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indexWe all met at Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre, Ruddington-has anyone been there? What a fantastic place and what a welcome. Anyway, Pete Stratford (New Hudson), Mark Adams (New Hudson), Les Gobbett (Raleigh RM6), Mark Astill (Motobécane), John Hook (Phillips) and Ron Wright (Mobylette) all set off for the Skegness weekend 'thrash' on a dull Saturday morning.
We left Ruddington at 10:00am to take in all the scenic and twisty lanes mapped out for us by the great John Hook. No casualties were incurred - except for Mark Astill whose bladder managed 25 miles to the pee stop.
We arrived in Skegness at about five o'clock, a little shaken but not stirred, to exchange handshakes on the sea front. After a photo call, we all had a well-deserved ice cream. Then we decided to do a victory run around the clock tower followed by some bunny hops, a few doughnuts and burn-out on the prom!
Once we had booked into our digs, we went out for a meal followed by a well-deserved throat wash: very enjoyable.
Sunday morning arrived dull and wet. All the machines started first kick, not bad considering they had been out in the wet all night. We had a trouble-free run back, stopping at Tattishall for tea & sandwiches and a look around the church.
We were aiming for Ruskington for ice cream and a pot of tea but found all the roads blocked because there was a street fair in progress. Undeterred, we all rode the wrong way up the one way system so that we could have that much sought after snack and a look around the fair.
We stopped for a photo call on the green outside Bottisford Church for a photo call. The next thing we knew, there were people asking questions and taking photos-what a claim to fame!
Then it was back to Ruddington, arriving at 6:30 to complete a very successful weekend and road run. The total distance was 196 miles, but John Hook and Ron Wright had to do an extra 50 miles on their machines to get to Burton on Trent.
All who took part received a certificate of achievement.
Our thanks go to our back-up personnel: Brain Brimson, Colin Statham, Mark Astill's wife and son, Bruce. Although they were not needed, their presence gave us that peace of mind which was a great help. Thanks.
We have decided that this will become an annual event, so much so that it will be called "The East Coast Run". We hope that this will attract more club members and their machines to take part in a very enjoyable road run. In fact, let's see more of you on all our runs. These machines were designed to be used, not to be "I've got one of those in my garage" objects. It beats sitting on your bum watching TV so, come on all you Leicestershire Enthusiasts and Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire members, get your machines out and join us.
First published, August 2001