Shatterford M.C.C.
"Sheepnaggers"
22nd - 24th March.
Following a
rather "last minute" booking, at least nine of us were
heading for Far Forest, and the Horse and Jockey - due to other
commitments, I couldn't stay Friday night, but went over to
the site on the Big Red Ugly Bike and returned home later.
I had been warned about the field being a little
"soggy" in places so, seeing as I wasn't camping, the
B.R.U.B. stayed up on the pub car park, along with most of the
other bikes. Quite a few folks had turned up Friday, and
the rally was going as rallies usually do - beer, music and the
raffle. Seems one of our lot managed to win £ 25 on the
raffle, so " Get the beer in Pete "
By around ten o clock, I had to make a move
and head for home. What a grand night for riding.
There was very little traffic, the weather was mild and, just for
a change, I was on two wheels.
Saturday morning, and after taking the
B.R.U.B. for it's first MOT, I loaded up the trike and set off
back to the rally. All went well for the first ten or
twelve miles, then the trike seemed to pull to the left. I
pulled over, and the cloud of blue smoke from the rear brake drum
gave me a good idea what was wrong. I checked the obvious -
hand brake cable, brake pedal releasing fully, I even turned the
brake adjusters fully out ( not easy when you can fry eggs on the
brake drum ) and let the whole plot cool down for a while.
I decided the rest of the journey should be carried out with
minimum use of the brakes - which isn't as bad as it sounds
because the trike has excellent "engine braking".
I had just hit the long climb up the Bewdley by-pass when I
spotted a couple of bikes at the side of the road. Being of
the "old school" of biker, I stopped to see if I could
help. It seems the Harley that was sitting by the roadside
had suffered some kind of terminal transmission failure.
Sometimes, the mobile phone is a marvellous invention.
Having called the A.A. out to the stricken Harley, I carried on
to the rally site. I decided to set up camp next to a few
other Moonshiners and went to swing the trike and "dog
kennel" around. Bugger ! I forgot about the
soggy section of the field and promptly sank the caravan
wheel. A bit of pushing and shoving soon had it free - then
the trike wheel sank. Time to unhitch, turn around, get a
better grip and drag the whole shooting match onto solid
ground. After all this hassle, I was more than glad to
settle down and cook something to eat, before heading for the
pub.
Having seen the food prices in the pub, I decided cooking my
own was a wise move. I believe there was a catering tent
outside on the rally field, but I never ventured that far, so I
don't know what they were selling or what the prices were like.
For some reason, two of "our
lot" happened to be wearing Dennis the Menace shirts -
I don't know if there was some sinister reason for this, but
knowing Gordon and Roy, they were up to no good.
Sunday morning, and the
plan was to head for the bike show over at Wistanstow.
I missed the presentation of the awards on
Saturday night, so was surprised to find we had won club turnout
- another 7 or 8 Moonshiners had turned up after all.
Club turnout award.
It seemed the Shatterford M.C.C. decided Bucka's trike was worthy of a trophy too.
Grot trike award
Seeing as it was a 50 mile round trip, to
Wistanstow and back, I decided to leave the "dog
kennel" on site and pack away when I returned - besides,
it's more fun riding the trike when you ain't towing.
The sun was threatening to break through the clouds, and it had
the makings of being a decent day, weather wise. . . I managed
five miles before I had to stop and put my hat and gloves
on. It gets cold on top of Clee Hill.
My first stop was the cafe at Craven Arms,
where I happened to meet up with a couple of
ex-Moonshiners. They had just finished breakfast, and
were also heading for the show, so I told them I'd see them later
and wandered into the cafe. Have you ever had that
wonderful feeling, when you reach for your wallet only to find it
ain't there ? Yep - me being as forgetful as ever - - I had
left my money back at the rally site. Good job I hadn't
ordered any breakfast. Wistanstow was only a few miles up
the road, so I carried on regardless - only to find they wanted
£ 2-50 entrance to the show. Luckily, they believed my
story, and let me in after I promised to return and pay as soon
as I could find someone to borrow some money off. Salvation
came in the shape of Dave and Di, the two ex-Moonshiners who were
at the cafe earlier. Thanks Dave - I owe you a tenner mate
!
The show was held at the village hall, a splendid black and white building that just typifies British village life. In true British fashion, there was an array of delicious things to nibble on, so I continued with a somewhat belated breakfast before taking a nose at the bikes. The one thing I like about this little bike show is the variety of machines. From over restored, immaculate show pieces to "used every day" bikes. There was even a just about road legal Manx Norton parked outside, which sounded glorious due to it's open mega.
Can I have a go Mister ?
I spent a few hours looking / chatting /
relaxing, before heading back over Clee Hill and packing up.
The journey home was fairly stress free
compared to the journey there - I whipped the rear wheels off the
trike when I got back and found the brake cylinders were seized
in the out position. Time for new brake cylinders I think,
and whilst I'm at it, new brake shoes and drums. Spares for
the trike are cheap compared to bike spares - - but what
price do you put on your life ?? I refuse to "save
money" on brakes or tyres - they are the only thing between
you and the road. And on that happy thought, I'll
end. Another weekend spent doing what I enjoy, many thanks
to the lads and lasses from Shatterford - see you around, some
time.
Cheers.
^..^
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