We've had a brilliant weekend and most of it was blessed with glorious weather. This was the first time this year we've used our Guzzi's and they performed superbly. We covered 512 miles in total.
The ride down on Saturday was a breeze. We arrived in the Newbury area early afternoon so we spent a couple of hours touring around the Lambourn Downs and the northern parts of Salisbury Plain. What a beautiful area, the minor roads were deserted and I think we saw more thatched buildings than you could shake a big stick at.
There were quite a few riders stopping at our Motel near Newbury and all of them were attending today's event. Unfortunately we didn't get to speak to the 1125R rider who was also staying there.
This morning we arrived at Hullavington around 9.15 and it was just starting to get busy. We parked up in the third ride-out row and went Buell spotting. It wasn't long before we bumped into Don (Nutah) with his X1 and Mark (Bonehead) with his black 1125R. There must have been around 10 Buells in the first three rows - not bad for such a comparatively rare bike.
We thought the organisation of the facilities at Hullavington and the event itself was excellent. Don bought us a coffee and after a late breakfast and a good look round we didn't have to wait too long before setting off. Every village we went through on the way to Wootton Bassett had Union and St George flags flying. I was surprised by the number of local residents that had turned out to wave and clap us through. It was quite moving and something I didn't expect. Wootton itself was lined both sides with people cheering and clapping.
Was it worth it? A resounding yes. It's all too easy to be cynical and dismissive, but this event has raised something in the region of £75,000 for the troops and their loved ones.
A flavour of our weekend...
Wadworth village in the Lambourn Downs...
Our Motel....
Hullavington Airfield...
Don with his X1...
Mark's 1125R...
An assortment of XB's...
_________________
Chris & Jane Jessop
Founders of UKBEG April 1998
www.ukbuellgroup.co.uk