The
starting point was, as usual, the Tearooms at Meriden - some of the riders
pictured shortly before departure. Left to right: Phil Wray (Brompton),
Malcolm Lyon (Moulton APB), John Pinkerton (event organiser, Legano),
Peter King (Brompton), John Prince (Brompton) and Lorna Wray (Moulton
APB).
The November ride was relatively short - about 6 miles from Meriden to
the National Motorcycle Museum. There was a lot on at the nearby NEC,
causing congestion on the nearby main roads, but we avoided this by using
back roads - the advantages of using bicycles!
With four halls to visit there is a tremendous amount to see - in
fact so much that it's rather overpowering. Fascinating though, even for
non-motorcyclists like myself. Here John Pinkerton (helpfully making a
point of displaying the excellent museum catalogue for the photograph!)
talks to Malcolm Lyon about the exhibits near the entrance.
Peter King was particularly interested in this military model, because the
notice alongside explained that it was capable of fording water up to 20
inches deep! [For those not in the know, this is an unkind reference to
his unfortunate experience at the first Folder Forum Ride.]
Sturmey-Archer's involvement with motorcycle gears was not entirely
successful, but examples were to be found on several machines at the
museum,and Tony Hadland, author of The Sturmey-Archer Story, was amongst
our group to provide information.
Here
Peter King and John Ironside look at the nearest thing to a folding
motorcycle on display. These machine were intended to be dropped from
aricraft fo use by soldiers behind enemy lines.
At
the end of our visit we returned to find our folders still safely parked
outside the museum, where they had been joined by a motorcycle, whose
owner was showing an interest. In the foreground you can just see the rear
of a new Ford Focus.
Copyright (C)1998 Ferrets Anonymous
URL: http://www.whooper.demon.co.uk/origami/orig1198.html
Last updated: 14 December 1998