WAY WE WERE
Your brilliant pictures and two-wheeled memories. Send yours and get involved
I am writing on behalf of my wife’s Uncle, Robin Clement. He has featured in your magazine once before – in the October 1984 issue, his red Vincent Rapide appeared on the front cover and as a full-colour centrefold. He has lived in the USA for a long time now, and is a true enthusiast. If you publish some of these old photographs of him and his friends in the 1960s, he would be thrilled. Here’s his description of a trip to the Isle of Man TT in those days:
‘From South London, the journey to the Island would start by taking the momentous step of “going north of the Thames”. Once safely on the other side, one would pick up the Great North Road (A1), then ride on three-lane roads past Birmingham and into the wilds of northern England. Once at Liverpool docks, the bikes would be surrendered to the tender mercies of the infamous Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (IOMSPC). There they would be chained together and lifted by crane into the hold of the ferry. Upon arrival in Douglas, they would be unloaded in the same fashion, be inspected for the inevitable damage (IOMSPC accepted no liability), have carburettors adjusted as the silencers had been removed, salute the Fairy Bridge for luck and tear off round the mountain. No limits, no rules and very few police.’ Giles Bowerman