I was greeted by the most fantastic rainbow as I headed out of the door at 6am on my way to Coombe Country Park – very pretty, but rainbows, of course, mean one thing; rain, and there it was, very gently falling from the sky!
Despite this, the skies were surprisingly clear and I convinced myself that my advance booking for good weather would be upheld and reinforced this resolve by refusing to wear any waterproofs for my early morning ride to the venue.
My positive attitude proved to be well-founded and I arrived nice and dry at a peaceful Coombe Park, in readiness for a rendezvous with my fellow organiser, Rob Thomas, who duly arrived some 20 minutes later, giving me time to remove the access barriers and plan the site layout.
The usual frantic set-up ensued, ably assisted by our respective offspring and Julia who always steadfastly supports the event. By the time Alan Brittain arrived on the flying ’Beam around 8am, we were well on our way to being ready.
Entries were slightly down at 51 in the programme but the sun brought entries on the day out in their droves, challenging our small but efficient sign-on team.
By the time the Lord Mayor arrived to have a look, we were 70 strong on the event field, machines ranging from 1896 to 1990. Julia capably tour-guided the Mayor and Mayoress for 45 minutes leading up to the 11am start, at which point Councillor Michael Hammon armed himself with the Civic Flag and, following a short commentary from me, waved each respective entrant off to enjoy the route, including fellow Councillor, Gary Crookes, who had come back for another go as co-pilot in Malcolm Bull’s Morgan, following his first experience as Lord Mayor in 2013.
Once again, lunch was all arranged en-route, courtesy of Kate Mahon and Crawford Davidson who had prepared a very warm welcome and a mouth-watering feast at their fabulous Farmhouse. One of the highlights of the day for me was watching entrants relax, chat and enjoy their food and drink with the sun shining down - most looking like they had settled in for the entire afternoon! Once again, Kate, Crawford and their team had pulled off a complete winner.
Drinks were on a £1 each donation basis, and when everyone had left, there was £112.68 in the kitty, proceeds which were donated directly to Warwickshire Air Ambulance- where the 68p came from remains a mystery, although I am sure it is an over-payment by a grateful entrant…
Back at the park, various soft drinks and sweet treats were on offer at the organiser tent whilst machines were judged for the various awards by Bill Percival, Brian Thomas, Harry Wiles and Martyn Roberts, all of whom had kindly volunteered, after a little gentle persuasion from the organisers earlier that morning! Guest of Honour, Terri Ireland, was also continuing her thorough search for a worthy winner of her later Father’s award, the Bob Cain cup for the best Coventry made Machine.
2015 being the 60th run, we had arranged a few special extras, including a free raffle, provided to those who had registered for the event before the closing date, with no less than eighteen prizes offer, organised, arranged and announced on the day by ten year old Bianca, ably assisted by Rob’s son, James.
Peter Brown was first out of the hat and hurriedly carried off his bottle of Malt Whiskey.
A special finisher award had also been arranged for entrants, who all collected a bag containing machine maintenance products to a value higher than their entry-fee, “just how do we do it?” questioned some entrants; well, that is the magic of having professional organisers working hard behind the scenes!
Thanks to all who assisted to make this event another great success - those mentioned in the main text and all those who worked hard behind the scenes.
Finally, last but certainly not least – a massive thank you to the businesses that kindly and generously supported the finisher award and programme – Ken Bromley of Spon Gate Motorcycles, Bellamy Opticians, Partsmade, Ramp and Wrench, C&D Autos and Magpie Motorcycles. Please look these businesses up and patronise them - they all have excellent and high value services to offer and without their support, the event cannot function how it does!
Put a mark in your diary for 2016 – once again, it will be the second Sunday in August.
Geoff Booth
Event Secretary
Our thanks go to Robert Thomas and Geoff Booth for organising the event, Julia, and Bianca Booth and James Thomas for their invaluable help on the day. Geoff Booth for the report and Julia Booth for the photos. Thanks also go to Kate and Crawford for their hospitality.
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