Wrinkly Riders Rally

The 2014 Wrinkly Riders Rally was another cracker in the series and very well attended.

                   

- Tony

So much hard work went into the event by organisers Graham Cooper and his young lady, Carol. Many of you will remember Graham as a founding member of Solent MCC. His organisation of the excellent Solent summer rallies in Posbrook Lane, Titchfield Hampshire and winter Brass Monkey events back in the seventies are legendary, and he's still at it!

A day time run out to local villages, Loomies biker cafe and Portsdown Hill was followed by an evening in the Milburys pub, which included great food, quality banter, several thousand beers and live music - yep, complex dancing was performed by very pissed people too!

We're in rally mode and the bikes know their way to the pub - me on my old Ducati MHR and Roy on his Speed Triple.

The pub hails from the 17th Century and has a 300 ft well in the bar. A giant hamster wheel, which would take a human, donkey or huge hamster, is furnished with a rope to draw up a water filled bucket. Now capped with a thick mesh cover, to prevent rallyists bungy jumping.

A small number of old Solent MCC stalwarts from the class of '72 met up at the 2014 Wrinkly get together. It was so nice to reminisce about those warm summer evenings and freezing winter mornings spent at rallies in a period when the roads were less crowded and Jethro Tull provided the music 'Too old to rock and roll, too young to die'. Here we are outside the the Milburys pub.

Back row from the left: Graham Cooper, Roy Munday (my friend and now brother-in law) and me.
Front row from the left: Dave Gladstaines, Nigel Green, John Sprouse.

- Tony Smith