slowly through the scenic route. We arrived just after 10am and made our way to exhibitor’s gates. From there we were directed to a marked parking area just for motorcycles.
After parking up our bikes we quickly settled down and took off our jackets as it was quite warm. As we had spoken of bringing our own equipment for purposes of making hot drinks. I had spent some time in researching for the best light weight and economical equipment to purchase. In the meantime Sam had mentioned that he had a stove in his garage that we could borrow and I sauced water, milk, tea, coffee, sugar and cups.
We set up the equipment and started brewing hot drinks. The water boiled quite quickly considering the size of the stove and certainly cheaper and saved us queuing up. For our first attempt I would say it was a resounding success.
The show was well attended but slightly down on the numbers compared to last year. There were steam engines big and small, trade stalls, food vendors, a small arena for re-enactments and various other displays, something for the kids to do such as slides and bouncy castle. This has always been a good little show that we all look forward to just relaxing especially if the weather is warm.
Walking around the whole ground taking sights, sounds and the smell of coal and steam does build up your appetite. So, we settled for a spot of lunch and more hot drinks and the usual banter. Sam and Laurie left a little earlier and Steve and Karen shortly after.
Alas it was time to head home so the rest of us called it a day. What a lovely day out even though it was only a 66 miles round trip. Take care and See you all on the next one!
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!
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!
