Page 21 - Shining On Winter 2022

● Powys 3 Space Guard centre, and so on…
At the time I suggested others might like to have a go - did anyone?
In 2022 the maximum you could get was 2100 points for which you got the 100% All-Rounder award,
which about 30 dedicated people achieved. This year Brian again achieved a Gold award, with 1326
points, coming 51st overall. Given that the locations ranged from the Scottish isles to deepest Wales and
the tip of Cornwall, with many well off the beaten track, this was brilliant. The average this year was 1034
points and Silver. There’s a grand Presentation Dinner each year in December, where you get to meet
the organisers and some of the other madmen (and women) who take part. You might even get a few
clues for 2023 at this dinner from Graham - the maddest of the lot, as he has to come up with new spots
and visit every new landmark every year.

Attendance in 2022 was down of course due to Covid, only 255 entries, of which just 181 submitted
cards, so the organisers are looking to grow it again by recruiting early for 2023. This is clearly a Good
Thing, so I’m happy to help. The official starting gun fires in early April and answers must be submitted
by 1st Nov, giving entrants a whopping 6-7 months to find as many as they can. If you’ve registered
beforehand then in early April you’ll get the list of clues and can start to work them out, go touring and
exploring and start to tick them off. Although I’m a Southerner I generally get to Scotland and Wales at
least once a year, and these can now be seen as opportunities to pick up more points. It costs £40 to
register, all in a good cause.

The organiser is David Hancock, 2 Elias Close, Lichfield, Staffordshire WS14 9TX2 Email:
roundbritainrally@googlemail.com and registration for the 2023 event is open now, simply email him
and ask for a registration form, or visit the website for more info, photos and lists of previous landmarks,
eligibility and the rules, and to download the entry form: http://www.roundbritainrally.co.uk/
Thanks for listening and good luck! Ba.

Ba’s Bikes

We’re hearing the serialised tale from our editor Barry Croft of the numerous old wrecks “classics” he’s
owned during his many many revolutions around our Sun, drawn from his ever-expanding CV (Cycle
Vitae). Last issue we read about his 2nd Honda phase, but now we enter the “lean years”, when I was a
penniless student with a young family…
In the early 80s I sold 2 of my 3 Hondas and went off with my new wife to join Voluntary Service
Overseas in Nepal, leaving my old faithful CB550 with a pal for safekeeping. I was bikeless in
Kathmandu but did manage to borrow a bike or two, including a sweet little Yamaha 100 single, a weird
3-speed 2-stroke plunger-forked Rajdoot 250 single, and an ancient BSA 350 B40, but my best claim to
Asian biking fame was when I rounded a hairpin on the steep Dharan to Dhankuta road on a borrowed
Honda 250 and came face to face with … a Snow Leopard!
When I got back, already in mid-divorce but with a clean slate in front of me, I signed up for a degree at
King’s in London, and while I was waiting to start I supported myself with the 550, dispatch riding. That
did not end well, when one dark foggy night I saw brake lights flash then go out ahead of me and at the
last minute realised the car had stopped! My bike was totalled and my right wrist (don’t hang on!) still
hurts in cold weather. Luckily by then I’d already met a wonderful new lady with 2 young daughters and
she agreed to join me on my new adventure in London. In my first year, pending her selling up, I lived
alone in student halls in Central London though, so to get to my main campus in Chelsea I bought…

An MZ Supa 5, a 250 2-stroke single, the uprated 5-speed version - the cheapest, toughest, ugliest,
least nickable second-hand bike I could think of. Any colour you like as long as it’s black! A very weird
and to be honest butt-ugly bike, but also very capable, and as tough as old boots! Not only did this prove
to be an ideal commuter but amazingly it took me and my new girlfriend plus a heap of luggage halfway
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