Reports
of
Section Runs and Meetings - 2010
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The
Dragon Tour - 30th July/1st August
Article and photos from Barry C with some more
pictures from Pierre G.
Thanks Lads, much appreciated.
Once
more the hallowed halls of Llandovery College rang to the sounds
of motorcycles old and very old. It was time for our premier
event
of the year "The Dragon Tour". There were 50 plus entrants with
visitors outnumbering our own section members which I found rather odd.
However we were all looking forward to a weekend of motorcycling. After
Breakfast on Saturday it was time to roll.
We travelled the back roads
to Builth Wells on our way to Hundred House for the morning coffee
stop, then onward through beautiful mid Wales to the Welsh borders to
Montgomery.
The Cottage Inn (now under new
management) being our venue
for lunch. The new owner, of Asian extraction, was over the moon with
our visit describing the scene in his car park a like a "Moving
Museum", wonderful terminology. However, the time came to leave and
make our way back to Llandovery for the evening meal and a pint in the
re-vamped college bar.
The Sunday run set off in the direction
of
Llangadog, then on to B class roads where a lot of care was needed with
loads of debris about. We circled around to Defynnog and stopped at the
Old School House for coffee.
The locals were out in force to look at
the bikes and threewheelers, which I think adds to the occasion. Alas,
time to leave and make our way back for lunch and farewells at
Llandovery.Thanks to the people who made it happen, Rob for the coats
and a special one for Josie who always seems to be there for us.
Lastly, the big man himself for a nice dry weekend.
Some of the bikes that were with us:
Sunday
20th July - Founders day
A few photos from Terry
H of things seen at Founders day
Sunday
11th July - Follow the Velo run
After
last year’s run, on which I rode a Honda (and took at
lot of stick from friends in both the VMCC and the Wye Valley VOC), I
was
determined to make sure that this year I would be on a Velo. I had
purchased a
spring frame MAC in December so now had a choice of three Velos to lead
the
run. However, with one week to go before the start not one of them was
working.
The ’63 Venom had holed a piston in early May, the day before I was due
to ride
it to the Thundersprint (last year it split the fuel tank). The ’53
rigid MAC
was pouring petrol out of the carb and the ’59 MAC, after playing up on
a Wye Valley
run to meet the Dorking Centre at Craven Arms, was waiting for a new
magneto.
Talk
about proper planning or cutting it fine, the mag arrived
at my school on the Wednesday and was fitted two days before the Follow
the
Velo Run. I picked up the bike from my friend, Peter Hunter, and went
straight
to the petrol station and filled the tank. Unfortunately, when I got
home, there
was a significant oil leak from the bottom of the timing side. So on
the
Saturday morning the 276 carb was taken off the rigid MAC and the
needle in the
remote float chamber was lapped in and reseated. After two attempts the
petrol
leak was cured and my old favourite would lead the run on the Sunday.
The
weather on Sunday was bright and sunny and there were
thirteen bikes at the start in Nelson, Mid Glamorgan. These included
three
Velos - me on the MAC, Graham Plenty on the Viper and Dave Danielsen on
the
MSS. John Davies was on his newly refurbished AJS, Geoff was on a
Triton, Terry
on the Guzzi and Howard and Carol on the 400/4. Others included Brian,
Paul,
Barry, and John and Martin, two friends of Howard. For a change this
year our
route was using mostly A or very good B roads We
took the old main road to Merthyr then over to Hirwaun
before running down the Neath valley on roads well away from the dual
carriageway and so free from traffic. It is surprising how pretty some
of these
roads are with the sun streaming through the leaves of the trees at the
roadside.
It was great running the rigid through some lovely sweeping bends,
after
Resolven, and seeing the others following behind. Surprisingly the
roads were
in good condition and the lack of pot holes meant that I kept my rear
on the
saddle. Climbing from Neath, we crested the mountain and swooped down
to
Pontrhydyfen and the Afon
Valley.
There had been
some strange noises from my bike and on a few occasions a definite lack
of
power. Other times it pulled like a train and outpaced John’s
AJS
350 which
was following directly behind. I thought it may have been muck in the
carb and
gave it a few handfuls of throttle in the hope of clearing it.
