LANCASTER LUNE AND WYRE MOTORCYCLE CLUB

Newsletter No 120                                                                                                                                December 2001

Christmas is nearly on us and the good news is that a venue and date has been organised for the festive nosh……

Saturday 19^th January 2002 is when it all happens, and the Scarthwaite House is where. The menu is:-

Home Made Soup and roll

Either-     Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pud

Or                     Roast Chicken

With Potatoes and vegetables

 Cost £8.15 per head (sweet if required can be ordered and paid for on the night). Cheques made out to ‘#########’ and given to Roger so that he can pay for it, at the December meet, or ‘phone Roger on 01524 823750

 To Go Or Not To Go-The story Continues

We left Stranrear at 10.30am Friday on the HSS vessel (High Speed Sea Service). This is powered by four jet engines which supply forward motion by displacing water at a prodigious rate from the rear. It is air conditioned and crosses to Ireland in half the time of a conventional ferry,

On arrival in Belfast, Dave’s BMW had a broken speedo cable so the two Daves went to Hurst’s in Belfast for a new one. The rest of us travelled a few miles up the M2 and into Antrim for a brew and a chat with John and his wife Jerry. John is a fountain of knowledge of motorcycling in Ireland, a friend of many years and one of the top one armed golfers in Ireland. We were joined by the other two a few minutes later, complete with new cable.

We left and took the road over the moors to Cushendall, passing Ballymena and its obviously expensive housing. This wealth is mostly created by two factories, Calcaehers cigarettes and Michelin Tyres.

Cushendall is another annual stop, which can be approached by various routes, where we meet old friends and top up with food and liquid.

We then journeyed inland further north over the moors to Garryduff and Joey Dunlop’s grave; and then on to our usualaccommodation for the next two nights on the Ballybogey Road a few miles South of Portrush. We had first stayed  with David and Lorna in 1990 when they ran a boarding house in Portrush. When they moved a year or two later, so did we. The accommodation is a converted farm house which we describe as a ‘Home from Home’. The evening meal is taken at an Hotel two hundred Irish yards (1 mile) down the road.

On Saturday we planned a trip into the ‘South’ to Donegal Town and then round the county. Geof and I had last visited Donegal in 1967. Our route took us past the outskirts of Londonderry, where we encountered an army road block, but the pongos recognised we were visitors and waved us through.

We crossed into the South at Ballybofey. Here there were foot and mouth precautions. “Keep your visors down boys udder wois youssel get wet” said the constable I.C.

We then stopped for petrol (much cheaper in the South). What followed could only happen in Ireland. Top up and the pump registers £10.00. You give the attendant a ten pound note and he gives you several punts change.

Away we go again and we saw a road sign ‘Donegal 26’. This was the quickest 26 miles we had ever travelled, everyone thought it more like 16 miles. We later realised that road distances in Southern Ireland are measured in Kilometres. Is nothing sacred?

The most obvious thing about Southern Ireland is the civilised pace of life. They have the gift of rushing slowly. Donegal, a charming small town, did not appear to have changed in over thirty four years.

The next step was to circumnavigate County Donegal using the N56 as far as Letterkenny. The scenery was superb, but the road surface was the worst I had ever used. After about forty miles we reached Dungloe and Dave, who was leading, pulled in and echoed all our feelings when he said he couldn’t go any further without a rest.

After restarting, we came upon a road sign saying ‘uneven surface ahead’. This was Ireland for certain sure. We left the N56 at Letterkenny where we joined the N13, a normal road, which took us back over the border into the north which is not as far north as the south.(I think I’ve got that right?) We crossed the river Foyle and passed through parts of Londonderry where I felt happy that we were able to keep moving. Back then, via Limavady to our digs and a welcome shower. Our journey had been one of 260 enjoyable and amusing miles. As we walked down to the hotel in the evening we were able to watch one of the alternative entertainments, a flying display by a spitfire. What music!

Over a lengthy breakfast on Sunday morning we discussed our week-end and how much we had enjoyed it. 2002 would be different.

We cruised the 70 miles down to Belfast in beautiful sunshine and boarded the HSS  with hundreds of others. Back to reality tomorrow, but France and Spain beckon next month……

THE COST (Geof and I)

Bike & two people                                                  £85.00 Return            (£42.50 each)

B & B x 3 nights                                                  £60.00

3xEvening Meals                                                   £33.00

Fuel 800 miles                                                             £52.00             (£26.00 each)

Sundries                                                                      £20.00

                                                            Total                £181.50   each

The others                                                                   £220        each

We would not normally do this (cost it out) but thought it might be interesting for those of you who have never ventured across the Irish Sea farther than the Isle of Man.

Thank you Derek, whets the appetite for the New Year……….Maybe worth a ‘club run’ ?  

Last meeting of the Year is to be a ‘social’ at the Scarthwaite House Hotel,

Don’t forget to bring your cheque for Roger if you’re going to the meal in January

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