East Lothian Run 2004
| Last September one of my friends in the AMC owners club, Scottish section, decided to invite us to a BBQ he was hosting. Barry had completed the restoration of his father's old machine, a Matchless G3. The full story of the restoration can be read in the October 2004 edition of the Jampot Magazine, the journal of the AMC owners club. The BBQ was in the nature of a celebration and christening, with the bike being paraded out for its first club run. | |
|
I left at 10.30 ish to make my way to meet up with another club member in order to travel in company. In the 6 miles between Eskmuir and the Colinton Services on the A720 my gear lever ceased operating. The years of heavy booted gear changes have taken there toll on the splines and the lever sometimes stops moving the gears in the customary manner. Bill kindly nipped back to his place for a large hammer for me. I then made the delicate adjustments required in order to continue changing gear. Meanwhile I took this picture with the Pentland Hills in the background. |
| A small confession here, yes that is not a Matchless or AJS bike in the picture it is in fact my BSA B40 which was pressed into service as my Matchless was not at this time road legal. The members of the AMOC are very tolerant and did not give me any grief at all about bring the 'wrong' marque. | |
| The rest of the journey to Barry's place near Haddington went uneventfully and we were able to enjoy the quieter country roads after leaving the A1 at Wallyford. After a splendid snack of Bacon rolls, prepared thanks to Barry's neighbours Mike & Jen, we finally assembled for a run through East Lothian. | |
 |
Having made our way through
a variety of back roads to Haddington
we then made a fine display through the quiet market town of Haddington - at least it
was quiet once we left.
Using his local knowledge our Barry took us on the small twisting, hilly back roads and lanes in which we barely met any other traffic. I did lose my sense of direction until we gradually gained height and I could see to get my bearings again. We had travelled up into the Lammermuir Hills which lie to the south of Haddington. At a good viewpoint we stopped to take in the vista which extended out over East Lothian, the Forth Estuary and in the distance the Fife coast. |
| From here we went past Whiteadder reservoir through sheep tracks barely covered with tarmac (OK a very slight exaggeration) over cattle grids and 45 degree inclines of which our classic machinery made light work (well maybe). The only really bad thing was concentrating so hard on staying on the road meant that I could not fully appreciate the superb countryside I was passing through, but what I could glimpse was worth a longer look than I could spare. | |
 |
The descent from the hills was nerve wracking for me as my brakes were never brilliant and were largely untested having barely passed the MOT test. The steep drops, inclines and twisting roads were however safely navigated with no noticeable loss of stopping power and again the concentration required robbed me of the full enjoyment of the scenic glories. |
| An unexpected stop (well it was unexpected by me) at Nunraw Abbey led to an invitation from the very hospitable brothers to take tea in the Lodge. I am not sure how many visitors they receive but I'm fairly certain that ten motor bikes, riders and pillions are out of the ordinary. The brothers however took it all in their stride and proved to be most welcoming hosts. We were directed to the lodge and very imposing it was too. After the brother on duty recovered from his surprise at being invaded by what he thought at first was a group of Hell's Angels, tea and biscuits were pressed upon us in the beautiful visitors' lodge. I was told the history of the building and shown the medieval painted ceiling in what is now the chapel. We must have behaved ourselves as we were invited to come again. | |
 |
Going back we passed through the very pretty village of Garvald where the few residents out on the street watched us, some open mouthed, as we paraded slowly through. We were the only moving vehicles about on one of the nicest afternoons of the year. |
| Once back, we were treated to a gourmet BBQ with roast beef -yes done on a BBQ- with all the trimmings prepared by Barry's tremendous neighbours, Jen & Mike, while we were out enjoying ourselves. It's amazing how in good company time seems to just race by, and so at the end of a great day we made our way home in the gathering dark using the old A1 which is now virtually deserted since the new Dual Carriageway was opened. | |
| Progressing on to the Edinburgh bypass and then on to the M8 on the last lap home, I was feeling bold enough to open the throttle wider and wider until there was an indicated 65mph on the clock, the engine not yet overstressed, but even on motorway surface the handling was lively ( i.e. just able to hang on). Still all good things come to an end as all the vibration brought on an electrical fault halting me about a mile from home in the pitch dark. So I ended my day as so often before in my youth by pushing my mount home and collapsing exhausted to bed with the memory of good company and a satisfying ride to keep me happy. | |
The Bike at the centre of the occasion. Barry's newly commissioned machine.