Cliff’s coast-to-coast moped dash

Our esteemed Chairman (and honourable treasurer) Cliff, has sent us this report of his recent adventures with the Puch.

Last weekend I joined 41 other riders from the NACC (National Auto Cycle Club) to ride from Crimdon Beach, near Hartlepool on the East coast to Whitehaven on the West coast. A total of 147 miles over two days.

The run was for small engine motor cycles, mopeds and auto cycles.  Most of the bikes were classic or vintage and anyone with more than 5 bhp was considered a show off.

A friend of mine, Martin came over from Germany with his 1958 Puch MS50L and I used my 1956 Puch MS50L...there was going to be rivalry on which bike would run the best.

We set of at 10.00am on Saturday from the beach car park amidst clouds of blue two-stroke smoke. We passed through the villages of Trimdon, Fishburn and eventually 18 miles (1.5 hours) later to the first stop in Chilton for a welcome cup of tea.  At this point most of the bikes had stayed fairly close together as we navigated the relatively flat ground.  Departing Chilton we headed towards the Pennines.

We passed Shildon, Barnard Castle and eventually reach Middleton-in-Teesdale 29 miles later for a well earned lunch.  By this time the 1.7 bhp of the Puch's was beginning to show and the pace had slowed somewhat.  Fortified by fish and chips we set of for the last leg of the day towards Alston, England highest market town.  Having climbed for over 22 miles, Martin and I arrived at about 4.30pm and were pleased to find that we were not last.  The bikes had performed well, the only casualty being a nut that came lose on the brake lever of Martin’s bike.  

After a good night’s sleep we set of again at 10.00am heading Westward and continued to climb the Pennines (with much peddle assist).  We arrived at the highest point at 1900 feet only to be met with mist and fog.  I'm sure the views would have been great.  Passing through Penrith and along the Uldale fell road, our only company was sheep and the smell of two-stroke smoke.  At times we came to a junction and just sniffed the air to see which way to go. 

After 43 miles we reach our lunch stop in Bassenthwaite, it had taken us 3.5 hours and most of it was downhill.  By this time we had realised that the 1956 Puch was 0.25mph faster than the 1958 Puch.

The final 30 mile leg towards Whitehaven was in sunshine and we passed some of the finest scenery in Cumbria going through Cockermouth, near Crummock Water and along Lowes Water. Eventually reaching our final destination at about 4pm.  We were exhausted but happy and suffered no mechanical breakdowns.

Our final stats were: 147 miles covered, top speed achieved (going down the Pennines) 31 mph, 14 hours riding, average speed 10.5 mph, fuel used 6.5 litres, 105 mpg...and a lot of smoke!

Evening meet 200624

 

The weather was grand and the football was poor but due to illness and other commitments we were only 4 ( and a cat ), at the Bell Inn Chittlehampton for our June pub meet, nevertheless, we managed to discuss a range of topics such as, when is Andy picking up his all powerful 4 cylinder ( and 4 carbs ) bike?, and which of Ians Harleys does he intend to keep longest?. We learnt that Tony’s Buell has been sold on and he brought his newish steed with which he attempted to block traffic with his parking!.

Well it was an enjoyable evening in the sun, though I won’t sit facing the lowering sun next time!.

So folks next run is 14th July ( what already! ), meet at Jonsey’s cafe at Winkleigh for Ian to lead us around and about.

090624 Exmoor explorer

 

All the weather apps agreed, it was going to be a dry day!, also the weather was not going to be too hot, so 10 riders were tempted out to ride to the Quince Honey farm for this ride.

This run was mine to plan and lead, to this end, with my wife and our dog aboard, we set off to check the route over again on Thursday last which turned out to be a good move as there were 2 shut roads on the way, one was reasonably easy to bypass but the second one just after Exebridge, necessitated a longer main road diversion.

 

The run set off after my briefing with John and Cliff bringing up the rear on time so we first rode through South Molton before turning off to Molland, on the way, we passed the Black Cock Inn which is in part of the now defunct railway station. Once through Molland, we made our way up on to the lower Moor, passing first the memorial stone to Froude Hancock ( a local English rugby player ), and the Marsh bridge another interesting structure. The short narrow road up onto the lower moor proper, caused us to meet up with 3 horses on a corner which required a check of the brakes efficiency on my Honda.

With a moor speed of 40mph we were able to take in the many sights either side of us before we turned off to Exford, then it was a turn on the road to Wheddon Cross and then turn into the Rest and be Thankful where Andy took stock of his Honda’s ailments and lead him to make for home, I was pleased to see that he arrived home safely.

