National Memorial Arboretum Run
This run was due to start at 9.45am from the lay-by on the
B4116, Merevale Lane near Atherstone. It is a fairly quiet spot and it was
very quiet at 9.30 am on Wednesday morning when Gloria and myself arrived as we
were first there. Only minutes later Chris C arrived on his Shadow and
over the next ten minutes Tony H, Maurice T, Mike M and Don A rolled up.
Snippets of gossip bounced back and forth for a while; "trouble with that
pushrod ..... again", "found that oil leak ... I think I've fixed
it", "careful with that prop stand ..... the ground slopes a bit
there." What do you talk about when you have a perfect bike that just
keeps running faultlessly without attention?
We left downhill towards the A5 using the drop off route system with me leading
and Tony as last man. Once across the A5 we used mostly smaller roads
before doing a few miles on the A513 as we neared Alrewas. The Memorial Arboretum
is well sign posted and only a quarter of a mile off the A513. There is a
large car park and parking is free for bikes. We found Martin F's Rapide
in the car park and settled close by. First stop was the café for tea and
coffee. As it was a fine morning we took our drinks outside and found
Martin perched at one of the benches. I borrowed a wheelchair from
reception so that we could take Don for a swift look at the main memorial.
This is set on a mound with a flight of stone steps. The mound also has a
spiral walkway for easy, step less, foot or wheeled access. Chris took
charge of the chair. (He does have quite a good "track" record
of controlling chairs, all be it with three wheels.) The memorial walls
have name after name carved on their polished surfaces. There are some
magnificent bronze sculptures and Don was able to get a few photographs before
we followed the spiral back down. Visiting this memorial is quite moving
and on another occasion it would be worth spending some more time to look at
other areas of the 150 acre site. Our lunch stop was an hour away at
Ullesthorpe Court Hotel. We got there (without getting lost!) passing
close to the Battle of Bosworth site and Shenton station, familiar to
Maurice. I don't think Maurice is quite old enough to have been at the
Battle of Bosworth but he does remember steam trains. :-) John T was
waiting at the hotel so we dumped our bike kit in his car boot and entered for
our meal. I had telephoned earlier to reserved eight places. John T
made nine. The staff were most accommodating and another place was swiftly
laid. The carvery was well priced and good quality. A lady later
took orders for the sweet course. John T and Gloria had trifle and I'm
sure that the lady must have served with a shovel as their dishes were very well
filled. Another good ride in good company. What is the recipe for
this success? A simple answer, the quality of the participants. We
have an opening for someone to organise the next lunch run on Wednesday
15th September. Volunteers please.
Eddy.
After Dinner.
About to leave for home.
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