Diff'rent Strokes

The British Hillclimb Championship meeting at Prescott may have been the main attraction for most seasoned campaigners; but not for the Owens. Lynn and Steve chose instead, to have an extremely enjoyable weekend away from the usual national hillclimb circus.

They joined some 200 riders at the Shelsley Walsh Bike Festival. This is a charity event organised by the Severn Freewheelers a charitable organisation, to raise money so they can continue to provide a voluntary out of hours motorbike courier service, known as Blood Bikes, in Hereford and Worcester, Gloucestershire and North Wiltshire.

Swapping modern race car technology for 1940's Italian engineering, their steeds for the event were a 1945 250cc Moto Guzzi Airone Corsa that has completed the Milan Taranto road race and a 1948 Moto Morini 125 Turismo.

1945 Moto Guzzi Airone Corsa

Having driven at Shelsley Walsh two weeks previously in their OMS 28 powered by a BMW S1000RR with the pair of them reaching speeds of 100mph plus, this was a more sedate affair and in particular for Lynn riding on the 125cc Moto Morini. With only three gears to choose from, the steep climb was challenging for the small capacity bike, especially between the members enclosure and Bottom Esse. Steve had no such trouble with the 250cc Guzzi, getting his head down on the finishing straight to motor over the line.

Lynn in the Paddock with the 1948 Moto Morini 125T

Lynn and Steve waiting to be called forward for their runs

Joining them were fellow hillclimbers Gary and Katie Hill, who rode on their Suzuki GT185 and Gordon Marston with his mighty Triton: polished and gleaming in the sunshine as you would expect of anything Gordon owns.

Many thanks to Gordon Downie the event organiser and his team of volunteers, without whom this very enjoyable event would not have been possible. For more information about The Bike Festival and the work of The Severn Freewheelers click here.

Date: 5/09/2016 | Author: L.Owen