50th
Anniversary weekend - 20th/22nd May
2011
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photo to see a larger picture - then just click your back button
to come back to this article.)
20th
May
Friday the 20th was the
date for our Sections 50th anniversary dinner/dance. We had 67
attendees at the final count and all had arrived by just after 7pm for
the dinner. Most of the founder members were there, Tim Rhy-Roberts
came from North Wales with his son and daughter, Graham Gardiner
attended from Barry and Joe O'Reilly from Cardiff. Along with myself
and Terry Hopes we had a full house of founder members, with the
exception, of course, of Doug Bailey. There were also a few other
earlier members, Bob Hill and Peter Benger, to name but two. Bob James
said
a few words prior to the meal, as did Joe O'Reilly, who paid a tribute
to Doug Bailey as the founding father of Vintage motorcycling in South
Wales. The caterer had certainly excelled himself and produced an
excellent menu and meal without any mishaps. A big thanks is due to
Chairman Bob for providing the wine, which, I am told, stretched the
Llanharry club cellar quite a bit. The meal was through at around 9pm
and the Kent Summers Swing Quartet provided the music for the rest of
the evening with most people staying until the end - which was good
to see. During the meal, copies of the Section History book were handed
out as a momento of the occasion.
21st
May
The weekend continued with a Saturday ride out to celebrate our 50th
anniversary. The start was from
the Multiplx cinema at Nantgarw at 10.30am.
Only
13 machines turned up for the run which was a touch disappointing, but
at
least the weather was dry. We set off for Caerphilly, Ystrad
Mynach and Pontypool, before heading on the Abergavenny and a tea stop
at the bus station. From there it was on towards Hereford and up the
Golden Valley. Several of us saw Philippa Wheeler outside her house on
the road leaving Abergavenny and she must have been wondering who was
doing all the sounding of the horns as we passed. Lunch was arranged
and booked for
us all in the Blue Boar in Hay on Wye and I can certainly recommend the
Chili - it was one of the best that I've ever had. We allowed an hour
and 20 minutes for lunch and after that headed back towards Brecon and
up over the Beacons and the Storey Arms. The summit was covered in
thick cloud and whilst it wasn't raining it certainly was a bit wet. By
the time I reached Merthyr I
was a trifle damp - amazing just how wet low lying cloud really is and
how easily it collects on you as yoou pass through it. South of Merthyr
and Howard and Carol managed to run out of fuel after
finding out that their Honda 400/4 only does 4 miles on reserve,
however, everyone made it home safely. All in all a
good ride.
22nd
May
Sunday was the day
of the Seaside run. Entries
in the programme reached 72 this year which is better than we've had in
the past. Everything after that
was down to the weather.
If 
it was a nice day
we'd probably get
another 30 odd, like last year. As it happened the morning was a touch
blustery and with the odd
shower added. We still had 15 late entries, with the sad part being
that 12 of the
previous entries did not turn up. No doubt due to the rain.
The event went like clockwork, thanks to Geoff and Helena and by the
time we arrived at Nash Point the sun was out and we were just about
all dry after having passed through a few quick showers.
Nash point photographs:
From Nash Point the route headed for the Seabank hotel in Porthcawl and
a Sunday lunch for those that wanted one.
The Lunch Stop in Porthcawl:
The return route back
to
the Oystercatcher headed inland towards Pyle and then across Glamorgan
to Talbot Green before passing through St Fagans and on to Penarth and
the finish and the presentation of the awards.
Seen at the finish:
The trophies were kindly presented by the Mayor of Penarth, Councillor
Ernest.
A great way to round of a good weekend - here's to the next 50 years.
Top of page
Only
13 machines turned up for the run which was a touch disappointing, but
at
least the weather was dry. We set off for Caerphilly, Ystrad
Mynach and Pontypool, before heading on the Abergavenny and a tea stop
at the bus station. From there it was on towards Hereford and up the
Golden Valley. Several of us saw Philippa Wheeler outside her house on
the road leaving Abergavenny and she must have been wondering who was
doing all the sounding of the horns as we passed. Lunch was arranged
and booked for
us all in the Blue Boar in Hay on Wye and I can certainly recommend the
Chili - it was one of the best that I've ever had. We allowed an hour
and 20 minutes for lunch and after that headed back towards Brecon and
up over the Beacons and the Storey Arms. The summit was covered in
thick cloud and whilst it wasn't raining it certainly was a bit wet. By
the time I reached Merthyr I
was a trifle damp - amazing just how wet low lying cloud really is and
how easily it collects on you as yoou pass through it. South of Merthyr
and Howard and Carol managed to run out of fuel after
finding out that their Honda 400/4 only does 4 miles on reserve,
however, everyone made it home safely. All in all a
good ride.
Sunday was the day
of the Seaside run. Entries
in the programme reached 72 this year which is better than we've had in
the past. Everything after that
was down to the weather. 
it was a nice day
we'd probably get
another 30 odd, like last year. As it happened the morning was a touch
blustery and with the odd
shower added. We still had 15 late entries, with the sad part being
that 12 of the
previous entries did not turn up. No doubt due to the rain.
The event went like clockwork, thanks to Geoff and Helena and by the
time we arrived at Nash Point the sun was out and we were just about
all dry after having passed through a few quick showers.
The return route back
to
the Oystercatcher headed inland towards Pyle and then across Glamorgan
to Talbot Green before passing through St Fagans and on to Penarth and
the finish and the presentation of the awards.
