Many years have passed since I last went over to a Bob Foster Run despite it being on my doorstep. The Bob Foster is organised by the Dorset Section of the Velocette Owners Club and has been running for donkeys years. I used to spectate it as a child, that's how old it is.
Obviously Velocettes are the favoured mounts of the day but anything goes. My Velocette went to pastures new a little while back but as I was only able to spectate having not been organised enough to get my entry in sufficiently in advance I chugged into the car park on the Enfield Himalayan.
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| Lots of Velos. |
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| Still black and gold so fits in nicely... |
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This Ariel Arrow / Honda CD185 Benly hybrid created
a lot of interest. It was nicely done and looked right. |
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| Horiel Barrow? Aronda Arrly? |
There’s a lot of classy classic bikes in the UK .Quite a big turnout out for a small branch of the Velocette club.? I do wonder, these 70 year old bikes are owned by 70 year olds.Are there younger (30-40 ) year old owner/riders?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the time and effort taken to post your stories .I’m pleased to be able to view from this, the other side of the world!(NZ)
Hi there. Thanks for the comment. I could write a whole essay on the state of the classic / vintage scene in the UK but I will spare you that!
DeleteEssentially, yes, it is generally an older crowd who are into classic bikes in the UK but really it's often a hobby that people pick up in retirement as it requires time and expense. It's definitely not just people riding bikes that they had when they were younger as really then there'd be no-one riding bikes before 1950 at the earliest.
Here in the UK we do indeed have a huge number of old bikes around with most enthusiasts owning more than one bike and many into the tens. I think it is fair to say that there is a bit of an over-supply.
There are younger folks into the hobby but they often attend different events to the usual Sunday runs and club nights that are traditional.
Don't be completely fooled by the turnout for the Bob Foster though - it's a long standing event that attracts folks from across the country.
All the best, Richard