Roy Bourne Run 2010

This year the run was organised by Dave Style.  The run was to the Llanfair and Welshpool light railway.  The weather has not been too kind to us lately but Sunday turned out to be an absolutely cracking day to be out on a bike.  We met up at a lay-by on the A45 not far from the National Motorcycle Museum .  When Gloria and I arrived on our Rapide Martin F and his "B" twin was was there already and not long after the group was swelled by Chris C, Rob and Val S, Dave S, also Vincent mounted.  Dave D, arrived on his BMW and Mick P on his Ducati. 

 
Dave fine tuning his Comet before the start.

We set off at 9.00 am and Dave S led the way through Birmingham.  At that hour on a Sunday morning we encountered no traffic problems and we soon found ourselves on the west side of the city and passing to the north of Kidderminster where we picked up the A442.  We stopped just before Bridgenorth at Alan's Café in Quatt.  This is a very popular bikers haunt.  We took time to have a drink, a comfort break and a chat about the bikes to interested bystanders.  Bernard R on his BMW single and Keith L on his CB500 Honda joined us at the café swelling our party to eleven.  We had just reached the border of Powys when we encountered the only black spot of the day.  Mick had a problem with his Ducati.  It was running on one cylinder and was rattling quite a bit.  He thought it might be a broken cam belt but was hoping to be wrong.  A couple of us waited with him until we were sure that the breakdown rescue was on the way to him and then we carried on joining the rest of the party a few miles down the road.  The sun was shining and the views across the countryside were, in places quite, spectacular.  On reaching Llanfair station we parked up and the bikes soon became the centre of attention.  Dave S did a great job at the ticket counter and negotiated a special rate for our group.  Not only did he save us two or three pounds each but he also found a "Kevin" with a key who locked our bike kit in a safe place while we enjoyed our hour long narrow guage train trip along the Banwy valley to Welshpool.  At Welshpool we got a chance to have a look at the sturdy little engine while it took on more water.  The engine in use this day had originally come from Romania.

The  Romanian engine takes on water.  (Nice hat Valerie.)

The return jouney to Llanfair starts off with the engine having to pull hard up the steep Golfa Bank.  It slowed but continued to pull strongly to the top of the hill.  The slower pace gave us a better chance to spot the bluebells on the steep wooded hillsides.  As we neared Llanfair we once again ran alongside the river Banwy before reaching the station.  We found "Kevin the key" and retrieved our riding gear prior to enjoying tea and refreshments from the station café.  While we had our tea "alfresco" seated on the platform benches a retired college lecturer sought us out to talk Vincents.  He had once owned a Black Knight and although he sadly no longer had the Knight he still enjoyed bikes.
Keith and Bernard made their farewells as they made their own way home and the remainder set off homeward after first making a stop in Welshpool to fill our petrol tanks.  Dave had devised an excellent return route.  He avoided major towns and we eventually joined the A5 just north of Shifnal.  As we rode east along the A5 riders veered off one by one as they reached their turns for home.  Gloria and I got back to Hinckley at 6.30pm having had a memorable and very enjoyable day out.  I telephoned Mick who told me he had not waited too long for the recovery vehicle and the Ducati was soon loaded and both delivered back home around 4.30pm.  Many thanks to Dave S for organising this run.
Eddy.  

Parking up at Llanfair.

Val & Rob.

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