Lunch
was in the Refreshment Rooms of the Old Station in Cymmer.
The bikes were parked below the platform on what was originally the
track.
Everyone arrived safe and sound. The variety of bikes - Velos, AJS,
Triton, Enfield,
Guzzi, BMW and
Hondas - sparked off quite a few conversations with the other lunch
time guests.
After
being well fed and watered the group headed up the
valley to the Bwlch. This section of road, leading to the junction
above the
Rhondda, gives the bikes a chance to speed up around the sweeping bends
and
enjoy views which range from seeing the Brecon Beacons in the north, to
the
Bristol Channel in the south, and the streets of the upper Rhondda
Valley.
The weather being fine made the views that much better. I could even
make out
our destination on the coast at Porthcawl. At the Bwlch there is a view
point
with an ice cream van. The thirteen bikes made quite a scene when we
pulled up
at the junction. Pulling away the engine sound from the MAC even
impressed the
sheep. Well they did run away! From the Bwlch there is a steep descent
involving a few sharp bends. It was a quite a sight when, coming round
a
hairpin bend, I could see the rest of the bikes strung out on the
straight road
high above and behind me. The sound of various engine notes echoing off
the
mountain side was also impressive.
On
reaching the flat road on the valley floor the MAC
started to pop and splutter, and with a sudden loss of power ground to
a halt.
Never mind; with 12 other riders there’ll be plenty of offers of help,
I
thought. Dave Danielsen pulled in front on his MSS. He stopped the
bike, took
off his helmet and with some dry humour pointed across the road and
suggested
we leave the MAC there and give it a decent burial. Fancy conking out
opposite
the gates of the local cemetery!! Take
out the plug and lets have a look was the consensus.
Out with the tools, and on taking the plug out I found it was black.
The bike
was running far too rich. In with a spare plug and it fired up first
kick. This
surprised everyone, especially John Davies on the AJS, and gave me a
huge
smile. With a clean plug it was running better and we soon made up time.
On
through some lovely tree lined back roads with very
little traffic, we skirted Bridgend and headed to Pyle. On this high
ridge of
road we could see the coast, to our left, and, to the right, the
mountains we
had recently been on. (This is part of the Seaside Run but ridden in
the
opposite direction.) Leaving the town we did experience one hiccup when
a group
of 5 riders missed a turn and headed off through a housing estate. I
chased off
after them and soon rounded them up. I must get a louder horn, though,
as most
of the lost group could not hear the tiny beep beep, but they noticed
the sound
of the 350 being revved up along side them. At least this year I had
covered a
greater distance before losing anyone!
All
back together again we set off through the sand dunes
and past the Porthcawl Golf Club. Turning towards Rest Bay
we were on the front with the sea glistening away to our right. Finding
space on the
Esplanade we parked up,
bought a well deserved ice cream (blackberry and clotted cream and
delicious) and
finished by sitting on a bench chatting in the sunshine.
Follow
the Velo Run completed in great company on my
faithful old rigid Mac. What could be better? Now
for next year it’s back to normal. I’m
looking for some lanes on top of mountains.
P.S.
I got home safely although the bike did cough and
splutter a bit. It may even have been eight stroking at low speed. The
plug was
blackened and although the fuel leak at the float chamber had been
cured I had
used two gallons to cover the 95 mile from home to the end of the run.
P.P.S.
I’ve taken the needle out of the float chamber and
fitted it in the lower groove, added a new plug and the bike is running
much
better.
Rob
Jones
Photos
supplied by daughter Bethan for the cost of a free
Sunday lunch.
Sunday
20th June - The Banbury run
The
weather promised a glorious day and so it turned out. I was on the road
at 7am after collecting Stewart B, as Jean had decided to have a
weekend at home as there wouldn't be another one for her for some time.
