Haynes motor museum with C16

I knew the day wouldn’t get off to a good start, the forecast showed drizzle from Warminster to Salisbury but by Shaftesbury it would be sunshine all day. They didn’t quite get that right. It was drizzle when I set off, so on with my Barbour, which was a wise move as it turned out. By Melksham it was chucking it down and my feet felt wet, by Westbury I felt the first trickle of water inside my underpants and I knew all was not well, yet on the horizon was clear sky. In fact it had been like that all the way but the horizon kept moving away and it was a bit like trying to find the end of a rainbow. By the outskirts of Warminster the sun had broken through and the rain had stopped. It wasn’t supposed to be like that, I should be dry now and then get a little damp on the way to the main meeting point in Salisbury.

I pulled up at the fuel pumps and as I got off the bike the sensation of being dressed in wet undergarments intensified and I realised that the situation was probably worse than I had recognised en route. I had actually been sitting in a puddle! Not only that but I was dressed up like a Michelin man whilst car drivers were wearing shorts and tee shirts like they’re going to the beach. Only a motorcyclist experiences the true emotions of being, shall we say…… slightly out of place?

Blacky was first to arrive but he was in the bus and heading for the Dorset meet. Next came Magic and Karen followed by the Twins, one of whom had taken shelter under a bridge to avoid the kind of soaking that I got.

 Three of us  left to meet up with C16 and it never rained again that day and by Salisbury I had nearly dried out, apart from the wet underpants which took most of the day.

When we got there we found sixteen bikes from Solent waiting for us, so this time it was Bill’s turn to poke fun at us for a bad turnout. Never mind, the sun was shining as we set off for a leisurely ride down the A30 through Shaftesbury before turning north at Henstridge to Wincanton and the last few miles for a blat down the A303 to Sparkford. All I had to do was lead and all of the marshalling and marking was done single handedly by Bill, who loves chasing his way back to the front in a blaze of glory. Good on him, he made life easy for us.

Once there I made a premature left turn down a narrow lane, which resulted in us all making a three point turn and I must say how impressed I was with the way that C16 did this massed manoeuvre in such a well practiced manner and they took it all in their stride with no fuss whatsoever!

Most went into the Motor museum whilst I took the others into Sherborne for lunch. After an hour or so there we went cross-country to Compton Abbas Airfield for tea and another unfortunate fuel incident. I had filled up at Warminster, so Sherborne would have been a good place to start looking for another one. Well I didn’t pass a garage there but expected to find one soon, even if it was Shaftesbury we should make it. A few miles out and my bike started to misfire so I fiddled with the petrol tap to no avail, I never been quite sure which way is reserve and neither was making a difference. Then just as it started running on one cylinder a garage appeared and I pulled in, however it was closed! The owner was outside cleaning the windows and offered to turn the pumps on for me, how lucky is that, my tank was completely empty. I was surprised at how quickly I’d got through a whole tankful, but it had gone.

We got to the airfield at about 4pm for our last tea of the day before the final leg of the ride. Most of them have been down zigzag hill, so as a special treat I took them up it! I don’t know what they were thinking of when they built that road, I think they were just having a larf. But it was good fun at the end of the day. We parted company at Sixpenny Handley and they went on to Ringwood whilst I rode back through Salisbury in brilliant evening sunshine until I got home at 7.30. The day got off to a dreadful start but it ended well and next weekend its Popham bike show and the chance to meet up with them all again.

As ever the sun was shining

Sorry if you couldn’t be with us.

Blackjack.bob