Untitled Document

Direct copy from the original held on the QQ website

Selby September 1997

Quick Quacks in Selby

Photo: from the left, Alan, Steve, Graeme, Cedric (hidden), Jane, Geoff, Mark, Nick (we are not worthy...), Greg and Justin Hint: if you want to save this photo locally for your own use right click on the image, then select Save Image As.... The omens were good for the Autumn meeting in Selby, Yorkshire. The weather was set fair, the roads were dry, the beer was good, and Nick Broughton finally had a bike again after six months without one. Nothing could go wrong! The chosed venue was the Londesborough Arms hotel, just opposite the Abbey in Selby. They were pretty friendly and helpful, providing secure parking for the bikes in a large garage. The only problem was the climbing plants growing down through the roof, producing the surreal sight of bikes parked in what looked like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. I arrived at the same time as Greg - I couldn't actually see him through the thick cloud of two-stroke exhaust, but I could certainly hear him arrive on his RD350. With a certain air of inevitability, we all congregated in the bar. The waitress was trying very hard to make us civillised in the dining room, but we were quite happy in the bar. I wondered if the waitress only put her teeth in for restaurant clients! The highlight of the evening was the huge plates of enormous Yorkshire Puddings provided both as a starter and main course, the latter filled with gravy and sausages. It was nice to see that ALL those who had come to the first meeting attended the Selby get-together, along with some newcomers. As the beer went down, so the stories got taller and taller through the evening. Our hangovers weren't helped the following morning by the street market being set up right outside our windows at 6 o'clock, as well as the bell-ringing practice. We all opted for the Full Yorkshire Breakfast (cholesterol with added cholesterol), but only a couple of us were brave enough to have baked beans. Filled to the brim with delicious fry-up and black pudding, we kicked our machines into life and headed off on the first leg of our North Yorkshire Moors ride to Helmsley. I was thoroughly enjoying myself, the roads being absolutely ideal for my VFR400 when coming round a right hander at no great speed the back wheel started to slide. I struggled to get the bike round, but it slid out again, and I lowsided onto a nice soft grass verge. A very nice man in a car (which I had just overtaken) stopped to see if I was alright, but being a Real Biker (tm) I was more concerned about my beautiful machine. Little did he know that I was part of a group of doctors, although I'm still convinced that the best person to have present at a bike accident is a bike mechanic! Fortunately, there was hardly any damage, although it was most reluctant to start again. All I needed to do was clean the mud and grass from the brake lever, ask Cedric to bend the fairing stay back into place, and then after a successful push start, I got back on and we rode, somewhat slower than usual, to Helmsley for an ice-cream. So, Doc Sarah has the distinction of being the first one to bin it on a Quick Quacks ride out! At Helmsley the local Ducati Owners Club rattled up to a square that was rapidly filling up with bikers. Fortified with ice-cream, we then rode up to Whitby. This was an excellent road - lots of wide fast sweepers and few nice surprises, including some interesting uphill hairpin bends to catch the unwary. And of course some sheep..... I regained my confidence very quickly along this beautiful, wild and windy stretch of road towards the pictureque town of Whitby. Here we had to pay and display in the local car park, although I wondered how you could prevent your ticket being nicked! The fish and chips were quite sublime. When we returned to the car park, the local Gold Wing Owners' Club seemed to have taken up residence. I wondered if they got charged double parking prices, since they took up twice as much room as a small van! The next stretch of road was even faster but very picturesque - the long road back to York via Pickering. There were a few rattled touristy car drivers who wobbled over into the nearside verge to allow the bunch of biking hooligans to scream past......well, we were Making Progress (tm). This time we completely failed to get lost on the York ring road, and arrived back in Selby in time for more beer and more very tall tales.

Photo: From the left, Nick, Jane, Greg, Justin, Geoff and Mark (hidden). Doc Sarah's NC30 in the foreground... The evening meal, again taken in the bar, was sponsored, so we were really able to push the boat out, although Nick was clearly feeling he had enough adventure for one day, because he had steak and kidney pudding again (three times in two days), having had it the night before and for lunch! The waitress obviously sensed this was a big occasion, because she had put her top set in and even affected a smile! The beer was going down extremely well, but after the adrenaline surge had left me, I was beginning to feel just a little bruised and battered after my grass verge encounter. However, I am reliably informed that Cedric proved to have heretofore unknown talents as a disco dancer......... Sunday morning dawned bright (much too bright for some of us) and early, and most of us managed another bikers breakfast before the club meeting, and Alan Day's very interesting session on mothers who smother. Cedric was a notable absentee........

Back row: Justin, Geoff, Mark, Alan Front row: Greg, Nick, Doc Sarah, and Jane Alan obviously needs to hang on to Doc Sarah in order to stay standing after the previous night in the bar..... After the meeting, a few hardy souls headed to Sherburn, but those of us with longer journeys (or in my case, a very sore shoulder) decided to make an early start back home.

I'd like to thank Graeme Smith for organising an excellent meeting, at a really cracking venue, and leading us at such a brisk pace round some very fine biking roads indeed. Roll on next Spring.

Quick Quacks Pete the Free