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Happy participants in the First 'Route 66' run.
Seventeen riders signed on for the first 'Route 66'. It seemed a good idea at the time, and guess what? Seventeen riders finished, very wet and saddle sore but pleased with their machines and themselves. We had an interesting ride through first rate countryside, virtually traffic free. We stopped first at Mill Meece Pumping Station for a look around and some refreshment, and then on to the pub for lunch. We were late, so they had let somebody else have our table. After dining out in the sunshine, we set off on the second half of the ride. When we arrived at Norbury Junction for tea they had just closed. Never mind, only another 25 miles to go...
Then I took two wrong turns and overshot another, extending the ride by some 10 miles, making the ride 76 miles. Five miles from the finish the monsoon started, and we all got a thorough drenching. Who said riding was fun? The machines all did well, with only one breakdown, the exhaust falling off Dave Stevenson's 'never failed me yet' Mobylette. No spanners were big enough to fix it, so onto the rescue truck for him. Guess what? At Mill Meece there was a small autojumble, where a large spanner and a big hammer were purchased. Result, Mobylette repaired and back on the run. There were a few minor problems with other machines, but nothing serious. A broken throttle cable, a very wobbly saddle, a pedal fell off, a rear mudguard nearly came off, a puncture, a couple of oiled plugs. Not bad at all. One or two of the riders refused to ride closer than 25yds to my New Hudson with the megaphone exhaust. Said something about the sonic boom doing their hearing in.
Well, that was it. A few of the riders want to do it again next year. Well, why not? How about August 17th 2003? I promise not to get lost, well, just a little bit. Well done to everybody, with special thanks to Henry Raybold for the rescue truck and a big pat on the back for tireless effort to David Flye, VéloSoleX and Tony Spillane, Winged Wheel. See you all and many more for the second 'Route66'. Don't forget to Loctite your Nuts.
List of Riders:
First published: December 2002