Castleford Classic
Bike Show
I hate old British
bikes. Well, perhaps that's
rather extreme, but I seemed to spend far too much of my youth
desperately bashing tired old Triumphs and BSAs with a collection
of rusty ill fitting tools in the hope of persuading something
to run for longer than half a day without a major breakdown. Which
has left me with an enduring love of nice modern bikes that not
only perform well but do it every day on demand with the minimum
of fuss. However even a tired old cynic like me had to repress
a tear of nostalgia at the splendid display of classic machinery
the Castleford club managed to muster, and even made me think
about owning a Triumph again. Mind it would have to be a DOHC
water cooled affair built by computers in Hinkley.
The day was only marred
by the, erm, "traditional" culinary fare on offer. How
come a club like the Hells Angels can organise a rally with top
quality food and beer while old British bike shows seem to still
run on greasy hamburgers, tepid tea and disgusting keg beer served
in wobbly plastic glasses?
To round off the day I
swapped bikes with my mate John and re-ived the Bonneville experience
for an hour or so. And very nice it was too, but I was glad to
get back on my nice, civilised (and fast) FJ1200 afterwards. By
the way I had to prise him off the FJ's seat he enjoyed his taste
of the modern world too. Roll on the Hinkley Thunderbirds...
Dr.Rod.
