Scootering - Andy Mitchell

Having bought a scooter the previous year that was capable of some serious distances two-up, we decided that we wanted to do something new that would give us some purpose for being out. Having read about the RBR in Motorcycle Voyager magazine we thought that this would be the event for us, as it would give more impetus to getting out and about and give some direction to our ride-outs. However, we did rather shoot ourselves in the foot by joining late and not actually doing very much with the list until late June. Still, we set our sights on a bronze award and, with a touring holiday in Wales planned, we felt that it was perfectly achievable.

Having read the rules and accompanying information the whole concept of the RBR sounded ludicrously easy and, although 2003 was our first year doing the rally, I expected it to be the case that we could just waltz into a village and the landmark would make itself immediately apparent. After all, we'd managed to find the

Lychgate at Old Leake and the Fitzwilliam Arms at Castor like this just while we were on our way to Cadwell Park. Indeed, while some of the landmarks on the list such as Orford Castle in Suffolk were undoubtedly easy to find and photograph, some were not. We spent the best part of an afternoon up and down the highways and byways around Llandegley looking for a ruined castle called Crug Eryr. I mean, how hard can it be to find a castle in rural Wales, I kept asking myself?

In the end, we had to ride into Llandrindod Wells to consult a detailed Ordnance Survey map. After another couple of passes along the A44, the landmark was found (a good five miles outside the village itself) and could only be accessed from a field entrance situated on a sharp bend in the road. It turned out not to be what most people would recognise to be a castle after all, but a grassy mound in the middle of a field, all that remains of a Motte and Bailey castle. Given that it was patently farmland that this ruin stood on and that no one has built a Motte and Bailey for a not insignificant number of centuries, I was very pleasantly surprised that anything remained. The difficulty associated in finding this landmark and its historical significance made it the most satisfying landmark to find. It was just a shame that all the other bikers on that road appeared to be in such a rush to get back to Birmingham and couldn't stop to marvel with us.

Other highlights of our rally included the beautiful and secluded Strata Florida Abbey. The peace and tranquillity of the place was unrivalled, but the RAF and a loud multi-national group of dowsers sadly spoiled it for us. Thanks go to the visitor centre staff and the owner of the bungalow to the rear of the site for so gamely allowing us to variously block entrances and park on private land in order to get the photos needed. It was also gratifying that so many people were genuinely interested in what we were doing and why, including a lost local newspaper reporter. I really felt like I was doing a kind of unofficial PR job for the rally wherever I went.

Although we managed to quite happily find landmarks while we were generally out and about, we did need to make a quick foray specifically to secure a few more if we were to reach our target of a bronze award. A fast paced day riding up to Suffolk where I knew where both of the landmarks were followed, and both were successfully bagged giving us a scant five point margin of error. Our 2003 rally was over.

Although the 2003 rally marked the event’s 30^th anniversary it would appear that scooters have never featured very strongly. While some entrants have used scooters of varying sizes in addition to their normal bikes, I was very surprised to learn that we were the first ever to participate exclusively on a scooter. Given the increasing size and capability of modern twist and go machinery, there is no reason at all why more scooterists shouldn’t give it a go.

See you on the road in 2004…!!