We reached Gaydon by 9.15am and my VIP pass got us through the first
wave of officials until we were stopped by a jobsworth and told to park
back behind the main visitors parking. Being as nice as possible I
eventually argued my way through and was able to park the car not far
from the start line. I was introduced to the Mayor of
Banbury and
we took up our position on the start line. There were 600 machines to
flag away - 5 at a time every minute - that's 2 hours. Funny thing but
the time did not seem to drag at all and as the Mayor was reluctant to
give up the flag I spent some time taking photos. By the time the last
bike was away at 12 noon I had to find a seat to rest my legs a bit. I
spoke to many people who all seemed to know me and, in most cases, I'm
ashamed to say, I had no idea who they were. The Welsh contingent were
Terry H and Terry P from our end - Mary and Huw Adams, Jim Codd and Les
Thomas and Shirley from West Wales. 4 pm soon came round and I made my
way to the main conference hall for the prize giving. I was introduced
to the 400 or so in the hall and made a rather nervous speech. That was
soon over and Harry Wiles the Clerk of the course read out the award
winners whilst Helen 'fed' me the trophies for presentation. There were
quite a few foreign entrants as well as 16 who had all shipped their
bikes over from Australia and took home a fair number of the awards. It
was a shame that both Terry's weren't there to receive their medals for
good timkeeping - Terry H a Gold and Terry P a silver. I saw a few
other members of our section - not as many as there have been in the
past - but it's always nice to see section members at the VMCC's
premier event. All in all a great day.
Wednesday
26th May Evening
ride to the
Victoria Inn. I'm told that we had a good turn out of over 20
bikes.
Sunday
23rd May - The Seaside run
The
Seaside run was the culmination of our big weekend and the weather was
glorious. We had well over 70 entries and, no doubt due to the fine
weather, another 30 odd that turned up on the day. That took our total
entry
list to well up over the 100 mark - a record for recent years and a
very pleasing sign. The Oystercatcher in Penarth was the start and
finish and couldn't have been bettered. The run took the usual route
via Penarth sea front and then Barry to Nash point for a coffee stop.
From there the route followed the coast with lunch being taken at the
Seabank Hotel in Porthcawl. The route then travelled back
inland
to the Oystercatcher and the finish and presentation of awards by the
Penarth town Mayor. All in all a fabulous finish to a
memorable
weekend and hopefully just a trial run for a similar event in 2011 when
the Section celebrates it's 50th anniversary.
Saturday
22nd
May - The
Presidents run
The
weather turned out to be glorious as everyone who was riding assembled
outside the premises of Llandow Classics. Bacon rolls and coffee were
available for those who hadn't eaten enough from the night before.
Everyone set off by 10am and rode in line through Cowbridge as there
were quite a number of photographers there taking pictures for the
local newspapers. Out into the country and through Caerphilly to
Newport everyone went, then a few managed to get lost. However,
everyone knew where the lunch stop was and most managed to get to the
Old Pandy Inn on the Abergavenny to Hereford road. The ride was
something like 73 miles to this point. The afternoon run was a fair bit
shorter at just over 40 miles back to Nantgarw where the ride
dispersed. The only problem was John Davies' Triumph, which had battery
problems but managed to get home under it's own steam. Everyone should
have had a finishers award - if you haven't received yours ask Ray or
Bill at the next meeting.
Gem
Newspaper reporton the Presidents weekend
Friday
evening 21st May - Presidential dinner
What
a super evening this was - 49 people all packed into the Farmers Arms
for a dinner. We had Jim and Joyce Codd from West Wales and
Paul
St Mard from Brussels with us. The evening was to celebrate the fact
that the section now had a VMCC President amongst it's members. Jean
was presented with a superb bouquet of flowers and I was presented with
an engraved plate - something that will be cherished, I can tell you.
