It's a good life if you don't weaken...
...but it's a better one if you do.
Ben
ben@honsec.co.uk
Rallies
A new location for the 1972 Chamois promised to keep this enormous French rally on track. Jean-Francois Helias tells the story about how events unravelled due to the numbers attending, the terrible mountain weather, and a few unruly elements. Ain't we heard that before!
This fin du motocycle is in two parts, well illustrated by photos from Gilles Gaudechoux.
Winter rallies present the challenge of travel and camping in snow, ice and freezing fog, but the challenge at this time of year is choosing from the many available events — there are almost a hundred rallies over the next couple of weeks. I know some ... er ... enthusiasts may pull in two or even three rallies over a weekend, but even that effort will hardly make a dent in the programme.
Hans Veenendaal's Rally Listing helps you decide which events will receive your support. We also have a page that selects the closest rallies to a location, probably your home, maybe the previous rally you are attending.
Cloth Badges
The number of Cloth Badges leapt up to 2576 when we added another 122 from Hans Mondorf and Jean-Francois Helias.
Machine Badges received a more modest boost of 29 additions, mostly club regalia. This hardware is likely to survive long after the club and most of its members have long gone. Especially if we archive them on our pages.
Virtual Club Night
Old habits don't just die hard, they become inscribed upon tombstones. Thus we hold our Virtual Club Nights every , as we did with real club nights at the Rocket and the Cricketers, back in the day.
We no longer have a landlady calling last orders and asking if we don't have homes to go to. Instead, we have age pulling on our eyelids by 10pm.
Apart from that, the chat is just as rambling and inane as ever. Now sprinkled with health and mobility issues between the everlasting gripes about politicians and terrible state of the roads.
If you fit into this company, join us on Jitsi from 8pm (BST) and leave when your eyelids begin to feel like towels draped over beer pumps.
Embers
Our distant summer rides are coming to a close, with start locations drawing closer to base. Last week we tracked south from Thrapston across lakes filled by the meandering Nene. One more ride this month, beginning at Ratby on . As usual, we will be keeping a close watch on the forecast, and splitting up according to our tolerance of wet weather — or nerve in facing the threat.
We have already posted a preview of our intentions for September 2026. They will begin with a ride on from Kibworth. That gives us a wide choice of directions and distances to cycle, depending on how hard and which way the wind blows.
Lol Mounteney
Caught up with Lawrence Mounteney today. Member from mid 1960s, first on a gold Vespa, a TriBSA and then a Featherbed framed Gold Star with a Mountain Mile fairing. We renewed our youthful friendship, looked back at our Lake District adventure, and filled in sixty missing years of families, careers, and travels.
Lol sends best wishes to all he can recall and who remember him; if that includes you, send a suitable riposte via me.
Foz Spot
A woman was preparing a dinner for her parents and sends her husband out to buy some fresh snails.
The husband bought the snails then popped into the pub for a quick drink.
One thing led to another and he stayed for a few rounds, so many in fact, that by the time he left it was 9 in the evening.
Realizing he was extremely late the husband ran home, poured the snails over the path leading to his house, then he rang the bell.
His furious wife opened the door. "Where the hell have you been?" she screamed.
The husband waved back to the snails, "Come on, lads!" he shouted "We're almost there!"