ACU National Road Rally 2021
Mick Leach has sent us this report on his ACU National Road Rally ride. I've added my report on a shorter ride at the end. Eddy
Clive Martin and myself had entered the
Rally together for the fourth time. We had our route
planned to cover 300 miles, 12 legs between 13 checkpoints.
The day before our neighbour a retired farmer told me we were in
for a soaking so as purely a recreational motorcyclist I was ill
prepared and remembering a recent run with Vic Carrington Porter
where we both got very wet that didn't bode well with me.
I woke early on the Saturday morning looked out of the window
rang Clive and said we could call it off but he said weather
forecasts are not always accurate and if the worst happens we
could pull out.
We left Burton at 0900, we figured that if we could average one
checkpoint an hour we could achieve our goal. We covered the
first two legs in 1hr 35mins but we were already feeling the
ingress of water through our clothing. I suggested we
could go home but Clive said he thought it was brightening up.
I wasn't convinced. We made very steady progress from
then, on losing our early advantage. We met a fellow rallyist at
Barnsley riding a 1927 Scott who seamed very relaxed having time
for a brew. We were unable to make up time on the A1(M)
due to an accident and arrivied at Clumber Park our 5th leg in 5 1/2
hours.
The weather started to really improve as we rode into
Lincolnshire. We sat in the sunshine at the Wave cafe
across the road from RAF Waddington. The roads were smooth and
pot hole free as we progressed to Horncastle and Langrick but as
we neared Grantham we caught the tail end of a storm. The
roads were very wet, but we were making good progress.
We reached Kegworth at 19.10, 10mins behind schedule, the sky
was now full and the thunder was really close so we pressed on
down the M1 to Leicester avoiding the storm. The Leicester
checkpoint was at the Fosse Riders club house where we were made
very welcome, we spent a while there chatting and drinking tea
and coffee made for us by a lady club member. We rang home and
Clive posed for a photo.
The ride back to Burton should have been straightforward but
beyond Woodville conditions were difficult due to the reflection
of the setting sun on the standing water on the road surface and
we had to be careful of elated football fans chanting in the
road I think it must have been half time. We arrived back at
Shobnall at 21.20, 12hrs 20mins after we set out.
It was a day I will not forget for a long time, a day that would
not have happened but for Clive's dogged optimism. NRR July 2 &
3rd 2022. It's in my diary. Mick Leach.
1927 Scott
Clive (Wet gloves, black hands)
Shobnall Control Point
My own National Rally started wet, became dry and then ended abruptly.
I was riding my
1990 CBR1000 Honda and a brother John was riding his Yamaha
MT-07 Tracer. We set off from our start point, the Kegworth
services, and headed for our first checkpoint in Leicester. This
was at the Fosse Riders Club House.
We noted down the checkpoint control number on our
control sheet and moved, keen to get some miles under our belts.
We left the Leicester traffic behind and headed towards
Peterborough on the A47. Our next checkpoint was The
Hungry Hogs Diner near Belton in Rutland.
It was a container in a lay-by at the side of the road
where we got a warm welcome and I had a quick chat while John
inspected the toilets and drained off some of his breakfast tea.
The roads were still very wet and we encountered some
quite heavy rain. A few miles further on the rain eased
and we found we were on dry roads as we turned off the A47 onto
a minor road to find our next checkpoint at a place called
Stibbington. We retraced our steps back onto the A47 and headed
on towards Peterborough. Shortly
afterwards I found myself heading too quickly for the back of
line of cars as someone had pulled up suddenly to turn onto a
minor side road. I was unable to avoid an accident but
managed to stop just before I hit the last vehicle in the queue,
a Discovery. The bike was on its side and the front of the bike
just slid underneath the rear of the Discovery. The Discovery
was unmarked but the tow bar neatly broke the screen and some of
the fairing on the Honda. Meanwhile I am lying alongside the
bike feeling sorry for myself and more than a little
uncomfortable. Several
people stopped to see if they could help and the driver of the
discovery was most concerned about how I was. Once everyone had
cleared the scene John pushed the bikes across the road into the
side road where we arranged the rescue vehicle and sat down on a
convenient bench, got out our sandwiches and had a picnic while
we waited.
Back at home the Honda was pushed into
the garage and Gloria took me down to A & E in Nuneaton where
they did some x-rays and confirmed that I had broken my left
collar bone, the third time I had broken it.
A moments inattention created a
disappointing end to a day that I had been really looking
forward to.
Disappointed at hurting myself, disappointed at damaging my bike
but most disappointed that I had missed a day of good riding
with my brother.
However, on the
plus side I’m still here to tell the tale and look forward to
riding again as soon as the collar bone has healed.☺
Eddy.