Saturday 22nd/Sunday 23rd August 2009: Photos are posted on the Gallery page of this website.
The Triumph Bonneville is now 50 years old. This design icon of British engineering and the Triumph marque is worthy of celebration, having first rolled off the production line on 5th September 1958; accordingly, the Bonneville Celebrations were organised by The Triumph Owners' Motorcycle Club to celebrate this milestone and the event was held at the Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon on the 22nd and 23rd August 2009. Throughout the weekend there were various events taking place and for those stalwarts who stayed at or near the site, there was a hog roast and live bands to provide entertainment.
RAT Packs from across the UK had been encouraged to attend and of course this invitation was taken up by Bevans Motorcycles R.A.T. Pack. Numbers were necessarily small for this ride, because feed-back on whether Pack members wanted a day-ride or a camping weekend was slow to happen; accordingly, once the decision to camp was made, it was almost too late to get tickets for camping on the site at the Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon. Indeed, with just three weeks to go (the tickets had been for sale on-line for several months), it was only possible to get 4 camping tickets. Three bikes left Cardiff at 8 a.m. on Saturday and collected Martin & Fay on their Bonnie T100 at Junction 23A of the M4. We were surprised that Bob had not turned up at the start and so we left a message on his answerphone service - it's lucky we did, because Bob had forgotten all about it! (He subsequently pitched up at Gaydon, much later in the day). We routed via the M4 and then M5 to Junction 11A, where we turned off to cut across through Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wolld, Moreton-in-Marsh and onto the Fosse Way. From there, it was just a short run to the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon, where we arrived at about 11a.m. With the tents errected and riding gear discarded, we walked into the nearby displays at around noon.
Triumph Bonnevilles were obviously the stars of the show and the organisers had probably succeeded in their aim to display fifty bikes from each year. There were Bonnevilles galore on display - if you had ever thought that it was rare to see a 1959 Bonneville, imagine what a surprise it was to see dozens of them, all resplendent in blue and orange (the 'tangerine dream'). These were complemented by many of the 2009 50th Anniversay Bonnevilles in the same livery. There were modern-day Triumphs in one-off paint schemes, including a 1050 Tiger in Leicester Tigers Rugby Club livery, a Jack Lilley T100 in chrome, black and gold, and a pink Thruxton in Agent Provocateur livery! There was a wide range of unique merchandise, an international array of special guests, historic machines shipped in from across the globe and a full programme of entertainment. Towards the end of the afternoon, we strolled across to the marquee where the awards were to be presented and where the lucky winner of the draw - a new Bonneville - was to be announced. Whilst waiting, we had a call from Bob to say that he had arrived on site, so Mr RAT set out into the crowds to look for him. He soon spotted him being directed away from our camping area by the stewards (not surprising really, because we had his camping ticket!) and broke into a sprint to catch Bob on his Sprint! He hopped on the back and showed Bob to the camping area, they put up Bob's tent and then walked back into the showground, stopping only briefly at the beer tent for refreshments! Once prize-giving was over, we walked about a mile to the local pub, where we had a good meal in the restaurant and a few drinks, before heading back to the tents for the night. Head torches were the order of the night as we sat around the tents and brewed up the coffee; the long, stiff, protuberence strapped to Martin's forehead had us rolling around with laughter - see what you make of it by looking at the photos on this website callery (picture entitled: Why does everybody call me Dickhead?).
The following morning, we cooked breakfast and broke camp before heading off to the show-ground again to look around the Heritage Motor Centre. It's a fascinating collection of vehicles - well worth a look if youn are ever in the area.
Around mid-day, we headed for home, via a scenic route which kept us off the motorways, except for a final dash between J24 and J29 of the M4.
Although numbers were necessarily small for this ride, it was undoubtedly an enjoyable, laid-back camping weekend, with enough nostalgia to last for the next 50 years. If anyone missed the celebrations, then join us for the 100-year celebrations in August 2059. |
