Dragon Rally

We were the Greenwich Motor & Motor Cycle Club and used to marshal at Brands Hatch. We rode from Plumstead on the 1967 Rally.
I think the Club used to meet in Falconwood.

The only bike I can remember is '65 Triumph Thunderbird outfit.

The Greewich M&MCC crowd posing in front of the slate heaps.

Martin on a solo.

When we got to the campsite we then had to find somewhere to rebuild the back wheel of the outfit as quite a few of the spokes had sheered. Most of the weekend was spent doing that.

I was about 5½ months pregnant.

A couple of early Japanese motorcycles on the campsite.

Typical BSA rider giving a Wolf Cub salute.

 

Haven't ridden for years, but still connected to bikes. My three kids ride bikes here in Western Australia. My daughter is a passenger on a road racing outfit.

- Sandie Dore


Start of quotation For those of us nostalgic for rallies of the past, as well as those who are keen to unearth new images from this age of classic rallies, here’s one taken during the Dragon rally of 1967. End of quotation

- Jean-Francois Helias

(More photos from Francois at the bottom of the page.)


Start of quotation ... After the 1966 rally...

The 67 Rally I went on the Goldie after having it repaired, but struggled to get around the one way circuit at the camp site due to the RRT2 box on the Goldie.

As memory serves me, the next Rally was one with a lot of snow. I rode up with a mate called Titch on a BSA Road Rocket. When we arrived at Betwys y Coed, we pulled into a cafe for something to warm us up. There were notices around the cafe saying the pass was blocked by snow, but having travelled that far, we decide along with some other bikers, to push on.

I can't remember how many low speed tumbles we had before we arrived, cold and battered at the camp site. Got our cup of hot soup, put the tent up and then retired to one of the pubs in the village for something to help us to sleep through a very cold night.

We suffered from a few headaches on our trip back home the next day.

The 1970 rally was at the Hall at ... End of quotation

Steve Phillips - Phil


Start of quotation Went there in '67 as a passenger on an old Triumph outfit. Clutch gave up on the way back so we hitched into north London and the owner went back for it the next week. Kind man let him leave it in his shed.

Also went some years earlier with my brother also on Triumph Tiger 110 and Watsonian single seater chair. End of quotation

- warbaby45


Start of quotation 1967: Went as a passenger on the road burners Road Rocket, 15 years old to Llanberis site.

1968: On my new BSA Barracuda, now at work and already had 7 bikes. Picked mate Dave Mathers, up as he crashed his Thunderbird outfit.

1969: Yes, one of the few, and given a cloth badge from my old friend John Emms who I met over the next 35 Dragons and remained in touch, originally meeting him at Joan's Cafe in Redditch in the 1960s.

I did the elephant in 1970 on my 1962 Eddie Dow DBD34 Gold Star. Then the following month, the Dragon. Yes, in full clubmans trim

In 1995 I lost my son, my wife Christine was in hospital and John stayed with me over the Dragon weekend at the rally. This was my hardest rally ever. However, my wife finally came home and returned to coming with me to the Dragon.

2020: I have made it there and back for the 54th year running, although the current 2001 African twin seems to big now, so looking for smaller bike.

Next year will be my 55th Dragon rally and the Conway Club's 60th. Hope we make it.

I have been on 37 different bikes I owned over the time. I still wear my tartan trousers, only get them out for the Dragon now.

Go on the way to the Bruce Pollard memorial rally on Friday at Gillers Arms. Bruce came many times to the Dragon, lived by me in early 70s. Came to Elephant in 1972, still got photos.

Bruce signed the Green Dragon book and gave it to me just before he passed. It had some photos of me inside, a treasure.

I could go on but hope to meet all of my old friends that still go (not many left) and all the new ones. End of quotation

- Peter Satchell


In order to complete a little more this page concerning the meeting of 1967, here are below some more souvenir photos, all taken from the magazine 'Motor Cycle' published on February 16, 1967.

Let's start with its cover that reflects superbly the atmosphere of travel and adventure on the road to join the winter reunion.

As the kilometres ticked by, the rallyists drew closer to their final goal. The photo below shows a group of them stopped outside the Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel, watching their 'colleagues' on their way up the nearby Llanberis Pass.

Note the total absence of snow on the asphalt, testifying to much milder conditions than those encountered at previous meetings. Needless to say, the most 'masochistic' of the winter rally fanatics were certainly frustrated by the lack of ice and snow at this 1967 meeting.

While for the vast majority of participants, the journey to the rally went more or less without incident, this was not the case for all.

Some of the less fortunate rally drivers had to deal with mechanical problems of one kind or another on their machines, such as this repair of a faulty clutch at the side of the road.

What could be better once you arrived at the rally site than a hot drink to warm your body from the cold that you had to face throughout the journey? The organizing team was in place to provide this warm service to motorcyclists who have just arrived.

Dragon Rally 1967 - The Conway Club team providing hospitality to participants

For all those like me who are nostalgic for the rallies of the past, in conclusion here is below a last image taken during the Dragon 1967, showing a view of the campsite in the heart of the valley of Llamberis, in the Snowdonia National Park.

In the midst of the trees of Glyn Padarn, a city of multicoloured tents has sprung up, erected for only the short duration of a weekend

- Jean-Francois Helias