Saturday 15th
May to
Saturday 22nd May - Weymouth Week
The
section members who attended this week long club event were Terry and
Dilys, Bruce and Di plus Jean and Myself. The Sunday event was the
Weymouth run and was a touch damp, to say the least, but that was all
we saw of bad weather. Mondays run went to the Haynes Museum near
Yeovil - Tuesday, I had to go to Mallory Park as the President was
expected to be there for the Memorial service for Titch Allen, whilst
Terry and Bruce had another lovely days ride. Wednesday saw the route
travel along the coast to Sidmouth where a seagull managed to catch the
tank of Bruce's Honda, splattering his jacket in the process with you
know what. Sidmouth is certainly a place for seagull droppings, I must
say. Thursday the route headed for Shaftesbury where Jean and I said
our goodbyes and headed back to camp to load the trailer and head home
to be ready for 'our' weekend. Terry stayed on until Friday morning
before heading back and Bruce returned on the Saturday, just in time
for our Seaside Run on the Sunday. It was an excellent weeks
motorcyclingand I'd go again, for sure.
Saturday
8th
May - Rock and Roll night at the Llanharry club
This
evening was organised in response to those who voted for it back at the
AGM and I must say that it went off very well and was a good night. We
had a turnout of 25 from the section, which sounds good but wasn't
really as there were only eight members present and all the others were
family that had been brought along. Those who put their hands up at the
AGM for such an evening to be organised were, shall I put it nicely,
very thin on the ground - you can, of course imagine the reaction from
the committee if the subject is ever raised again.
Wednesday 28th April - first Wednesday evening ride out
The
venue for this run was the Three Golden Cups at Southerndown and
throughout the evening I counted 26 bikes in attendance. Must say that
the evening weather started off with some nice sunshine but by the time
we reached Southerndown the sun had gone and the sky was looking rather
gray. Being one of the last to leave, it was noticeable as to how cold
it had gone. Still a touch of winter about, despite all the flowers.
Next evening ride out is to the Victoria Inn at Sigingstone on
Wednesday 26th at 7pm.
Sunday 11th April
2010 - The VMCC AGM and our coach trip
Things
didn't get
off to a good start due to the venue for the coach pick up
being changed. We had 25 booked to travel on
the bus but two were unable to make it due to illness or family
commitments. Two others who also didn't show may well not have had the
notification of the venue change - sincere apologies, if that was the
case. There were five other members who made their way to the NMM under
their own steam. So in all, the Section provided an excellent turnout
for the day. We all had a chance to visit the Museum before attending
the VMCC AGM where I was inaugurated as the club President.The
coach then left the museum at 4pm and made good time on the homeward
trip - a good day out, for sure. Apologies for most of the photos being
of Veteran or Vintage machines. If you have any others I'll
willingly add them.
Sunday
28th March 2010 - The Spring Run
I
didn't manage to make this event but understand that it was very
successful with 16 bikes turing out for the day.
Monday 11th January 2010 - The AGM
We
did schedule a committee meeting prior to the AGM but that had to be
cancelled due to the weather and it was hoped for a reasonable turnout
at the AGM. We were down on numbers a bit, no doubt due to the snow and
the fact that it was the AGM, which is always notorious for having bad
attendances. Reports gave a favourable position for the
section
and all the current officers were re-elected, so the committee is still
: Chairman - Bob James, Secretary - Brian Morris, Treasurer - Bill
Phelps, Scribe - Bob James, Deputy Chairman - Dave Danielsen, plus Ray
Butcher, Geoff Harris and George Egan.
It was announced that
there is to be a weekend of motorcycling in May - Friday evening the
21st will see a 'Presidential' dinner take place at the Farmers Arms in
Aberthin. Then, Saturday 22nd will see a 'Presidential' run take place,
starting from Arthur John's car park in Cowbridge. Finally, on Sunday
23rd, the Seaside run will take place from the Oystercatcher.
The
whole idea is to celebrate the fact that, for the first time, one of
our section members will be the VMCC President. A first for the section
and a first for Wales. So, make a note in your diary of these dates and
join in as it will be a good weekend - perhaps the formula for our
Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2011.
The AGM also decided
that there are to be some changes to the runs
calendar, mainly
the removal of the venues for the Wednesday evening rides. The venues
for these dates will be decided nearer the time, so watch this space.
The other change to the runs calendar is the change of date for the
Spring run, this has been brought forward to the 28th March to leave
the 11th April free for those that wish to go to the VMCC AGM at the
National Motorcycle Museum.
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