After a great meal we set off to Dunkery Beacon then on to the rather narrow road through Wootton Courtney to Timberscombe, ( sorry chaps no alternative route ). A climb out of Timberscombe took us over the top  

To arrive on the Minehead road A396, just before Exebridge and here we had to leave the route I planned and follow this road to the Black Cat where we turned right towards South Molton, then it was a left turn towards Roachill and the end of the run at the services.

My thanks to John and Cliff for following up the run and to all the riders for exemplary corner marking, another thanks to John for some of these pictures.

Now don’t forget skittles this Thursday at the Town Arms then it’s to July 14th for Ian B’s Ray Rowcliffe memorial run , incidentally, Ray’s son Graham hopes to join us for this one.

South Molton Vintage Rally 2024

Despite our numbers being down due to various ailments and mechanicals an enjoyable weekend was spent in the sunshine on our stand at the South Molton Vintage Rally.  

On Saturday Andy was a real hero and saved our day by arriving in his van to deliver and erect our gazebo before heading home to look after his wife who was laid up with a painful knee injury.   Later in the day our A&E team sprang into action when the Guzzi’s exhaust pipe came loose.  Ian went foraging at the tool stand and proudly came back with the required M8 nuts and delved into his Harley’s capacious panniers to produce a tool kit capable of a road-side rebuild.  Then Mike couldn’t be restrained from demonstrating his engineering prowess, quickly whipping off said exhaust pipe and skilfully repositioning everything with judicious use of our tent-peg mallet.

 We had more action on Sunday when Richard’s vintage Harley unfortunately suffered a clutch failure a mile or two from the gate. Although Richard said he was ready to throw the Harley into the hedge, help was on hand to push it to a safe spot and Richard was able to spend the day with us before being trucked home later that evening.  

All in all, another memorable weekend. 

Gordon took on a managerial role in our quality control department

 

Mike was fully focused on fixing the Guzzi and getting it right

 

 

Evening meet 230524

 

The Mount pleasant Inn in Nomansland did us proud by setting aside room in their bay window dining area for our May meet. The weather was dry and quite pleasant for an evening ride, for me traffic was very light and the run very enjoyable. As usual, the world was put right with some time spent trying to give Richard some ideas to cure his 45 which ticks over and revs fine on the stand but will not power him up his drive!.

Ian shared concerns that Andy’s Sunbeam was not running properly and since his had been built the same would his follow the suit?. Old buildings and updating of seemed to be a problem but I’m sure the general conversation helped. Gordon, ( not me ), rode his BMW as did Nick while Ian brought a shovel and I came on my Kawasaki.

Hope to see some of you at the South Molton show next weekend, then it’s my Exmoor run on the 9th June starting at Quince honey farm.

West Devon run photos

 

West Devon Borders Run, May 2024

An unusually warm and dry sunny spell held out long enough for us to enjoy a splendid day out on Dave and Di’s West Devon Borders Run.  Five Devon riders met at Torrington Common for the ride down to Lifton to meet with the Cornwall Section.  It turned out to be quite an eventful day.  Pete’s suspicion that alien geomagnetic forces lurk beyond Holsworthy proved correct as his BSA suffered a troublesome misfire.  Arriving at Lifton after a bit of roadside fettling the BSA was still unwell so Pete had to abandon the ride to nurse his BSA home in the good care of Ian and John.  

The Cornwall Section were out in force, 26 of us set off from Lifton including the hopelessly outnumbered six remaining riders from Devon Section.   The lush Devon countryside was looking at its best in the spring sunshine, although constant vigilance was required to avoid some nasty potholes and loose debris on some of the smaller lanes.  A very well-disciplined drop-off system held up well despite some long splits developing owing to various stoppages including blown fuses, clutch problems and partial seizures, all kept running.  Lunch was taken in the garden of the pub at Lydford where it was discovered one of the bikes had a puncture.  Di impressed us all by coming to the rescue by magically producing a tube of tyre weld and a mini-pump.  

The afternoon ride then continued around the lanes stopping for tea and ice cream overlooking Roadford Lake followed by a parting of the ways on the Launceston-Holsworthy road after covering about 55 miles.  Many thanks go to Dave and Di for managing such a well prepared and enjoyable run. 

PS: 

Pete reported that they made it home after the BSA and riders took time out to cool off and recover at a public house, where they decided that a new condenser was probably in order.

 

 

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